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A lot of apprentices (and journeymen) have trouble understanding what makes HID lighting any different than regular lighting so troubleshooting them can be a bit confusing.  Let’s talk about it!

HID lamps are easy to understand once you wrap your head around the idea that the light inside of one is produced from an arc inside of a tube.  There are no metal wires inside of an HID lamp, like you’d find in a standard incandescent.  In fact this is the philosophy behind fluorescent tubes, neon signs, and compact-fluorescent as well.  It’s just an arc being struck in a tube, then the arc mixes with certain chemicals to form an arc-stream to produce visible light.

All HID lamps have a few things in common.  1) They use an arc to illuminate rather than a piece of metal. 2) They all use ballasts.  3) They are all used in relatively the same places – sports arenas/stadiums, street lighting, and parking lot lighting.

How these bulbs differ is where things get interesting:

 

Metal Halide400w MH – M47

Metal Halide lamps use halide salts on the inside of the arc tube.  Halide salts such as fluoride, bromide, chloride, and iodide are deposited around the inside of the inner arc-tube and when an arc is stricken through the tube, the halide salts start to vaporize into the arc stream.  Each halide salt has a certain color profile that it adds to the finished light output, and a specific temperature has to be maintained in order to keep the lamp at the same color consistency.  This is achieved by painting the pinched edges of the arc-tube white to reflect light back into the chamber.

 

Mercury Vapor400w MV – H33 Lamp

Rather than having any secondary elements in the arc tube to control the light color, a mercury vapor relies solely on the blue light emitted from vaporized mercury (which all 3 of these lamps have).  What makes mercury vapor the most recognizable is the white coating around the inside of the lamp’s outer envelope.  Much like a fluorescent lamp, a mercury vapor lamp utilizes phosphorescence to control the color.  Phosphor glows when introduced to UV light, so this coating helps to make the color of the glowing mercury less blue, and m

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Sponsored by Rogers

It’s an electricians job to be able to identify what’s going on in an electrical circuit, and sometimes this can be a difficult task. Having a firm knowledge of how to use various pieces of electrical test equipment can be the difference in solving a problem and making a guess. In this episode, I cover all of the pieces of test equipment I believe an electrician should know how to use.

#1 Basic Jaw-Type Multimeter/Tester

This is a pretty obvious piece of equipment for an electrician to have, but you’d be surprised at how many electricians and apprentices out there don’t know how to use one.  Well, let’s dive in!

For starters this is not “technically” a multi-meter.  Fluke calls it a tester, but most of us in the field still call it a multi-meter, so for the sake of this article I’m going to continue calling it a multi-meter. It has multiple functions, which is why we call it a “multi-meter.”  It can read voltage (difference of potential), amperage (current flowing in a conductor), resistance (opposition to current flow in a conductor), and continuity (whether or not you have a complete loop.

Most of the time, this is all an electrician will need to know.  This Fluke T5-600 fits in your back pocket, has detachable leads that can be snapped into the tool, or used hands-free, and a backlit LED display.  This model is one of the most used testers on the market, and because of its rigidity and reliability will continue to be so for quite some time.

 

#2 Clamp-on Ammeter

The clamp-on ammeter is similar to a standard tester or multimeter with the addition of a clamp/jaw that reads amperage on large diameter conductors. What the clamp provides is the ability to measure larger size wires for use on feeders and service-entrance conductors. In addition to measuring amperage, this tester also allows you to read voltage, resistance, continuity, and capacitance.  This specific model (Fluke CL323) does not allow you to snap the leads to the tool so it can be a bit cumbersome to use when testing voltage – unless you have something nearby that you can clamp on to, allowing the tester to hang in front of you while you use the lead

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Many up-and-coming electricians have trouble understanding how to use the various electrical testers out on the market. All of the dials, characters, and options can get a bit confusing if you don’t have experience using a multi-meter. In this episode, I talk about how to use a commonly used tester, the Fluke T5-600.

Technically the fluke T5 is not a “multi-meter.”  Fluke’s website lists it as a “tester,” while their Multimeter section shows only digital multimeters with no separate jaw-type ammeter.  However, a multi-meter is simply a “multi-use meter” – something that can test several different electrical units of measure. The T5 measures voltage, amperage, resistance, and continuity.  There are other multi-meters out there that have extra functions but the T5 is for the basic 4 that most electricians will use every day. So how do we use it?

