HELLO

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frodo6

frodo6

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Hello sparkies
I have stopped by because i have a slight problem in my house.
I am a master plumber, I have worked with you guys for years,
I hope you would be so kind as to steer me in the right direction.
when my AC kicks on, my lights blink.
From what I know, that aint good.
I have a 200 amp service so that is not the problem
any guesses as to wth is up?

stuffed.jpg
 
frodo6 said:
Hello sparkies
I have stopped by because i have a slight problem in my house.
I am a master plumber, I have worked with you guys for years,
I hope you would be so kind as to steer me in the right direction.
when my AC kicks on, my lights blink.
From what I know, that aint good.
I have a 200 amp service so that is not the problem
any guesses as to wth is up?

View attachment 52120
Click to expand...
If I have to guess
frodo6 said:
Hello sparkies
I have stopped by because i have a slight problem in my house.
I am a master plumber, I have worked with you guys for years,
I hope you would be so kind as to steer me in the right direction.
when my AC kicks on, my lights blink.
From what I know, that aint good.
I have a 200 amp service so that is not the problem
any guesses as to wth is up?

View attachment 52120
Click to expand...
frodo6 said:
Hello sparkies
I have stopped by because i have a slight problem in my house.
I am a master plumber, I have worked with you guys for years,
I hope you would be so kind as to steer me in the right direction.
when my AC kicks on, my lights blink.
From what I know, that aint good.
I have a 200 amp service so that is not the problem
any guesses as to wth is up?

View attachment 52120
Click to expand...
If I had to guess I would say there is a loose connection, I don’t what size unit you
frodo6 said:
Ok..I will check the breaker box. tighten up the connections and report back tomorrow around the same time

thanks man.
Click to expand...
frod you be careful and turn off breakers while checking
 
frodo6 said:
Hello sparkies
I have stopped by because i have a slight problem in my house.
I am a master plumber, I have worked with you guys for years,
I hope you would be so kind as to steer me in the right direction.
when my AC kicks on, my lights blink.
From what I know, that aint good.
I have a 200 amp service so that is not the problem
any guesses as to wth is up?

View attachment 52120
Click to expand...
Is the wiring to the A.C sized correcrly? sounds like you may have a Volt drop problem in your House
 
frodo6 said:
yes sir, it is a big --- orange wire. 10/3 if i remember correctly the unit is a 3 ton unit
Click to expand...
" A big --- Orange Wire 10/3" can't seem to find that a cable of that description in the Regs Book!!! Don't think many Electricians over in the UK will be familiar with it either.
 
What size motor is on your AC and how is it controlled IE powered direct (DOL) to bring it on instantly or speed controlled to ramp it up?... it is not unusual for the inrush of a motor DOL to cause local flickering although we do have regulation over here about this and adding transients to the network which may effect other uses.

It is quite possible your local distribution Network feeding your property is already heavily loaded thus making the inrush of your A/C show up annoying side effect, if this is the case there are options to suppress this but not really cheap.

This is all assuming the previous suggestions of a loose common point in the system is not the cause.
 
darkwood said:
What size motor is on your AC and how is it controlled IE powered direct (DOL) to bring it on instantly or speed controlled to ramp it up?... it is not unusual for the inrush of a motor DOL to cause local flickering although we do have regulation over here about this and adding transients to the network which may effect other uses.

It is quite possible your local distribution Network feeding your property is already heavily loaded thus making the inrush of your A/C show up annoying side effect, if this is the case there are options to suppress this but not really cheap.

This is all assuming the previous suggestions of a loose common point in the system is not the cause.
Click to expand...
Frodo have you check your connections yet. I have a 3 ton unit myself and my lights don’t flickers it’s not a big load. I suspect that your problem is in your main panel
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Pete999 said:
" A big --- Orange Wire 10/3" can't seem to find that a cable of that description in the Regs Book!!! Don't think many Electricians over in the UK will be familiar with it either.
Click to expand...
How are doing today Pete
 
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YES I did. I jut checked it a few minutes ago. a loose connection on the breaker screw

Thanks guys. I hate freaking wires
30 years ago, I was laying under a kitchen sink {new Construction} hooking it up and the wire to the disposal zapped my ear . I jumped up and chased that damn sparky all over the house and into the yard. we became good friends after that
 
frodo6 said:
YES I did. I jut checked it a few minutes ago. a loose connection on the breaker screw

Thanks guys. I hate freaking wires
30 years ago, I was laying under a kitchen sink {new Construction} hooking it up and the wire to the disposal zapped my ear . I jumped up and chased that damn sparky all over the house and into the yard. we became good friends after that
Click to expand...
Have you turned the air conditioning on yet to verify it’s fixed
 
Megawatt said:
Frodo have you check your connections yet. I have a 3 ton unit myself and my lights don’t flickers it’s not a big load. I suspect that your problem is in your main panel
[automerge]1568371901[/automerge]

How are doing today Pete
Click to expand...
Oh so so, thanks for asking.
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Megawatt said:
Have you turned the air conditioning on yet to verify it’s fixed
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Glad you fixed it, not a loose Fire Nut then?:):D:cool:
 
frodo6 said:
YES I did. I jut checked it a few minutes ago. a loose connection on the breaker screw

Thanks guys. I hate freaking wires
30 years ago, I was laying under a kitchen sink {new Construction} hooking it up and the wire to the disposal zapped my ear . I jumped up and chased that damn sparky all over the house and into the yard. we became good friends after that
Click to expand...

