Setting Meters

[HEAVY DUTY]

What Test Do You Perform Before You Set A Meter.

[Pootnaigle]

Use a Voltmeter from line to load and determine Presence of load,correct voltage,and such

[HEAVY DUTY]

On New Installations-------------do You Check For Phase To Phase Fault On The Customers Side...if So What Do You Use......for Instance, A Nail Or Staple Nailed Into The Load Side Wires

[johnbellamy]

................

[HEAVY DUTY]

My Company Procedure.........on The Left Side Of Meter Base We Install A Jumper From Load To Neutral And Then Use Voltmeter To Check From Line To Load On The Right Side....if You Get A Reading Then There Is A Phase To Phase Fault On The Load Side....this Worked Good When We Used Analog Voltmeters But With New Meters All You Have To Do Is Check Continuity From Load To Load. Cant Get Them To Change Procedures .....from The Old School I Guess........

Does This Sound Write To Everyone

[freshjive]

yup 4 tests total...source,backfeed,ground,and continuity..We also have to do them in that exact order..****

Small story****MY friend who is in the meter dept just had a meter blow up on him when he was pulling it...Live terminal hit the fifth grounded terminal because it was broken just waiting for movement so it could drop/swing inside the socket....Needless to say,. it threw him on his ass and he had flsh burns to his corneas He had to call the supervisor for a ride cuz he could not see for 5 hours after the initial accident...Luckilly, he had all of his gear on, because his gloves and hard hat look like he had a phase to phase with a 13kv primary... That simple, routine meter pull could have gone a lot different and a lot worse if he wasn't attentive and being safe...A verrrrry experienced lineman told me nothing in our line of work is ever routine, even if its a simple service connection or installing a meter and even if we've done it a milion times before, something could always, always go wrong...JUST BE SAFE GUYS/GIRLS

[HEAVY DUTY]

What Do You Guys Use To Check For A Phase To Phase Fault On The Customers Side.

[shaun]

What Do You Guys Use To Check For A Phase To Phase Fault On The Customers Side.

We jumper line to load on the one side and take a reading across the other. 240V, somthin's wrong.

[Phoenix-7]

9 point test

[CHICAGO HAND.]

First time in 18 years.
Had a job on a 3 phase pad mount 120/208 to trim out three sets of 600 secondary.
Lamped them out to make sure the electrician did his side right ,well he did'nt. He crossed two phases from the same set. Do your tests boys.

[lewy]

There are 4 tests you should perform before installing a single phase meter.
1 You want to check & make sure you have good line voltage
2 You want to make sure there is no backfeed so would check both load side legs to neutral as well as across them
3 Load side phase to neutral ground faults, you would check from the live line side to the load side & you should get a reading of 0 volts 120 volts would tell you that 1 leg is grounded
4 Load side phase to phase fault, here you would jumper 1 load side leg to neutral & then put your volt meter across the other line & load side & you should get a reading of 0 volts 120 volts would tell you that the 2 legs are shorted together.
All of this should be done with the customer's main open
The tests above can be done with an analog or digital meter, if your digital meter can megger you could use that feature for 3 & 4

[HEAVY DUTY]

Lewey

i am trying to get away from using a jumper. checking for a phase to phase fault can be done with using a continuity check between load to load. does this sound right.................

[lewy]

Lewey

i am trying to get away from using a jumper. checking for a phase to phase fault can be done with using a continuity check between load to load. does this sound right.................

Your right as long as it shows open , but if your digital meter has a megger, some have 500V & 1000V meggers use this feature.

[Pootnaigle]

For the benefit of those that dont already know this when you use an electronic voltmeter yer gonna get a reading of approx 60 volts even if everythings purfect. The old style box meters wouldnt budge.Another Method is to use a homeade test light made from a weatherproof socket and a 240 v bulb.If it lights up dim yer gettin 120 and if it lites up brite yer gettin 240. Just always try it first across the 2 hot phases to make sure the bulbs OK. Purdy handy as theres no batteries to crap out on ya and if ya make the leads long enough you can loop them over yer neck allowing the use of both hands..N at nite its real easy to see as opposed to tryin to read a VM.

[HEAVY DUTY]

Will A 240 Load Show Up When You Check For Load Using A Volt Meter. Going From Line To Load On Both Sides.

Such As A Hot Water Heater. I Know 120 Load Such As A Light Bulb

Will But Dont Know About Something That Is 240.

[scamplineman]

Yes... scratched my head on one of those once.

[HEAVY DUTY]

anybody else got some feedback on checking for 240 load

thanks everyone

[Pootnaigle]

In order to have 240 volt load the load side of the mtr base will hafta show resistance between em, if you show anything on the load side other than OPEN then you will have load on the 240 curcuit.

