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Hybrids Hold Hidden Dangers
7 NEWS ^ | February 21, 2008 | Theresa Marchetta

Posted on 02/21/2008 7:27:30 AM PST by george76

Emergency Responders At Risk.

hybrids may also hold a hidden danger if they are involved in a serious accident... a risk of electrocution.

"If you don't know what you're doing you can be hurt seriously, if not killed by the voltage," said hybrid-certified mechanic Kevin Klein."There's 330 volts of electricity running through the lines," ...

It only takes 50 to 100 volts to kill a person.

"My coworkers know when I set these up, nobody's allowed in here but me," said Klein as he set up orange cones around his work area.

"We have to wear face protection in case of a voltage flash. We have to wear gloves that have to be inspected," Klein added, blowing into the gloves to check for holes.

Klein then put on a second pair of leather gloves to protect the first pair from tearing.

"We have to cone off the area when we're working on the vehicle because just opening the door activates the system. So if you're under the hood working on it and somebody comes up and opens the door, you can be electrocuted," ...

The final step in his process is setting a large hook outside the coned-off area, to be used if someone is electrocuted.

"You have to use the hook to pull the person away outside the buffer zone," ...

(Excerpt) Read more at thedenverchannel.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; Miscellaneous; US: Colorado; US: Michigan
KEYWORDS: electrocution; energy; firstresponders; hybrid; hybrids
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1 posted on 02/21/2008 7:27:30 AM PST by george76
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To: george76

The Law of Unintended Consequences must never be overlooked......


2 posted on 02/21/2008 7:28:58 AM PST by Red Badger ( We don't have science, but we do have consensus.......)
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To: george76

It’s not the volts, it’s the amps if I remember correctly.


3 posted on 02/21/2008 7:29:35 AM PST by Anitius Severinus Boethius
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To: george76
It’s the amperage that kills, not voltage. Whatever-
4 posted on 02/21/2008 7:31:41 AM PST by Red6 (Come and take it.)
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To: george76

“It only takes 50 to 100 volts to kill a person.”

The author is a scientific ignoramous. You can take a 100000 volts without a problem. It the amps that kill you.


5 posted on 02/21/2008 7:31:55 AM PST by Hacklehead (Crush the liberals, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of the hippies.)
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To: Anitius Severinus Boethius

That’s a line from a movie. What’s it from?


6 posted on 02/21/2008 7:32:06 AM PST by Vision ("If God so clothes the grass of the field...will He not much more clothe you...?" -Matthew 6:30)
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To: george76
DC is particularly nasty stuff. And most batteries do not have integrated circuit breakers.
7 posted on 02/21/2008 7:32:19 AM PST by jaydubya2
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To: Red Badger

My husband works for GM. Today, New hires will receive fourteen dollars and hour...on the line. I can’t believe it.

On the subject of hybrids. My husband said the Chevy Tahoe is safe, and we could buy it. The only problems is when the batteries go bad, they cost a great deal. I think they cost about five grand. We keep our cars because we buy a new one two years after the last one was paid off.


8 posted on 02/21/2008 7:32:38 AM PST by nyconse
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To: Anitius Severinus Boethius; SunkenCiv

Plus the heavy , expensive battery that has to be replaced every so often but can not be recycled.

Apparently the battery production process, then disposal is not so eco- friendly ?


9 posted on 02/21/2008 7:34:59 AM PST by george76 (Ward Churchill : Fake Indian, Fake Scholarship, and Fake Art)
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To: Hacklehead

Static electricity, generated from walking accross a carpet can exceed 10,000 volts. Yet we don’t see people dropping dead from it.


10 posted on 02/21/2008 7:35:30 AM PST by jaydubya2
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To: Vision

No idea, just remembering my physics days.


11 posted on 02/21/2008 7:35:40 AM PST by Anitius Severinus Boethius
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To: george76

Wouldn’t integrated fuses or breakers placed along the lines and between battery cells reduce the threat of electrocution?


12 posted on 02/21/2008 7:35:54 AM PST by reagan_fanatic (McCain - for those who thought Dole's Presidential run needs an encore)
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To: nyconse

Yikes : five grand !


13 posted on 02/21/2008 7:36:25 AM PST by george76 (Ward Churchill : Fake Indian, Fake Scholarship, and Fake Art)
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To: All
It's the wattage, or "total energy" that kills.

Wattage is the product of Voltage time Amperage, or current.

That's why house current can kill. Plenty of amps in there, too.

One would think a large mechanical object like a car would draw lots of current, and at 330 volts... Just 10 amps at 330 volts would be 3300 watts - enough to arc weld with.

14 posted on 02/21/2008 7:37:46 AM PST by OKSooner
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To: george76

Big Deal....If the voltage doesn’t kill you, the size of the tin can your in will.....


15 posted on 02/21/2008 7:39:10 AM PST by AngelesCrestHighway
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To: george76

Yeah, those batteries are expensive. If you trade in your car in two or three years-no problem, but these days loans average five to seven years. Of course, as time goes by, the batteries may come down in price.


16 posted on 02/21/2008 7:39:14 AM PST by nyconse
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To: Red Badger

Years ago, when these foul abominations of the road, began to be pushed on us by people “smarter and more conscious”, I heard paramedics and firemen freaking out when talking about an electric car’s batteries igniting gasoline in a wreck.


17 posted on 02/21/2008 7:40:13 AM PST by redstateconfidential (If you are the smartest person in the room,you are hanging out with the wrong people.)
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To: nyconse

Greeeeaaaattt, now Abdul and Juan can build the next 50k car they push out the door.


18 posted on 02/21/2008 7:41:32 AM PST by redstateconfidential (If you are the smartest person in the room,you are hanging out with the wrong people.)
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To: redstateconfidential

Isn’t that the truth!


19 posted on 02/21/2008 7:43:24 AM PST by nyconse
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To: jaydubya2
Yet we don’t see people dropping dead from it.

I killed my computer speakers a couple days ago with a static zap........No, I'm not the supervillain Electro

20 posted on 02/21/2008 7:43:57 AM PST by Hot Tabasco ( Don’t go messing with Smokey Taylor. He just bought a whole bunch of fresh ammo.)
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