WELCOME TO RIVER DAVES PLACE

Reason #1,000 never to go to Mexico

boatpi

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2012
Messages
8,794
Reaction score
13,839
IMG_6471.png
 

bilz

Newly Retired!😁
Joined
Mar 15, 2011
Messages
2,723
Reaction score
4,192
RIP to the deceased, best wishes for the injured.
All the used timber and wiring pulled out out homes. What could go wrong.
 

Ziggy

SlumLord
Joined
Sep 20, 2007
Messages
40,300
Reaction score
45,971
Sad deal🥺
.
.
But why does the article writer have to mention a similar death in Phx that is completely unrelated or even in same country?🙄
 

yz450mm

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2013
Messages
3,609
Reaction score
7,306
I always think about the light in the pool or spa. Wouldn’t a leak in the housing send current to the pool?
Pool light circuit is required to be protected by a GFCI outlet or breaker.

That being said, that's always a thought in the back of my mind as well. I leave our our pool light breaker turned off most of the time.
 

traquer

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 7, 2013
Messages
3,914
Reaction score
5,327
I always think about the light in the pool or spa. Wouldn’t a leak in the housing send current to the pool?
I have the same thoughts too sometimes. Or I did when I had a pool in the house I was renting lol.

Electricity is weird, can't wrap my head around it sometimes. For example, it's dangerous to swim in marinas because someone could have left a shore power cable in the water or there could be some other issue. But I thought the water itself was acting as a ground, same as in a pool? Wouldn't it be neutralized pretty quick since the water itself is grounded? It's not like you're in a fiberglass bathtub. Or maybe this was an above-ground spa?

For example if you're holding the grounded metal part of a light switch and then short it with the hot, the metal body and the ground wire would be the most efficient path of travel for the electricity, and not through your body that is standing in rubber shoes etc. Maybe with water the electricity wanders around and you can get unlucky if you're in the wrong place?

Sad deal for those people, must be a bad way to go not realizing what's happening.
 
Last edited:

samsah33

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 24, 2020
Messages
1,359
Reaction score
3,334
Sad deal🥺
.
.
But why does the article writer have to mention a similar death in Phx that is completely unrelated or even in same country?🙄

It's a real risk in this country as well. We have porous borders and there's a lot of people who get their "electricians" from the crowd outside of their local Home Depot... Penny-wise, pound-foolish.
 

BajaT

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2008
Messages
1,442
Reaction score
1,465
Place getting as bad as Chicago!
 
  • Like
Reactions: t&y

joecfd1

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2008
Messages
636
Reaction score
1,554
Just got the news that one of our cop buddy's from San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexico was executed in a cartel hit last week. If we got pulled over, I showed this pic off we went. Great guy! RIP Horacio Covarrubias!!!
 

Attachments

  • Horacio2.jpg
    Horacio2.jpg
    125.4 KB · Views: 206
  • Horacio.jpg
    Horacio.jpg
    36.4 KB · Views: 209

evantwheeler

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2015
Messages
2,947
Reaction score
5,742
Just got the news that one of our cop buddy's from San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexico was executed in a cartel hit last week. If we got pulled over, I showed this pic off we went. Great guy! RIP Horacio Covarrubias!!!
I wish we would just send SOF down to Mexico and obliterate the Cartels. The world would be a better place.
 

joecfd1

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2008
Messages
636
Reaction score
1,554
I wish we would just send SOF down to Mexico and obliterate the Cartels. The world would be a better place.
100%... The problem is a lot of the cops down there are greased by the cartel so it would just about be impossible.
 

Justsomeguy

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2020
Messages
1,533
Reaction score
2,465
I always think about the light in the pool or spa. Wouldn’t a leak in the housing send current to the pool?
It's possible. But usually hooked up to gfi breaker. Swapping them out made everyone around me nervous. Lol. I was worried about not getting the new one in, not electricity. I killed all the power.
 
Joined
Jun 7, 2024
Messages
114
Reaction score
351
I wish we would just send SOF down to Mexico and obliterate the Cartels. The world would be a better place.
I wish we would build a FUCKING WALL, surrounded by minefields that would keep their shit down there. “People”, dope, etc. All of it. Borders with strict enforcement, sure, but no dope and no 3rd world trash gets thru.
It ain’t rocket surgery.
 

Bajastu

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2017
Messages
920
Reaction score
2,170
Just came back Tuesday, all was good.

Where are you staying?
We usually stay at the Grand Solmar Lands End but we have been staying at Villa La Estancia the last few times becuase it's closer to town for dinner / bars and you can swim on Medano Beach.
 