 

VOLTAGE

What you’re doing when you’re testing for voltage is testing the difference of potential between two points. “Voltage” is a difference of potential between two points in an electrical system.  It is not a reading of one conductor, it’s reading a difference between two. It can even be a difference between one wire and a piece of metal that’s bonded to earth. But keep in mind that you’re trying to get a value that shows “the difference in potential” between TWO things.

Flip the dial of the T5 to the “V” and take the leads out of the slide-in slots on the back.  Ensure that you’re wearing proper PPE such as insulated “hot-gloves,” and a flash suit if you’re working in an electrical panel.  Take one lead and touch it to a known hot conductor or terminal. Take the other lead and touch it to that same conductor or terminal.  Notice you get a reading of 0v. This is because this conductor is at the same potential as itself. To get a voltage reading you have to test between two different objects.

Next, leave one lead on this conductor, and move the next lead to a different conductor. If you’re working in an electrical panel this can be a different colored conductor. You should notice a reading of around 240v (volts) if you’re in a single-phase panel. If you’re in a 3-phase panel you may get a measurement from anywhere around 208-240v. This means you have a difference in potential between these two conductors.

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Someone recently asked me if there’s a way to bend PVC conduit or if someone makes a bender or a tool to get a proper bend. In this episode we’re going to cover how I do it.

When working with PVC conduit electricians do one of two things when bends are involved. Either:

1) we will buy “manufactured bends” like pre-bent “90’s, 45’s, and 30’s”

2) we will use a heat gun to manually bend the conduit to fit the application.

Manufactured bends are often sold in the same aisle as the PVC conduit itself, and come in several angles. However, sometimes the job requires a slightly trickier bend to be made so we need to do it by hand. Often times pre-manufactured bends are too large, or create too small of an offset so it’s time to break out the heat gun!

To bend PVC you need to have either a high-powered blow dryer or an actual “heat gun” at your disposal. These can be bought online or at your local Home Depot. The model I have (and prefer) is a Wagner Furno 750. It has a digital display and will heat up to 750watts. Not only can you hold it like a gun to heat the conduit, but you can set it upright on the ground and roll the pipe with both hands. Not many models out there have this functionality.

The second thing to have nearby when bending conduit is a bottle of water or a hose. When heating PVC conduit it becomes very maleable, but it does not stay in the position you bend it without waiting quite awhile – while holding it in the desired position. One way to speed the drying process up is by splashing cool water on the PVC to set it instantaneously.

Bending A 90

A 90 is probably the most involved thing you could bend using PVC pipe and a heat source. The reason is that you need to overheat the amount of pvc that you’re going to bend. I try to heat 6-8 inches of pipe evenly when bending a 90, as the total 90 will be roughly 5” in from beginning to outer edge. I slowly heat the entirety of what I intend to bend, and begin applying pressure to bend the pvc. I bend at multiple points until I get the pvc flexible enough to start forming a 90, and continue heating any stiff areas that are not loosening up. Finally once I get the shape I want, I pour some water on the pipe to rapidly cool the material – locking the shape in instantly.

Bending An Offset Step 1 – Measure Your Offset

The first thing we need to know is how far away from the wall our pipe is. This is t

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My dudes, I really need help figuring out what to do with my storage situtation. I keep losing terrabytes of data everytime my RAID 5 crashes, and it happens often.

Any of you tech gurus out there PLEASE HELP!

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LISTEN TO AUDIO:http://electricianu.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Episode23-HELPME212121.mp3

**Disclaimer – These videos are for training purposes alone, all work done on electrical systems should be done by a licensed and insured electrical contractor.  If you are not an electrician, do not attempt any of the work you are seeing in these videos.**

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This is, no-doubt, my most asked for topic to do an episode. “Do an episode on bending conduit” they say….”It’ll be fun” they say… Well my friends, strap in, here we go….

