A Shocking Statistic

Not shocking like surprised, shocking like an electrical shock.  Here's the fun fact (not really a statistic): I've been shocked more times in my first month as a farmer (at least 4 separate occasions) than I ever did as an electrical engineer (none, that I can remember).  Yesterday's shock was the worst yet, but let me back up and tell about the first few.

The first one was also my first time to feel what the cattle feel when they get too close to an electric fence.  I had just fad the cattle at the Ranch, and I was closing the gate where I had driven the tractor and feed wagon in and out of the lot.  There was a wire that had some cracked insulation that was allowing it to short to a chain that was hanging too close to it.  That was the chain I was using to secure the gate.  The electric fence only is charged for a short burst about every second, so when I grabbed the chain, the jolt wasn't immediate. It came a half second later and it scared me as much as it hurt.  I'm glad I was alone that time; I let out quite a yelp.

The second shock was actually on purpose.  I was supposed to test the electric fence that ran around the pasture. Now the best way to test an electric fence is to use a non-metal-handled tool (such as a screwdriver), move it close to the electrified wire and watch for a spark.  I didn't have a screwdriver.  All I had were my all-metal pliers; no good for this application.  At the time, I was pretty sure that the fence wasn't working; a calf had climbed through the fence about ten minutes prior. I was testing a different part of the fence, but it's all connected, right?  Yes, actually... I put a finger on the fence to prove to myself it wasn't working.  I was wrong. And right. The shock was very mild, but it was there. Later that day, Doug found and fixed where the fence was shorting (and thus reducing the intensity).  So, all in all, that one was anti-climactic.

The third came on that day it was raining during chores (see: Soaked).  One of the ingredients of the cattle feed is a liquid that gets pumped out of a tank daily.  The particular pump I was using that day needs a new switch wired for it; but in the mean time, you can just plug and unplug the pump. Turns out, the plug needs rewired too. It's one of those where you have to make sure the wire is "just so" for the pump to get power.  It's actually a simple process to get the wires adjusted correctly to get continuity. Except in the rain. The wet plug mixed with the poor wiring lend to getting shocked, and then having to get shocked again to make those adjustments, and possibly more when you unplug the pump.  So the third shock was actually a series of three or four shocks. 120 volts; 60 Hz.

The fourth, worst, and latest came yesterday. Chad and I were trouble shooting the automatic feeding system in the hog nursery (a pretty ingenious feed system, if you ask me).  The controllers for the motors that run the feeders were burnt out by what we believe to be a voltage spike that came from the power company (they may or may not own up to it), and Dustin had been turning the motors on and off manually to get by until the controllers got fixed. However, he was gone over the weekend, so I was doing his chores. I left to motors on too long and burned some things up.  Ok; back to the trouble shooting. I had fixed one of those controllers and was working on installing it while we were trying to figure out what was going on with the burnt stuff.  The breaker didn't get turned off one time and I got hit with 240 volts.  OW.  I gave out a yelp similar but louder to the one following the first shock, but this time Chad was close by.  He didn't chuckle; this wasn't like an electric fence that's made to not kill when it shocks.  240 volts will more than wake you up.  It just got me in the fingers, luckily, but THAT'll teach me to be careful messing with wires like that!

In the future, I'll be more aware of the high voltage around me.  I'll avoid the stuff that can kill, and that fence won't catch me off guard the next time (even if I do get a zap).