I was performing the simple task of removing the battery from the boat. No wingnuts, just plain old nuts. I used an open end wrench to loosen it and while doing so hit the other post. WOW! The wrench was in my left hand thus making contact with my wedding band. It melted the ring at point of contact AND on the bottom so it traveled through my finger. Hurt like heck! Can’t believe the burn! Down to the bone!
Anyone else been bit by a battery?
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I did the same thing minus the ring. Almost burnt the boat to the ground. burnt the hell out of my finger as well. Scary stuff and amazing how fast energy travels.
I’m going to bet you won’t be doing that again!
I have an insulated wrench for batteries. Never thought about the ring!
Yowzer!
Did you enter the realm of creative vocabulary?
“Bit by a battery” yes, have not yet been mauled by one. OUCH!
I haven’t zapped my own wedding ring, but probably only because we don’t wear wedding rings. I’ve zapped the wrench plenty of times.
Now you know what almost everyone who wrenches on engines finds out eventually: It ain’t the voltage, it’s the amperage. People who would be wary of working on 120 volt AC stuff let their guard down because they think, hey it’s only 12 volts…
Grouse
Yikes, never thought of that happening, thanks for the heads up! So did you switch to wingnuts? Did you Ice with a beer or cocktail?
WOW!!!! That looks like it hurt just a little bit! I’ll try to remember too NOT do that..
Worked with a guy once who was working on his truck and wearing one of those stretchy metal wristwatches. The watch made contact between positive and negative and needless to say welded the watch to his wrist. Had to get it cut off and had some pretty severe burns around his wrist.
Always, when working around any type of equipment, ALWAYS remove all jewelry! And if you must, wear a silicone wedding band. I’ve got a tungsten wedding band for the days I need to look “good” and a silicone one that almost exactly matches for daily use. I’ve seen far too many incidents involving jewelry and don’t want it to happen to myself.
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Yowzer!
Did you enter the realm of creative vocabulary?
Ummm… yes, the wife heard me from inside the house.
Yikes, never thought of that happening, thanks for the heads up! So did you switch to wingnuts? Did you Ice with a beer or cocktail?
Yes to wingnuts and two double shots of Patron silver helped a bit. 
I’ve heard way to many horror stories involving wedding rings. Wait, that doesn’t sound very good…..I’ve heard way to many horror stories involving industrial accidents involving wedding rings. Arc’s, snags, fingers getting pulled off, etc. My boss’s sister-in-law got her ring caught in a garage door opener. It was bad. So my wedding ring sits in a box, and if anybody asks heck yes I’m married. But no rings on my fingers.
With car batteries……the whole frame and all the metal you can accidentally hit with a wrench is connected to the negative terminal of the battery. If you’re loosening the clamp on the negative terminal and hit metal nothing happens. If the negative terminal is disconnected then there’s no path to short out the positive terminal.
If you disconnect the negative terminal FIRST you don’t have to worry about shorting the battery to the frame.
S.R.
I wear my silicone wedding band pretty much anytime I’m not in the office or at social functions. We weren’t allowed to wear bands, medical bracelets, or watches in tech school in the electrical program, so by the time we were out of school and in the field, we all had that ingrained into our brains so as not to arc flash ourselves.
I have heard of several cases of people leaning against something electrical an having live current arc to the zipper on their pants. Apparently, ummm, from there it follows the shortest path to ground. If you know what I mean. 
Significant collateral damage can occur. I have heard it can actually arc weld the zipper shut. Which would be bad.
I would assume for those who work with electricity regularly, there are special pants with a GFCI built into the package. If you know what I mean.
Grouse
I almost welded my wedding band when reaching into a wall while pulling wire. One of the new apprentices left an unterminated mc in the wall I was reaching into. That bit me good almost like yours! No ring at work for me anymore.
All of my saws and concrete cutting tools are 480 3 phase. I wear real expensive shock proof gloves when plugging and running cords. Plus the fact concrete cutting involves lots of water, and lots of power.
I feel for you. That wedding ring wound looks awful.
My buddy in the army swung off his bunk and his ring caught. Skinned his ring finger completely.
I have a silicone band for most days and I was gifted my grandpa’s wedding band for the special days. He got 73 good years out of it and hopefully I will too. I really don’t want to deglove my ring finger.
My kids have the silicone bands, might have to check it out. My ring has been off my finger maybe twice in 32 years. It hurt like hell!
Looks you cleaned the wound really well. I don’t think I ever had a wound that clean that was not done by a professional. Not a good spot for healing fast with the bending of the finger.
My fingers and hand get a lot of abuse and sure seems like the hands heal slower.
Damn that looks very painful.I bet you lost some religion with that mistake.I hope no small children were around to learn old school English.
If you disconnect the negative terminal FIRST you don’t have to worry about shorting the battery to the frame.
S.R.
[/quote]
X2
When you reconnect do negitive terminal last.
That looks nasty hope you heal up quick.
My kids have the silicone bands, might have to check it out. My ring has been off my finger maybe twice in 32 years. It hurt like hell!
Looks you cleaned the wound really well. I don’t think I ever had a wound that clean that was not done by a professional. Not a good spot for healing fast with the bending of the finger.
My fingers and hand get a lot of abuse and sure seems like the hands heal slower.
my wife scrubbed it out. For some odd reason she really seemed to enjoy it.
If you disconnect the negative terminal FIRST you don’t have to worry about shorting the battery to the frame.
S.R.
X2
When you reconnect do negitive terminal last.
That looks nasty hope you heal up quick.
[/quote]I usually do that Steve, don’t know what I was thinking. Got my attention very quick, I mean it’s a split second.
been there done that,hope you heal up soon !!!
jumped off of a wagon once wearing a ring,ran an exposed nail up between the ring and my finger.
no fun hanging there with my feet inches from the ground hanging by one finger,good thing I finally got my feet on the wagon tongue so I could release myself,to this day I wonder how far down river that ring made it.
working on a car once back in the late seventies that had a misfire only when it rained,an old chrysler.
those old new yorkers were wide back in the day,and this one just came out of the rain with the misfire going on.
I leaned way over the fender listening for the arcing going on,instantly my pants were soaked as were my legs and waist from the rain on the fenders.
for some dumb reason I rested my left arm over the top of the distributor cap and wires,
dont ask why,I dont know myself but let me tell you,after big Jim and the twins got zapped about seven hundred times in five milliseconds I never did that again !!!
Knew a guy that got his hand up between the positive side of the starter and an engine block….that was not good at all. It was the reason we were not allowed to wear any jewelry at that shop.
Also know a guy who was on a ladder cleaning his gutters and he started to fall so he reached for the gutter and hooked his ring. Took his finger smooth off at the knuckle.
Belletaine
Sorry to see. You aren’t going to let that hinder you from heading out to a Ice fish the lake we were talking about is it. We are heading out on an elk hunt for the wife PM me some pics been over 30 yrs since we were there never thru the ice
Not at all! Heading up Christmas afternoon, I’ll send pics, hopefully with fish in them!
Good luck on the elk hunt!
Sounds like wedding rings(and zippers) are the source of many, many, painful, life changing injuries. Hmmmmm.
Sounds like wedding rings(and zippers) are the source of many, many, painful, life changing injuries. Hmmmmm.
now ain’t that the gawd aweful truth!! 
This is why I don’t wear one when I am working on stuff.
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