ECN Electrical Forum - Discussion Forums for Electricians, Inspectors and Related Professionals
ECN Shout Chat
ShoutChat
Recent Posts
Increasing demand factors in residential
by gfretwell - 03/28/24 12:43 AM
Portable generator question
by Steve Miller - 03/19/24 08:50 PM
Do we need grounding?
by NORCAL - 03/19/24 05:11 PM
240V only in a home and NEC?
by dsk - 03/19/24 06:33 AM
Cordless Tools: The Obvious Question
by renosteinke - 03/14/24 08:05 PM
New in the Gallery:
This is a new one
This is a new one
by timmp, September 24
Few pics I found
Few pics I found
by timmp, August 15
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 260 guests, and 20 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Rate Thread
Page 1 of 5 1 2 3 4 5
#198093 01/12/11 02:16 PM
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 10
evad73 Offline OP
Member
Knob and tube wiring is common in our area. Ideal used to make a contact pocket voltage tester (61-050), it is no longer available. I used it to identify the hot conductor.
Does anyone know of another method to find the hot conductor?

Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 4,294
Member
evad 73....

If you have a non-contact type voltage tester it would be a cinch to check which conductor is "hot" on K&T.




Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 4,116
Likes: 4
Member
Originally Posted by electure
evad 73....

If you have a non-contact type voltage tester it would be a cinch to check which conductor is "hot" on K&T.




iagree Top of my must-have tool list.

Bill

Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 7,381
Likes: 7
Member
evad:

Showing my age now...long before the 'non-contact' age, internet, cell phones, cordless landlines, and a whole lot of stuff........

Locate a 'ground' somewhere within the building, or if that's not possible, a known neutral point. even if you have to go back to the service entrance. Connect a suitable length of #12 stranded THHN or equal to said point & stretch it out to the location you want to test. You then have to skin a test point on the K&T conductors and use whatever tester (wiggy, digital, etc).

I did not say it was easy or quick; but it works. If I had to do it today, I'd pull out the non-contact, I have an Ideal, Gardner Bender & a TIF. Any of those are available thru WWGrainger, most electrical supply houses and the big boxes. Look in Tools for Electricians in the right hand border ads right here also, you may find one.



John
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,392
S
Member
what HotOne said

with one aside...

i have an office cha cha K&T meter, (one of these)>>>>
[Linked Image from inspectco.com]

around here that #12 might need to be run closer to the nuke plant....


~S~

Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 7,381
Likes: 7
Member
A reminder of days gone by!!! LOL; LMAO


John
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 9,923
Likes: 32
G
Member
Back in the olden days we used neon testers. They could give you some bad indications but I am not sure a ticker is really any more reliable. I still would not stake my life on either of them. They are just indicators, not testers (to steal the language of U/L)


Greg Fretwell
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 7,381
Likes: 7
Member
Greg:
Are you talking about the neon 'tube' with two leads? If so, how did you do that?



John
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 9,923
Likes: 32
G
Member
You never saw the neon tester pen? They typically have a small screwdriver on one end and a pocket clip. The clip is the "ground" and you are the ground electrode system, capacitively coupled to the earth. There is a megohm resistor there so you won't see circuit current. If you touch the screwdriver to a hot lead, the neon lights. Sometimes you just have to be close to the hot lead. They may not light 100% of the time, particularly if you are very well isolated from ground, like up in an attic on dry truss chords but they usually work OK.

I will root around and see if I can come up with one.


Greg Fretwell
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 613
M
Member
Non contact volt testers can give neutrals a hot indication where part of a circuit is chopped out and the return is through a load as a result of a bad assumption. When it comes to K&T I treat all the wires as hot until I am the one that cut it and I am not perfect so be careful the neutrals can be very dangerous too.

Page 1 of 5 1 2 3 4 5

Link Copied to Clipboard
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5