Hey,

This is a question for the licensed electricians out there. I was swapping out a GFCI outlet outside with a new one today and changing out the bubble cover. I did this hot, which I know is not the best option, but have done it many many times with no incidents. What really startled me is that I got zapped while holding it the right way, the way I always do, especially if hot: by the two metal tabs on the ends!

I have never experienced this before and the end tabs are isolated from the screw terminals so I was puzzled. I sweat a lot, and was sweating when I changed it, so I thought maybe my resistance was really low because my hands were really sweaty. I had proper boots on with composite toe, fairly insulated from ground. Do you guys have any ideas about what could of happened? I even put my fluke voltage detector on the end tabs, and it did not indicate they were energized in any way??

Thanks
Steve

 

The end tabs are ground or should be at ground with a ground wire attached.

I get zapped once in a while when replacing devices live.
Somehow you touched the hot terminal at the same time.

 

Pete,

I know most new GFCI and outlets have a self grounding clip on one end, which of course is for use with metal box bonding, but other than the green ground screw on the outlet I have never encountered needing to have a ground wire coming off one of the end tabs?? maybe that's not what you meant. I zap myself once in a while too but I have been on a 6 month plus streak of no zaps so it annoyed me lol

 

Oh sorry I take that back, I do encounter ground wires soldered to the end tabs on dimmers I install!! my mistake.....So that is the only way you can see how I got myself huh. I guess I must have brushed my finger on the hot wire somehow I just don't want to believe it lol

 

Believe it..... sh*t happens.

 

When I work on hot wires, I put on a pair of disposable medical gloves. I can still get enough "feel" on what I'm doing, and no more zaps.

 

Nice tip, I usually wear thin nitrile grip gloves too, I just though at that time my hands were too sweaty to bother having them on..my error because I probably would not have felt it that day if I had

 

Found out why it happened...Apparently some handyman tied/used the neutral as the ground upstream and I basically got hit with the neutral, which sometimes feels worse than the hot (it did)