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Anti Static Wrist Straps During Winter?

I

ignis-fatuus

Member
So I moved to the North East and have discovered that winter brings dry air and a great potential for static electricity buildup. These days I feel like I shock every metal surface I first come into contact with. I'd like to start another recap & transistor project but I'm wary to do so in fear of causing any sort of lasting damage. I have never used an anti static device before and was hoping for some advice. My house was built in the 1920s and there are almost no grounded outlets. Would it be sufficient to attach the lead of the bracelet to the frame/chassis of receiver I'm working on?

Any other helpful tips about static during winter and how to deal with it would be very much appreciated.
 
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ignis-fatuus said:
So I moved to the North East and have discovered that winter brings dry air and a great potential for static electricity buildup. These days I feel like I shock every metal surface I first come into contact with. I'd like to start another recap & transistor project but I'm wary to do so in fear of causing any sort of lasting damage. I have never used an anti static device before and was hoping for some advice. My house was built in the 1920s and there are almost no grounded outlets. Would it be sufficient to attach the lead of the bracelet to the frame/chassis of receiver I'm working on?

Any other helpful tips about static during winter and how to deal with it would be very much appreciated.
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Controlling humidity is standard in an ESD certified environment but so is personal grounding.

You don't want to ground yourself to the equipment you are working on.
Has the wiring in the house been updated? The outlet boxes may be grounded even if the outlets are 2-proged.
 
RVT1K said:
Controlling humidity is standard in an ESD certified environment but so is personal grounding.

You don't want to ground yourself to the equipment you are working on.
Has the wiring in the house been updated? The outlet boxes may be grounded even if the outlets are 2-proged.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately the only outlets in the house that have been upgraded are the ones in the basement--this was done, I imagine, when the fuse box was replaced. Normally I would work in the basement but it has a tendency to get very cold during the winter months. I might run some wire and check to see if the ductwork in the house is grounded as each room has a metal faceplate.
 
Weather stripping and caulking. Stop the infiltration of cold dry air and the problem goes away. Your place will be more comfortable and you will waste less fuel as well.
 
Much depends on the type of heating system you are running; anything involving combustion just sucks the humidity out of the environment. And unless you set the humidifier to window-fogging levels, you will almost always have some static events.

In the winter I always run an antistatic wristband to the chassis or, if indicated, the designated ground point for any solid state unit I am working on. Better safe than sorry!
 
For long term work, I use a wrist strap. For a small project, I touch a ground, then be very careful to not move my feet. I have actually blown a couple of white LEDs. They seem to be more static sensitive than other colors.
 
If your house runs hot water baseboard or steam (which I suspect it does given its age)... Those pipes should be connected to your house's main ground.

Here's why..
By code your circuit panel's ground bus must be connected to the water supply pipe coming from the street and at least one copper rod driven into the earth. Your boiler is connected to the cold water supply so the copper pipes in your baseboard are therefore grounded.

I also live in the northeast (NJ) and static is a problem.
Out of habit I discharge myself to a ground everytime I touch my stereo.
 
Its not just a winter-time problem.
I used to live in Phoenix and single-digit humidity numbers were common during the summer.
 
Swamp coolers (aka humidifiers). Fixes the problem winter and summer.

I have static issues even in my listening room, which doesn't heat with any sort of combusion. I run a mini split, so there isn't outside air being sucked in constantly. Still gets dry enough out here that I get zapped if I change records when I haven't refilled the humidifier in a while. The house with the oil furnace and the pellet stove are much worse. I really need to modify the pellet stove for outside air feed to help with this, but the oil furnace I can't do much about.
 
One thing that I might consider, and I'm surprised I didn't think of it sooner, is using nitrile gloves when working on pbs. I think I'll use a grounding strap aw well for good measure and make sure the nitrile gloves are rated to protect against ESD.
 
gadget73 said:
Swamp coolers (aka humidifiers). Fixes the problem winter and summer.

I have static issues even in my listening room, which doesn't heat with any sort of combusion. I run a mini split, so there isn't outside air being sucked in constantly. Still gets dry enough out here that I get zapped if I change records when I haven't refilled the humidifier in a while. The house with the oil furnace and the pellet stove are much worse. I really need to modify the pellet stove for outside air feed to help with this, but the oil furnace I can't do much about.
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How large of a humidifier do you use? We were listening to some records last night and it was becoming obvious that electrostatic buildup was becoming a problem. I'm generally too lazy to fuss with the anti-static cleaning arm on my SL-3300, but it had become a necessity to put it into action.
 
The one I had broke last year, I've actually been running my Rainbow vacuum on low speed this year. As a humidifier its not awesome but I keep forgetting to just order a replacement. The room is basically 10x20 so I don't need anything huge. If it holds a gallon that will usually run for 2-3 days. If you're trying to do the whole house you probably want one that holds more.
 
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