Shocking chainsaw

[Old2stroke]

A guy brought in an old chainsaw for some repairs and claimed that while cutting, he had received some painful electric shocks from it. Saw was a small Frontier from the early 70's, all metal with no rubber on the handles and a manual oiler which means the chain was running dry most of the time. Saw was running good and the spark plug lead was in good shape and not in a position where it could be touched and anyway, the shock he was describing sounder more like a static electric discharge rather then something from a running spark plug lead. It was a hot humid day and he was using wet gloves, is it possible for an electric charge to build up on the saw and get discharged through the operator? Anyone ever heard of anything like this? Even though wacky weed is legal in Canada he swears he isn't a user.

 

[farmguywithasaw]

Well if it was spark related you would think the engine would miss at least. I wondering if it’s not related to Raynaud's syndrome or something like that.

 

[farmguywithasaw]

I know if you have a pace maker you have to be carefully around small engines especially if they don’t have a resistor type plug due to RF interference

 

[RC Cole]

I know if you have a pace maker you have to be carefully around small engines especially if they don’t have a resistor type plug due to RF interference

Now I find this out

 

[olyman]

got a 999 oly..the dang spark plug boot look perfect..NOPE!!! was cutting a log,,brushed the boot,,and got knocked to the ground!!!! damn!!!! looked in my stash,,found another,,put it on, and is fine now..looked it all over,,never did figure out why it fired right thru the boot....

 

[TheTone]

I doubt if this was it, but kind of interesting anyway. Once I was walking across a field on a friend's farm. It was early summer, hot, and the ground was slightly damp. I was carrying a .22 rifle on my shoulder, resting against my neck. As I walked under a mass of high tension lines overhead, I began to feel a sharp, prickly sensation in my neck. As i got further away from the wires, it stopped. I figured the metal rifle barrel was acting as an antenna resting loosely against my sweaty neck and collecting radiation from the overhead lines, which passed through me into the ground. Sounded plausible.

 

[Canyon Angler]

It was a hot humid day and he was using wet gloves, is it possible for an electric charge to build up on the saw and get discharged through the operator?

I wouldn't be surprised. I know that if you troll in the ocean using metallic wire line (to get down deep for toothy critters), the vibration of the planer, and that metal wire going through the water can build up a hellacioius static charge and shock the ever-loving piss out of the fisherman...you would think that seawater would be about as "grounded" as grounded could be, but apparently not...

 

[Tobystihl]

I doubt if this was it, but kind of interesting anyway. Once I was walking across a field on a friend's farm. It was early summer, hot, and the ground was slightly damp. I was carrying a .22 rifle on my shoulder, resting against my neck. As I walked under a mass of high tension lines overhead, I began to feel a sharp, prickly sensation in my neck. As i got further away from the wires, it stopped. I figured the metal rifle barrel was acting as an antenna resting loosely against my sweaty neck and collecting radiation from the overhead lines, which passed through me into the ground. Sounded plausible.

You were lucky as I believe you were getting an induced voltage from the overhead power lines. The voltage was trying to earth through the moist air and you!!!!

 

[buttercup]

is it possible for an electric charge to build up on the saw and get discharged through the operator?

Yes it is, but there must be some bad isolation of the spark plug/coil wire somewhere, the electricity finds the easiest way - if it's through you rather than through the spark plug you win.

 

[SteveSr]

Is it possible for an electric charge to build up on the saw and get discharged through the operator?

Highly unlikely. High humidity will dissipate any static charge fast.

More likely you have ignition leakage somewhere. Take an insulated screwdriver and attach a wire to the metal shaft. Connect the other end of the wire to the cylinder or other metal connected directly thereto. Start the saw and turn off the lights. While holding the insulated handle of the screwdriver start probing around the ignition lead and spark plug and look for discharge and/or sparks to the screwdriver blade.

 

[buttercup]

I was helping a friend with a Camino 50cc scooter/moped once a couple decades ago, he sat at the bike with the spark plug in his hand holding it to the cylinder while I was pushing the bike.
He wanted to see if it had a spark obviously, suddenly he screamed out and I stopped, he got the ignition current through himself - he won.
Then he laughed and said to me - lets do it again... some strange people out there.

 

[TheTone]

You were lucky as I believe you were getting an induced voltage from the overhead power lines. The voltage was trying to earth through the moist air and you!!!!

Yes, I believe that's what it was. It was enough to make me stop and try to figure out what was happening, but not even as strong as a winter static shock. Although probably 50,000 volts in the line, the induced current had to get through the insulation and the air, and by the time it was collected by my "antenna", it was not strong enough to be of any consequence besides arousing my curiosity. Nevertheless, it gives one pause about the long term effects of living close to a source like that!

