3 ms·
Interesting. I would be inclined to attach ground and neutral first, though. That seems to be the algorithm for all manner of connectors (UK plugs interfacing
by jrockway 5y ago
Interesting. I would be inclined to attach ground and neutral first, though. That seems to be the algorithm for all manner of connectors (UK plugs interfacing with outlets, USB, SATA, etc. -- they all make sure ground makes contact before power or data).
- kube-system 5y agoDevices connect ground first because if there's a fault when something else connects, they want to be able to send the power to ground. I think his plan was the opposite: to avoid having a path to ground, in the case his body was part of that path.
- jrockway 5y agoIsn't your body the best path to ground when the outlet isn't grounded? I kind of see what he's up to, though. Basically, if you touch the hot wire, or one of the screws that it's attached to, you probably get shocked. That is unavoidable; turn off the power before starting work to minimize your risk. (The risk is, of course, never zero, so do be careful even if you're sure the power is off.) If you connect neutral first and then hot, you still get shocked if you touch the hot wire... but you also short out if the hot wire that you're screwing to the terminal touches the neutral (or ground) wire. That will cause the circuit breaker to open (or failing that, a fire), defeating the purpose of working on an energized system. So I guess this procedure is optimized for uptime, at an increased risk of death.
- kube-system 5y agoI think that is also likely, but I was thinking along the lines of: yes, your body is the best path to ground when the outlet isn't grounded, but, [hot > body > your shoes > floor] is higher resistance than [hot > body > neutral/ground]