Originally posted by radioguy
Let me preface this by stateing I have done no scientific study, but am basing this theory upon my experience wotking with electricty:
In theory, fiberglass should be much better than wood. With a fiberglass handle, the only conducter is the water that is running in a thin sheet over the handle, and if it in not running over there will be only a very thin sheen, and it will quickly "break up" and be a poor conductor. It will only have whatever dirt you picked up that day to mix with (you do clean your tools, right?)
Wood, however, is another story. Water soaks into the wood, meaning not only the surface water is a conductor, but also the wet wood itself, which will be a mixture of water, wood, grease, soot, and whatever else has worked its way into the wood over the years. This "witches brew" is going to conduct electricity much better, and the whole handle is going to become one big conducter, instead of just the thin sheen of water flowing over the fibergalss handle.
The thin sheen of water on a fiberglass handle will not be enough to conduct a lot of current, and I would suspect not nearly enough to cause a lot of injury to the holder. Thw wet wood handle, however, is another matter.
Fiberglass will always be an insulater, only the water running over it can conduct electricty. Wood is a decent insulator only when dry, once wet is loses most of its insulating ability and become a fair conductor. Wet fiberglass will dry very fast, and rarely will a continous stretch of water exist between the head and ones hands unless it is being sprayed. Once wet wood stays wet, and as the water soaks in loses more and more of its insulating ability.
Just theory, but my .02. If anyone is interested I could conduct some simple tests with a multimeter and some wet wood and fiberglass handles to see what is the better conducter, but I bet my theory holds up. But to see what I mean about it staying wet, spray a fiberglass handle, then hold it up for 10 seconds, and see how much water remains continious between your hands and the head, not a lot. Do the same with wood and it stays wet all over.
Let me preface this by stateing I have done no scientific study, but am basing this theory upon my experience wotking with electricty:
In theory, fiberglass should be much better than wood. With a fiberglass handle, the only conducter is the water that is running in a thin sheet over the handle, and if it in not running over there will be only a very thin sheen, and it will quickly "break up" and be a poor conductor. It will only have whatever dirt you picked up that day to mix with (you do clean your tools, right?)
Wood, however, is another story. Water soaks into the wood, meaning not only the surface water is a conductor, but also the wet wood itself, which will be a mixture of water, wood, grease, soot, and whatever else has worked its way into the wood over the years. This "witches brew" is going to conduct electricity much better, and the whole handle is going to become one big conducter, instead of just the thin sheen of water flowing over the fibergalss handle.
The thin sheen of water on a fiberglass handle will not be enough to conduct a lot of current, and I would suspect not nearly enough to cause a lot of injury to the holder. Thw wet wood handle, however, is another matter.
Fiberglass will always be an insulater, only the water running over it can conduct electricty. Wood is a decent insulator only when dry, once wet is loses most of its insulating ability and become a fair conductor. Wet fiberglass will dry very fast, and rarely will a continous stretch of water exist between the head and ones hands unless it is being sprayed. Once wet wood stays wet, and as the water soaks in loses more and more of its insulating ability.
Just theory, but my .02. If anyone is interested I could conduct some simple tests with a multimeter and some wet wood and fiberglass handles to see what is the better conducter, but I bet my theory holds up. But to see what I mean about it staying wet, spray a fiberglass handle, then hold it up for 10 seconds, and see how much water remains continious between your hands and the head, not a lot. Do the same with wood and it stays wet all over.
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