The Expanse is being turned into an RPG | Circuit Breaker Parts

But if the power supply isn’t made for the 110-120 volt market, then yes, this can be a legit concern.

Anyone “hacking” an appliance that can literally burn down your house, voids any safety certifications the appliance was manufactured with. The insurance company would ‘probably’ have the option of simply denying any claims arising from a fire caused by the hacked appliance. This is speculation since I’m not an attorney, but it would be prudent to consult with a knowledgeable agent before undertaking any such projects. My policy specifically excludes “events” as a result of deliberate modification of appliances that the manufacturer of said appliance has not authorized.

Our heat pump works in conjunction with a gas furnace for the days when it drops below maybe 35f outside

hmm, not sure why my comment went in the wrong place. looked like it was in the [ GuruBuckaroo] comment, when I pecked it in. The “unusual sensation” quip was spot on & funny!

I started my hacking adventures decades ago with vacuum tubes and high voltages, and have to say that this is an excellent and important article. I’m not sure of the country of the author, but one piece of translation for those just getting started. The “Residual Current Circuit Breaker” here in the U.S. is called a “Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter”; but, provides the same protection. Another more recent protection innovation is called the Arc Fault interrupter and actually contains DSP type circuitry to determine if a dangerous arc is present on the line. Flipping a light switch or running a small motor creates an arc; but, the AFCI can tell the difference between that source and a frayed power wire that could overheat and start a fire. The largest voltage I’ve ever worked on was an amateur radio linear amplifier that ran 2600 VDC @ 600 ma for the finals, which brings me to the main point of this post. One additional rule: Always keep one hand in your pocket or one finger hooked in a belt loop. While it makes handling equipment more tricky, it keeps the power from having a path across your chest, which is also across the heart and lungs, which are electrically operated and can be severely damaged or stopped. BTW, I love the image of the sign/sticker in this article which hit’s the nail right on the proverbial head.

At the end of the day all power supplies deserve respect, not least because they’re more likely to kill you by burning your house down than through electrocution.

One of the best demonstrations I’ve ever seen, was at the Dayton hamvention. DP&L (Dayton Power & Light) set up several short poles with standard 7200 to 220 center tap transformers. By back feeding the secondaries with 220 from the breaker box, they could energize the 7200 lines and began demonstration what happens when you encounter these wires with numerous items. Antenna masts, kite strings, and even a hot dog were used to show the immense power available, and the audience was always suitably impressed.

A couple months back I ran across a note in the datasheet for an inexpensive but reputably sourced power MOSFET that said that, while the die itself was rated for 200A continuous/400A peak the package and its leads were only rated for 125A/250A. So I said to myself “I wonder what the mode of failure looks like?” And built up a circuit to drive it to failure in a controlled manner. It was fairly spectacular: 1) the thermal expansion rate of the die doesn’t match that of the package and once you exceed some wattage tension builds up and (at least in the case of my particular DUT) the chip package literally exploded sending shards of epoxy and/or ceramic flying far and wide. 2) with the die now exposed in several areas and the connection to the heatsink thoroughly hosed by the explosion of the package things devolved rapidly and the magic blue smoke escapes (which smells very bad, FYI, and takes a while to fully purge that smell from the workshop).

I’ve had 240v shocks about half-a-dozen times, but the two that I recall were both back in the 80s, and were a) trying to fix a set of disco rope lights whilst they were intermittently working, and b) replacing the panel fuse in my CB PSU that I’d removed and hidden to stop my sister using my rig. Both of them involved my subsequent launching of the equipment across the room, accompanied by some suitable profanities.

However, there’s a reason we use 12V and 24V heated beds – they give us, at the very least, the illusion of safety. Therefore, [Makertum] is looking for a few comments from specialists and people who know what they’re doing.

The guy on final test stood on a rubber block but still used to get blown across the floor once a month

120V comes with a nice plug (NEMA 5-15P) that is smaller than EU’s and you can fit more of them onto a power bar. There are always two outlets in a wall receptacle. Unless you have wet fingers, 120V won’t kill you (usually). Ask most kids that stuck things in the wall outlet and have lived to tell their tale… it is very common. Aluminum wire for branch circuits in homes was all but banned three decades ago or more. I think you have embellished things a bit. Look up the history why Europe went 50 Hz, instead of a higher frequency like 60 Hz… your lower 50 Hz results in heavier transformer cores. Find out why Japan is 100V, and the country is split 50/60 Hz! There is always politics, and not pure technical reasons.