Home made device from bug zapper?

[monthy]

Hello, i was wondering if any of you had any experience with using a bug zapper as a punishment/bdsm device?
I saw some other forums talking about it and saw it on couple home made videos but nothing has a lot of info on it.
Is it safe?
Does it hurt?
Does it leave permanent marks?
I got one that takes 2 D batteries which gives out around 580 volts it seems like a lot so i though i would ask.
Thanks in advance!!!

[lj]

There are several DIY guides to using electric fly/bug killers as electro-play devices.

Most commonly these are gadgets that look like tennis raquets, powered with a variety of battery types, with the strings replaced by two or more wire grills. The ones I have use a set of parallel thick wires, the electric shock being between any adjacent pair of wires. Yes, they are painful, depending on your pain threshold and whether you are expecting the shock (surprise makes the shock more intense, although fearful anticipation can enhance the effect!)

Modifications can be made to reduce the electrodes to a single pair, making a sort of cattle-prod. You will see these on some porn sites with apparently massive sparks, but I suspect these are generally an illusion added in post-editing as the fly-swat spark is tiny.

The electronics uses a DC-DC convertor to charge a capacitor to the required voltage. The charging circuit has a very high internal resistance (impedance) so it can develop a high voltage but supply a very low current. The shock comes from the discharge of the capacitor, the value of which is chosen to supply a very short burst of current (milli-seconds and a few milliamps) so you get a painful shock that is maintained for a very short time. The charging circuit voltage drops very significantly if the body contact is maintained, and the supplied current is limited to a safe level.

From a safety point of view, there is no problem, though of course some people may drop dead from the "shock" just as they might if you burst a balloon behind them.

There are, in my experience, no permanent (or temporary) marks.

My only concern is that I haven't come across a bug zapper using 2 x D cells - these can supply a hefty current and that might suggest the zapper the OP has is verging towards the industrial. However, if the electrodes are unprotected, the device must be safe for accidental (in our case deliberate !) skin contact under the sort of consumer safety legislation commonly applicable in most countries.

[chasteed]

Harborfreight.com sells these for $3.99 and they use 2 D cells. Their item number is 40122.

[Sir Cumference]

The commercial version is called a "tazapper".

The handle looks a lot like a flyswatter, but I've never seen what is inside it.

[Riddle]

I have played with battery powered bug zappers and would recommend caution when used for BDSM purposes. They are close in design to cattle prods and tazers, but are intended to fry bugs with an electrical arc. This arc burns bugs to death; this arc may burn skin and stuff under skin. Unlike tazers and cattle prods, there are no industry standards regulating their power output.

The ones I have seen and used had an inner metal mesh and outer rods for the electrodes. This design makes it harder to shock people with it, but tends to really hurt when it does. Taking the racket off and making it a two prong device is simple enough. Making sure the power output matches the intended effect is much more difficult. The one I bought from Harbor Freight gave a good shock and hurt a lot without leaving burn marks. Another one I bought had a horrible bite to it and would leave burn marks on skin and leave that body part twitching for a while; it was no fun. That one was still horrible with the output capacitor removed and good body contact. Ended up throwing it away.

Are they safe? Mostly with a risk of electrical burns; unlikely to cause death or permanent disability unless a nerve is damaged. Electrical burns heal very slowly and may cause damage below the skin. The burn marks may leave a lasting scar for a lengthy period of time. The burns can be caused by the electrical arc or the electricity flowing through the spot and may be influenced by skin contact, skin moisture content, and skin resistance. Moving to a different area of the body or a different person could make burns more likely. Also, the muscle under the area shocked may contract violently and must have adequate ability to move. Heavy restraints on the body part could cause a torn muscle or ligament. This is a rare issue, but worth considering.

Given my experience with them, I will not use them within a BDSM context and will not allow them to shock me in any context. There are other methods to shock people with better results. I would rather buy a cattle prod or tens unit. However, the bug zappers are not enough of a risk for me to say they are dangerous to use on people or to recommend against it. People using them for BDSM just need to be aware of the risks and take adequate precautions.

Having said all this, I am curious to know how the one you bought works for you? Have you shocked yourself with it to know what it does?

[monthy]

I made it to a cattle prod style, I noticed the power of it can by controlled by how long you hold the button, if you just give it one short click, you will not even feel the shock, but if you hold it for couple seconds, it hurts pretty bad sometimes even sparks show up. I guess it's ok for punishment etc.

[KinkInSpace]

I have not modified my fly swatter but I can tell you enough to give you an understanding of the risks.

If I first touch my skin with it and then press the button, I get a little jolt. I feel it and one could say it is painful, but the anticipation of getting the shock is higher than the actual feeling. Also, the second shock, even if you still hold the flyswatter against your skin will be more powerful, because the capacitor inside has not ran out of juice.

Using the fly swatter this way is safe and very well within tolerance of actual pain levels or damage etc.

There's a second approach, one I like a lot more and that is this:

First press the button and hold it, then move the fly swatter to your body until you touch it.

This causes a few things to happen:
- Electricity is being built up in the device, so the shock you'll get is the maximum possible.
- Depending on how fast you move the fly swatter to the skin, the steel cables that provides the electricity will not actually touch your skin but almost. At least this happens if you're not going fast, but slow. As electricity jumps from the metal into your flesh and back into the wire, the shock will feel more severe, and temperature will raise on the skin. A second touch at the same location will cause the skin to burn, giving a burn smell. Not that the burn is anything severe. No itching or anything, maybe only for a second or so, but I guess the electrical shock has somewhat deafened the feeling in the area you hitted twice.

Now the pain is a lot higher using this method. I've only done this on my buttocks. Only place I really dare and know its safe. I'd say the pain is higher than as if you would spank yourself with say... a paddle because the pain is very concentrated to just one tiny area of your skin. Because the racket is pretty big, it is very hard to touch in different places if you do it yourself. You'll usually be touching the same places (or near that place) If you do it a few times, you'll get a bit used to that pain level, especially if you are aroused, but might cause a bit of burning to your skin. I definitely would not keep shocking a burned piece of flesh, because that would definitely lead to severe burns.