Hello from Ethiopia

Hello, I'm Tamrat and I'm from Ethiopia. I used to be an Electrical Engineering in university before I dropped out. :facepalm: I kinda like electrics but I'm also terrified of being electrocuted. Anyways, I hope to enjoy my stay here and also get some help!

Thanks,

Tamrat

tamrat said:

I kinda like electrics but I'm also terrified of being electrocuted.

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The only answer to that is learn safe methods of working. Working live is sometimes the only option but only you can make the decision to proceed.

Being terrified of being electrocuted is  a good state of mind . 

Evans Electric said:

Being terrified of being electrocuted is  a good state of mind . 

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Agreed.  Any person working with electricity who doesn't keep a fearful respect of it at all times is a danger to themselves. Much like a quote from a documentary I saw about the sea, where an old hand who had spent his life at sea said, "any person who goes out to sea without having a fear and respect of what can suddenly change in a very short time is a fool". One small mistake can mean death by drowning or electrocution in each case. Do not treat either lightly or with a complacent attitude.

Doc H. 

Hi Tamrat

8 years ago, I attended a funeral in Gerji and was shocked at the standard of domestic wiring there. So much so,  I offered Addis University a free course on Domestic Wiring for existing and new electricians. I set up the course with the Uni's Head of Electrical Engineering and got test equipment manufacturers and the IET to supply test equipment and Regs and OSGs. (about £5,000 worth)  I had all these course materials shipped to Addis, but Customs were uncooperative and eventually they said they had "lost" the shipment, so it was cancelled.

I've been back several times since and on one occasion, drove past an overhead electricity line with a guy dead and frying on it, until they isolated the line.

I am not surprised you are terrified of being electrocuted.

SBS Dave said:

Hi Tamrat

8 years ago, I attended a funeral in Gerji and was shocked at the standard of domestic wiring there. So much so,  I offered Addis University a free course on Domestic Wiring for existing and new electricians. I set up the course with the Uni's Head of Electrical Engineering and got test equipment manufacturers and the IET to supply test equipment and Regs and OSGs. (about £5,000 worth)  I had all these course materials shipped to Addis, but Customs were uncooperative and eventually they said they had "lost" the shipment, so it was cancelled.

I've been back several times since and on one occasion, drove past an overhead electricity line with a guy dead and frying on it, until they isolated the line.

I am not surprised you are terrified of being electrocuted.

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Yes, this is very true unfortunately. To cut costs, a lot of buildings use only 2 wires for plugs and etc. No ground connections. High voltage electricity lines all around the city are dangerously close to buildings or are hanging very low. I have also seen numerous accidents where trucks cut these lines and people get electrocuted or starts a fire. Furthermore, electricians here have no concerns for safety. You'll see them handling live wires carelessly. We had electrical problems at our house and we called a guy to fix it. Sure, he did fix it but we didn't know how he fixed it. Later that year, the electrical breakers/switches on the second floor weren't working and to diagnose the problem first I went downstairs and turned off the master breaker for that building. So I started fiddling around and then when I was removing a bolt that holds a wire, the test light glowed red. I was shocked. THERE WAS LIVE 220V IN THE WIRES! How? I noticed that the guy had just jumped wires from the main breaker to the other floors. Basically the main breaker wasn't doing anything.

I took Electrical Engineering courses in Addis Ababa Univerity for about a year and half before dropping out and changing to Software Engineering. One of the reasons, apart from the terrible introductory courses, was the amount of exposed wires and plugs that carry 220V in the workshop rooms. I was almost electrocuted when trying to plug in an oscilloscope. Even the prime education institutes's Electrical Engineering department has terrible safety standards.