ZAPPER (Health Hazard?)

[Dick Beaton]

Richard...
You need to go to Radio Shack and get a little info on Ohm's Law.  That
zapper will never kill you.  If you build one, fuse it in the primary side
with a 10A fuse.  The output side is low voltage and high current (amps). Go
ahead and have fun.
Dick MT
From: Richard Wagner <Rjwag@pacifier.com>
To: pianotech@ptg.org <pianotech@ptg.org>
Date: Tuesday, September 15, 1998 12:49 PM
Subject: ZAPPER (Health Hazard?)


>List,
>
>I've built, and burned out a couple of "Zappers" over the years using them
>on all kinds of things both piano related and not...
>
>And "No," just because I've burned a few out, doesn't mean that I've been
>out there charring flange bushings and birdseyes instead of repinning.
>
>Let's just say that I'm fond of experimentation, and leave it at that.
>
>
>Anyway, long ago,  I was told by someone who worked on electrical doo-dads
>for a living, that the Zapper, ala Mehaffey was a "potential death trap."
>
>I didn't ask him why at the time, because, knowing nothing about
>electricity, I didn't want to appear ignorant.
>
>Now, years later, I'm still mostly ignorant about electricity, but have
>learned just enough to fool around with it and get myself killed.
>
>I think that simply going down to Radio Shack, buying the appropriate
>transformer, wiring it up with a plug on one end and shorting it across a
>tight center pin on the other, could be dangerous if not lethal should that
>transformer choose to burn out, fusing the internal widings together
>somehow, and connect you directly into the power grid.
>
>After all, the thing works by creating a short circuit across the center
>pin thus heating it up, but everything involved gets hot especially the
>windings in the transformer itself.  This is what fuses are in your home
>wiring to protect against...(sort of.)
>
>Anyway, I could be wrong here folks, and perhaps John Fortiner, Larry
>Fisher, or some other electrical wizards on the List could set me straight,
>but I believe that the simple "Zapper" described in the paragraph above is
>potentially dangerous if not modified somehow...
>
>Please help me out here as I'd love to continue experimenting without
>killing myself...
>
>
> Richard Wagner RPT
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