alt.energy.homepower

The message < $ @ >
from "no spam" contains these words:

> >> > Now, the SWITCH at the receptacle I have never been able to quite
> >> > figure out. I know "colonials" ( and British Expats) who went around
> >> > and made sure all the receptacle switches were turned OFF before
> >> > leaving the house. This was in the seventies.
> >
> >> Could be from when they were afraid of the stuff. I've see old houses
> >> with
> >> insulated wires attached to glass insulator with the hot and the
> >> ground/neutral 4-6 inches apart.
> >
> > That harks back to the days of (circa) 230v DC supplies (in the UK)
> > where there was a real danger that an unquenchable arc discharge could
> > be initiated by a current surge due to a fuse blowing short circuit
> > event. Folk, back then _had_ very good reason to be 'afraid of the
> > stuff'.

> The only problem with that explanation of the wiring I saw is that I
> live in
> the 'colonies'. IOW, the house was wired for and when 110-120VAC was the
> norm. Not a single 220/240 outlet in the entire house.

Well, in your particular case, your assessment of people's fears of
electricity would seem to be true. However, this doesn't necessarily
preclude influence due to the historic use of DC mains supplies
elsewhere. There's certainly no doubt that folk using and working with
such DC mains voltages had every right to be afraid and take precautions
that only now seem extreme by today's standards.

--
Regards, John.

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