OUCH! Alien Bee problem?

[brandon_miller3]

<p>Today I was on location at an abandoned castle for a local band. I was shooting a couple ABs power by a Vagabond and triggered with a hotshoe adapter/pc cable. Furthermore, the ceiling of this castle was dripping and the floor was wet. I had one of my stobes set nearly at the ceiling and it was a reach to adjust the flash power, whenever I streched up one of my hands would hold the front of the unit, the metal plate behind the flush tube/modeling light and it felt like I was getting a slight zap.<br>

Is there a way to prevent this? Is it risky?</p>

<p>Thanks in advanced!</p>

[Matt Laur]

<p>How are you grounding the Vagabond? You <em>are</em> grounding it, right?</p>

[brandon_miller3]

<p>uh oh.<br>

and I patiently read the instruction manual:<br>

after paragraph on how to ground the vagabond, "However, this is not necessary for user safety because of the built-in GFIC circuit."</p>

[Two23]

<p>This could be an especially tricky question. Whilte the GFIC should prevent any big shocks, you might have some voltage leaking somewhere. The thing to do is call the Paul Buff tech support on Monday and find out what they think is going on. They also have an on-line forum and you just might catch Buff on it himself this weekend. The voltage inside those monolights is nothing to screw around with.<br>

Kent in SD</p>

[bob_osullivan]

<p>Even if grounded, you're really not supposed to use this stuff on a wet floor with water dripping from the ceiling. Next time I'd look for another way to light the set. I carry my lighting gear in plastic milk crates which I use to elevete power packs and batteries off of the floor if it's damp. </p>