>I was in such a
>hurry to poke Roy in the ribs that I did not fully contemplate the situation
>before getting mouthy. As for that (as little as 1/1000th of an amp to
>ground will cause it to trip).
I can understand your hurry before somebody else grabbed the chance to
catch Roy, but he does give plenty of chances ;~)
The .001 amp sounds right. I believe that's the level of current
through the heart that can cause damage if sustained. And .01 amps I
believe was instant death. Its been awhile since I learned the numbers
and really don't like the idea of testing them.
>Your explaination sheds a little light on why it is so difficult to use a GFI on
>a magnetic load such as a transformer or flourescent ballast.
I had an electric razor that kept tripping the GFI when ever the cord
was giggled. I hated it when I went to shave after supposedly charging
it up only to find a dead battery and a tripped GFI.
>ps. can we talk about fish now?
I really wished I had one on a tank full of goldfish when the glass
broke and the florescent light fell in. I was one of those fixtures
with the ballast on the cord an not in the fixture. The breaker didn't
trip and all the fish had cooked for 2 days. The water was actually
boiling, with big, bloated, cooked goldfish bouncing around. The smell
was horrendous and drove me right back out ;~)
Later
Cary Hostrawser
Minnesota Aquarium Society
http://www.mn-aquarium.org/
Rainbowfish Study Group of North America
http://home.earthlink.net/~sbuckel/index.html