GFCI, wet electric tool safety

[B B <blb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Kaaron,

When in doubt follow all safety guidelines rigorously. I work with a
level of risk matching my level of vigilance and quality of tools and
so on. These comments lean towards the risky side, so use your own
judgment.

I have used grinders without GFI devices in very wet conditions and
haven't experienced any dangerous situations. However non conductive
shoes (rubber soles or ordinary sport shoes for example) are important
in case you do touch something electrically hot. And you can wear
rubber gloves too. Always keep in mind how you can quickly shut off the
power in an  emergency. Be real sure that the equipment that you are
using is designed well and is in good condition. If you have doubts put
an electrical tester on any conductive (metal) part of a tool to make
sure there is no electrical charge. Use 3 prong plugs so the tool case
can be grounded if it is so designed.

Ground fault mechanisms (GFCI) can be a nuisance with electric motors
because the mechanisms may fault out too easily. Personally I don't use
GFI's if I can avoid it with ordinary 120 volts. (240 volts is another
matter and is much more dangerous).

Use your own judgment, but in my opinion the danger of serious injury
using electrical equipment around water isn't as bad as it may seem. I
would say that lack of eye, ear, and lung protection is far greater
risk.

However, I am a bit of a risk taker with grinders such as no guard and
floating saw blades on their sides. You have to decide how safe and
conservative you prefer to work. If you are not 99 99/100 sure you can
avoid injury then it is not worth it.

Just my two cents,

Bill

On Friday, February 21, 2003, at 08:54  AM, Kaaron wrote: