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Are you by chance an electrician? My father was and I think that I remember him saying the same thing.
Regardless of whether it was the voltage or amps that killed her, you should never use anything electrical around water. Things can happen and you don't want to end up as a case in a 'wierd ways to die' article.
Electrical Engineer with many decades of hands on experience.
Electrical Engineer with many decades of hands on experience.
Her dad was an electrician and you are an electrical engineer..Here is a little secret. I highly doubt the family of this girl cares. She lacked common sense. Water and Electronics don't mix baby!
It's very sad, she looked like a nice kid if you click on the article.
What I don't get is they quote the grandmother who now wants to educate people on the dangers of electronic devices and water. This used to be common knowledge.
No one, not the grandmother, or either parent ever discussed this with her?
So now the next question is if the bathroom had a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) socket and was it functional (if it's a older home it may not have had one).
Your last sentence was long overdue.
Seems most posters are just assuming it had to be a newer house where all the wiring was the latest.
Instead of saying " it couldn't happen, it couldn't happen ", why not believe that it did happen and state reasons why it could have ?
It's very sad, she looked like a nice kid if you click on the article.
What I don't get is they quote the grandmother who now wants to educate people on the dangers of electronic devices and water. This used to be common knowledge.
No one, not the grandmother, or either parent ever discussed this with her?
You're right. I know mine were taught this at a very young age, along with many other safety rules for life. I get frustrated with how much ignorance is out there.
The wire from the charger to the phone, and the phone itself does not have enough power (Voltage+Amps) to kill.
3-6 volts and few milliamps.
The 120V/15A outlet could but, Most bathroom the plug is not reachable from being in the "Tub" , If its a older home the outlet might not be protected by a GFIC circuit. A GFIC would pop with in a millisecond of touching the water.
Sorry this happened, but don't buy the phone fell into the tub killed her. Unless the phone charger was on a extension cord that fell into the tub.
Older homes have outlets in odd places, possibly put in by various owners over the yrs. They don't always have GFIC protection.
I had an old house where a charging phone or other device would have reached the tub, but you would have had to place it by or on the edge of the tub for it to "fall" in, which may mean the teen did that, not realizing the danger. My outlet by that tub was not GFIC, since it was built into the original 1953 medicine cabinet.
The wire from the charger to the phone, and the phone itself does not have enough power (Voltage+Amps) to kill.
3-6 volts and few milliamps.
The 120V/15A outlet could but, Most bathroom the plug is not reachable from being in the "Tub" , If its a older home the outlet might not be protected by a GFIC circuit. A GFIC would pop with in a millisecond of touching the water.
Sorry this happened, but don't buy the phone fell into the tub killed her. Unless the phone charger was on a extension cord that fell into the tub.
As you say, there is something more to this.
A basic (from afar) look would have to conclude:
1. No GFI or broken GFI in the bath.
AND (not or).
2. Messed up power-supply and USB cord
Of course, she could have reached to the socket and ended up hitting the prongs.....
There are at least a couple lessons to be learned.
1. Test and check GFI outlets.
2. Don't mix AC charged USB and water - all it takes is a short or problem in the power supply and you'd have A/C running through the USB cord. You are basically trusting your life and health to a plastic coating on a $2 piece of cable.
3. To be really sure, don't use your expensive electronics in the bath (although I may have used my kindle once).
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