4 ms·

Install some GFCI outlets everywhere and the risk is gone. Also you are very, very, very unlikely to be electrocuted in this way even if you do touch the metal

Install some GFCI outlets everywhere and the risk is gone. Also you are very, very, very unlikely to be electrocuted in this way even if you do touch the metal and get voltage passed through you. Like, it is possible, if one finger in a hand is touching the live prong, and another finger on the other hand is touching the neutral/ground prong, you'd pass current across your chest. Or if you are touching something that is grounded, like a pipe/sink... But actually dying this way is rather unlikely.

edrxty 5y ago
Further, the UK has twice the voltage which means twice the current will pass through you. The US 120v system is pretty safe in general. If you do something really dumb it'll kill you but 120v isn't really that concerning compared to 230-240. The cutoff for dangerous voltages is usually considered to be around 60v.
- gumby 5y ago
  The bulky UK plugs also have a longer ground, as do compliant plugs in Germany and Italy (at least)
  - masklinn 5y ago
    Yes, pretty much all european plugs are designed such that you can not connect the live before the ground is connected. In UK plugs, the connection of the neutral will also open the safety doors and allow connecting the live at all (that is not the case for mainland plugs, at least not the 7/7 ones). With respect to UK plugs, it's also common for them to have the live pins only half exposed, with the rest being insulator, to avoid the possibility of touching live pins while the plug is partially inserted. On the mainland the sockets tend to be recessed to work around the risk, but the "europlugs" (which are not grounded) almost all have this property as they can't really be "sealed in".
lazide 5y ago
It might REALLY REALLY hurt though. Still harder to do than it looks, and to your point, very difficult to actually die from. Not impossible, but very unlikely.

edrxty 5y ago

Further, the UK has twice the voltage which means twice the current will pass through you. The US 120v system is pretty safe in general. If you do something really dumb it'll kill you but 120v isn't really that concerning compared to 230-240. The cutoff for dangerous voltages is usually considered to be around 60v.

gumby 5y ago
The bulky UK plugs also have a longer ground, as do compliant plugs in Germany and Italy (at least)
- masklinn 5y ago
  Yes, pretty much all european plugs are designed such that you can not connect the live before the ground is connected. In UK plugs, the connection of the neutral will also open the safety doors and allow connecting the live at all (that is not the case for mainland plugs, at least not the 7/7 ones). With respect to UK plugs, it's also common for them to have the live pins only half exposed, with the rest being insulator, to avoid the possibility of touching live pins while the plug is partially inserted. On the mainland the sockets tend to be recessed to work around the risk, but the "europlugs" (which are not grounded) almost all have this property as they can't really be "sealed in".

lazide 5y ago

It might REALLY REALLY hurt though. Still harder to do than it looks, and to your point, very difficult to actually die from. Not impossible, but very unlikely.