|
Posted by HorneTD on February 13, 2005, 8:08 am
RBM wrote:
>>Several circuits in my main panel have GFCI breakers. I know I can test
>>them internally by pushing the "test button.
>>
>>How can I actually test the outlets in protected areas (without sticking a
>>nail in an outlet and grabbing it while holding on to a faucet).
>>
>>Can I use the little thingies that are plugged into an outlet and show if
>>it is wired correctly?
>>
>>--
>>
>>Walter
>>The Happy Iconoclast www.rationality.net
>>-
> The little thingy you're referring to must have a GFCI tester on it, however
> you can take a pigtail socket with a bulb, stick one wire in the hot slot
> which is the smaller one, and touch the other wire to the ground screw. This
> should make the GFCI trip. It won't however give you any indication of how
> many milliamps it tripped at
The plug in polarity testers that have a GFCI test button on them use a
resister that is selected to pass six milliamperes from the ungrounded
current carrying conductor to the Equipment Grounding Conductor. They
provide a perfectly adequate test if the circuit has an EGC run with the
circuits conductors. A regular solenoid circuit tester of the so called
wiggington type or Wiggy uses around eight volts to activate the
solenoid at 120 volts. so applying it from output hot to ground or input
neutral is also a perfectly adequate test.
--
Tom H
| 
Yahoo! 
Google 
Windows Live 
del.icio.us 
digg 
Netscape 
XML Sitemap