Wand Workshop

Electricity can be very dangerous and unforgiving. The Violet wand converts dangerous current into a form we can play with safely, well mostly safely.

Before you play with a Violet Wand there are a couple of things you should know about the wand. This is not to scare you but so you can make an informed decision and select the level of risk you are comfortable with.

Many people don’t realize that inside the Violet Wand there is a direct connection from the wall outlet’s Neutral blade to the coil connected to the output. During normal operation, this is perfectly safe. The problem occurs when the outlet is wired incorrectly. You wouldn’t want to connect yourself to the Hot lead of the outlet.

The first thing you should check before plugging a wand in is the outlet’s wiring. This can be done with a small $4 device called a circuit checker. You plug it in and three lights indicate if the outlet is wired correctly. If not, it will indicate the problem. The most dangerous situation is an outlet that has its wiring reversed. The Hot and Neutral are reversed. Many electric devices require a specific polarity as indicated by the larger blade on the plug so it can only be plugged in one way.

The second dangerous situation is a missing ground. If a short occurs the ground gives the electricity a path to the ground hopefully directing the current away from you. Never use an outlet that is wired incorrectly or has a bad ground.

Once you have determined the outlet is correct, you should plug in a GFCI. GFCI stands for Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter. This device monitors the current passing through the Hot wire and the Neutral wire. If there is a difference, the electricity is going somewhere it shouldn’t, like through a person. The GFCI trips protecting you from dangerous current.

A Violet wand may occasionally trip the GFCI when no problem exists. This is normal as the Violet Wand creates a lot of noise and spikes in the line that can trip the GFCI. This noise and spikes can also damage sensitive electronic devices so don’t plug the wand into an outlet anywhere near a stereo, computer or other electronics.

If you check the outlet and use a GCFI you are playing safer than without them but there is one more thing you can do to increase safety just a little it more. You should never connect yourself or anyone else directly to the output side of the Violet Wand without using a spark-gapped device.

A Spark Gap is simply a small gap in the conductive material that forces the current to jump over the gap. If you stick a metal rod in the output end of the wand and grab it and the wand fails sending dangerous current to that rod, you could be injured. If you have the GFCI it should trip protecting you. What if it fails? The spark gap will give you a second point of safety to protect you.

The same rod made with a nylon or plastic gap so the electricity has to jump a few millimeters to reach you is spark-gapped. The dangerous current from the wall outlet cannot jump the gap while the electricity we like to play with can. The gap will prevent you from getting shocked by dangerous current even if it reaches the output of the Violet Wand. Glass electrodes don’t need a spark gap because the dangerous current cannot pass through the glass or gas inside the electrode.

Safety should be the top concern in any BDSM play. Introducing electricity has its own dangers but a little planning and smart use of inexpensive safety devices can eliminate almost all of the dangers.

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