Done-it-again

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2016
Messages
9,810
Reaction score
12,450
We usually stay at the Grand Solmar Lands End but we have been staying at Villa La Estancia the last few times becuase it's closer to town for dinner / bars and you can swim on Medano Beach.
Staying near town is nice. I’m at Pueblo bonito sunset and taxis are getting pricy.

Found this place and had one of the best meals. Super reasonable too.

https://yelp.to/zeVisNwmPX
 

Taboma

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2008
Messages
15,584
Reaction score
22,494
I have the same thoughts too sometimes. Or I did when I had a pool in the house I was renting lol.

Electricity is weird, can't wrap my head around it sometimes. For example, it's dangerous to swim in marinas because someone could have left a shore power cable in the water or there could be some other issue. But I thought the water itself was acting as a ground, same as in a pool? Wouldn't it be neutralized pretty quick since the water itself is grounded? It's not like you're in a fiberglass bathtub. Or maybe this was an above-ground spa?

For example if you're holding the grounded metal part of a light switch and then short it with the hot, the metal body and the ground wire would be the most efficient path of travel for the electricity, and not through your body that is standing in rubber shoes etc. Maybe with water the electricity wanders around and you can get unlucky if you're in the wrong place?

Sad deal for those people, must be a bad way to go not realizing what's happening.

Back in the mid 1960's my father was on a code writing committee for the National Electrical Code.
Underwriter's Lab (UL) had given him a 2" thick book binder documenting research on swimming pool deaths. I was stunned at the number of deaths. It was particularly sad by the high numbers of entire families that had perished as a result of one person receiving a shock, then each family member in succession jumping in to save the previous, not understanding what was happening to them.

When we had our sportsfisher in Mission Bay I jumped in one day with a mask to check the bottom growth to make sure my diver was doing his job. I felt a tingle, that was a warning, I got out not knowing in which direction the source was located.
The amount of current you receive depends on many variables, but if you feel a tingle, get out.

Often in pool deaths, a person felt a shock, but wasn't electrocuted until they swam over and grabbed the metal ladder to exit. Similar to being in a car with a fallen wire laying on it. You're OK sitting in the vehicle being insulated by four tires, but try to exit and put a foot on wet ground, then it gets you.

Distilled water is actually an insulator, mineral content alters it's conductivity and the liquid in a human body has a saline content, so is often a better conductor than the water the person is swimming in.

Hence the reason for GFCI circuit breakers and receptacles. But in Mexico, that's a real crap shoot I suspect.
 

Bajastu

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2017
Messages
920
Reaction score
2,170
Staying near town is nice. I’m at Pueblo bonito sunset and taxis are getting pricy.

Found this place and had one of the best meals. Super reasonable too.

https://yelp.to/zeVisNwmPX

We have been using Uber for years now. The taxi companies frown upon it but it’s like 10X's less to take an Uber.

I'll add that restaurant to my list of places.
Muchas Gracias
 

Taboma

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2008
Messages
15,584
Reaction score
22,494
I have the same thoughts too sometimes. Or I did when I had a pool in the house I was renting lol.

Electricity is weird, can't wrap my head around it sometimes. For example, it's dangerous to swim in marinas because someone could have left a shore power cable in the water or there could be some other issue. But I thought the water itself was acting as a ground, same as in a pool? Wouldn't it be neutralized pretty quick since the water itself is grounded? It's not like you're in a fiberglass bathtub. Or maybe this was an above-ground spa?

For example if you're holding the grounded metal part of a light switch and then short it with the hot, the metal body and the ground wire would be the most efficient path of travel for the electricity, and not through your body that is standing in rubber shoes etc. Maybe with water the electricity wanders around and you can get unlucky if you're in the wrong place?

Sad deal for those people, must be a bad way to go not realizing what's happening.


Not a redundant post --- I'd overlooked responding to this.

For example if you're holding the grounded metal part of a light switch and then short it with the hot, the metal body and the ground wire would be the most efficient path of travel for the electricity, and not through your body that is standing in rubber shoes etc. Maybe with water the electricity wanders around and you can get unlucky if you're in the wrong place?

