Specialty services
Underground fault locating
Successful underground fault locating requires special equipment combined with extensive knowledge of electricity and installation practices. Our fault locating equipment coupled with our electricians years of experience will provide our customers with an exact location of a faulty conductor buried in-ground.
Typical faults are related to:
- Sloped grade installations that develop tension and stretch direct buried conductors.
- Improperly installed splices that deteriorate over time.
- Damaged insulation at time of install such as a cut or nick in the jacket or cable insulation.
- Digging, excavating and soil disturbance where inadvertent contact with equipment or shovels damages wiring.
Solutions
Fault locating is a highly successful method to expose a failed service, feeder or branch circuit.
Process
- Coordinate service disconnect if needed
- Identify faulty conductor(s) and preform preliminary tests for voltage, resistance and continuity
- Connect fault locator to damaged conductor and perform locating service
- Verify fault location from multiple tests before digging down to target
- Expose fault by hand digging or utilizing our excavator if site provisions allow
- Once fault is found, install proper direct bury splices, test for shorts/faults prior to energizing
- Restore service, feeder or branch circuit back to normal operating conditions
- Coordinate appropriate inspections as required and power company restorations as needed
Locating
Underground wire locating
Successful underground wire locating requires special equipment combined with extensive knowledge in locating practices, electricity and installation practices.
Identifying cables and conductors is achieved by the following methods:
- Passive
- Direct connection (de-energize conductor)
- Inductive (connect to energized conductors such as services without requiring a disconnect)
Benefits of locating
NOTE: Before digging, always contact 811 as required by law.
- Accurately mark a visible path on the ground that shows the path of buried conductors
- Provide a visual layout for areas to avoid digging
- Plan for fault locating
- Plan for service relocations and alterations
- Determine estimated depth of buried conductor at any point desired
Process
- Coordinate service disconnect if needed
- Identify conductor(s) and wiring to be located
- Connect locator transmitter if direct connection is feasible and perform locating service
- Use inductive or passive modes for energized lines
- Spray paint path of cables with specific colors as required: red (power) and orange (communications)
Excavation
Site work
We provide excavation services for your projects.
Services:
- Trenching
- Back fill
- Grading
Benefits of our excavation services:
NOTE: We contact 811 as required by law before any digging takes place.
- In-house electrical and site work coordination
- Proper trenching as required for installation specs done right the first time
- No need for the customer to source or subcontract site work
- Utilize our site work services while working on other electrical projects
Process
- Contact us for a site visit to discuss your needs
- We'll advise you with a tentative excavation plan and adapt as conditions require
Megaohmmeter testing
Specific testing
Not all tools will get the job done. Megger, mega testing or the use of a megaohmmeter is a specific test that we use to test the condition of a conductors insulation.
Purpose:
- Test the integrity of the insulation for a conductor to see if it will contain voltage as designed
- Find wires that may be compromised or damaged
- Meet specs for clients and inspectors to ensure wiring is in good condition
Benefits of our megaohmmeter services:
- Isolate wiring that has been damaged such as a screw driven into the insulation
- Find electrical leaks within a circuit
- Test concealed wiring that was never inspected
- Find faults that may take years to develop
- Eliminate AFCI or GFCI tripping issues by finding damaged insulation
Process
- Contact us for a site visit to discuss your needs
- This is an in-depth process that requires removal of electronic devices such as LED bulbs, GFCI receptacles and etc. before any testing can be preformed
- A test results form will be supplied to our customer after completion of the megger test