Recent content by Scoobyshep

Yea. I'm about due for an eyebrow trimming. You'd be amazed how much money you can save from a reasonably sized arc flash

416 is common in plants that have 4160 coming in, 230 as well for 2300. Think big industrial like paper mills. That being said there are tolerances, some equipment is made for 480 but is rated at 460 which makes it useable between 440 and 480. My last plant had 346\600 coming in...

Upfront yes, the labor involved with switching back and forth (or the inevitable accident of wrong voltage) to me would be worth the investment. On another note The last machine in had to convert was motors and power supplies. It wasnt too difficult

If the 1 hp mill is the only thing running at 440, just get a transformer and step the voltage up

There are switches made for that, it takes some work . Keep in mind this makes things more difficult for keeping 220 and 480 seperate What kind of loads are you running? It might be better to set up a transformer

Here for dwelling grounds the code is 25 ohms or less OR 2 rods. So if you drove 2 rods it didnt matter what the reading was it still met code. so either he was too lazy to drive a second rod ( most times an apprentice did it) or he had some outdoor urination urge.

We have done that as well even as far as burying a 10 lb bag of salt and piercing the bag with the rod. That way it would leach for quite some time. Only issue there is it tends to not want to let grass grow.

I had an instructor many years ago that when the city inspector would pull up he would urinate on the rod to "let it conduct better"

That's why I like to tell you all about the stupid crap I do. If I can save one person from suffering from my stupidity than my day is complete

Cell towers. They have a required ground resistance rating that must be met, so it's drive 10 feet hook and test then if it's not low enough drive another 10 feet

Error is the best teacher .

Good question, I do electrical for a profession, and though i rarely do rods these days i have usually used a jackhammer (its quite the sight to see, a 140 lb (at the time) guy lugging a 90lb jackhammer up a 12 foot ladder) to drive these (my personal record is 180 feet). That being said if...

Altitude derating is due to thinner air causing a rich mixture and loss of power. Ive never been big on the rule of thumb and more rely on FAFO. In this case its more of run it and if theres an excess of unburnt fuel or the engine struggles with loads than i derate.

I usually do it during the rainy season (most of the year here in Florida). They tend to be less angry if: there is a proper fire extinguisher visible (i have an ABC on standby and a fire blanket) and more importantly the grill going with various cooked meats available.

One of my favorite things to do (although my local fire dept doesnt find the load bank burn off nearly as amusing) .