[HEAVY DUTY]

If I Check (with A Voltmeter) Line To Load On The Right And Line To Load On The Left Will It Show 240 Load

Will It Show If A Water Heater Or Oven Is On

Thanks

Heavy

I May Sound Hard Headed On This Subject, But I Am Trying To Prove A Point

Thanks Again

[johnbellamy]

..............

[Bull Dog]

Instead of using a jumper for the last test I take my screw driver out and slide it through one lug and let it touch the second one on the load side then use my tester. Saved me from having to deal with a jumper. Half the time it go lost any way but I always had a screw driver with me.

[HEAVY DUTY]

I Know And You Know, But Trying To Get Procedures Changed In The Company Manuel Is Unbelievable. Our Company Has To Many Old Fogies That Want To Still Do Things The Old Way. (with The Analog Meter).

Im Just Trying To Make Sure That I Have All My I's Dotted And T's Crossed Before I Try And Convince Them That These Test Can Be Done With Modern Day Equipment.

They Still Want Us To Use A Jumper In The Meterbase To Make These Test.

Im Telling Them That The Modern Day Meters Will Do The Same Thing.

Thanks Again

[lewy]

"Instead of using a jumper for the last test I take my screw driver out and slide it through one lug and let it touch the second one on the load side then use my tester. Saved me from having to deal with a jumper. Half the time it go lost any way but I always had a screw driver with me."
Explain to me how this would show if your 2 load legs were shorted out.
The only way I am aware of checking this is either jumpering 1 load leg to ground & checking voltage across the other leg 0 volts means they are not shorted 120 volts means they are, or with the megger (continuity) tester on your digital meter. All of these tests should be done with the customer's main open. All you should be concerned about is Good line voltage No backfeed and No shorts on the load side of the meter base to the customer's open main, after that it is the customer's problem.
Do you have to have permission from some form of electrical inspector before you can energize a customer?
In our case it is E.S.A. they have to give permission before we can hook up a customer be it a new one or a disconnect , reconnect where any work has been done from the load side of the meter base to the main breaker.

[Bull Dog]

I meant one lug to the ground. Not lug to lug. Same way you do with a jumper but I use screw driver. Easier for me.

[HEAVY DUTY]

The only thing that is keeping the company from not using the jumper is checking for 240 load. they dont thick that a 240 load will show up when checking (with a voltmeter) from line to load on each side.

does this make since

i am probably making this whole thing complicated.

[lewy]

The only thing that is keeping the company from not using the jumper is checking for 240 load. they dont thick that a 240 load will show up when checking (with a voltmeter) from line to load on each side.

does this make since

i am probably making this whole thing complicated.
I think you are making this more complicated than it has to be , you should be making your checks with the main open you do not care about the load.
When you make your checks to see if either load leg is shorted to ground or to each other your reading would either be 120 volts or 0. 120 volts meaning you have a short. If you were using a digital meter it should read open across both load legs & each load leg to ground. Why are you concerned about the load past the main breaker?

[neil macgregor]

do any of you guy,s have to do an earth loop impedence test before you energise a single phase meter or do you call it something else

[HEAVY DUTY]

never heard of it. what is it........................lewey, sometimes you cant tell if the customers main is off or not.

[graybeard]

I'm not sure of the company name but there is a maker of a socket tester. The one we use is for single phase CL 200 and 320s. Has safe and fail lights and fuses. You just plug it in like the meter. Quick and easy, did a quick check and the tester is made by Exstrom and its a model S12. Can't use it on 400 amp boxs with a bypass though.

[Bull Dog]

Yes I've seen these testers with the lights on them. Just plug it in like a meter look at the lights and your good to go.

[graybeard]

Those things work great. Used it at a house where the narrow back wired in a new meter loop and panel and switched the neut and hot leg. The tester worked just like its suppose to. Showed a fault and blew a fuse.
The Exstrom co. also makes a tool for pulling and setting meters to keep the meter from blowing up in your face. It at least contains the glass from becoming projectels.

[Squizzy]

First and foremost check I do on any metal enclosure is use and independant earth (ground) test because if there is a crossed polarity you can bet you will find it the hard way. The utility here has STRICT instructions as how to phase out meters though the above is NEVER mentioned:confused:.The 3 main checks are for polarity,phase rotation and load test. The load test is basically a hair drier that you put over the nuetral and the load side of the meter to check the meter is reading. All testing requires 2 people with the correct phasing out book to follow step by step at the meter and it must be signed and counter signed and if you stuff it up your a$$ is in a sling by the time they finish kicking it. But its not hard if you know how to read...

[Polar Bear 4/31]

Single phase meters, we ground the neutal on the mast. To make sure there is no phase to ground on the line side. Then we check phase to phase, on the line side. On the load side, we check ground-to-phase, and phase to phase. If G-P= beep, don't plug it in. If P-P= beep, don't plug it in.
What are youre thoughts on a 3 phase meter? How to test and when to plug it in?