This brings up something I have encountered. A clothes washer and clothes drier side by side but improperly grounded. I have been shocked touching both devices simultaneously. I wonder if a requirement that all adjacent metal enclosures be bonded together would be beneficial. Of course, anyone making such a sloppy installation is unlikely to add a required bonding strap.
New Subject: On the subject of reporting safety issues to the US Product Safety Commission. I reported (as a concerned citizen) an unsafe consumer item a while back and was essentially told by the gov't agency that they were too busy and I should contact the manufacturer myself. I even included a no-cost fix for the problem in my complaint. No teeth? This was not minor problem- it could lead to loss of life and considerable property damage. Dave Cuthbert Micron Technology From: owner-emc-p...@majordomo.ieee.org [mailto:owner-emc-p...@majordomo.ieee.org]On Behalf Of Crabb, John Sent: Monday, November 17, 2003 2:20 AM To: IEEE EMC/Product Safety (IEEE, EMC/Product Safety) Subject: RE: Grounding I might have expected that folk would look for a definition of "reliably grounded". I would quote from the lecture I give each year to manufacturing engineering students with regard to other questionable methods of grounding : - "Would YOU risk YOUR life on such parts being reliably connected to ground ?" Invite the bean counters to hang onto the door while you apply 230V ac to it, pointing out that "it's grounded - the fuse will blow, and you'll be ok." Regards, John Crabb, (Product Safety) , NCR Financial Solutions Group Ltd., Discovery Centre, 3 Fulton Road, Dundee, Scotland, DD2 4SW E-Mail :john.cr...@scotland.ncr.com Tel: +44 (0)1382-592289 (direct ). Fax +44 (0)1382-622243. From: owner-emc-p...@majordomo.ieee.org [mailto:owner-emc-p...@majordomo.ieee.org] On Behalf Of Gary McInturff Sent: 14 November 2003 18:46 To: Crabb, John; Ned Devine; IEEE EMC/Product Safety (IEEE, EMC/Product Safety) Subject: RE: Grounding John, You are correct, but you have just presented the conundrum of the thread. "Reliably grounded" can be determined through test - 25 or 30 amps for a minute. A new hinge will likely pass that test. A "used" one may likely fail because of the corrosion and wear discussed by others. So the conundrum is do you test to get through the standard or do you use the standard to help you design something which hopefully remains safe. Personally, I don't like hinges for grounds - PE or earth and for the very cost sensitive it can be a real issue with the management guys and bean counters. Gary This message is from the IEEE EMC Society Product Safety Technical Committee emc-pstc discussion list. Visit our web site at: http://www.ewh.ieee.org/soc/emcs/pstc/ To cancel your subscription, send mail to: majord...@ieee.org with the single line: unsubscribe emc-pstc For help, send mail to the list administrators: Ron Pickard: emc-p...@hypercom.com Dave Heald: emc_p...@symbol.com For policy questions, send mail to: Richard Nute: ri...@ieee.org Jim Bacher: j.bac...@ieee.org Archive is being moved, we will announce when it is back on-line. All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc This message is from the IEEE EMC Society Product Safety Technical Committee emc-pstc discussion list. Visit our web site at: http://www.ewh.ieee.org/soc/emcs/pstc/ To cancel your subscription, send mail to: majord...@ieee.org with the single line: unsubscribe emc-pstc For help, send mail to the list administrators: Ron Pickard: emc-p...@hypercom.com Dave Heald: emc_p...@symbol.com For policy questions, send mail to: Richard Nute: ri...@ieee.org Jim Bacher: j.bac...@ieee.org Archive is being moved, we will announce when it is back on-line. All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc