I keep getting shocked!

[rudeguy]

FARK!

I fix stuff, so I'm used to dealing with electricity and being safe but I can't fix this. I have a desoldering gun and a soldering iron that I use all the time at work. Sometimes if solder is being mean, I have to use them both at the same time. A good amount of the time after I put them back in their holders, POP I get shocked.

Its for sure a discharge coming from me, not me getting shocked from touching something live. What the hell could cause this? No bare wires, both are ESD safe. WHAT IS PUTTING JUICE THROUGH ME?

The last one was big enough that I'm a bit scurred.

 

[Anubis]

static?

 

[dighn]

spray water on yourself every 5 minutes. your welcome.

or wear grounding straps. winter air is dry, static builds up from your clothing and you become a big capacitor.

 

[Puppies04]

The fumes from years of soldering have given you super powers, you full abilities should kick in a few weeks after you die from solder fume poisoning.

 

[rudeguy]

static?

from what though?

This is more than what you would get if you take off your coat and then touch a doorknob. If I was braver, I would go do it again but grab the voltmeter.

I also really want to turn off all the lights then do it.

 

[jaedaliu]

spray water on yourself every 5 minutes. your welcome.

or wear grounding straps. winter air is dry, static builds up from your clothing and you become a big capacitor.

and work on an anti-static mat.

 

[Puppies04]

On a serious note just get one of those ESD wristbands and clip onto something grounded.

 

[dighn]

and work on an anti-static mat.

seriously what are you doing with a soldering iron without proper ESD protection?

from what though?

This is more than what you would get if you take off your coat and then touch a doorknob. If I was braver, I would go do it again but grab the voltmeter.

I also really want to turn off all the lights then do it.

clothing can generate a lot of static. if you happen to be well insulated from ground, all those charges can build up.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Watch out for your cornhole, bud.

 

[Anubis]

from what though?

This is more than what you would get if you take off your coat and then touch a doorknob. If I was braver, I would go do it again but grab the voltmeter.

I also really want to turn off all the lights then do it.

anything, i sit at my desk and if i move my feet and touch my keyboard i shock it, it actually rebooted my comp the other day, happens even if i have my shoes on

the humidifier goes through like 6 gallons a day and it still happens

 

[rudeguy]

seriously what are you doing with a soldering iron without proper ESD protection?

Oh no...everything is ESD protected. Sorry I wasn't clear.

So after I do my soldering thing, I put both iron and gun back in their holders. So that is all good. But the next metal thing I touch, I get zapped. The only current going through the board is < 560 mAh.

 

[IronWing]

All the positive energy you are putting into this forum has created an imbalance in your body leading to negative discharges.

 

[rudeguy]

anything, i sit at my desk and if i move my feet and touch my keyboard i shock it, it actually rebooted my comp the other day, happens even if i have my shoes on

the humidifier goes through like 6 gallons a day and it still happens

Can you do it again. And post a youtube link?

I think it might be time to find a way to do some time of anti static thing for me. I move around a ton though, so I can't be clipped to anything. Do they make ESD socks?

 

[rudeguy]

clothing can generate a lot of static. if you happen to be well insulated from ground, all those charges can build up.

I think you are right. I wear a fleece nearly every day and its for sure dry as shit.

But that doesn't explain why this only happens and happens this badly when I use those two tools at once. I want to go poking around to figure it out but I'm seriously afraid of getting nailed again.

That hurt!

 

[jaedaliu]

Can you do it again. And post a youtube link?

I think it might be time to find a way to do some time of anti static thing for me. I move around a ton though, so I can't be clipped to anything. Do they make ESD socks?

Kind of. You can work on an anti-static floor mat and wear an ankle strap.

Clipping on and off is a small cost compared to the heart attacks you're having and the potential of spending a lot of time figuring out which chip is bad / replacing boards because of small shocks.

 

[destrekor]

Also, some devices, just due to the way they operate, especially in the winter with extremely dry air, can develop a little bit of an external charge.

Ever hear of helicopters and planes developing static? It's basically all the time, and you have to be careful about not grounding it through your body as it's touching down.

Very different concept, but the idea is the same - a device or something can help develop a differential but it is isolated from ground for whatever reason, so that differential only builds/continues to exist - it likely never gets a chance to dissipate/ground. That is, until you ground it. Since you are almost surely isolated from ground due to rubber soles, you and the device are one. When you ground the device, it and you are both being grounded and together shed the differential.

Is there any kind of moving pieces in those? Or some kind of electromagnetic component? Or do they only do their trick by pushing electrons through coiled wire?

 

[dighn]

I think you are right. I wear a fleece nearly every day and its for sure dry as shit.

But that doesn't explain why this only happens and happens this badly when I use those two tools at once. I want to go poking around to figure it out but I'm seriously afraid of getting nailed again.

That hurt!

i hate static and ground myself religiously using parts that are not likely to hurt (e.g. back of my hand or wrist watch). are you wearing a grounded strap at all times? if you are then you cannot be the source of the static. it may be that those tools somehow develop a charge over time like destrkor said.

 

[Anubis]

Can you do it again. And post a youtube link?

I think it might be time to find a way to do some time of anti static thing for me. I move around a ton though, so I can't be clipped to anything. Do they make ESD socks?

id rather not, i dont wanny fry something

 

[rudeguy]

i hate static and ground myself religiously using parts that are not likely to hurt (e.g. back of my hand or wrist watch). are you wearing a grounded strap at all times? if you are then you cannot be the source of the static. it may be that those tools somehow develop a charge over time like destrkor said.

If it happened other when I used those two together, I could believe that I am the source. I never wear grounding straps though and its never been an issue before.

I know both the soldering iron (x-tronic 5040) and the desoldering gun (Aoyue 474a) are both ESD safe. But maybe because they are esd safe, the board has a little charge and I have some charge, it makes a perfect storm for static?

By the way....does anyone know exactly how much electricity would have to go through a bullet to set it off? Asking for a friend of course.

 

[dighn]

If it happened other when I used those two together, I could believe that I am the source. I never wear grounding straps though and its never been an issue before.

it's hard to say exactly what's going on without seeing your environment and sequence of actions. maybe it's the desoldering gun. do you ever use it by itself? maybe it's better grounded so it provides a better discharge path, or maybe it's imbuing a static charge on you somehow. best way to check is to keep yourself grounded and see if it still happens.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Is this a static shock or an actual electric shock? If it's an actual electric shock maybe you got an outlet that's reverse polarity or a bad ground or something and there's a potential between the two soldering irons, or perhaps between the soldering iron and the station, so when you touch it you get zapped.

Take a volt meter and start testing different points to see if you get a voltage.

 

[Scotteq]

from what though?.

It's from the knitted alpaca wool ball warmers you're using to protect The Boyz from the polar vortex.


Edit for pictorial Justice

 

[rudeguy]

It's from the knitted alpaca wool ball warmers you're using to protect The Boyz from the polar vortex.

They are nice and warm. Probably somewhere near my spleen.

 

[tortillasoup]

You have to raise the room humidity above 10-15% to stop these static discharges. Either stop heating the room so much or use a humidifier. Maybe even a little waterfall running the background would aerate enough water into the air to raise the humidity. I bet the room temperature is well above 68F.

 

[Thebobo]

Stop posting here like its facebook?