I was hanging a shelf in the laundry room and needed to drill 5 holes in the wall. Four holes were done and the fifth one I hit (what I thought) was a wood stud.

In hindsight I was having to push harder than I should have had to but I kept pushing .. all of a sudden I heard a crack / pop and the big toe on my right foot started burning like hell. I yelled out “ow, ow, owwww” really loud and wife yelled to me “what’s wrong”. Felt like my toe was on fire for a few seconds.

.. I quickly realized what had happened and couldn’t believe it.

I was pretty dazed and confused for a bit.

Wife called 911 to be safe, although I was talking and seeming fine, generally. My heart rate was pegged and I was trying to catch my breath for a good ten minutes.

Paramedics hooked me up to heart machine and said everything looked okay .. aside from heart rate, which ultimately came down.

Five hours later now I still feel kind of dazed and really tired.

I haven’t opened up the wall so I don’t know it it was 110v I hit or the 220v from the dryer. I don’t know if I was drilling through one of those metal plates they put on so you can’t drill into wires .. or what. I’m pretty sure it was just 110v … I don’t know, I’ve never been jolted like that. 220v would have ended me I would think. House is a brand new build, only a month old.

Anyone else have a similar story? I’m just waiting for my superpowers now.



UPDATE: I pulled back the drywall today only to realize that I was drilling into wood … WTF?!?! My dad is in town today and, after looking everything over, we are scratching our heads. There isn’t any wire on either side. And my drill hole is only about an inch deep. We are wondering if the actual 18V Makita drill I was using somehow shocked me?





Can anyone explain this?!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Copefree,

Glad you are ok buddy. Good your wife called so you could be checked. Sleep well. You may wake up and feel like you want to change the roof shingle color and head to home depot first thing

Just how the hell deep were you drilling these holes?

Assuming 2x4 stud construction with drywall over it, any wire you hit should be over 1-1/2 inches from the surface of the wall.

You need to find out what circuit that was and de-energize it until you can open that wall up and find out what you did. That is now an imminent fire hazard.

What ensigmatic says.....

Keep a watch on your heart beat! I was shocked by a sump pump, the next day I was out of breath slightly, the next day I carried a toilet bowl into a job and I was gasping for air! Turns out the shock put my heart into atrial fibrulation at 158 beats per minute. Not a fun ride after that!!

quote:

Originally posted by Copefree:

Five hours later now I still feel kind of dazed and really tired.

I haven’t opened up the wall so I don’t know

You SHOULD still be in the hospital, in an ICU room, so they can monitor your heart rhythm for 24 hrs!
If your rhythm isn't right, your heart can pump blood within the heart and not to your organs. Then they shut down one by one until you are dead. And you will have no idea that it is happening.

That should be their standard procedure for an electrocution patient.

Did they give you a potassium pill?
Getting electrocuted burns up your potassium. Potassium helps regulate your heart.

Eating bananas will help replenish your potassium.

quote:

Originally posted by Copefree:
I’m just waiting for my superpowers now.

That requires a radioactive spider, a 3 year old goat named susie, and a quart of eggnog, if you're in the northern hemisphere.

I think Excam man has a good point. May want to call your ER and discuss with them. Let them know that they should have the ambulance report there from the call out. Let them advise you on a next move if there is one.

You probably hit a 120V Romex cable that was stapled to a stud. 240V would’ve killed you on the spot I’d think?

Did you find a tripped breaker for that circuit?

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
240V would’ve killed you on the spot I’d think?

Nope.
Not going to happen in this case and 240 volts isn't the monster you think. It's not an instant death sentence.

You must think about this situation for a minute.

Case #1
Drilling into wall with a bit... bit hits a 120 volt hot wire and becomes energized.

Case #2
Drilling into wall with a bit... bit hits 240 volt line (two 120 volt hot wires, dead short) and trips the breaker. Unless, it only hits one wire, then you're back to case #1, only coming into contact with 120 volts.

The only way for him to have been electrocuted by anything more than 120 volts, is if he had been able to touch more than one wire at any given time. As in hanging onto a wire in each hand. Or one in hand and another touching his body.
This isn't going to happen when you hit a wire with a drill bit.

There is a slight chance that with crossed wiring, the voltage can go up, but a very slim chance. Most of the time the breaker is going to trip and not let that situation play out.

