Safety Gloves?

[629658]

I know it’s generally a bad idea but I wire hot. You just have to have a good understanding of how to do it.

 

[timselectric]

My fingers have a high tolerance for electricity.
I can test circuits with them.
It took many years of getting shocked.
I wouldn't recommend that procedure. lol

 

[BlueMarblePA]

One nice thing about working with solaredge optimizers is that they only output 1V per panel on the string, thus minimizing this problem. That is my understanding at least.

 

[EastTexCowboy]

I know it’s generally a bad idea but I wire hot. You just have to have a good understanding of how to do it.

I was wiring up outlets in a little room with no windows many years ago. Like @timselectric, I don't feel much with 120v. A little tingle unless I wet my finger. Well this crappy building had the outlets and the light on one circuit. I couldn't work in the dark so I was wiring them up hot. Wasn't a big deal to me. Then a buddy dropped by to chat and offered to give me a hand. I didn't even think about the circuit still being hot. Needless to say, he was not happy with me. But I was too busy rolling on the floor laughing to notice. I didn't do it on purpose but I try to avoid that situation anymore.

 

[AC/DC]

Speaking from experience here, a pair of dry Crocs will electrically insulate you from ground. Just don't bump anything with another body part. ?

Late to the party here, I just wanted to add, both in reply to the quote above and to the thread subject:

AC wants to travel to ground, insulation from the ground is a great additional layer of safety protection when working with AC.

DC wants to return to its source, it will try to complete a circuit thru your body (i.e. your body becomes the "load"). As such, insulating from ground doesn't do much for you when working with DC. If the circuit is completed thru a single body part (i.e. your right hand/arm/leg), depending on severity it can be a nuisance to a very serious condition for that body part. If the circuit is completed thru separate body parts that connect to your trunk where your heart is, depending on severity, you can be dead.

This of course assumes the DC voltage is high enough to break thru the skin, which can be as little as 50V (as in, a fully charged 48V battery). Unless running a single panel, PV voltages are typically always high enough to easily break thru your skin. I practice "one hand behind the back" as much as I can when working with DC.

 

[SparkyJJO]

I don't think it matters AC vs DC, technically. Electricity always wants to return to its source, no matter if it is AC or DC. The difference is, the AC we typically work on is grounded, so the ground under your feet is path back to its source. DC circuits typically are not grounded, so the ground below your feet is not in the circuit and makes no difference.

Regardless, always respect electricity, and don't get yourself part of the circuit, AC or DC. I don't worry about a 12V circuit necessarily, but practicing good habits regardless of voltage is always a good thing.

 

[Andrewr05]

I just took a full 8 hour electrical safety course at work last week.

I knew you needed to be safe, but holy crap I did NOT know the level of safety gear the industry expects you to wear just to go into an electrical panel and use a multimeter to verify no electricity on what you're working on.

I'm talking, appropriately electrically rated shirt (with hood) , pants, shoes, gloves, balaclava and full electrically rated face shield.

Everything is rated in calories, to protect against a potential arc blast.

Granted we work with 3-phase AC 480, 208 etc, but it's A LOT.
They showed us three or four videos of the aftermath of people not wearing any PPE and admittedly I still left the class thinking that some of it was pretty overkill.

 

[timselectric]

AC wants to travel to ground

It wants to return to the source. This is the only way to complete the circuit.
This path can be through the grounding system, if there is a N/G bond.

 

[Tulex]

All I an add is that even at near dusk on a cloudy day, solar panels carry a nice zap. Wiring my pv cables to a junction block, I had the wires separated under the tin roof. Didn't catch that the one slid down when I was attaching the other, hit my arm, and ouch. After that, I put wire nuts on the ends of each wire until I was attaching it.

 

[timselectric]

I just took a full 8 hour electrical safety course at work last week.

I knew you needed to be safe, but holy crap I did NOT know the level of safety gear the industry expects you to wear just to go into an electrical panel and use a multimeter to verify no electricity on what you're working on.

I'm talking, appropriately electrically rated shirt (with hood) , pants, shoes, gloves, balaclava and full electrically rated face shield.

Everything is rated in calories, to protect against a potential arc blast.

Granted we work with 3-phase AC 480, 208 etc, but it's A LOT.
They showed us three or four videos of the aftermath of people not wearing any PPE and admittedly I still left the class thinking that some of it was pretty overkill.

Yes, it is a lot.
Too much for most situations, because you can't get anything accomplished with everything on. But, I believe that is the goal. They want you to turn it off, before working on it.
I have it all, but I never use it. (Not recommending this to anyone)
I only do live work, within my comfort zone. (Which is fairly high)
Or, I wait until it can be de-energized.

 

[Partimewages]

I'm a lot older now maybe wiser. It's hard to be to safe working on electricity.
All the risky stuff I've done in the past to get the job done. Now I'm the one over and over telling the new guys about being safe.
It might mean your life!

 

[timselectric]

Absolutely
I preach safety to everyone.
And I constantly explain why what I am doing is safe. As long as I don't........

 

[SparkyJJO]

"Don't try this at home"
BOOM
.....that's why...

 

[timselectric]

Well, the "....." was supposed to infer that an explanation would follow, depending on the situation.
But it's funnier, the way it actually reads. lol

 

[robbob2112]

I've zapped myself (lost count)
Hit myself on the head by accident (more than once)
Buried a utility blade into my thumb
Wrecked my shock absorber's pinch bolt when rebuilding my suspension on my truck
Ripped the top of the shock off on my other truck using an impact (dummy)
broken a water pipe (or two...)
dumped raw eggs on the floor
and punctured my beer

OH NO !!!! Oh the humanity !!!! not the beer!

 

[teal95]

You should see what they make the auto workers wear to assemble the 400 V batteries. Being as they're doing the battery connections there is no way to turn it off...

I haven't heard anything yet on what they're going to require for the 800 V batteries they're heading towards.

 

[Supervstech]

You should see what they make the auto workers wear to assemble the 400 V batteries. Being as they're doing the battery connections there is no way to turn it off...

I haven't heard anything yet on what they're going to require for the 800 V batteries they're heading towards.

DC PPE is the same from 200V to 2000V above 2000V is is SCARY, so I have no idea.

Bottom line safety is this…

WORK ON ONE CONDUCTOR AT A TIME!

Other than this, being aware when a conductor is grounded, and you are ALSO grounded, a single conductor can shock you.

 

[Steve777]

So just curious, do the pro's here have any recommendations for gloves for the DIYer who is working on a 500-600vdc string? Just curious if there are any cheap protective gear we should consider getting (not that we actually would use it )

 

[timselectric]

So just curious, do the pro's here have any recommendations for gloves for the DIYer who is working on a 500-600vdc string? Just curious if there are any cheap protective gear we should consider getting (not that we actually would use it )

The easiest answer is don't work on anything live.
Because the correct gloves are to bulky to do the small work.
It's like trying to work with astronauts gloves on.

 

[740GLE]

Class 0 gloves will provide plenty of protection 1000vac/1500vdc, but IMO isolate and insulate is always the best option. Also gloves that you use once today will prob be useless in 5-10 years when you might need them again. Gloves are checked almost each day when used, all it takes is a pin hole to end the day badly.

PPE is the last defense of being safe and you never want to count on it