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On Mon, 04 Apr 2005 20:11:07 GMT, "Noozer" wrote:
I have to solder them while the power is
on. My soldering iron has a well insulated handle so thats not a
problem, and besides that, it's grounded. My problem is how to hold
the solder without getting a shock. Would cotton or rubber gloves be
ok, or should I hold it with an insulated plyers? The main neutral
wont be any problem, I'll just loosen the screw and let the solder
flow in there before I tighten the screw again.
I honestly thought you were joking!
FWIW, the soldering iron being grounded would propose a problem in the above
situation. If you're going to be working on live wires you don't want
anything touching the live wire to be grounded. More importantly you don't
want to ground yourself at all, or ever touch anything that IS grounded
while you're touching a live conductor (a fun task inside the breaker
panel). You are not harmed at all directly touching live wires as long as
you provide no path for the electricity to flow to ground through you (or
the other leg of the 220 circuit).
I hate to admit it, but I accidentally learned this from experience. I once
was working on a switched light circuit and began working on the wires with
only the light switch turned off. After working on a few fixtures and
miraculously never accidentally grounding myself I brushed the water line
with my elbow while working on the hot... that happened to be hot. Turns
out the circuit was reverse polarized and the neutral was switched. Good
thing 110 isn't so bad through the arm only....
A lesson to always turn off the breaker. G But since then I have been
(unwisely, I admit) more brave about working on live wires. As long as you
don't ever provide an electrical pathway through your body you're ok with
110 volts A/C. You won't feel a thing. It's weird the first few times...
intentionally touching a wire you know is live.
I like the oven mitt idea. You still don't want the soldering iron to be
grounded if you plan on touching it to a live conductor. Don't give yourself
a false sense of security just because you aren't touching a live conductor.
Your tools can short something out... and will if they're grounded.
Soldering inside the breaker panel... never would have thought.
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