Old Drill Shock

[bryanfaz]

I left an older electrical drill plugged in recently...in my bathroom. I'd been using it to mix mortar/water. The next day my wife (gulp) came in contact with the drill (it was NOT on, just plugged in) and it shocked her. It was very mild, but she felt it. The drill is older, metal housing. I've got more mortar to mix but am reluctant now considering my wife's experience.

Thoughts on this shocking development.

 

[seber]

Time to kick it down the road. Corded drills can be had for $10 at garage sales, flea markets, even Ebay.

 

[RacerX]

Time to kick it down the road. Corded drills can be had for $10 at garage sales, flea markets, even Ebay.

Cut the cord off of it before disposing so someone else doesn't get shocked.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

The old Milwaukee were "hot". You didn't want to use them in the rain. A little hard around here. I really appreciated the double insulated plastic cases.

 

[bryanfaz]

Yes...it was plugged into a GFI outlet. It's a great drill, large chuck, perfect for mixing. But no drill/tool worth getting electrocuted.

 

[Packard V8]

It's not rocket science to replace the old cord with a three-prong cord and ground the case.

jack vines

 

[lilredex]

Those were my thoughts too. Check it first with a powered test light to confirm.

 

[The Cobbler]

has the plug been changed? I'm wondering if the neutral is actually wired to the hot, and making the case hot, resulting in a shock when you are grounded?
otherwise, there might be a frayed wire before the switch touching the case \

 

[exmaxima1]

Insulation breaks down over time and can short to the case, and if the metal case is not grounded via the 3rd prong you become the circuit path.

 

[gearheadglen]

Yes...it was plugged into a GFI outlet. It's a great drill, large chuck, perfect for mixing. But no drill/tool worth getting electrocuted.

Does the drill have a ground prong on the cord? Many times old tools do not have a grounding wire. It may be worth taking apart and finding what wiring is leaking and replacing some leads, or covering them with heat shrink tubing and then adding a grounding wire for insurance against future leaks. Anytime I buy a vintage power tool and machine I remove the cord because I do not trust anyone else's wiring. I then go through the leads to the motor and once everything checks out I tap a small grounding screw into the metal body of the tool to connect the grounding wire to. I also check all my woodworking/metal working machine to make sure they are properly grounded in case of voltage leaking.

Can you post a picture of the drill. I have an old Milwaukee I use for mud mixing and it is of much greater quality overall compared to what is made today.

 

[sberry]

I say she panicked, the gfci should have caught it. Plug it in to another one. I have seen gfci wired wrong if there is more than one outlet on a circuit.

 

[4xdog]

I had one that did exactly that, bryanfaz. A nifty old (but small) B&D. Not worth fooling with -- I have several other corded drills, better'n that one. Junked it. Never looked back.

 

[Dave455]

Exmaxima has it right. Insulation decays over time, and metal case tools can become live. If you have access to a ‘megger’ (might be a British term) you can easily test the insulation, but I don’t think there’s much doubt!

Here in the U.K. where we have 240 volts, you wouldn’t use anything without an earth, and most of our circuits are protected by ‘earth leakage’ breakers as well. However, we still get the same problem of insulation breaking down, it just causes the breaker to trip.

If it’s a decent quality motor, such as a British made machine motor, I can get them rewound locally, which resolves the issue.

If it’s a power tool, it’s probably not worth it. And while I know newer isn’t always better, in the case of power tools it often is. I had the same problem with an old power drill of my Dad’s. I thought about having it repaired, mostly for sentimental reasons, but the Bosch drill I replaced it with was about 2 generations newer, had a better chuck, superb speed control, and didn’t cost much more than the repair!

 

[ChrisLS8]

Do you really have to ask if you should use a dangerous/unsafe tool?

If you have the know-how replace the cord with a quality grounded cord

 

[spike99250]

I say she panicked, the gfci should have caught it. Plug it in to another one. I have seen gfci wired wrong if there is more than one outlet on a circuit.

I've been shocked a couple times plugged into a GFCI. Not bad but enough to know it.
Just a couple of months ago working in the rain, the chipping hammer would shoot sparks between the bit and rebar I was chipping around. I didn't finish, and put then tool inside to dry out.

 

[yrly]

Rewire with an entirely new cord? I got a massive heavy duty hammer drill like that at goodwill for $5 and rewired it before even using it just to be safe.

 

[American Locomotive]

Almost all metal cased drills I have seen have a 3 prong cord, so a shock should be impossible unless the ground prong or wire is broken.

Just open the drill up and see what's going on. If it gave her a buzz just plugged in not being used, than it really can't be the motor. It would be the cord before the switch has broken.

Of course, there's also a good chance it was just static electricity discharging through the drill ...