How Are Dielectric Gloves Checked For Punctures? Why Should You Check Them For Punctures Before Use?

2024 Author: Beatrice Philips | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-09 13:15

When performing work involving electric current, use special dielectric gloves, which are personal protective equipment for hands. The purpose of this product is that the material, which does not transmit electric current through itself, protects the skin of the fingers and palms from electric shock when a person touches devices or parts that are energized. It is advisable to use dielectric gloves only if the voltage of the electric current is not higher than 1000 volts. Higher electrical voltages will require additional human protection measures.

Dielectric gloves are produced in Russia in accordance with GOST, and latex or dense rubber is taken as the material . The main feature of such products is that they are made seamless, or the seam is made using sheet rubber. In order to work safely with dielectric gloves, this protective equipment must be checked correctly and in a timely manner for serviceability.

The need for verification

Dielectric products are punctured prior to use. Inspection should be done very carefully before each use, as even a barely visible defect renders dielectric gloves unusable .and the person who works in them puts their lives at serious risk of electric shock. For the absence of punctures, a product made of latex or rubber is inspected visually before work, as well as inflating it with air by twisting. But such a check is clearly not enough.

Before work, it is required to inspect the gloves for the presence of dirt or moisture on the inner and outer surfaces - Dirty or wet protective equipment loses its dielectric properties and cannot protect a person from electric shock.

To keep protective equipment in working order, after work, they are washed well with soap or soda solution and dried, and sometimes disinfected.

After processing, dielectric gloves must be very well dried

In some cases, for additional protection of latex or rubber, leather leggings or protective canvas gloves are also put on top of dielectric gloves. In the case when it is necessary to carry out electrical work in conditions of subzero air temperatures, knitted gloves are worn inside under the dielectric protection, which will help prevent hypothermia and frostbite of the fingers or palm.

How to check?

According to safety requirements, dielectric hand protection products must be checked once every 6 months. to determine their suitability for use. Such tests are carried out in special laboratories, where protective equipment is subjected to certain tests using electric current . The essence of the test is that within 60 sec. Gloves are energized with an electric discharge equal to at least 6 kilovolts, while dielectric products must, according to the test indicators, show an electrical conductivity not exceeding 6 milliamperes, otherwise they are unsuitable for use and must be discarded.

The procedure for testing the dielectric properties of protective gloves begins with the fact that the products are immersed in a container made of metal and filled with water, the temperature of which does not exceed 20 ° C . The immersion of gloves is performed so that a free, dry and clean edge of gloves with a height of 0.5 cm remains above the water surface. Then, special electrodes are lowered inside the gloves. One wire of the transformer will be connected to a container filled with water, where gloves are immersed, and the other wire will be required for grounding.

Further, through the transformer, an electric current is supplied to the electrodes. Thanks to a measuring device connected to this system - a milliammeter, it is possible to determine the readings of the conductivity of the current.

Such a test will show not only how integral the dielectric pair of gloves is, but also how much current it passes through itself. If the indicators exceed the standards established by the rules of technical testing, then dielectric gloves are not allowed to be used.

Recommendations

For the safe conduct of electrical work under a voltage not exceeding 1000 volts, it is necessary to purchase only those dielectric protective gloves on which there is a standard factory marking with the designation "En" or "Ev". Other types of rubber or latex protective equipment are not suitable for this purpose and will not provide you with protection for your hands from electric shock . As for the rules for operating dielectric gloves, in addition to observing their cleanliness, dryness and integrity, it is also important to know that it is forbidden to tuck the edges of dielectric gloves during electrical work.

Before you take used gloves to protect your hands from electric shock, you should make sure that these dielectric products are tested in laboratory tests in a timely manner.

You can get such information by looking at the stamp, which, after testing, is put on each glove with indelible paint . Usually this stamp is clearly visible, but you should pay attention to the fact that the information applied by the stamp is readable. If dielectric gloves have not been tested for more than 6 months, then they cannot be used for work involving electrical voltage.

It is also possible to check whether dielectric gloves have passed laboratory tests or not by means of the presence of an entry that must be entered in a special log. The fact is that after laboratory testing of a protective dielectric product, a protocol is drawn up about the test results and an entry is made in a special log book. When using dielectric gloves, you should be aware that you can dry them after processing or disinfection only at room temperature and do not expose the product to heating using household appliances . With strong heating, the strength of the rubber is significantly reduced, the product becomes covered with microcracks that are invisible to the eye, and a person using such a means of protection runs the risk of receiving a serious electrical injury that is life-threatening.