That's why we do thorough testing over here!
 
DPG said:
That's why we do thorough testing over here!
Click to expand...
DPG are you saying that we don’t do no kind of testing. We are not that reckless and if I wire something or do service calls I guarantee you that I know without a doubt there will be no problems. I know what I’m doing do you
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Megawatt said:
DPG are you saying that we don’t do no kind of testing. We are not that reckless and if I wire something or do service calls I guarantee you that I know without a doubt there will be no problems. I know what I’m doing do you
Click to expand...
I have been doing electrical work for 32 years and don’t insult my intelligence, we do have our share of dumb asses just like y’all
 
Megawatt said:
DPG are you saying that we don’t do no kind of testing. We are not that reckless and if I wire something or do service calls I guarantee you that I know without a doubt there will be no problems. I know what I’m doing do you
[automerge]1568382086[/automerge]

I have been doing electrical work for 32 years and don’t insult my intelligence, we do have our share of dumb asses just like y’all
Click to expand...
Yeah we certainly have our fair share Mw, although and I'm not including your good self, most of the YOUTUBE VIDS of US electricians, don't appear to have any test instruments in their tool kits, as well as not appearing to do any actual testing, you knoe hook it up and switch on scenario, could this be that only the DAs you speak of publish YOUTUBE VIDS?? or, I suppose it's a case of the few spoiling the reputations and competences of the many, which I hope fervently is the later case.
 
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Megawatt said:
DPG are you saying that we don’t do no kind of testing. We are not that reckless and if I wire something or do service calls I guarantee you that I know without a doubt there will be no problems. I know what I’m doing do you
[automerge]1568382086[/automerge]

I have been doing electrical work for 32 years and don’t insult my intelligence, we do have our share of dumb asses just like y’all
Click to expand...

I'm only going on what people, including yourself, have said about testing (particularly a thread about lack of earth loop impedance testing) and also views on there being no instances of loose connections causing fires.
[automerge]1568382800[/automerge]
And of course the OP's new build wiring can't have had a thorough inspection & test.
 
DPG said:
I'm only going on what people, including yourself, have said about testing (particularly a thread about lack of earth loop impedance testing) and also views on there being no instances of loose connections causing fires.
[automerge]1568382800[/automerge]
And of course the OP's new build wiring can't have had a thorough inspection & test.
Click to expand...
We ground everything and just how hard can that be. The USA is a lot more simple than the UK when it’s grounded it’s grounded and I stand by my work if you think we don’t know what we’re doing come on over and show us how
 
Megawatt said:
We ground everything and just how hard can that be. The USA is a lot more simple than the UK when it’s grounded it’s grounded and I stand by my work if you think we don’t know what we’re doing come on over and show us how
Click to expand...

I'm not talking about whether you ground things though.
 
Megawatt, I was trying to point out that the post you took offence to was actually replying to someone else. Calm down a bit and re read the thread.
 
Pete999 said:
Yeah we certainly have our fair share Mw, although and I'm not including your good self, most of the YOUTUBE VIDS of US electricians, don't appear to have any test instruments in their tool kits, as well as not appearing to do any actual testing, you knoe hook it up and switch on scenario, could this be that only the DAs you speak of publish YOUTUBE VIDS?? or, I suppose it's a case of the few spoiling the reputations and competences of the many, which I hope fervently is the later case.
Click to expand...
Pete I can’t speak for you tube people or any body else but I have a fluke meter, 2 meggers, rotation meter, and an AMP probe plus 2 more meters that I just have for spares
 
Megawatt said:
Pete I can’t speak for you tube people or any body else but I have a fluke meter, 2 meggers, rotation meter, and an AMP probe plus 2 more meters that I just have for spares
Click to expand...
Ma I'm not questioning you. it was/is more a general observation from limited resources regarding US Electricians, certainly not saying that testing is better or worse than what occurs in the UK, not taking sides either.
 
Megawatt said:
We ground everything and just how hard can that be. The USA is a lot more simple than the UK when it’s grounded it’s grounded and I stand by my work if you think we don’t know what we’re doing come on over and show us how
Click to expand...

