Do North American electricians test impedance?

[John Frum]

I've been watching this UK electrician and he routinely tests impedance.

https://www.youtube.com/c/Thecjrshop/videos

Do you test impedance?

 

[Bob B]

Nope .... not since the early day of LAN installations ..... and when I worked with communications equipment.

 

[John Frum]

Nope .... not since the early day of LAN installations ..... and when I worked with communications equipment.

Are you an electrician?

 

[Bob B]

Are you an electrician?

No .... but I have worked side by side with a LOT of them.

 

[John Frum]

No .... but I have worked side by side with a LOT of them.

Do they test impedance?

 

[Bob B]

I've never seen one do it. I've seen them use a megger on electric motors and such, but resistance is mostly king.

 

[John Frum]

I've never seen one do it. I've seen them use a megger on electric motors and such, but resistance is mostly king.

I think I may have mispoken.
Not sure whether the the electrician in the linked videos is testing resistance or impedance.
Honestly I don't grok the difference beyond a quick look at the Wikipedia entry.
For lighting circuits or a run of outlets I could see that testing resistance at the end of run could be worthwhile.

 

[Supervstech]

I am an electrician, and we don’t have looped circuits...
Our grounding/bonding is size determined by he NEC, I do have a meter that tests all individual impedance, I use it on odd problem calls.

 

[Bob B]

I didn't watch any of those video's to see what he is doing ..... but, impedance testing is a thing. It can be really important for higher frequency situations.

 

[Supervstech]

On a ring circuit like is used in UK, knowing the earth conductor is sufficient to trip the ocp is important...

 

[Bob B]

Had an afterthought ..... sorry, still haven't gotten around to watching some of the videos.

I have seen people who use the terms impedance and resistance interchangeably ..... is it possible this is what he is doing?

 

[Supervstech]

I am not familiar with the meter he uses, but it appears he charges it up, and measures the charge remaining after he probes the circuit...

 

[Bud Martin]

Are we talking about this tester as shown in his video (

@28:08 time stamp?)
KEWTECK KT63 PLUS

KT63 PLUS Multifunction Tester | Kewtech

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FAQs - Kewtech

View some of our most frequently asked questions here and find the technical answers you are looking for or get in touch with us to find out.

www.kewtechcorp.com

 

[Supervstech]

Looks like a ring, or loop circuit analyzer...
I use this...

 

[Bob B]

Looks like a ring, or loop circuit analyzer...
I use this...

I think I need one of those.

 

[Bud Martin]

Looks like a ring, or loop circuit analyzer...
I use this...

The one in the video is the 6 in 1 tester.

https://www.kewtechcorp.com/sites/default/files/pdf/Datasheets/KT63PLUS%20Data_form_rev%201.pdf

 

[K W]

Here in the US, line resistance can cause unforeseen problems. A medical equipment manufacturer I worked for had a customer who reported that a running pump on one of our our heart-lung machines would shut off when another pump on the console was turned on. It was confirmed, but could not be repaired on-site by our tech. Unit was shipped back to us, and service could not replicate the problem. I found that by adding 1 ohm of resistance to one side of the line cord, I could replicate the problem.

 

[Samueru]

US electricians dont test for impedance unfortunately.

UK electricians can tell if there is a loose connection in a circuit if they notice that the loop impedance between N and L isn't the same.

US electricians could do the same even without ring circuits, just find the last receptacle of a branch circuit and short N to E and measure the resistance between the two, then short L with E and measure again, if they are not similar values it means that there is a loose connection in the circuit.

Edit: I'm not even sure if in US you're required to have an EICR every 5 to 10 years where they would do a long report of all the installation.

 

[memilanuk]

Once upon a time (20+ years ago now) I worked as a high-voltage substation technician. One of our side jobs was testing (and rebuilding) personal protective ground cables for our own use and the line crews. #2, 2/0 and 4/0. Part of that testing included a micro-ohm test rig, to verify the cables really were the lowest path to earth ground in a fault scenario. There were a few other more 'energetic' tests we did as well

Makes me wonder how many home/DIY battery cables would pass muster if rigorously tested...

Then again, I'm not even sure anymore what the correct spec would be

 

[HaldorEE]

I've been watching this UK electrician and he routinely tests impedance.

https://www.youtube.com/c/Thecjrshop/videos

Do you test impedance?

Could you give us just a bit of background. I don't want to go watch a bunch of videos hoping to stumble across what you are specifically referring to.

Troubleshooting and repair, possibly depends on symptoms.
Installing a ground rod, yes.
Otherwise, generally no.