I'm not fully understanding what you're "Shorting with the hot", are you holding the switch, is it a new grounded frame switch, or an older style that wasn't grounded ?
Generally, if you are WELL INSULATED, like wearing NON-ESD tennis shoes and NOT standing in a puddle, or NOT leaning against or touching a grounded surface with your body ---ANYWHERE ---- you can hold a hot wire and not feel anything or receive anything. All electrical current must have a path and the rule is ---- IT ALWAYS seeks the path of least resistance. IF you become a portion of that PATH, you will receive a shock, doesn't mean it will be lethal, that depends on several factors. You can also hold a neutral wire, BUT, do not hold both the hot and neutral. Also, don't hold TWO neutrals or once again you may find yourself that path again.
Electricity is extremely predictable, it has nothing to do with luck it's the variables you must always consider and are subject to change.
 
Last edited:

Romans9

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2023
Messages
1,225
Reaction score
5,614
I wince every time I see a generator being used with no earth ground……….
 

port austin pirate

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 16, 2010
Messages
1,114
Reaction score
2,454
Got a brother that was a journeyman electrician worked for Ford and Chrysler as well as independent contractor for a while, when I have a question on electricity, he gets a call really knows his stuff, used to refer to a lot of not so skilled tradesmen as LIGHTBULB ELECTICIANS AND HAMMER MECHANICS I suspect that there is a hell of a lot of those working in Mexico.
 

monkeyswrench

To The Rescue!
Joined
Sep 7, 2018
Messages
29,464
Reaction score
84,164
Back in the mid 1960's my father was on a code writing committee for the National Electrical Code.
Underwriter's Lab (UL) had given him a 2" thick book binder documenting research on swimming pool deaths. I was stunned at the number of deaths. It was particularly sad by the high numbers of entire families that had perished as a result of one person receiving a shock, then each family member in succession jumping in to save the previous, not understanding what was happening to them.

When we had our sportsfisher in Mission Bay I jumped in one day with a mask to check the bottom growth to make sure my diver was doing his job. I felt a tingle, that was a warning, I got out not knowing in which direction the source was located.
The amount of current you receive depends on many variables, but if you feel a tingle, get out.

Often in pool deaths, a person felt a shock, but wasn't electrocuted until they swam over and grabbed the metal ladder to exit. Similar to being in a car with a fallen wire laying on it. You're OK sitting in the vehicle being insulated by four tires, but try to exit and put a foot on wet ground, then it gets you.

Distilled water is actually an insulator, mineral content alters it's conductivity and the liquid in a human body has a saline content, so is often a better conductor than the water the person is swimming in.

Hence the reason for GFCI circuit breakers and receptacles. But in Mexico, that's a real crap shoot I suspect.
It seems every year there is a story of someone being electrocuted at the docks somewhere. 1 or 2 years ago, there were two brothers I believe at lake Pleasant. With water and electricity, is the "charge" dissipated by range? Is the water a poor conductor, so it doesn't transfer the energy very far? Seems like places, like houseboat docks where this seems to happen, could just have a contact in the water, a light bulb in the circuit and a ground...like a smoke detector. Don't know if that would work though.
 

DirtyWhiteDog

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2013
Messages
1,103
Reaction score
1,173
With docks, I've always heard that if you feel a tingle to swim away from the dock you are at and go to a beach if possible.
On pools, the lights are usually protected by the GFCI outlet on the pool panel. Turn on lights and hit the test button, light should go off. Pool pumps should have a GFCI breaker.
 

SoCalDave

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2011
Messages
13,358
Reaction score
31,078
It seems every year there is a story of someone being electrocuted at the docks somewhere. 1 or 2 years ago, there were two brothers I believe at lake Pleasant. With water and electricity, is the "charge" dissipated by range? Is the water a poor conductor, so it doesn't transfer the energy very far? Seems like places, like houseboat docks where this seems to happen, could just have a contact in the water, a light bulb in the circuit and a ground...like a smoke detector. Don't know if that would work though.
Hmmm...
 

Taboma

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2008
Messages
15,584
Reaction score
22,494
It seems every year there is a story of someone being electrocuted at the docks somewhere. 1 or 2 years ago, there were two brothers I believe at lake Pleasant. With water and electricity, is the "charge" dissipated by range? Is the water a poor conductor, so it doesn't transfer the energy very far? Seems like places, like houseboat docks where this seems to happen, could just have a contact in the water, a light bulb in the circuit and a ground...like a smoke detector. Don't know if that would work though.
Those are those variables I mentioned.
Water conductivity varies greatly between, well Lake Tahoe (Which I'm guess is less saline) versus Lake Mead or Havasu, we know both of those Colorado River lakes have rather high saline and mineral content. (Hence whey our Anodes show more wear than they would in many lakes).
So the "Touch Voltage" (The voltage the body is subject to) would be based on the voltage potential (120V or 12,000V + ??) of the fault source, the resistance of the initial fault (Insulation leak or direct conductor contact with the water or metal submerged in the water, like a cruisers prop, rudder, anode etc), the distance and dissipation resistance to the current flow. All of these variables will be determining factors in feeling a tingle versus a fatal event.

