AFCI Rage...I have it BAD

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GUNNING said:
Your Right about the Ideal wire nut instructions, 3M does not mention twisting.
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The 3M double color ones say something to the effect that you can pre-twist or not - they also have a slightly different desing than many others - a deep sharp triangle that cuts into the conductors much more than other brands.

Inside, the unique spring grips quickly, turns on fast and expands to accept a wide range of wire sizes. It also bites into conductors for solid, secure connections.
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I preffer to twist anyway... And OK - let me have - I'm gonna say it - "Back-stabbing is stupid" :rolleyes:
 
Back stabbing is not stupid. Its the cheap chisslin manufacturers and the UL that allows them to not put enough area of connection to make pass through of power possible. Its cost effective to make the manufactured defect and the electrician a whipping boy. We have been inserted by an inclining circular plane by those that whoreship the almighty buck. Not that there anything wrong with that.
 
jdsmith said:
I re-read the manual for the suretest but it leaves me hanging on exactly what measurement is being made and what the equipment is really doing. I did some searching and found some discussion of it in the "Exploding Lightbulbs" thread But I still don't have the whole picture. Is there an introduction available like there is for the megger?
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If you read "Exploding lightbulbs", you probably wished you didn't buy the 61-165 then:grin:

Impedance testing is done online, or live. Impedance opposes electric current, like resistance, but again, online. You can't read impedance with the Resistance mode on any DMM in a live circuit, as you know.

Loop impedance testing can find you troubled conditions real quick. After you have the receps mapped out and know what is on the particular circuit in question, impedance testing can easily find troubled connections. Troubled connections equals hiring impedace/opposition, which leads to heating and possible arcing.

Say you start with the beginning of the circuit or anywhere for that matter as long as you can figure out upstream/downstream. You start at one recep and you have .23ohms on your ungrounded leg. The next one downstream, say .24omhs hot leg, next one .24ohms. The next one you see .76 ohms, you've got a problem that needs to be fixed then, like yesterday. Somewhere from your last .24 reading to the .76 through the recep, you have a bad termination, loose twist, etc., and impedance can increase over time due to several factors. Soooo, (I need to cut loose), if I had an arcing fault, legit or not, I can rule out bad connections from one reading if you know your dead end. You can test the ungrounded impedance, as well as the grounded and grounding.

People are starting to fall asleep here. Did I make that any clearer for you on why I brought up loop impedance testing after speaking of arcing RAGE?;)


If you are still awake, you can read this article from EC&M. Maybe I should of placed that first and just shut my mouth:grin:


http://ceenews.com/ar/electric_ac_loop_impedance/
 
On the other hand,....

On the other hand,....

I know this is coming, so let me beat it befores it does. To find troubled connections, the higher the load, the better results you'll see. Loop impedance testing will not load a wiring circuit as a megger will. Never said that. I just like doing impedance testing first because it is done online, and you're not having to pull out devices, or having to disconnect anything.
 
mdshunk said:
fall of potential. Probably best done with milivolt meter for home wiring. Micro volts if you're checking something small, like a contactor maybe.
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Thank you Sir;) Shoot, I had never even heard POCO until I came here:roll:
 
Scott
I'm coming to the party late but I believe you mentioned that the fault is intermittent.

The combination breaker will trip on faults beyond the face of the outlet ( out of the wall wiring). Also statistically 50%+ of the arcing problems are in the utilization equipment not the in the wall wiring. A bad parallel cord could cause the problem.or a weak wiper in a receptacle. If the circuits have TR receptacles and the customer is having difficulty inserting a cord cap the connection may be less than solid and a load may draw an arc across the connector and receptacle.

Probably not but I would consider these issues also

best of luck'
Charlie
 
Acronyms

Acronyms

mdshunk said:
You can do an FOP from device to device too, and accomplish the same thing for the hot wire.
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Why do you you talk in sometimes indecipherable acronyms? The best code breaking definition I can come up with for a 'FOP' is Webster's synonym for a dandy. Elucidate some of these mysterious acronyms, please, so that this whole word using southerner can benefit from your vast knowledge!
 
iwire said:
Kind of funny coming from a member named 'rpm' :grin:


FOP = Fall of potential test.

Fall of Potential method for earth electrode testing
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The 'rpm' acronym is in reality the initials for my full name. They were convenient to use when I joined this forum and are easy to remember. Since my induction into computer use (kicking and screaming, I might add) I find myself inundated with personal user names, passwords, weird recognition symbols, etc. to the point that I have to keep them all catalogued for reference. Ergo, I use rpm for ease of use and recall ability for this forum.
Thanks for the answer.
 
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