Breaker did NOT trip. Forgot to mention that.

Having been hit by 480VAC multiple times, and -86K VDC a few times as well, getting shocked isn't all that.

Glad you're ok.

I'd make sure that breaker is off and tapped over until you get the repair made to that circuit. It would be bad news if there's any arcing going on within the damaged insulation.

quote:

Originally posted by stoic-one:
Having been hit by 480VAC multiple times, and -86K VDC a few times as well, getting shocked isn't all that.

Glad you're ok.

I would agree, getting shocked by very low voltage (which includes 120 and 240 VAC) is usually just plain unpleasant, but seriously, how badly do you have to keep fucking up to get hit by 480 VAC multiple times? That's crazy to me.

I worked with a civilian electrician in Labrador who would test for live 220v by licking two fingers and putting them across the line. Then he'd say "Yep, it's live". His fingers were seriously calloused, I might add.

Glad you're OK. I think having a checkup might be a good idea, though.

flashguy

quote:

I don’t know if I was drilling through one of those metal plates they put on so you can’t drill into wires .. or what.

I suspect that's exactly what you did. I suggest hiring an electrician to fix it. Like others have mentioned, turn that breaker off. You've have damaged the wire. Trying to use it at close it's undamaged rated capacity will cause the wire to heat up at that point which is a hole in a wood stud. Fire hazzard.

I am not an electrician, so I'm guessing repairing it will be adding a box to the stud on the left or right of the one you drilled into and pulling the wires coming from the panel into that box. A box can't be put on the stud you drilled into because the wires will be too short. A new wire will be run from the box to whatever outlet the now damaged wire was feeding. Connections will then be made inside the box between the wire from the panel and the new wire. My guess anyway.

No one mentioned yet so I will…

Get a stud finder that includes finding hot wires.

So if there is a wire tacked to a stud, you know it so can be more careful.

Also, the newer stud finders are very accurate so you can make sure to hit dead center and not miss and go into a wire.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:

quote:

Originally posted by stoic-one:
Having been hit by 480VAC multiple times, and -86K VDC a few times as well, getting shocked isn't all that.

Glad you're ok.

I would agree, getting shocked by very low voltage (which includes 120 and 240 VAC) is usually just plain unpleasant, but seriously, how badly do you have to keep fucking up to get hit by 480 VAC multiple times? That's crazy to me.

There are more facilities out there in "the wild" that wouldn't know industry standard practices from Adam than I'd care to discuss. Even if you go in learily knowing how badly people rig stuff in an industrial environment, to "get stuff running", it's sometimes still a crap shoot. Some of the stuff I've seen is quite the head scratcher... Industrial locations can be a total crap-shoot, I'm seriously surprised more people aren't gravely injured or killed.

Father-In-Law was a high voltage lineman with a power company in northern Wisconsin... While up on a pole a line was cut on purpose and fell towards him striking him across his face cheek.... Line was supposed to be dead (not live or hot).... approx 20,000 volts ....electrical charge exited the bottoms of his feet and in the upper calf area near the top of his climbing spurs.... was knocked out for about 20 minutes then after waking up climbed down.... He survived for about another 20 years with no major medical issues related to this incident..... There was a guardian angle on his shoulder that day. .............................................. drill sgt.

Hmmm. Drilling holes, deep ones, in a new home. The boy needs a good stiff drink or two and give up the idea. Yes, time for more new toys. The top of the line stud finder might be a start. He should watch the commercial with the no drill picture hangers. Then lets talk about the drill itself. Cordless or grounded electric drill? Those last might have a grounded frame (or not). Gives you a direct connection to God and the afterlife. They make a set of little plastic thingies that regulate the drill depth, but no guarantee the idiot installer followed any normal practices when he ran the wires. How was he to know the home buyer wanted suicide?

Long ago I had a boating buddy who was an electrician. He said he could tell 120 from 240 when it shocked him. Me, I can tell I don't like 12v. Then I do my best to avoid it.

Because the OP didn't say he used a stud finder, at least he could have banged on the wall for the sound. If he didn't do that, and they used the ultra strong 3/8s drywall, drilling deeper than that or even 1/2 means the screw was being held in place by air the rest of the way. There are things every Tom, Dick, and Harry shouldn't try. Dirty Harry once said a man needs to know his limitations. The OP needs to learn his.