phil shelton Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 :confused: how do you keep your belt grinder from shocking you because of static electricity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 That is what the ground wire is for. Check to see if its hooked up, if it is then maybe your receptacle isn't grounded. But if ALL of your rollers are rubber or some other non conductive material, then any static generated by the belt has no where else to go, except for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil shelton Posted March 13, 2009 Author Share Posted March 13, 2009 thanks Steve for the quick answer my ground is ok this grinder dose have rubber wheels now my other one dose not i will have to try it also.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 You could try running a ground wire from the frame to an alligator clip you can put on your person somewhere. Provided it isn't an electrical problem. In winter our humidity is in the tank, the colder it gets the drier it is and around 10f static starts becoming a big issue. I've never noticed static sparks from my belt grinder in extreme staticy conditions so you might want to go with Steve's recommendation before considering mine. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintjohnbarleycorn Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 as long as you are sure its static. Electricity does funny things. How about just a jumper to the floor? since the rubber wheels? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blacksmith Jim Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 Haha Frosty, You've always got good advice, but in this case, I'd be 5$ that Steve has been shocked more times! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 Hmmmm. Do I want a piece of that action? Has a sparky touched the wrong thing more times than someone else has been bitten by a static shock from a belt grinder. No wait, let me think about it. Maybe run the odds on my computer. Don't go anywhere. . . . Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironantlerforge Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 I just solved the same problem in my shop. After checking the outlet to make sure that was OK I tied a piece of wire from the sander to some metal on the floor which did nothing. I then took the wire and held it in my hand while I was sanding and presto no more shocking. They sell Velcro bracelets with a wire attached to an alligator clip in places like Radio Shack for just this kind of thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 Look at how a Van de Graaf generator is made. Note how it's very much like a belt grinder some ways. If you have great problems with shocking from it you may need to figure a way to bleed off the charge that gets carried on the belt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 I was waiting to see how much money RC was going to lose, but I will post now anyway I was zapped good twice, once as a first year apprentice, my fault totally, 208 v. The Second I was working on a ground system, (No power lines were even attached) when a lightning strike hit the transformer outside, I was holding that ground wire at the time, unknown voltage for that one. but it threw me. Most recent time was last year when a plumber decided not to wait for me to finish fixing wires that HE damaged, but proceeded to pull out a pipe, that I was sitting on at the time. He was the idiot that in violation of code, ran that water pipe over the electric box, but was in such a hurry to hide his screw up, pushed me into 208 volt box. So the answer is technically 3 in the 28 years I have been electrician. Even though I am dyslexic, Electricians that don't pay attention well, don't live long enough to make too many mistakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markb Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 I'd be wary of wearing a cuff on my wrist with wire attached while buffing or grinding. I used to grind and buff a lot of silver jewelry. Dummy me tried buffing a silver chain I made. Got wrapped up, pulled my fingers right into the arbor, lucky it was only a 1/3 hp buffer or I would have lost 'em. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 the thing you are forgetting is that the shock from static, is the discharge because WE are a good ground, If we weren't, there would be no discharge, so the wrist brace with a wire is making sure we are grounded. so we will get it more. If we stand in a rubber mat, we have isolation, no shock because we are no longer a path to ground. best to ground the belt by adding a metal roller somewhere touching the belt, and that is grounded, to drain static, rather than finding new ways to make us a better conductor. If we are the source of the static generation, then the wrist belts will drain that and no more zap zap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dablacksmith Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 i have the same problem... static buildup on belt so i hold things in such a way that i am touching ground and wola! no problems! as long as i remember.....arizona can be verry dry so static buildup is a common thing...and the rubber mat would only work if everything you touched wasnt grounded! till the static charge disapated... might try the static cling spray on belt ... might work...good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 in the case you just cited, dablacksmith; YOU were the source of the static buildup, and of course being grounded will drain your charge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian robertson Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Got knocked on my butt from the static charge off my truck mounted belt grinder today. My belt grinder has been in service for 8 yrs and has never done this to me before. With a meter, I double checked the 1 hp baldor motor, my extension cord, the GFI outlet I was plugged into, tried a different one. Somebody has to have found a solution to this problem by now. Any solutions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awalker Posted May 4, 2013 Share Posted May 4, 2013 I thought about rigging a brush to run on the back side of the belt that was grounded (suppose you could just ground the platten), rubber mats on the floor, running the swamp cooler (sucks in the winter though), grounding braclets (like they use handling electronics), etc. I have not tried them though, by the time I get ready to do it, the humidity comes back up and the problem is over until next winter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfootnampa Posted May 4, 2013 Share Posted May 4, 2013 You should be able to ground your belts without resorting to an extra roller. Just a small rod or bar that lightly contacts the slack part of the belt and is grounded well should dissipate enough of any static charges to prevent much shock. In a new Walmart here they had to put ground cables on all the shopping carts! Shocks from the rubber tired carts were driving off customers! They missed a few carts and I am careful to avoid using those because it is a very shocking experience! They just clamped a short length of thin (1/8" or so) cable to the carts lower shelf so that it drags the floor lightly. A similar solution should ground your belts and prevent nasty and dangerous shocks (the shocks could cause you to flinch and potentially to have an accident)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don A Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 I noticed an increase is static shocks from my grinder after adding the ceramic platten. Never a bad shock... just small zaps. I'll try an additional ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Evans Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 They just clamped a short length of thin (1/8" or so) cable to the carts lower shelf so that it drags the floor lightly. You used to see the little chain hanging off the bottom of cars a lot years ago. We always had one on ours to try and help with my car sickness when I was a kid. Haven't seen one recently... I am interested that your belt grinders are on rubber tired wheels. Mine just has a rubber tyre on the pressure/working wheel the drive wheel is plain aluminium which is crowned to centre the belt. I'd be wary of wearing a cuff on my wrist with wire attached while buffing or grinding. I used to grind and buff a lot of silver jewelry. Dummy me tried buffing a silver chain I made. Got wrapped up, pulled my fingers right into the arbor, lucky it was only a 1/3 hp buffer or I would have lost 'em. The fact that you are able to type means you resolved your problem :) but in case anybody else needs to polish chain on a buffing wheel the trick is to wrap it around a piece of wood and make sure the ends do not dangle. I once went round a chain maker's shop in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham and they tumble polished all their chains of course. Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JNewman Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 In the patternmaking end of my shop I use a 30" disc sander and i often had this problem using the sander in the winter. I would get a shock from the table to me just below belt level. I put a humidifier in and it solved the problem. Those that use a woodstove can use a pot of water on it as a humidifier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockstar.esq Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 I've found that connecting my platten kills the static because it's metal and tied to the frame which is grounded. Just lightly touching the belt is all I needed to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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