Refueling is difficult

[LouG]

Isn't that everything household in your country?

Yep 240 real mans volts. Not that funny 120 nonsense

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[LouG]

True. But still, you really don't want to mess around with 240v unless you know what you're doing. Our 120v system for the most part, will just give you an unpleasant sensation. 240v and it is game on. To create the microwave frequency for cooking, you need a lot of power. That's why microwave ovens have a nasty capacitor in them that will mess you up if you don't know what you're looking at. It's how they became countertop appliances without needing a 240v outlet. --120v with a nasty capacitor can do the trick.

OK, I'm not a sparky, but I was led to believe that 120 at 15 amps was just as dangerous as 240 at 10 amps. Not so?

 

[Zig]

OK, I'm not a sparky, but I was led to believe that 120 at 15 amps was just as dangerous as 240 at 10 amps. Not so?

As long as they are labeled reading resolves, it’s the known unknowns that have a tendency to bite.

 

[Junkyard Dog]

120 at 15 amps was just as dangerous as 240 at 10 amps

Nope. Not even close.

You are talking about amps, which is current. At the same time, you have the correct idea. Current, not voltage is what kills. BUT: Only 0.1 amps to the heart is fatal.

It is the voltage (pressure) that pushes the current to places like the heart. So you get more amps where it counts with higher voltage. I hope that makes sense. Meanwhile 50,000 volts from your classic car's distributor won't kill you because it has no current. The same with 1000 volts of static electricity that jumps the gap to your finger.

I don't know how it is in New Zealand, but in the US, 240 is two sets of current at once (both 120), and getting hit with 240 (for example, both hot are on one prong for a dryer, and a badly grounded dryer can be hot 240 on the metal body) is frequently fatal. Thankfully we have lots of safeguards with regard to grounding all metal on appliances.

Europe is single phase. What is New Zealand?


The following list explains some of the most common effects of electrical shock at various amperage levels, according to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).2


OSHA stuff from an article about household current:

https://www.thespruce.com/amperage-vs-voltage-1152476

To understand the amounts involved, a milliampere (mA) is one-thousandth of an ampere (or amp). A standard household circuit that supplies your outlets and switches carries 15 or 20 amps (15,000 or 20,000 mA).

• 1 to 5 mA: Little electrical shock is felt; upsetting but not painful
• 6 to 30 mA: Painful shock; loss of muscle control
• 50 to 150 mA: Extreme pain; possible severe muscle reactions; possible respiratory arrest; possible death
• 1,000 mA to 4,300 mA: Heart ceases pumping; nerve damage; death likely
• 10,000 mA (10 amps): Cardiac arrest; severe burns; death likely

This gives you an idea of the danger in the home wiring system we take for granted, where wires carry 15,000 or 20,000 mA.

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