First off there are some things to understand about different types of conduits. For example today we’re going to be bending EMT (Electrical Metallic Tubing). This type of conduit is relatively easy to bend using a bender if you’re bending 1/2”, 3/4”, or 1”. Once you get to about 1 1/4” and up this type of conduit requires a larger bender, and a lot of ass behind the person bending it. Normally in this situation a company will use a “Chicago Bender” or an “Machine Bender” (which is normally either electric, pneumatic, hydraulic) See below:

In our example we’re going to be dealing with 1/2”, 3/4”, and 1” EMT. This is the easiest conduit to bend, so for those of you practicing at home – choose 1/2” EMT to start with before moving up to 3/4” or 1” as the ease of use makes the understanding go further.

Understanding The Bender

First thing we talk about is understanding the bender. There are tons of little lines, marks, and numbers on the shoe of a conduit bender, and knowing which one does what is half the battle. To start off, every bender has stamped in it what type of conduit the bender is designed to be used for. A 1/2” bender will say “1/2” EMT Only” or something similar – usually located where the shoe meets the threaded end of the handle. If you flip the bender around 180 degrees, in the same spot there will be a stamp for what size takeoff you’ll need to use to achieve the proper bend with this bender.

Next are the lines that say 10, 22.5, 30, 45, and 60 next to them. These are your angles of bend radius. To bend a 30 degree angle with a conduit bender, you bend the pipe up from the ground until the 30 degree line on the bender is parallel to the pipe and floor. You would flip the bender over and repeat this step if you were trying to bend a 30 degree offset to overcom

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In my house we have an issue with some people leaving lights on, specifically in the garage. After hounding on the issue, I decided to get a cheap occupancy sensor and install it in the garage to take care of the problem.What is an occupancy sensor?

As the term indicates, an occupancy sensor is a devices that “senses occupancy” or movement. It is able to, through using forward facing infrared technology, “see” a static room and notice if any movement occurs. Once it detects movement it closes the circuit and turns the lights in that room on, rather than relying on the manual action of a human to flip a light switch. There are many types of Occupancy Sensors on the market, some commercial grade for shops and warehouses, others for typical residential use. The one I’m using in this video is a standard residential model that most electricians are familiar with.

Prep Work

First things first, since this device is a direct replacement for a decor switch, I removed the existing switch from the wall box in my garage. The wiring I found in the wall was sub-par so I had to address this issue first. Whatever electrician wired this place back in the late 60’s, did not pigtail the hots – instead daisy-chaining them together. This is not inherently bad, it’s just a lazy wiring method that causes anyone doing work later to have to address both switches rather than just working on the one in need.

How I like to wire switches is by installing independent hot pigtails so that each device has its own wire, not shared by another device. So this is the first thing I redid. A professional electrician who cares about quality and craftsmanship will always look at everything surrounding what he/she is repairing or replacing. It is a great habit to get into, as a lot of times you’ll find other problems that can save your customers money and system efficiency down the road. In doing so I was able to find another issue. Neither of the existing switches had ground wires (equipment grounding conductors) attached to the ground terminals on the devices. This is a big code no-no. Any metal parts around electrical equipment must be bonded to the equipment grounding system, as well as the devices

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Something electricians use the hell out of daily are sawzall blades. As you progress in your career you will find that there are cheap crappy blades, and slightly more expensive BADASS blades. Enter Diablo. Diablo has been on the rise lately making blades for sawzalls and circular saws that are incredible. I’ve gotten to use… Continue reading Tool Review – Diablo Demo Demon 9″ Carbide Sawzall Blades

I’ve been waiting for quite awhile to test out a new set of Milwaukee FUEL drills.  I was stoked to open this case up and let them rip!  So how did they do on the job?  Here we go… Upon opening the package I was immediately impressed.  The kit comes with an 18v FUEL brushless… Continue reading TOOL REVIEW – Milwaukee 18v Brushless Cordless Hammer-Drill & Impact Driver Combo Kit

I’ve been waiting for a long time to test one of these battery-powered framing nailers out. For quite awhile the only thing on the market has been cordless brad-nailers or trim-nailers, but nothing for full-sized framing nails. Well, DeWalt has changed the game yet again! When I picked this framing nailer I was surprised to… Continue reading Tool Review – Dewalt 20v Cordless Brushless 21-Degree Framing Nailer