Circuit Tracers that will work on High computer loads

Status
Not open for further replies.
B

brother

Senior Member
Location
"I have learned, in whatsoever STATE I am, therewi
Is there a circuit tracer that would work on loads that have alot of computers and ups on them. I had this one situation of where I was tracing out a circuit to a panel and the interferrence was soo high that I never could get a good signal at the panel. It just made the trace go haywire. Is there a different brand that would better in this type of scenerio of high frequency loads on the panel.
 
I use the Amprobe tracer all the time, and I do understand exactly what you are finding. In some electrical environments the LEDs of the receiver will go crazy and making it hard to find the breaker you want.

But it can be done with some patience, put the sender on high, put the receiver on X1 and dial it up fairly high, now put it on a breaker and slowly dial it down. If you are on the right breaker all of sudden you will see the LED start pulsing at the right rate.

When I have a situation where there are many panels the circuit could be in I start at the distribution panel and find which feeder breaker supplies the circuit, I do this by putting the receiver over each phase of each breaker, you should find one phase of one breaker with the signal. Now you know which panel you have to spend time in looking for the branch breaker.

I just asked the boss to buy 5 more of the Amprobe tracers, they better work. :)
 
I have used my ideal tracer in similar environments and never had issues. It does take a bit of practice to use the correct setting, but once the user gets it down, the tracer is an extremely impressive tool that has saved me countless hours. The model number is 61-956.
 
I have the same issue with my personal Amprobe tracer, computers operate at close to the same frequency, so you have to listen real close for the pulse. The company uses the Ideal tracers, and they are not nowhere near as accurate as the Amprobes, but cost half as much, so when you buy 300 of them, the bean counters tend to like the Ideals better, but a tracer is better than no tracer! Especially if you want the guys to turn it off instead of working it hot!
 
I have found sometimes when you are having a hard time narrowing down which breaker it is you have to take the cover off the panel and hold the receiver right up to the conductors.
 
hillbilly1 said:
I have the same issue with my personal Amprobe tracer, computers operate at close to the same frequency, so you have to listen real close for the pulse. The company uses the Ideal tracers, and they are not nowhere near as accurate as the Amprobes, but cost half as much, so when you buy 300 of them, the bean counters tend to like the Ideals better, but a tracer is better than no tracer! Especially if you want the guys to turn it off instead of working it hot!
Click to expand...

Which tracers are you using? Maybe I got ripped off, but the similar amprobe setup was the same price as the ideal. You can also work on it hot, and I believe the ideal is rated for 1000v where as the amprobe was rated for 600v. This was a couple years ago, so perhaps things have changed.

I would like to get another tracer for another truck and if there really is advantage to the amprobe, I'd at least consider it.
 
Which tracers are you using? Maybe I got ripped off, but the similar amprobe setup was the same price as the ideal. You can also work on it hot, and I believe the ideal is rated for 1000v where as the amprobe was rated for 600v. This was a couple years ago, so perhaps things have changed.

I would like to get another tracer for another truck and if there really is advantage to the amprobe, I'd at least consider it.[/QUOTE]

Mine is pretty old, unlike iwire's, mine has only one transmitter setting, it was $900. I think the newer Ampobes have switchable fequencys to help eliminate the noise problem. The Ideal ones the company is buying runs around $400 I think. This is one like mine.
http://www.amprobe.com/Amprobe/usen/Wire-Tracers-and-Cable-Locators/Wire-Tracers/CT-326B.htm?PID=73200
 
Last edited:
I have an older unit, GB Instruments Circuit Tracker GET-1200, I have never gotten this to work in a 3ph panel. It lights and chirps on nearly all the breakers. You think you might finally have the right one with the strongest signal, but after checking again, the signal moves to another breaker.:rant: I have only gotten it to work a few times on a single ph resi. panel. I have given up on it but haven't bought a replacement yet.
I don't know if the one I have is still made, but the purpose of my post was to steer people away from the GB Instrument brand.
 
The Amprobe is deadly accurate, you can pull a single wire out of a bundle of a 100 with it. Unlike the other tracers, it does not inject a signal into the wire, which tends to bleed off onto others, instead, it draws a pulse of current at a certain frequency, so it does not tend to bleed off.
 
This is the one I use.

http://www.licensedelectrician.com/Store/AM/AT-2000_Series.htm
AT-2005_lg.jpg


We get them for just a little under $800.

But this is a versatile kit, I have traced circuits in PVC in slabs, I have been able to trace MC cables in walls.
 
hillbilly1 said:
The Amprobe is deadly accurate, you can pull a single wire out of a bundle of a 100 with it. Unlike the other tracers, it does not inject a signal into the wire, which tends to bleed off onto others, instead, it draws a pulse of current at a certain frequency, so it does not tend to bleed off.
Click to expand...

iwire said:
This is the one I use.

http://www.licensedelectrician.com/Store/AM/AT-2000_Series.htm
AT-2005_lg.jpg


We get them for just a little under $800.

But this is a versatile kit, I have traced circuits in PVC in slabs, I have been able to trace MC cables in walls.
Click to expand...

I have a Greenlee tracer, not sure the model number, and do just fine with it. I'm sure that Amprobe will do things mine will not but seldom have the need for those features either. I'd say about 95-99% of the time it is only used to find a breaker to shut power off when working on something. As I said in earlier post if you are having trouble narrowing down which breaker it is you often have to remove panel cover and hold receiver right up to conductors and not the breaker.

It cost me about $300 around 15 years ago.

Is the signal of the amprobe cancelled by the return wire of the circuit like it is for the units that inject a signal? Example - when trying to trace a cable in a wall do you need to make sure the return path of the tracer follows a different path so it does not cancel the signal?
 
kwired said:
As I said in earlier post if you are having trouble narrowing down which breaker it is you often have to remove panel cover and hold receiver right up to conductors and not the breaker.
Click to expand...

Hot work issues with that for me.

Is the signal of the amprobe cancelled by the return wire of the circuit like it is for the units that inject a signal? Example - when trying to trace a cable in a wall do you need to make sure the return path of the tracer follows a different path so it does not cancel the signal?
Click to expand...

It will work either way, I was told that the amprobe tracer works by intermittently drawing a load (small) on the conductors.

I often use it line to ground for convenience but if I plug it in it is line to neutral.
 
kwired said:
Is the signal of the amprobe cancelled by the return wire of the circuit like it is for the units that inject a signal? Example - when trying to trace a cable in a wall do you need to make sure the return path of the tracer follows a different path so it does not cancel the signal?
Click to expand...

It doesn't cancel it, but it does reduce the strength, and their claims of tracing 13' deep is greatly exaggerated, about 2' in dirt, and about 6" in concrete. Just used mine today to locate a bad breaker, it was a two pole CH SOB, where only one pole closed.
 
hillbilly1 said:
.. and their claims of tracing 13' deep is greatly exaggerated..
Click to expand...

You probably need to have nearly same conditions they had in a lab when they came up with this number, you know the best possible type of soil, best possible moisture in the soil, etc., now comes the real world.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top