Re: [MBZ] Block heater pyrotechnics
Kris Gilmore wrote: Electrocution, BS. Fixing a break in a 120V AC cord is about as far from rocket science as it gets. And it is easy to test. Fixing it is easy. Fixing it so it'll be waterproof is harder. If it's not waterproof, it won't stay fixed for long. That said, this is a three-prong cord, and I assume the ground prong is bonded to the car chassis. There shouldn't be any electrocution risk as long as you plug it into a grounded outlet.
Re: [MBZ] Block heater pyrotechnics
Liquid electrical tape or heat shrink tubing make very nice water tight connections. Mike - Original Message - From: David Brodbeck [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Mercedes mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, December 12, 2005 8:05 PM Subject: Re: [MBZ] Block heater pyrotechnics Kris Gilmore wrote: Electrocution, BS. Fixing a break in a 120V AC cord is about as far from rocket science as it gets. And it is easy to test. Fixing it is easy. Fixing it so it'll be waterproof is harder. If it's not waterproof, it won't stay fixed for long. That said, this is a three-prong cord, and I assume the ground prong is bonded to the car chassis. There shouldn't be any electrocution risk as long as you plug it into a grounded outlet. ___ For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://striplin.net/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_striplin.net
Re: [MBZ] Block heater pyrotechnics
Naa, just a tickle. !20V grounded through a person to the Mississippi river will get said person's attention, but it is not generally fatal. I knew a guy who ran a hardware store. He kept a cord with bare wires. He would hold one wire in each hand to show people it is only a tickle. He would regularly challenge disbelievers to take the wires in their bare hands. Boy oh boy, is this bum advice. The cost of that cord is inconsequential. From the description it's clear that the insulation has worn through after all those years and patching it together to save pennies is nuts. Suppose you plugged it in and suddenly you have 120V AC standing on the car's chassis, just waiting for someone to touch it. Can you spell electrocution? RLE
Re: [MBZ] Block heater pyrotechnics
On Mon, 12 Dec 2005 21:19:47 -0600 Loren Faeth [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Naa, just a tickle. !20V grounded through a person to the Mississippi river will get said person's attention, but it is not generally fatal. I knew a guy who ran a hardware store. He kept a cord with bare wires. He would hold one wire in each hand to show people it is only a tickle. He would regularly challenge disbelievers to take the wires in their bare hands. That fellow with the hardware store was very foolish and very fortunate to be alive. That trick will work ONLY with VERY DRY and VERY CLEAN hands. The slightest amount of moisture on his hands and he would have been a goner. Your statement about the person in the Mississippi is also very wrong. It only takes 0.01 ampere through your heart to cause it to go into fibrilation. Without timely, competent medical treatment, you WILL DIE. Please DO NOT play around with electricity -- it can be very dangerous. And I say this not as someone who is afraid of electricity, but as one who has been an electrical engineer in industry and now a physicist for over 30 years. Craig
Re: [MBZ] Block heater pyrotechnics
Gee! I must have been dead for 37 years and never noticed!One hand on the galvanized tin on the boathouse, where a wire was in contact with the tin when the light was on. I didn't measure amps, but It did get my attention. Can I collect back social security death benefits? Might be enough to buy a Kleb car! At 10:05 PM 12/12/2005, you wrote: On Mon, 12 Dec 2005 21:19:47 -0600 Loren Faeth [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Naa, just a tickle. !20V grounded through a person to the Mississippi river will get said person's attention, but it is not generally fatal. I knew a guy who ran a hardware store. He kept a cord with bare wires. He would hold one wire in each hand to show people it is only a tickle. He would regularly challenge disbelievers to take the wires in their bare hands. That fellow with the hardware store was very foolish and very fortunate to be alive. That trick will work ONLY with VERY DRY and VERY CLEAN hands. The slightest amount of moisture on his hands and he would have been a goner. Your statement about the person in the Mississippi is also very wrong. It only takes 0.01 ampere through your heart to cause it to go into fibrilation. Without timely, competent medical treatment, you WILL DIE. Please DO NOT play around with electricity -- it can be very dangerous. And I say this not as someone who is afraid of electricity, but as one who has been an electrical engineer in industry and now a physicist for over 30 years. Craig ___ For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://striplin.net/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_striplin.net
Re: [MBZ] Block heater pyrotechnics
Naa, just a tickle. !20V grounded through a person to the Mississippi river will get said person's attention, but it is not generally fatal. I knew a guy who ran a hardware store. He kept a cord with bare wires. He would hold one wire in each hand to show people it is only a tickle. He would regularly challenge disbelievers to take the wires in their bare hands. Not I! I notice 120V more than that, for sure. Just this weekend I was careless while diagnosing our downstairs cooking range, and managed to run a little 120 through myself. Did not enjoy it, no. (Yes, I know you're supposed to kill the power before grabbing a screwdriver, but I was trying to find out why it didn't seem to be getting power. Well, it was. On one leg.) I generally don't screw around with this stuff, but it's not rocket science either. A repair job on a power cord is just about the simplest job there is, but that doesn't mean it's for everyone. But, extending our abilities is a large part of what this list is about. -- Jim
Re: [MBZ] Block heater pyrotechnics
