KATO 820-3 WITH OPERATOR STRUCK BY LIGHTNING ON TOP HYD CYLINDER.THE THUNDER WAS VERY CLOSE I THOUGHT,IT SHOOK THE MACHINE WITH A BANG.THEN THE WINDOWS LIGHTENED UP. I THOUGHT THE STRIKE MUST HAVE BEEN CLOSE.AT THE TIME I WAS CLEANING IRRIGATION CHANNELS.AFTER LOOKING AROUND I SAW NOTHING ,SO I WENT BACK TO WORK TO CONTINUE PULLING THIS BUCKET OF MUD,THE MUD IN THE BUCKET WAS BOILING LIKE A HOT MUD POOL. I GAVE MY EYES A RUB,COULDN,T BELIEVE WHAT I WAS SEEING.NO DAMAGE TO ME SITTING ON EXCAVATOR SEAT. TWO WEEKS LATER STILL WORKING SAME PLACE.....TOP CYLINDER (ARM) SPLIT OPEN WHILE I WAS WORKING ,6 FOOT CYLINDER SPLIT OPEN 3/4'' FROM COLLAR TO COLLAR.TOOK IT TO HAVE NEW CYLINDER WELDED IN. HYDRAULIC MAN SAID I MUST HAVE BEEN WELDING IT ,HIS MACHINE COULDN,T MARK THE OLD SPLIT CYLINDER (TOO HARD) WHY WASN,T I INJURED,? Dundiggin.
Too dumb to die?? Sorry, couldn't help myself.
The good conducting path ( steel machine) Is all around you so the voltage drop from the points you are contacting the machine is very small because your body has a higher resistance than the steel. If the bucket was in the water, the least resistance path would be down the dipper to the bucket. Other longer paths are down the stick to the frame and out through the tracks. Some of the current would go that way as well. I hope you bought a lottery ticket that day. Most likely there will be other problems with that machine as electricity flowing through bearings tends to pit them. It is really hard to guess where the current flow was.
The ROPS structure provided a Faraday cage for you. There was no path to ground thru you that existed. I agree that quite possibly, there are going to be problems with the bushings from the arm to the ground. Possibly even a pin welded tight to a bushing.
Oh sir, but you were injured. it stuck your caps lock on and you are yelling now. Perhaps it hurt your hearing?
I literally scrolled down to say this!!!