Solved Building Electrical Breaker Tripping.

[gsganzer]

Here's the benefits of a panel thermal scan. The scan shows a loose termination at a fuse holder, reading 145F at the crosshair. The background temp is 68F

Pretty cool diagnostic tool.

 

[JPRambo]

Can't remember all the times I got a call for 'lights went out' in the hospital OR. 4 tube fluorescent fixtures were rewired years before I was hired.
The batteries in the ballasts were starting to go and burning the wires coming out of them.
Between the third shift guy and me we replaced all of them over a months time. 4 in each OR and 12 ORs.

 

[MossRoad]

My first exposure to dual-source fluorescent ballasts was shocking....



And they had some battery backup emergency lighting as well. They have slowly been removing all of the battery backups in favor of generator circuits.

 

[JPRambo]

The battery backup lights were the fluorescent ceiling fixtures. The light by battery after power outage and for 9 or 10 second interval for 2- 700kw generators to startup and switch over. Hospital generators are required to start and supply power in 10 seconds or less in Florida. I don't know if required everywhere. I assume so.

 

[repete]

TIC's are great tools. I have found some interesting things while investigating different "Smell of hot electrical" FD calls. We had a call when we first started using them for a smell of hot electrical in a house. We walked all thought the house and the odor was there but no definitive cause until we went outside with the camers. We walked around the house and found a heat signature on a bedroom wall. You could in fact see the heat rising up the exterior wall.
When we went inside to look we found a water bed with a bunch of pillows piled on the bed. The pillows had insulated the heat signature from our camera. when we removed the bedding we could see the warmth slightly. After draining the bed and removing it we found the heater cord crushed against the wall behind the bed.
At that point I was sold on the use of TIC's to find heat sources.

 

[not2old]

On a side note: I had a mentor years ago that taught me the proper way to wire control panels with stranded wire and screw type terminal blocks. You never twist the wire before you land it, instead you pull the wires straight and flat using your thumb nail, before inserting and tightening. Heavily twisted wire eventually relaxes and becomes loose.

Never too old to learn something. I'm aware of two locations where I've twisted the wire before securing it and feel that the terminal is too big for the wire used. Would it be appropriate to solder the ends before securing it? I need to go check those locations or my brain will object.

 

[Midniteoyl]

Never too old to learn something. I'm aware of two locations where I've twisted the wire before securing it and feel that the terminal is too big for the wire used. Would it be appropriate to solder the ends before securing it? I need to go check those locations or my brain will object.

You use Wire Ferrules. Slip over the ends and crimp down with a crimper tool:

Amazon.com

 

[gsganzer]

You use Wire Ferrules. Slip over the ends and crimp down with a crimper tool:

Amazon.com

I'm a huge fan of using ferrules. I even have ferrules on my deer feeder wiring and everything is landed to a terminal strip. Every device lands with 2 wires and the appropriate jumpers are on the other side of the terminal strip. None of the wire nut cluster fluck that always seem to fail. All the other guys are always dealing with deer feeder wiring failure issues. Not me.

I have one of the kits from Ferrules Direct in my field toolbox. I also carry the double ferrules, which come in handy for jumping multiple terminals in a panel. I use the insulated ferrules, so I don't need that little piece of heat like the guy in the video is using.

Ferrules are also available with numbers, to save the hassle of wire tags.

The crimpers are available in multiple profiles, square, trapezoid, hexagonal. I use the UL approved square crimpers.



Ferrules Direct Website

 

[Midniteoyl]

I'm a huge fan of using ferrules. I even have ferrules on my deer feeder wiring and everything is landed to a terminal strip. Every device lands with 2 wires and the appropriate jumpers are on the other side of the terminal strip. None of the wire nut cluster fluck that always seem to fail. All the other guys are always dealing with deer feeder wiring failure issues. Not me.

I have one of the kits from Ferrules Direct in my field toolbox. I also carry the double ferrules, which come in handy for jumping multiple terminals in a panel. I use the insulated ferrules, so I don't need that little piece of heat like the guy in the video is using.

Ferrules are also available with numbers, to save the hassle of wire tags.

The crimpers are available in multiple profiles, square, trapezoid, hexagonal. I use the UL approved square crimpers.



Ferrules Direct Website

Ya, that vid was just a quick one I found and figured it was real short and to the point. Most YT vids are fluffed out to 15min or more.