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View Full Version : Static Electricity - WTF?



MikeTech
02-27-2005, 10:48 PM
Ok ... this may seem like an odd topic but i've run into static electricity causing problems on the job a few times and now it just becoming a real nuissance at home.
At work , I've had charges of static electricity shut down some Elan keypads. This was some fun troubleshooting. When I unplugged and replugged them in they worked fine.
I just read some info from a google search and the info was too scientific for me to keep reading. I know it happens more in the winter and that atoms do someting and blah blah blah...
The shocks i'm getting at home are getting stronger and stronger to the point that you can see the shock. Sound weird? Everybody who walks into my apartment says something. Is it just the carpeting i have that cuses this? Anybody know why? Is there something you can do to stop it?

AHEM
02-27-2005, 10:58 PM
Is there something you can do to stop it?

Yes, get a humidifier!

Shadowman68
02-27-2005, 11:01 PM
I was going to say wear your golloshes, but a humidifier will work too.

MikeTech
02-27-2005, 11:08 PM
very interesting... i'll pick one up tomorrow. I hope it helps, i just got blasted again... they're getting a little painful.

Ghost
02-27-2005, 11:29 PM
The humidity in the air will short circuit the charge building up on your body to the surrounding area.
Simple HVAC, in winter the heating of the air will drop the humidity dramatically. Why your skin feels dry and itchy and can dry out wood, causing damage & warping over time. Adding humidity to the air will help your skin (including sinuses), materials in the home, static electricity, and you'll feel warmer at the same temperature.

Mike,
Here's a neat experiment you can do - when it's cold in the house at night, and you're getting shocked to hell. Go to the shower in your masterbath, run just hotwater out the shower and let the steam build up, leave your doors open so the moisture can get out into the bedroom. After awhile, noitce how your not getting shocked in the bedroom, and how it feels warmer and more pleasant in the bedroom than the rest of the house. Humidifiers are great tools.

Tip: To prevent yourself from getting shocked outdoors when you go to open your car door. Have your key in hand (make sure your finger is touching a part of the metal on the key), then touch the key to the key cylinder before grabbing the handle. Every time you see the nice blue spark from the key to the cylinder, just think 'that could have hurt had that been my hand'. Going into places, use your house or car key to discharge yourself before touching the handle.

AHEM
02-28-2005, 01:16 AM
Or, you could also just strap a ground strap to your angle and tether it with 100 ft long piece of copper to a cold water pipe!

djnorm
02-28-2005, 06:03 AM
I used to work in a repair shop, and static was our sworn enemy... We actually had a spray bottle of water, and as soon as someone got a shock, we walked around the room spraying it into the air - no more shocks.

mr2channel
02-28-2005, 08:01 AM
as far as the humidifer deal goes, make sure you get a steam model, not cold mist. My best friends father in law is a doctor that deals with virus/bacteria related illnesses and says that unless you steralize (sp error) the cold mist models WEEKLY you can actually create a breeding ground for bacteria and make yourself sick. So his advise was to get the steam mist models. I got a vicks vaporub model at wallie world for $20, works great.

Shadowman68
02-28-2005, 11:15 AM
Those Vic's models are the kittys poo poo. My daughter is asthmatic, and every time a cold or sniffle wandered around she caught it. We had an old cold air humidifier but found when we used it everyone in the house got sick. We deep six'd that thing and purchased a Vic's unit. It works great, no more asthma, no more colds, just an annoying hint of eucolyptus in the air.

AHEM
02-28-2005, 09:27 PM
Hey, I happen to like eucalyptus and so does my wife, Mrs. Koala.

MikeTech
03-02-2005, 09:20 PM
Well, I got the steam mist humidifier and things at home are pleasant again. No more painful blasts... thanks for the tip.

Mike

Jerry
03-02-2005, 09:46 PM
Tip: To prevent yourself from getting shocked outdoors when you go to open your car door. Have your key in hand (make sure your finger is touching a part of the metal on the key), then touch the key to the key cylinder before grabbing the handle. Every time you see the nice blue spark from the key to the cylinder, just think 'that could have hurt had that been my hand'. Going into places, use your house or car key to discharge yourself before touching the handle.

This is especially helpful before pumping gas!

LarryFine
03-03-2005, 07:16 AM
Well, I got the steam mist humidifier and things at home are pleasant again. No more painful blasts... thanks for the tip.

MikeWould you mind telling us which one?

Danke,

MikeTech
03-03-2005, 10:45 PM
Well, I got the steam mist humidifier and things at home are pleasant again. No more painful blasts... thanks for the tip.

MikeWould you mind telling us which one?

Danke,

Its a Honeywell model - but i don't see a model # on it. I'll try and fid it tomorrow and let you know.

OEX
03-12-2005, 11:40 PM
I had a VERY anal retentive customer who vacuumed his carpets 3x daily. Needless to say, tons of static. I was having to reprogram his Xantech keypads about every 2 weeks. I bought screwless coverplates and this solved the problem.

Crazyone
09-12-2005, 10:05 PM
Just an FYI about the Elan keypads, the z100 (prolly the one your talking about) has had a small change due to the static problem, and has a capacitor that i believe takes the face of the unit to ground to prevent this problem.

I know i too had that problem and they have since made the fix. If your still having the problem give elan a call, I dont think they would charge you for that repair.

Brandon