Static electricity

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
Don Farr

Don Farr

Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2009
Messages
134
Location
Dallas, Ga.
This time of year when the air temp. is cold and the air is dry I can't hardly stand to go into my shop. Every time I walk across the floor and touch a piece of grounded equipment the static about buckles my knees.:mad: Do you guys have any cures for this? I have tried running a small humidifier in the shop but it helps very little.
I have worked with electrical equipment most of my adult life (a long time) but can't seem to tolerate that little unexpected "crack":eek:
 
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
Don Farr said:
This time of year when the air temp. is cold and the air is dry I can't hardly stand to go into my shop. Every time I walk across the floor and touch a piece of grounded equipment the static about buckles my knees.:mad: Do you guys have any cures for this? I have tried running a small humidifier in the shop but it helps very little.
I have worked with electrical equipment most of my adult life (a long time) but can't seem to tolerate that little unexpected "crack":eek:
Click to expand...

Back in 1976 I went to work for a company in San Francisco that had a nylon carpet on the office floor. We could shuffle our feet and knock a salesman down with the spark... sales people reached a point they wouldn't shake hands... to counter this I developed a habit of slapping the side of a file cabinet to counter act the sparks... I still do that to this day.

Try slapping a piece of equipment periodically.
 
ozmandus said:
Back in 1976 I went to work for a company in San Francisco that had a nylon carpet on the office floor. We could shuffle our feet and knock a salesman down with the spark... sales people reached a point they wouldn't shake hands... to counter this I developed a habit of slapping the side of a file cabinet to counter act the sparks... I still do that to this day.

Try slapping a piece of equipment periodically.
Click to expand...

Yes, I have tried that and it helps but the one time I forget.....POP..:eek: Maybe I am more sensitive than most folks.

PS it makes me say BAD words.............Like what does a preacher say when he hits his thumb with a hammer?????
 
Last edited:
Don Farr said:
This time of year when the air temp. is cold and the air is dry I can't hardly stand to go into my shop. Every time I walk across the floor and touch a piece of grounded equipment the static about buckles my knees.:mad: Do you guys have any cures for this? I have tried running a small humidifier in the shop but it helps very little.
I have worked with electrical equipment most of my adult life (a long time) but can't seem to tolerate that little unexpected "crack":eek:
Click to expand...


Carry a screw driver/keys (something metal) and touch the equipment with it.....spark will jump from the screw driver etc and not your finger!!!

Barney
 
Don,
I can sympathize about this!
We have a huge sandblaster at work, and if you do not
keep the part on a "grounded" plate inside while blasting,
it builds up static and will arc from the cabinet to your body to discharge.
The darn thing has the big rubber gloves made into the front, so it has you trapped, so to speak.
I have seen the spark jump to my stomach.this one hurts, plus scares the heck out of you.. I say bad words when this happens, too!!:biggrin:
You might try some fabric softener in your clothes, I have to do this in winter,
or i'm constantly zapping myself.
 
In the winter (what winter we have), I keep a dryer lint sheet in my coat pocket....no more static shocks when I get in the truck or go in the office. There might be a solution in there somewhere for you.
 
johnnycnc said:
Don,

You might try some fabric softener in your clothes, I have to do this in winter,
or i'm constantly zapping myself.
Click to expand...

My lady friend suggested fabric softener too. I thought she was nuts, but I will try anything. Hope she don't read this or no fun this weekend.:laugh::laugh:
 
Boy, Don, that surprises me to hear that, from Georgia! What are you, 50% humidity when it's bone dry?!!! You oughta try Colorado out sometime, how about 10-20% if it gets real humid? Check with Ernie at Bear Tooth or Ed Davidson down in "The Jungle" and see if they have any sympathy for ya!

Seriously, we live in an arid state, and I don't remember ever getting shocked in my shop. I have to wonder what else you have going on in there...

Hope you find a cure!

Dale
 
I was going to post something earlier, but I figured you would think I was kidding!

They make an aerosol version of the fabric softner, works pretty good too. Just remember a little goes a looooong way. It also has a slight odor to it. I never figured out which was worse, the smell or the zaps!
 
A good brand of fabric sprayed on the carpet - assuming you have carpet down - will stop the static. However, over a period of time the floor or carpet will get slick as glass from the build up so be careful of 'slip and falls.'

I however cannot imagine why you would even have carpet in the shop??
 
Don Farr said:
Yes, I have tried that and it helps but the one time I forget.....POP..:eek: Maybe I am more sensitive than most folks.

PS it makes me say BAD words.............Like what does a preacher say when he hits his thumb with a hammer?????
Click to expand...

You get popped often enough, I was getting popped every 15 minutes in SF, so I just learned to slap the file cabinet every time I went near it... never broke the habit, still do it today. People in Houston thought I was eccentric or nuts or something, we had tile floors and I still slapped the file cabinet before I opened it.:rolleyes:

My grandfather always said of those words, you're only saying your Sunday school lessons.. :biggrin:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom