PaulXmas Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 In Alberta we have more snow that I have ever seen.So over the weekend I decided to move some of it.Cut a path from the back yard to the front.When I came to the gate I saw the main extension cord that powered that set of controllers disappear!I stopped the snow blower and took a look...yup it had wrapped a few feet inside the snow blower. No big deal I have a lot of extension cords and I had already disconnected the power to the controllers....NOPE power was ON! Well the cord was plugged in but the GFI was tripped.I have to wonder if the GFI had just saved my life? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimswinder Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 PaulXmas wrote: I have to wonder if the GFI had just saved my life?Nope...You're still here to buy LED's from the CDI Pre-sale and the soon to be released LOR Cosmic Color Bulbs...I figure that GFI cost you a couple of thousand dollars at least... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
friskybri Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 PaulXmas wrote: I have to wonder if the GFI had just saved my life? I would think so. My 10 year old daughter was plugging in some controllers for me and touched the male plug as she was plugging it in. It gave her a small jolt and the GFI tripped. Right there is when I knew I made the right choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulXmas Posted January 24, 2011 Author Share Posted January 24, 2011 friskybri wrote: PaulXmas wrote: I have to wonder if the GFI had just saved my life? I would think so. My 10 year old daughter was plugging in some controllers for me and touched the male plug as she was plugging it in. It gave her a small jolt and the GFI tripped. Right there is when I knew I made the right choice.I felt nothing...but I did have gloves and boots on.Kind of scares me thinking what would have happened if I did NOT have a GFI . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edvas69 Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Ive gone to low voltage lighting due to the increased safety especially when we mix electricity and water/snow. If you cant go down the low voltage path then it is a must to have GFCI protection as the below examples show.The current drawn is determined by the resistance of the object in contact, an example of this in Australia is with 240volts if you get hooked up to a power outlet and electrocuted and you dont have a GFCI then the circuit breaker will not trip as the human bodies resistance is high enough not to draw enough current to trip the circuit breaker and so there is a high chance of being killed.When current really comes into play is when there is a dead short and resistance is not a factor then the fault current is what determines the level of energy dissapated which can be extremely explosive.Now some mathsOhms LawCurrent = volts/resistanceso an average human body resistance from extremity to extremity (ie hand to hand, hand to foot) is approx 1500 ohms (this is much lower when you are wet). So below shows how the voltage directly effects the current flowing through the human bodycurrent = 12volts/1500ohms = 0.008amps (8ma)current = 110volts/1500ohms = 0.073amps (73ma)current = 240volts/1500ohms = 0.16amps (160ma)current = 100000volts/1500ohms = 66.67 ampsand close to a short of 0.1 ohmcurrent = 12volts/0.1ohms = 120 ampscurrent = 110volt/0.1ohms = 1100 ampscurrent = 240volt/0.1ohms = 2400 ampsSo the higher the voltage the higher the potential fault currentIt can only take 0.050amps (50ma) to be fatal thats why we have GFCI rated at 0.03 amps (30ma) and at hospitals we have 0.015 amps (15ma) - Australian standards, American standards differ from this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Don Gillespie Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 when I posted this poll I didn't realize how soon it would come in to playGFI's or notBut it sounds as though they are the right thing to have when dealing with any electrical current around the home.We had 42 votes and 76% of us beleive in GFI's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulXmas Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 Don Gillespie wrote: when I posted this poll I didn't realize how soon it would come in to playGFI's or notBut it sounds as though they are the right thing to have when dealing with any electrical current around the home.We had 42 votes and 76% of us beleive in GFI'sYup thats what I think or Better safe than sorry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ace_master Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Glad you're still with us Paul... I have cords crossing pathways on my display as well. My precaution was to lay sheets of 4'x4' wood over the cords and put a piece of firewood vertical in the snow (or some kind of other marker) beside the path where the wires are located... That way we know where the boards are without tripping over them, and the snow blower will drive right over the board as long as we lift the nose a little when we get to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickByrd Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 While I am in Florida, I don't have to deal with the snow. What we do deal with is a lot of rain. Water and electricity scares me!On a seperater but similar issue... When I was 13 years old, I lost my entire home to an electrical fire.It makes me want to take every precaution I can. We are having a lot of fun with these lights, but let's not forget the deadly power behind this.I use GFCI's but have considered using timers on the controlleres, not the computer, just to keep the yard "dead" during off hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Don Gillespie Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 PaulXmas wrote: In Alberta we have more snow that I have ever seen.There has been two buildings that have collapsed from the weight of the snow I am getting phone calls about water leaking in the ceilings of homes I keep telling them to go up and shovel their roof most homes have anywhere from 1 to 2 feet of snow on them covering all of the roof vents and when the snow starts to melt it has nowhere to go except in the vents and down through to ceiling makes me think maybe I should start a snow shovelling buisness and make enough extra cash to buy more controllers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulXmas Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 Don Gillespie wrote: PaulXmas wrote: In Alberta we have more snow that I have ever seen.There has been two buildings that have collapsed from the weight of the snow I am getting phone calls about water leaking in the ceilings of homes I keep telling them to go up and shovel their roof most homes have anywhere from 1 to 2 feet of snow on them covering all of the roof vents and when the snow starts to melt it has nowhere to go except in the vents and down through to ceiling makes me think maybe I should start a snow shovelling buisness and make enough extra cash to buy more controllersSame here! this is nuts. Global warming my butt.I have cleared the snow 3 or more feet from the edge of my roof.I swear some of the hills will still be here in Aug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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