In article ,
Eigenvector wrote:
A couple three basic questions that I'm not willing to test myself.

When pigtailing wires together, you won't get shocked so long as 1) the
breaker to that circuit is off 2) you aren't touching both the neutral AND
the hot wire. Meaning, if I grab two hot wires and pig-tail them (like when
adding in a dimmer) I won't get shocked so long as I'm not touching the
neutral wire AND the breaker to that circuit is off. I'm not trying to be
ultra safe here so much as I'm trying to make sure that in situation where
switching off the breaker isn't a guarentee that power is off for that
fixture.

If you are standing on a conductive surface such as possibly a
damp concrete floor, or if your hand comes into contact with a
metal junction box or other grounded surface, you could still get a
serious shock. That's one reason electricians favor wooden or fiberglass
ladders.


Second question, if I take the probe leads from my volt meter and jam them
into an outlet, it's not gonna short the circuit but do exactly what I would
expect it to do - read the potential difference between the two sockets in
AC volts (assuming your voltmeter is reading AC volts).

Correct. It's worth noting however that most meters, are sometimes
_too_ sensitive and will read "phantom" voltages. A solenoid-type
tester or a test light is often easier to use as well as better
suited to checking for presence of voltage.


And finally, when splicing phone line, do the wires normally carry voltage
sufficient to shock or could you essentially splice them with your teeth if
you had to?

IIRC they can be in the 90 volt range when ringing. I believe the current
is limited to a non-fatal value but I can state from personal experience
that a telephone wire can give an unpleasant shock.



--
Often wrong, never in doubt.

Larry Wasserman - Baltimore Maryland - lwasserm(a)sdf.lonestar.org