Why Charging Phones Take Victims

Neckless Steve kghghgm... Sory Steve...

Hi George. In the UK, what is referred to in North America as a GFCI is called over here a Residual Current Device, better known as an RCD. They are normally fitted at the main distribution box in a residence. RCDs fitted in electrical sockets can be found, but it is much more common to see them fitted as a plug either for extension leads (usually with multiple outlets) or on devices where there is a higher than normal risk of electrocution like an electric lawnmower. It's extremely rare to find a standard mains electric socket in a bathroom or other wet room in the UK due to strict standards concerning them so RCDs here aren't usually an issue.

I don't get what we see when you measure things between the scope and the charger. If it's floating, what AC voltage are we looking at? and what's flowing through you when you short them (so the amplitude change)?

"in the Netherlands we have earth leakage circuit breakers in the main fuse box" How do you reset it when your heated robot butt sprayer trips it? That's the problem. Do you guys really walk all the way to main fuse box from the bathroom? Reaching under the toilet to unplug the butt sprayer and reset the gfci is inconvenient enough, I sort of wish I had the outlet mounted higher but I chose esthetics over practicality and mounted it below the toilet tank to hide the power cord.

It's like You and Big Clive are having a race to see who can get 6-feet under by electrocuting themselves in potentially fatally ways on purpose.

Hi, here in the Netherlands we have earth leakage circuit breakers in the main fuse box. The sockets in the bathroom must have an earth wire by law and must be a specific distance away from water usage. The distance is specified in zones.

I tried to find a European equivalent to an American GFCI by searching images for European GFCI. I did not find any pics of a drop in replacement for an existing non protected outlet, which is the norm in the US (although stuffing one into a small electrical box with all the wires can be a challenge). Are GFCIs rare in Europe, I can't remember ever seeing one in person or pictures. If they are rare in 220V Europe how come they aren't constantly electrocuting themselves? Maybe GFCIs are not that useful. BTW, I searched images on European Bathroom and American Bathroom. The wall outlets were all in pics of bathrooms from the home of the free and the land of the brave. I mean I have wall outlet at the base of my toilet for my robot toilet seat butt sprayer, pics of European bathrooms there is an overhead light, and that's it. Why am I so obsessed about this?

A non-isolated charger does not pose a hazard as long as there is no path for the mains voltage to become connected to ground. The phone will charge fine if there is a 5V DC differential between the two charge wires, it doesn't matter if that one line is at 217.5V and the other at 222.5V. Only when some other part of the phone circuit becomes connected to 0V, then it will be destroyed by the current that starts flowing. If such phone has an electrically conductive casing (unlikely because this would hamper signal reception) then you could get electrocuted when holding it while it is being charged, while with your other hand you touch some object that provides a good ground connection. Obviously if you drop the phone in water and then pick it up again, the risk is pretty high that the water will form a conductive path between the charger lines and your body.

Alexander Thomas

I don't understand how a phone charger is not isolated. Wouldn't a cellphone be destroyed if it were exposed to 220VAC mains current due to non isolation? Wouldn't the battery explode? Maybe you can get a hold of some of these devices and do a video testing them to destruction. I could see a charger failing instantaneously while being used by a bather and electrocuting the bather, but I have trouble believing a cellphone charger could not be isolated and still function as a 5v DC charger. Are lamposts mounted in the ground grounded? Here is a video that claims a child was electrocuted touching a lampost. Can you explain why the current went through the child to ground rather than through the metal pole to ground? Kid electrocuted when touching a light pole <a href="https://www.liveleak.com/view?t=kvnQA_1551730016" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.liveleak.com/view?t=kvnQA_1551730016</a> and another: Six-year-old Boy Electrocuted to Death <a href="https://www.liveleak.com/view?t=snvOD_1550093086" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.liveleak.com/view?t=snvOD_1550093086</a> 12 year old student electrocuted by touching pole in flood <a href="https://www.liveleak.com/view?t=a7N9F_1536198568" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.liveleak.com/view?t=a7N9F_1536198568</a>

Thumbs up!

takes victims. (s to takes). Or takes lives is a more common form.

Facundo Sosa-Rey

It is ok to have the heater in the shower, as long as the heating element doesn't expose the live wire. Like in electric stoves.

ElectroBOOM [Mehdi Sadaghdar]

I've heard in some countries it is on the main house breakers, maybe that's the case

ElectroBOOM [Mehdi Sadaghdar]

:D no! but I didn't feel anything. As I tested before it, live wire in the water directly is not painful.

ElectroBOOM [Mehdi Sadaghdar]

Another great video!

Professor Kroog

Nowadays most brands sells electric showers compatible with GFCI, with armored resistances.

In Brazil the electric shower is the only shower 99% of the population have. One of the most popular brands is Lorenzetti. <a href="http://www.lorenzetti.com.br/pt/Detalhes_Produto.aspx?id=1540" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://www.lorenzetti.com.br/pt/Detalhes_Produto.aspx?id=1540.</a>

I don't really know about buying unprotected electronics in France, but we don't have GFCI, at least not directly on the outlets.

I know that you are a professional, but I jumped when I saw the outlet drop into the bathtub! Was your GFCI hooked up to GFCI?

Vegasguy

That's true. We can buy something unprotected easily in Russia. And most of old houses don't have gfci.