That could end up one hell of a catastrophe about time the doubter 's pacemaker went poof StupidReally, really stupid. Mike - Original Message - From: Loren Faeth [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Mercedes mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, December 12, 2005 10:19 PM Subject: Re: [MBZ] Block heater pyrotechnics Naa, just a tickle. !20V grounded through a person to the Mississippi river will get said person's attention, but it is not generally fatal. I knew a guy who ran a hardware store. He kept a cord with bare wires. He would hold one wire in each hand to show people it is only a tickle. He would regularly challenge disbelievers to take the wires in their bare hands. Boy oh boy, is this bum advice. The cost of that cord is inconsequential. From the description it's clear that the insulation has worn through after all those years and patching it together to save pennies is nuts. Suppose you plugged it in and suddenly you have 120V AC standing on the car's chassis, just waiting for someone to touch it. Can you spell electrocution? RLE ___ For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://striplin.net/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_striplin.net
Re: [MBZ] Block heater pyrotechnics
On Tue, 13 Dec 2005 05:50:10 + LT Don [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: You must be really old! I always thought you were about my age or younger. I'm 55. How old are you? Craig
Re: [MBZ] Block heater pyrotechnics
I agree. While I certainly don't RECOMMEND getting shocked with any amount of electricity, I would say that there's a good probability you're not going to die from it. (that said, you never know for sure, especially if it's passing through your heart...) My uncle once had a trailer that he just ran some quick power to with an extension cord or something and somehow screwed up cause I went to the door and touched the metal side. YOWCH. Also I somehow was messing with a christmas light set (the old ones that ran 120v to the bulbs) and stuck my finger in the socket. YOW! I'm sure I've done it one or two other times as well (at least) And of course that doesn't count the occasional touching of the electric fence... (: Levi On 12/13/05, Loren Faeth [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: it is not advisable for people with pacemakers to play with 120v. It also helps to have callouses on your fingers. Almost all the patrons of said hardware store were farmers with calloused fingers. Burkie would not let you grab the wires if your fingers were wet. Worst zap I ever got was one leg of 440 in the basement of the Turtle Bay HIlton while kneeling in a puddle of water. That got my attention! I had taken all the precautions available, but was nervous about the water. Needless to say, I took even more precautions while finishing the job. I am not advocating being stupid. A couple of guys I have known have been electrocuted. I AM saying that 120v with dry skin and rubber/plastic soled shoes is not the mortal shock some are advocating, (unless you have a pacemaker.) It is just introducing a bit of perspective into the discussion of replacing cords. I am very cautious around electricity. My point is only that if you take proper precautions, such as wearing rubber soled shoes and keeping your feet dry, most contact with low voltage is not fatal, and nothing to get hysterical about. If a new cord was used and routed over a wear/abrasion point, it is just as possible that it could theoretically pass 120 V to the chassis (after a period of time) as a repaired cord. A properly repaired cord is not a death sentence. At 07:05 AM 12/13/2005, you wrote: That could end up one hell of a catastrophe about time the doubter 's pacemaker went poof StupidReally, really stupid. Mike - Original Message - From: Loren Faeth [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Mercedes mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, December 12, 2005 10:19 PM Subject: Re: [MBZ] Block heater pyrotechnics Naa, just a tickle. !20V grounded through a person to the Mississippi river will get said person's attention, but it is not generally fatal. I knew a guy who ran a hardware store. He kept a cord with bare wires. He would hold one wire in each hand to show people it is only a tickle. He would regularly challenge disbelievers to take the wires in their bare hands. Boy oh boy, is this bum advice. The cost of that cord is inconsequential. From the description it's clear that the insulation has worn through after all those years and patching it together to save pennies is nuts. Suppose you plugged it in and suddenly you have 120V AC standing on the car's chassis, just waiting for someone to touch it. Can you spell electrocution? RLE ___ For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://striplin.net/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_striplin.net ___ For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://striplin.net/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_striplin.net ___ For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://striplin.net/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_striplin.net -- It isn't what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about. -Dale Carnegie
Re: [MBZ] Block heater pyrotechnics
Two years behind you. On 12/13/05, Craig McCluskey [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On Tue, 13 Dec 2005 05:50:10 + LT Don [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: You must be really old! I always thought you were about my age or younger. I'm 55. How old are you? Craig ___ For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://striplin.net/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_striplin.net -- 1977 240D 1972 Honda CB-500K motorcycle http://www.airamericaradio.com/listen
Re: [MBZ] Block heater pyrotechnics
My uncle once had a trailer that he just ran some quick power to with an extension cord or something and somehow screwed up cause I went to the door and touched the metal side. YOWCH. That was _our_ trailer when I was a kid! Was never properly grounded somehow (my dad wasn't that great with wiring as it turns out), and for _years_ you had to remember to jump up when opening the front door if you were barefoot and it was damp outside. -- Jim
[MBZ] Block heater pyrotechnics
