3 ms·
How is your poxy little 3 kVA portable genny going to power the local network without tripping its own breaker?
by kwhitefoot 4y ago
How is your poxy little 3 kVA portable genny going to power the local network without tripping its own breaker?
- everforward 4y agoIt genuinely does happen. I can't find a summary of how often, but if you Google "lineman electrocuted back-fed generator" you can see a bunch of cases. It's not enough power for everyone in the neighborhood to have power, but it's enough that the lines have thousands of volts in them when the utility company thinks they're dead. The amps are low, but enough to be lethal.
- kwhitefoot 4y agoSurely the lineman should have isolated the line before working on it. But of course the person connecting the generator is very much at fault for not isolating their house from the network.
- fallingfrog 4y agoYep, 50 to 100 milliamperes can kill, all you need is enough voltage to overcome the resistance of human skin, which is 1 million ohms when dry and a few tens of kohms when wet.