 

[TheTone]

I was helping a friend with a Camino 50cc scooter/moped once a couple decades ago, he sat at the bike with the spark plug in his hand holding it to the cylinder while I was pushing the bike.
He wanted to see if it had a spark obviously, suddenly he screamed out and I stopped, he got the ignition current through himself - he won.
Then he laughed and said to me - lets do it again... some strange people out there.

When I was twelve I hitched a ride on the back of my friend's go-kart. Eventually my elbow hit the spark plug boot and the shock knocked me off. I broke my fall with my wrist, which in turn, broke my wrist. I consider it a positive vote for my sanity that I had NO desire to repeat that incident.

 

[Canyon Angler]

I doubt if this was it, but kind of interesting anyway. Once I was walking across a field on a friend's farm. It was early summer, hot, and the ground was slightly damp. I was carrying a .22 rifle on my shoulder, resting against my neck. As I walked under a mass of high tension lines overhead, I began to feel a sharp, prickly sensation in my neck. As i got further away from the wires, it stopped. I figured the metal rifle barrel was acting as an antenna resting loosely against my sweaty neck and collecting radiation from the overhead lines, which passed through me into the ground. Sounded plausible.

I remember back in high school, we used to go out to the high tension power lines (out in the middle of the woods) to party. I can remember sitting there at night in super humid/misty summer weather, and watching sparks traveling down the branches of the trees, almost like St. Elmo's Fire.

We were pretty "buzzed" at the time, but I wasn't the only one who saw it, and we saw it more than once!

I've also seen on TV, where somebody walking under high voltage lines held up a fluorescent light tube, and the induced current made it fluoresce...

 

[buzz sawyer]

I have to tell this story. Growing up, we had a go cart. I was riding in it one day and saw my brother coming over. I reached back to shut down the engine by flipping the ground contact against the plug wire and instead touched the plug wire. Immediately, I could see my brother coming over and hitting me squarely across the shoulders with a 2 x 4. Funny what electricity will do to your mind.

 

[farmguywithasaw]

I have to tell this story. Growing up, we had a go cart. I was riding in it one day and saw my brother coming over. I reached back to shut down the engine by flipping the ground contact against the plug wire and instead touched the plug wire. Immediately, I could see my brother coming over and hitting me squarely across the shoulders with a 2 x 4. Funny what electricity will do to your mind.

Maybe he did and blamed it on the go kart lol

 

[TBS]

A guy brought in an old chainsaw for some repairs and claimed that while cutting, he had received some painful electric shocks from it. Saw was a small Frontier from the early 70's, all metal with no rubber on the handles and a manual oiler which means the chain was running dry most of the time. Saw was running good and the spark plug lead was in good shape and not in a position where it could be touched and anyway, the shock he was describing sounder more like a static electric discharge rather then something from a running spark plug lead. It was a hot humid day and he was using wet gloves, is it possible for an electric charge to build up on the saw and get discharged through the operator? Anyone ever heard of anything like this? Even though wacky weed is legal in Canada he swears he isn't a user.

My vote goes to it coming through the insulation on the lead, I ran a 235r weed trimmer that had habit of igniting any fuel that was spilled while filling up because the lead wires proximity to the cylinder. If you can put a piece of rubber tubing over the lead and that should fix it.

How does the coil look?

 

[KASH]

There is a small lake close to my cottage the large Ontario Hydro high line crosses it when you troll your boat under it you can feel your skin tingle.In the eighties I worked for CN signals we had I believe a Stihl 010 with the spark plug pointed towards you .If you had wet gloves in the spring you would hit the leaky cap and ouchy wow wow.Took about 5 pokes before I finally changed it.
We had a 1965 Snow Cruiser snow machine Canadian version of the Johnson and Evinrude with a 362 horizontaly opposed engine .The spark plug was right at crotch height if you were sitting down .Our favorite prank was to let some one else drive and all four of us on the seat and the poor kid driving would get pushed forward against that leaky spark plug cap .It took awhile some times but there sure were some screams when his little telegraph pole got the 20000 volt path to ground.
The joys of being young and dumb.
Kash

 

[Huskybill]

When my cats come to be petted a static spark happens from my finger tip to them.

I turned down a pacemaker because I’m a welder.

 

[Bob Hedgecutter]

I was helping a friend with a Camino 50cc scooter/moped once a couple decades ago, he sat at the bike with the spark plug in his hand holding it to the cylinder while I was pushing the bike.
He wanted to see if it had a spark obviously, suddenly he screamed out and I stopped, he got the ignition current through himself - he won.
Then he laughed and said to me - lets do it again... some strange people out there.

Thats what I miss about timing distributors with motors running- bit like tuning saws by ear........... usually end up with a hell of a boot from the electrics, very soon followed by the back of your head hitting the vehicle hood.......