Well, a good eyeball examination is usually wise before spending the money. It may be that you can patch up the existing cord, somebody could well have yanked hard on it and cut into the insulation on a sharpish edge of sheet metal. Cutting the cord there and splicing it back together properly could be all that's required. So long as the end that plugs into the engine is OK, the rest is just Hardware Store 101. That and an ohmmeter to verify that the heating element itself is not open or shorted Boy oh boy, is this bum advice. The cost of that cord is inconsequential. From the description it's clear that the insulation has worn through after all those years and patching it together to save pennies is nuts. Suppose you plugged it in and suddenly you have 120V AC standing on the car's chassis, just waiting for someone to touch it. Can you spell electrocution? RLE
Re: [MBZ] Block heater pyrotechnics
Boy oh boy, is this bum advice. The cost of that cord is inconsequential. The cost is not huge, no. (Though it is a significant percentage of the cost of that car.) The _point_ of the advice, however, is not inconsequential. Before just throwing money at a problem, it is wise to actually diagnose the condition. For example, had I bought a new cord for the Chicken Wagon's very strange (and multiplex) block heater system it would have been a total waste of money. In fact, the block heater element was burnt out, so a new cord would be useless even though the old cord was quite obviously a total mess. The new element itself came with a new cord. From the description it's clear that the insulation has worn through after all those years and patching it together to save pennies is nuts. Suppose you plugged it in and suddenly you have 120V AC standing on the car's chassis, just waiting for someone to touch it. Can you spell electrocution? No supposition about it. If my advice is followed, there is absolutely no risk whatsoever, because you've totally examined the situation and have not done anything that is unsafe. Nor have you left unexamined any part of the system that _could_ be unsafe. If you do not feel qualified to repair simple wiring, you should not try to repair simple wiring. That's a no-brainer. But if you _are_, why not save the money for something more necessary? Advice traded here is among competent adults who are assumed capable of evaluating their own abilities and acting accordingly. Not children. Do you think that I was crazy to have replaced the three stranded 10ga wires in my home furnace that had oxidized, overheated, and burned out. Total cost: nil, I had a roll of suitable wire. Should I have ordered a new furnace instead? How do I know that it won't explode instantly when it's turned on, the old furnace at least has proven itself to be safe and reliable over 30 years. Humph. -- Jim
Re: [MBZ] Block heater pyrotechnics
My experience here in the north (at least compared to most of you folks) is that the cord usually fails in one of two places. 1. The end with the plug where you plug it into the extension cord because it is handled the most and hangs out of the car. Replacing the plug may be an option but often the wire is corroded back a way and you don't have a lot of cord to permit you to shorten it. I did use a chunk of cord and reconnect under the hood on a 97 Mercury Sable that we had as a stop gap measure until we could get a replacement cord. 2. The other end where it plugs into the socket on the block heater at the engine. I don't know whether it is the heat or not but I suspect that to be the cause. Often the rubber plug will deteriorate to the point where that end shorts out. It ususally (at least in my experience) does not harm the block heater and a new cord will correct the problem. Generally, one is better off to get a cord at the dealer as it is usually longer than those offered in the afermarket. A long cord is good as it allows one to tie it back out of the way and snake it through to the grill and out by the bumper somewhere so that the hood need not be opened to use it. Remember to tuck it back in under the hood before going through the car wash. Randy -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, December 12, 2005 12:06 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [MBZ] Block heater pyrotechnics Well, a good eyeball examination is usually wise before spending the money. It may be that you can patch up the existing cord, somebody could well have yanked hard on it and cut into the insulation on a sharpish edge of sheet metal. Cutting the cord there and splicing it back together properly could be all that's required. So long as the end that plugs into the engine is OK, the rest is just Hardware Store 101. That and an ohmmeter to verify that the heating element itself is not open or shorted Boy oh boy, is this bum advice. The cost of that cord is inconsequential. From the description it's clear that the insulation has worn through after all those years and patching it together to save pennies is nuts. Suppose you plugged it in and suddenly you have 120V AC standing on the car's chassis, just waiting for someone to touch it. Can you spell electrocution? RLE ___ For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://striplin.net/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_striplin.net
Re: [MBZ] Block heater pyrotechnics
At 03:05 PM 12/12/2005, Jim C and then RLE wrote: Well, a good eyeball examination is usually wise before spending the money. It may be that you can patch up the existing cord, somebody could well have yanked hard on it and cut into the insulation on a sharpish edge of sheet metal. Cutting the cord there and splicing it back together properly could be all that's required. So long as the end that plugs into the engine is OK, the rest is just Hardware Store 101. That and an ohmmeter to verify that the heating element itself is not open or shorted Boy oh boy, is this bum advice. The cost of that cord is inconsequential. From the description it's clear that the insulation has worn through after all those years and patching it together to save pennies is nuts. Suppose you plugged it in and suddenly you have 120V AC standing on the car's chassis, just waiting for someone to touch it. Can you spell electrocution? Electrocution, BS. Fixing a break in a 120V AC cord is about as far from rocket science as it gets. And it is easy to test. Dave Gilmore, Cameron WV Real robots roam.
