ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area portable wire meter?

How about using the Harris TS-90 or the TS-100. Read how much cable is on the spool at the beginning of the job and read the amount left at the end of the job. Then a simple subtraction tells you how much you used. And...you can use the meters for other things like finding faults!

The wire mills use scales, they are the manufactures, think they know something?

If you are concerned about, legal trade, your weights, and measure department, can certify the scale for a small fee.

[This message has been edited by LK (edited 07-08-2006).]

I don't doubt that they do but a scale accurate enough to get down to a foot of wire is going to cost you.

As for weights and measures certifying a scale they are just going to laugh at you if you bring them a bathroom scale. Even if you are able to adjust it to display the correct weight it will never be repeatable and will change all over the place with temperature and movement.

-Hal

I've checked the weights of the spools at my distributor, and yes their scale is legal for trade. I've done this many times with different sized spools and compared it to the weight on the bathroom scale I bought, and they're exactly the same. That to me is quite accurate.

"As for weights and measures certifying a scale they are just going to laugh at you if you bring them a bathroom scale. Even if you are able to adjust it to display the correct weight it will never be repeatable and will change all over the place with temperature and movement."

Who says I'm planning to take this to weights and measures? Are you saying movement won't affect the more expensive scales? How about temperature or how level it is? Even if I bought an expensive legal for trade scale it would mean calibrating and leveling at each jobsite, otherwise the readings would be inaccurate.

My point is it's accurate enough for my purposes, and I don't think that one would benefit by purchasing a more expensive scale when you take into account movement, temperature, elevation and levelling.

One more note, the $500 wire meter that I chose not to purchase was also not legal for trade, probably because it's not 100% accurate.

Interesting,

In New zealand all TPS wire has meterage stamped on the outside sheeth every meter as well as the max voltage rating.

It might be a case to put forward to the manufacturers in the USA to follow a similar practise of marking cable.

Hal,

What would you suggest as a good way to do this, then?