It wasn't that uncommon back in the days when we were using all metal drill motors in marginally grounded system sources, (Or two wire cord, or cut off ground prong) to be seen to emit small sparks as you were drilling a building's structural steel. Those sparks were from the motor insulation leakage, the kind that if you took the drill off the steel structural member, then placed your other hand on that same piece, then triggered the drill, you might feel a tingle, or get a good whack.
If you were so unfortunate to have grabbed the structure and had a good grasp on the drill --- You might wake up fucking DEAD, because 120V is notorious for locking up your muscles.
Many times pool deaths were not from direct electrocution, but from the voltage causing the swimmers muscles to seize, the cause of death being drowning.

Docks are bad because their often in poor shape electrically, older Pre-Gfci sources, with corroded grounding systems, wires or cords dangling in the water, those being the more obvious. The tricky ones are the mis-wired or poorly maintained boats that are leaking through their anode grounding system essentially electrifying all immersed metal components.
Again, how lethal, depends on the nature of the fault, but those can be far more tricky to locate.
 

Taboma

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2008
Messages
15,584
Reaction score
22,494
It seems every year there is a story of someone being electrocuted at the docks somewhere. 1 or 2 years ago, there were two brothers I believe at lake Pleasant. With water and electricity, is the "charge" dissipated by range? Is the water a poor conductor, so it doesn't transfer the energy very far? Seems like places, like houseboat docks where this seems to happen, could just have a contact in the water, a light bulb in the circuit and a ground...like a smoke detector. Don't know if that would work though.
" could just have a contact in the water, a light bulb in the circuit and a ground...like a smoke detector. Don't know if that would work though."

Not clear on this, do you mean as the source of the problem ? Often it's the onboard battery chargers, or could be the way the Shore Power is wired and grounded.
Certainly a higher probability in marinas with Houseboats and larger Cruisers that depend on shore power systems for various systems.

They make testers if that's what you're referring to ---- https://www.shockalert.com/

I just use my toe, then foot, then leg --- or preferably, somebody else's :oops:
 

monkeyswrench

To The Rescue!
Joined
Sep 7, 2018
Messages
29,464
Reaction score
84,164
" could just have a contact in the water, a light bulb in the circuit and a ground...like a smoke detector. Don't know if that would work though."

Not clear on this, do you mean as the source of the problem ? Often it's the onboard battery chargers, or could be the way the Shore Power is wired and grounded.
Certainly a higher probability in marinas with Houseboats and larger Cruisers that depend on shore power systems for various systems.

They make testers if that's what you're referring to ---- https://www.shockalert.com/

I just use my toe, then foot, then leg --- or preferably, somebody else's :oops:
I was thinking like an idiot light on a car. Something to notify people at docks that there is a problem. Seems like marina owners could be wrapped up in lawsuits because the boat owner did something wrong. Light goes on, flip the breaker to the problem boat.

Drowning while being electrocuted has to be pretty horrid...each suck on their own.
 

SoCalDave

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2011
Messages
13,358
Reaction score
31,078
You mean like a portable geni w/o a direct ground to earth? Like earth rod or ?
Hope not out of line here but that is correct. Gen sets have no ground thus no grounds to the rig. Every gen set I've seen states you must ground the unit prior to operation but not sure what your options are when roughing it. Often thought about this when running Gen Set only.
Any experts here on this subject?
 

28Eliminator

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2011
Messages
11,518
Reaction score
11,817
We usually stay at the Grand Solmar Lands End but we have been staying at Villa La Estancia the last few times becuase it's closer to town for dinner / bars and you can swim on Medano Beach.
I’ve had a TS at Playa Grande for 16 years.. haven’t been in a few years. My daughter is there right now with a bunch of her friends. Love Cabo!!
 

Romans9

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2023
Messages
1,225
Reaction score
5,614
You mean like a portable geni w/o a direct ground to earth? Like earth rod or ?
Yes.

In case of a malfunction you can become the ground.

You can take a ground rod and run a tire over it (pinch it between the tire and the ground) with a frame ground hooked to it if you have no other options.
 

Roosky01

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2020
Messages
2,544
Reaction score
8,598
I have stayed in a few places across Mexico that had the hot tubs and I can safely say that I have never had a desire to get in one while there.
 
Top