# Why can't I electrocute myself with my stovetop burners? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 26, 2004, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-electrocute-myself-with-my-stovetop-burners/236486 "2004-03-26T02:22:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Standup\_Karmic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@Standup\_Karmic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Standup_Karmic)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-electrocute-myself-with-my-stovetop-burners/236486/1 "2004-03-26T02:22:52Z")
Mom always told me not to stick cutlery into a toaster because I would be electrocuted and die. To this day, I’ve not tried it and believe it could well happen. However, it seems that I can touch a stovetop burner with metal objects and not be killed. Why is this? It seems they are both just pumping electricity into some kind of metal object thereby making it hot. Shouldn’t a stovetop burner electrocute me if I touch it? ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-electrocute-myself-with-my-stovetop-burners/236486/2 "2004-03-26T02:26:06Z")
The stove burner is a metal tube filled with magnesium oxide, an insulator. There is a nickel-chromium alloy wire coiled in the middle of that insulation. Only that wire is electrified. The metal outer sheath is grounded (by contact with the stove frame). ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-electrocute-myself-with-my-stovetop-burners/236486/3 "2004-03-26T04:34:18Z")
Wow. Interesting. I always wondered that myself. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-electrocute-myself-with-my-stovetop-burners/236486/4 "2004-03-26T14:14:50Z")
I’ve put a knife into a toaster before, never got electrocuted. All it did was dim the element at the point of contact with the knife. However this was my toaster, so yours may actually kill you, so don’t try it. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-electrocute-myself-with-my-stovetop-burners/236486/5 "2004-03-26T14:44:44Z")
On occasion the nichrome element will short to the metal casing and then it’s time for a new element. As for the toaster, I’m with your Mom! ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-electrocute-myself-with-my-stovetop-burners/236486/6 "2004-03-26T14:51:05Z")
I can. My wife and I have been shocked several times by the crappy electric stove in our apt. She, when touching a pan and brushing against the range hood. I, when grabbing two pans on separate (active) burners at the same time. We’re moving. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-electrocute-myself-with-my-stovetop-burners/236486/7 "2004-03-26T15:27:26Z")
> [@ParentalAdvisory](#): > > I’ve put a knife into a toaster before, never got electrocuted. All it did was dim the element at the point of contact with the knife. However this was my toaster, so yours may actually kill you, so don’t try it. That`s cause neither you or the knife were grounded. Luckily. ---
**Author:** ![McDeath\_the\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@McDeath\_the\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/McDeath_the_Mad)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-electrocute-myself-with-my-stovetop-burners/236486/8 "2004-03-26T16:39:14Z")
We have a kick-ass toaster at work, it runs on 220V. The butter packets we have are often rock hard in the morning from being in the fridge all night, so my buddy always placed them on top of the toaster to warm them up. One time he hammed out and dropped a butter packet in one of the toaster slots. He put his knife in the toaster to flip the butter out and touched a element. There was a big spark. End result, butter went flying, the chunk of element he touched broke, and the butter knife had a melted hole in the end of it. Pretty crazy… MtM ---
**Author:** ![hammerbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hammerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammerbach)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-electrocute-myself-with-my-stovetop-burners/236486/9 "2004-03-26T18:24:57Z")
> [@toadspittle](#): > > I can. My wife and I have been shocked several times by the crappy electric stove in our apt. She, when touching a pan and brushing against the range hood. I, when grabbing two pans on separate (active) burners at the same time. > > We’re moving. Somebody needs to chack the wiring on that stove before someone gets killed. It sounds like the chassis is energized. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-electrocute-myself-with-my-stovetop-burners/236486/10 "2004-03-26T21:16:48Z")
The only shock I’ve ever gotten is from how much grease is underneath the damn things. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-electrocute-myself-with-my-stovetop-burners/236486/11 "2004-03-27T03:02:55Z")
> [@hammerbach](#): > > Somebody needs to chack the wiring on that stove before someone gets killed. It sounds like the chassis is energized. Ditto, sounds like it’s not properly grounded. If it was, then it should short out and blow a fuse/circuit breaker, telling you there’s something wrong. BTW I don’t remember if I read about this from Cecil or another doper or How Stuff Works, but you shoud’t stick anything metal in a toaster even if it’s off, it has to be unplugged (I wouldn’t have belived that if I didn’t read it, I never would have thought of the reason :smack: ) If the outlet or the toaster is wired backwards and the neutral wire runs through the switch that means the coils are ALWAYS energized, even when the toaster is off. So if you touch something metal to them (even when it’s off) the current will flow through you. Remember, some 9 year old in Taiwan really doesn’t care if they hook the wires up backwards.