Pool Safety Tip

[Homer J Simpson]

Perhaps this was not the best idea.

Not sure of the origin of the pic. A random find today.

[electrolux]

THEY ARE MAD .

[madires]

RCD quality assurence team at work?

[dr.diesel]

Perhaps this was not the best idea.

Yup, drinking and swimming don't mix well.

[Legit-Design]

This is old picture...
But current always takes the path of least resistance. Current doesn't suddenly jump for no reason to those blokes sitting there. Maybe if they were peeing and pee had some salts on it and it made good conductor through rest of the water, that could hurt. And peeing in a pool is more wrong than floating extension cord in it.
http://gizmodo.com/341779/how-to-win-a-darwin-award-float-a-live-surge-protector-in-a-pool-on-a-couple-of-flip-flops from 2008...

So why isn't this guy dead if floating extension cord in a pool is dangerous?

[electronics man]

they are not earthed, electricity isnt going to harm them

[Stonent]

Legit beat me to it!

[nihilism]

It could when they get out of the pool - one wet leg on the ground outside the pool and one in the electrically live water which is isolated from ground by the pool rubber pool.
Ofcourse it's more likely if water gets in the power board it will short out and trip the rcd or breaker first. I still don't think it's a very smart idea.

[Stonent]

In a course I took in highschool that combined physics and chemistry the teacher did an experiment with a light bulb and a beaker of distilled, deionized water.  The wires were in the water but the bulb was not lit.  She then put a spoonful of salt in the water and the bulb lit brightly.

[retrolefty]

But but but I saw James Bond kill a bad guy by throwing a toaster into a bathtub where the bad guy then started venting steam from his ears.

[AG6QR]

But current always takes the path of least resistance

To be more precise, current always takes ALL available paths, not just the one of least resistance.  It takes each path in inverse proportion to the path's resistance.

You can be killed by a fraction of an amp going through you.  If, during your shock, hundreds of amps happen to be going around you via a path of less resistance, that fact won't be of much help.

If every conductor you're touching is at very close to the same potential, THAT fact will let you avoid shock, of course.  And that's what we're seeing in these photos.  Still, it's lunacy to put mains power in a swimming pool with people.

[corrado33]

That video is great. Something I didn't expect.I guess if the salt water had 70k resistance there was only a small fraction of an amp running through the "circuit," hence why the breaker didn't trip. (Goes to try it in my bathroom.)  I always though water was much more conductive than that... (Akin to a short circuit.) (Goes to measure resistance of my tap water.)

 My favorite quote(s).
"Let me put my finger in the water, this is the finger with the cut on it." "Let me move my finger closer to the wires." "I'm starting to feel electricity here, lets move my finger closer." "Owe that hurt." haha

[Tinkerer]

If, during your shock, hundreds of amps happen to be going around you via a path of less resistance, that...

...means you will be very charred.

[max666]

But but but I saw James Bond kill a bad guy by throwing a toaster into a bathtub where the bad guy then started venting steam from his ears.

In a bathtub you also have a drain that may or may not be earthed, which (if earthed) gives you a second return path.

Mehdi Sadaghdar has no second return path in his video and also makes sure his feet don't provide a second return path by carefully insulating them from earth with his plastic slippers 
So apart from some capacitive coupling, most of the current he's "probing" is flowing only through his finger and staying far away from his heart.

[con-f-use]

I was okay with everything in the video. Not happy but okay, until his finger went nearer and nearer between the live, exposed wires. A tremble or a sneeze and he might have lost his finger. Also safety glasses.

[Dane Bear]

Hey guys and gals, Anyone verified that anything is actually live??

[rexxar]

They would have been far better off running an extension cord all the way up to the table. As long as the cable isn't broken, it seems orders of magnitude safer to have a sealed cable submerged than a power strip floating on some shoes.

[nihilism]

They would have been far better off running an extension cord all the way up to the table. As long as the cable isn't broken, it seems orders of magnitude safer to have a sealed cable submerged than a power strip floating on some shoes.

Or do their cooking outside the pool, or have the table next to the pool, or use a gas cooker, or have the lead suspended from above the table, or depending on the desired outcome - strip the end of the lead back and take turns holding the bare active and neutral in each hand while some else turns the switch on, only problem of course is that the last guy will probably have to turn the switch on by himself.

[kolonelkadat]

I remember as a child there was a buried wire that had been exposed through erosion and whatever I guess. If you were to stand on it bare foot while it was raining it would give you this great trembling sensation in your legs and feet. I loved splashing around on that wire.

My point, if I have one, is that mains voltage isnt nearly as dangerous as its made out to be.

[Legit-Design]

My point, if I have one, is that mains voltage isnt nearly as dangerous as its made out to be.

Had electrical safety course for the "electrical safety card", that just says can work around electricity safely. We were told in north america much higher percentage of people die of electricity because it's considered "safer". There 110V is normal here 230V. Here in northern europe everything requires certified electrician for permanent installations, anything screwed on to a wall is considered permanent.

[SeanB]

It is Russia, and that is not water, but the drink for the day.

[kolonelkadat]

My point, if I have one, is that mains voltage isnt nearly as dangerous as its made out to be.

We were told in north america much higher percentage of people die of electricity because it's considered "safer".

I wont argue if more people die here or there, because I dont know. I highly doubt the death toll has anything to do with peoples preconceptions about safety though.

If I were to hazard a guess, id say its just a nice thing to tell people (that no one would ever bother verifying) to convince them that the training course is important.

[nctnico]

My point, if I have one, is that mains voltage isnt nearly as dangerous as its made out to be.

Wait until you lose a friend due to getting electrocuted by mains... Been there done that... In short: treat electricity with the respect it deserves or get a Darwin award.

[Neilm]

If every conductor you're touching is at very close to the same potential, THAT fact will let you avoid shock, of course. 

Which is why you can see videos of people working on live HV overhead power lines

[retrolefty]

If every conductor you're touching is at very close to the same potential, THAT fact will let you avoid shock, of course. 

Which is why you can see videos of people working on live HV overhead power lines

And why of course birds can perch on live wires.