Aside from adding my vote for the visual aid via webcam, I’d like to put forward the theory that she could avoid any danger by fixing the power cord so it would pull out if the laptop fell. This would depend on how full the bath is, where the power supply is, and a whole load of other things, which we could work out if only we had some sort of picture…
*I guess my sister is still alive and this is what she says… *
“andy_fl,” in offering a suggestion to “Neisha,” prefaces it with “if you are so phobic”----phobic means “suffering from an irrational fear”—I don’t see anything phobic about Neisha’s concern about her sister. I’d say her concerns are anything but irrational.
16V - 3.75A - definately enough to kill.
Now the question becomes - would the power unit short so quickly that there would be minimal transmission to the user?
I’d advise using the machine only when dry.
What’s the power supply of a PDA?
happyheathen, care to provide a cite for that? I don’t think that 16V is enough to kill… Car batteries are 12V and can throw out over 400A but their terminals are left exposed, and I’ve never personally heard of someone being killed by a car battery.
Hmm. And there was I thinking this thread would be about someone planning to bump off their sis. (Of course, it could be that that’s just what it is…)
Anyone, I’d be more worried about all the steam from the bath trashing the laptop (not to mention drips from the hands into the keyboardm etc). Humid atmospheres plus electronics don’t generally mix too well.
A GFI (or GFCI, the acronym varies) is a wall outlet, which would replace the wall outlets already in the bathroom. If your outlets have a couple of buttons in the middle of them marked “test” and “reset”, then you already have them. If not, it’ll take an electrician about half an hour to install them for you, and you can probably get a discount on your insurance which would more than make up for the nominal cost. Regardless of your aquatic web-surfing habits, it’s a very good idea to get GFIs in your bathroom, kitchen, outdoor outlets, and other wet places.
Anthracite, if you somehow manage to grab the hot and return wires for the circuit, then so far as the GFI is concerned, your body is just another appliance. They’re there to protect you from contact with hot and ground, a much more common danger. Also note that the safety of a GFI does depend on it working properly, which is not an absolute gaurantee. It’s all about reducing risk.
how big is the bathroom?
perhaps a voice program, so no wet typing, and the laptop out of the direct line of water in the tub? there are these rather cool scooter table things.
Okay, ideally there would be a GFCI in every bathroom. In the real world, of course, things are less than ideal.
I’ve lived in two houses over the past twenty years. Both of them were built before 1970 and neither of them had GFCIs in the bathroom or kitchen. We’ve installed them in one bathroom (the one where we have something plugged into an outlet) and by the kitchen sink, and we intend to get them into the other bathrooms eventually, but time does go by and OSHA hasn’t been around to check lately.
You can get shocked from a properly-operating GFCI, albeit you’d have to work at it. To do so, you’d have to: a) make contact with the hot and neutral conductors (as explained by Chronos), and b) remain isolated from earth ground.
I’m not sure what you’re asking here. It’s not a problem to wire a GFCI “downstream” from another GFCI. During a ground fault, the GFCI that has the lower trip point (or the GFCI that has a faster relay) will trip first.
Very true, but if the laptop is using an external AC adapter it will contain an isolation transformer.
The warning is correct. Keep the AC adapter away from the tub.
Not all that important for this discussion. However, it does mean it’s a switching power supply.
Um, nope. Try again.
This is a true statement if you’re isolated from earth ground. As explained above, if you touch the hot and neutral and you’re making contact w/ earth ground the GFCI will break the circuit.
Not smart. A 120VAC/15A GFCI can be had for $7 and takes a whopping 20 minutes to install. It’s the cheapest life insurance policy you’ll ever buy.
OK, let me re-phrase my question. If I form a ground for the hot wire, on a circuit with a GFCI, will I even feel a shock, or will it switch the circuit open before I even feel it?
A GFCI has a trip point between 4 mA and 6 mA and will de-energize the relay in about 50 ms. Would you feel anything? I don’t know. My guess is that you would feel something.
Is this one of her phases she is going through or have you considered possible electocution is the least of her worries?
Some may have GFCI plugs and not know it. In one house I lived in, the kitchen had one GFCI outlet, but all the outlets were wired to it. When any one of the outlets faulted, the GFCI blew.
In my current ( 
) home, the GFCI’s are all in the main breaker box. Some of the breakers have the “Push to test” and “Reset” buttons there on the breakers. Not really very convenient, but there it is.
Now about that webcam…
That’s a very common configuration. Of course, the outlets “downstream” from the GFCI outlet are supposed to sport “GFCI protected” stickers.