Finding and Identifying panels

[ENI]

I have a bunch of panels in this industrial plant that are not identified. I need to identify them but they wont let me turn them off. I tried using the fluke 2026 tracer but it's not working. Does anyone know if this tracer is able to do what I need it to do on larger wires and long distances?

 

[hillbilly1]

It should be able to, which mode are you using? Non contact? Non contact tracers tend to bleed off onto everything, I use an Amprobe current tracer that does live circuits only, and it works great. Unfortunately, Fluke bought them out, and discontinued that model, apparently to sell that much more expensive model. I don’t even have to open the panel, just connect to any load out of the panel. If you are not getting a strong enough signal, take one lead to ground, the other, to one of the hots. This increases the field strength by taking different paths.

 

[ENI]

It should be able to, which mode are you using? Non contact? Non contact tracers tend to bleed off onto everything, I use an Amprobe current tracer that does live circuits only, and it works great. Unfortunately, Fluke bought them out, and discontinued that model, apparently to sell that much more expensive model. I don’t even have to open the panel, just connect to any load out of the panel. If you are not getting a strong enough signal, take one lead to ground, the other, to one of the hots. This increases the field strength by taking different paths.

I'm trying to find the panels by attaching the leads to ground and one of the phases on the circuit breaker that feeds the panel in the switch gear. It seems a bit unorthodox but that is how it seems it should work yet it doesn't. I started with a 500 kcmil cable I started attaching the leads to smaller cables (250s') but it still didn't work. So I attached them to a ground and stuck one of them in the hot of an outlet and it worked, I found the breaker. That's why I think it may not be strong enough for the larger conductors.

 

[hillbilly1]

I'm trying to find the panels by attaching the leads to ground and one of the phases on the circuit breaker that feeds the panel in the switch gear. It seems a bit unorthodox but that is how it seems it should work yet it doesn't. I started with a 500 kcmil cable I started attaching the leads to smaller cables (250s') but it still didn't work. So I attached them to a ground and stuck one of them in the hot of an outlet and it worked, I found the breaker. That's why I think it may not be strong enough for the larger conductors.

There’s your problem, it will not trace backwards very well, if at all. You need to be at the panel, and trace back to the switch gear.

 

[ENI]

There’s your problem, it will not trace backwards very well, if at all. You need to be at the panel, and trace back to the switch gear.

Nah! It wasn’t that cause I tried that and I still didn’t get the signal. Thank you though.

 

[gadfly56]

I have a bunch of panels in this industrial plant that are not identified. I need to identify them but they wont let me turn them off. I tried using the fluke 2026 tracer but it's not working. Does anyone know if this tracer is able to do what I need it to do on larger wires and long distances?

Are you trying to trace the panel source back to the switch gear, or find the field loads?

 

[don_resqcapt19]

We had good luck with something like the Greenlee 2011. I don't remember whose brand name it was before Greenlee bought them out.
I was able to trace 120 volt circuits, back through the 480 to 208Y/120 transformer and identify the 480 volt transformer feeder breakers.

 

[ENI]

Are you trying to trace the panel source back to the switch gear, or find the field loads?

Trying to find the panel source at the switch gear.