Utah master practical exam

[solis]

I am going to be taking the Utah master's practical exam, can anyone who has taken it recently offer advice on what to expect, previous threads have talked about reversing motors, poor quality of material, short time frames. Passed the code and theory sections.

 

[jimdavis]

The Utah Master Electrician practical exam is a 7-part examination. If I remember correctly the motor control portion has a 30 minute time limit. All other portions have a 15 minute time limit. The entire exam is pass or fail. If you make a mistake on anything, it's over. You'll have to wait a month and try again.

Most if not all of what you have heard is correct. The materials are poor and difficult to work with. During the materials identification portion I had to identify some fuses based on their interrupting rating. The label on one was all but worn off and basically unreadable. I only got it right by process of elimination.

Most people struggle with the motor controls portion. You have to wire a reversing starter and pushbutton station. All of the factory wires for the interlocks on the starter are removed. If you can't sketch out the control circuit from memory you'll never pass that portion.

The exam is fairly difficult but with a bit of preparation it's passable. Good Luck!

 

[solis]

Thanks for your feedback, The motor control part I am ok with, did motor control for 20 years, conveyors and different product handling systems, it's the other stuff which I don't have much of experience with. Our trade is funny like that, we get so compartmentalized.