But when it is grounded how do you prove that it is grounded with a low enough resistance?
How do you know that there is no damage to cables which are hidden?
 
davesparks said:
But when it is grounded how do you prove that it is grounded with a low enough resistance?
How do you know that there is no damage to cables which are hidden?
Click to expand...
I take my meter and measure the incoming neutral wire and rods in the ohms setting and usually it’s less than 1 ohm
[automerge]1568466978[/automerge]
Megawatt said:
I take my meter and measure the incoming neutral wire and rods in the ohms setting and usually it’s less than 1 ohm
Click to expand...
We are talking about really no resistance at all
 
Megawatt said:
I take my meter and measure the incoming neutral wire and rods in the ohms setting and usually it’s less than 1 ohm
[automerge]1568466978[/automerge]

We are talking about really no resistance at all
Click to expand...

How do you measure the rods? Presumably the direct measurement method using another substantial piece of buried metal?

What is the limit of resistance permitted for your grounds in an installation?

For a circuit breaker or fuse to work properly on a fault then the ground must be of low enough resistance.
The higher the resistance of the ground the slower the circuit breaker will react to the fault.
We have rules on how fast we need a circuit breaker to operate, in the UK this is 0.4seconds for final circuits and 5seconds for distribution circuits (there's more to it than this but I'm keeping it simple here)
So we can calculate the maximum ground resistance permitted to achieve the required disconnection time.

From this we can calculate the size of ground needed and also test it after installation to ensure compliance.

You say we are talking about no resistance at all, but that's not true, every conductor has resistance. The resistances are very small, but so are the limits for correct operation of a circuit breaker.
The limits can be well below 1 ohm and so accurate calibrated testers are needed
 
davesparks said:
How do you measure the rods? Presumably the direct measurement method using another substantial piece of buried metal?

What is the limit of resistance permitted for your grounds in an installation?

For a circuit breaker or fuse to work properly on a fault then the ground must be of low enough resistance.
The higher the resistance of the ground the slower the circuit breaker will react to the fault.
We have rules on how fast we need a circuit breaker to operate, in the UK this is 0.4seconds for final circuits and 5seconds for distribution circuits (there's more to it than this but I'm keeping it simple here)
So we can calculate the maximum ground resistance permitted to achieve the required disconnection time.

From this we can calculate the size of ground needed and also test it after installation to ensure compliance.

You say we are talking about no resistance at all, but that's not true, every conductor has resistance. The resistances are very small, but so are the limits for correct operation of a circuit breaker.
The limits can be well below 1 ohm and so accurate calibrated testers are needed
Click to expand...
Dave it is not letting me post my reply but table 250.102(c)(1) is how we size our grounded conductor we don’t have to run all the test that y’all do. Our house breakers are 10 RMS and they trip less than 1 second. The NEC has done all the calculations that you are talking about. We have to go by the book. Maybe this will post
 
Megawatt said:
Dave it is not letting me post my reply but table 250.102(c)(1) is how we size our grounded conductor we don’t have to run all the test that y’all do. Our house breakers are 10 RMS and they trip less than 1 second. The NEC has done all the calculations that you are talking about. We have to go by the book. Maybe this will post
Click to expand...

What do you mean by 10RMS?

Surely you are taught the theory and science behind the tables in the book? We also have tables for selecting the size of an earth but we also can calculate it instead. The tables often end up with an earth way bigger than it needs to be.
 
Megawatt said:
Dave it is not letting me post my reply but table 250.102(c)(1) is how we size our grounded conductor we don’t have to run all the test that y’all do. Our house breakers are 10 RMS and they trip less than 1 second. The NEC has done all the calculations that you are talking about. We have to go by the book. Maybe this will post
Click to expand...
Dave the US and the UK have different rules and as much as I have read about the way y’all have to do things I’m great full to be in the USA. We have to follow the rules set by the NEC
davesparks said:
What do you mean by 10RMS?

Surely you are taught the theory and science behind the tables in the book? We also have tables for selecting the size of an earth but we also can calculate it instead. The tables often end up with an earth way bigger than it needs to be.
Click to expand...
RMS is the interruption rating of the breaker
[automerge]1568472930[/automerge]
Megawatt said:
Dave the US and the UK have different rules and as much as I have read about the way y’all have to do things I’m great full to be in the USA. We have to follow the rules set by the NEC

RMS is the interruption rating of the breaker
Click to expand...
You stated that your tables give you a size that in your mind is bigger than you need. I believe that when it comes to grounded conductor I think that it should be the same size as the ungrounded conductors
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Megawatt said:
Dave the US and the UK have different rules and as much as I have read about the way y’all have to do things I’m great full to be in the USA. We have to follow the rules set by the NEC

RMS is the interruption rating of the breaker
[automerge]1568472930[/automerge]

You stated that your tables give you a size that in your mind is bigger than you need. I believe that when it comes to grounded conductor I think that it should be the same size as the ungrounded conductors
Click to expand...
Dave I give up I know you are smarter than me when it comes to the theory of electrical
 
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