I did a "live" install where I turned off power to the panel to put the CT's over the wires, then turned the power back on. This was before I connected the CT wires, i actually had them all bundled together and im sure shorted at the end for about 10 minutes. I put a multimeter on them, but wasn't really sure what to look for. One of the 3 CT's (im working with 3 phase) showed nothing at all on the meter...while the other 2 showed some bouncing voltages...
I have yet to install the meter so im not sure if what i did damaged the CT's....so i figured i would ask. ?
Also, is it permissible to extend the CT wires?
Thanks in advance....
BTW, great product. We look forward to using more of them in our datacenters.
John
Vastnet
www.vastnet.net
Will a CT be damaged if shorted while panel is hot??
Re: Will a CT be damaged if shorted while panel is hot??
Hello John, welcome to the forum!
It sounds like you should be fine. You can either have the CTs connected to a meter (probably preferred) or you can have the wires shorted to each other (like you did) if you are going to hook them to a live wire. Anything you can do to reduce the current (amps) by turning off any non-essential loads in the live wire while connecting them will also help. Do not leave the CTs connected to a live wire while the CT wires are not shorted to each other, this could damage the CT over time. Let me know if I am reading your question correctly.
We do not generally recommend that you extend the CT wire length, especially if accuracy is a priority. When we extended the length of the CT wires by 50 feet we noticed a 1% drop in accuracy. If you must extend the wires, I would solder the ends together and use shrink tubing on the joint.
We would be interested to hear more about your application. We have been seeing a growing demand from the datacenter industry, so would like to know more about the use cases.
Regards,
It sounds like you should be fine. You can either have the CTs connected to a meter (probably preferred) or you can have the wires shorted to each other (like you did) if you are going to hook them to a live wire. Anything you can do to reduce the current (amps) by turning off any non-essential loads in the live wire while connecting them will also help. Do not leave the CTs connected to a live wire while the CT wires are not shorted to each other, this could damage the CT over time. Let me know if I am reading your question correctly.
We do not generally recommend that you extend the CT wire length, especially if accuracy is a priority. When we extended the length of the CT wires by 50 feet we noticed a 1% drop in accuracy. If you must extend the wires, I would solder the ends together and use shrink tubing on the joint.
Thanks for letting us know how the meters will be used! We are glad that you like themBTW, great product. We look forward to using more of them in our datacenters.
We would be interested to hear more about your application. We have been seeing a growing demand from the datacenter industry, so would like to know more about the use cases.Regards,
Re: Will a CT be damaged if shorted while panel is hot??
Thanks for the quick reply. Finished the install today, turns out the CT's were fine. Got to say though, you can definatly get a little shock if you touch the wires!
I only extended the wires by about 5 inches....yea, it was one of those times when you wind up about 2 inches short!
LOVE the product. What we would love to see is a bracket/cover to install the units in wiremold series 6000 raceway. We have this overhead in our datacenters for power, if we could just pop in a meter next to a plug, that would be perfect.
You can see what I mean if you take a look at the bottom of this page: http://vastnet.net/tour/
I have a CNC table, and if I get some free time I may design some plates specific to our application in autocad and cut them to use for this application.
Ill keep you guys posted!
--John
I only extended the wires by about 5 inches....yea, it was one of those times when you wind up about 2 inches short!
LOVE the product. What we would love to see is a bracket/cover to install the units in wiremold series 6000 raceway. We have this overhead in our datacenters for power, if we could just pop in a meter next to a plug, that would be perfect.
You can see what I mean if you take a look at the bottom of this page: http://vastnet.net/tour/
I have a CNC table, and if I get some free time I may design some plates specific to our application in autocad and cut them to use for this application.
Ill keep you guys posted!
--John
Re: Will a CT be damaged if shorted while panel is hot??
That would be cool. If you do create a CNC file or a 3D file, you can post it here and we can attempt to 3d print it We have a Makerbot here at the shop. We will ship the 3D print to you if it turns out. What file format will you create?
Thanks, we appreciate your involvement and your ideas.
Regards,
We have a Makerbot here at the shop. We will ship the 3D print to you if it turns out. What file format will you create?Thanks, we appreciate your involvement and your ideas.
Regards,