Where do you rent your electrical test equipment? Oftentimes, you may not have a test set that you may need. There are multiple reasons why this may be the case. Those of us who regularly work in the electrical testing field, know how expensive equipment is. A primary current injection test set may sell […]
These are the best laboratories to send your oil samples to… Finding a reputable company to send an oil sample to is a matter of locating your favorite search engine, and typing “Electrical oil testing laboratory” or something of that nature in the search bar. You will get the promoted vendors that appear on the […]
Many people do not know what NETA is. Before I can explain my views of NETA, the following statement is directly from NETA’s website. What is NETA? The InterNational Electrical Testing Association (NETA) is an organization that serves the electrical testing industry by offering accreditation of third-party electrical testing firms, certifying electrical testing technicians, producing […]
What is SF6? It’s an inert, colorless, odorless and non-flammable gas. Sulfur hexafuoride is about 5 times denser than air, meaning it’s heavier. If you were to fill a fish tank with SF6, you could treat the gas as if you were pouring water into a fish tank. It will collectively stay within the fish tank. It is […]
The power company, or you, decide you need to de-energize a circuit. You rack out and remove your trusted 1960’s vintage breakers, of course you are suited up in the proper level PPE (Personal Protective Equipment). You then dust off your vintage ground and test device and install it in the cubicle. Connect the motor […]
Before we can begin to talk about “Acceptance Testing”, you may or may not understand the phrase. Acceptance Testing pertains to all new electrical components. These are either purchased from a distributor, or even a manufacturer, but have never been put into “service”, i.e. energized. When a building is being remodeled, or even rebuilt, a […]
Good Old, Quality H2O! Recently, the temperatures have been rather cold in the Washington DC area. We hit a week of temperatures below 20°F. Yes, I know; not very cold when compared to our northern states or Canada. But it still brought up some very good talking points. Do you test equipment below 0°C (32°F)? […]
Transformer oil is a liquid that is stable at high temperatures and has excellent electrical insulating properties. Typical motor oil that most people think of, is not the type of oil in a transformer. Transformer oil keeps the transformer cool. It also insulates the transformer and allows electrical components to be more compact than free air apparatus. […]
This topic can be extremely complicated. So here is a quick run down. Many people often ask, “how far out do you need to run leads to the furthest rod?” This is not a linear calculation. If you are talking about a grounding delta that is 10′ x 10′ x 10′, you could be running […]
Does torque matter? The short answer, absolutely! Most electricians don’t realize that a bolt and nut is not a means for AC Current to flow through. The actual resistance of the bolt is a much higher resistance that the resistance of two sandwiched pieces of copper. When a bolt is torqued to spec, it firmly […]