Cable Tracers for Steel and Aluminum Armored Teck

[Dobber1978]

Has anyone used equipment that has reliably traced steel and aluminum armored Teck power cables? Having issues on site when trying to trace a cable from the panel board out to the end load. Ideally would like to be able to do this live so we don't have to wait for down day to trace them out.

This would be for industrial site. As mentioned above for Teck cable. Typically all for 120/208V cables but would want the system suitable for 600V as well. Cables typically leave panel board and enter cable tray with many other cables. Cable trays can be high and being able to trace from ground is beneficial.

Asking for a lot I know but figure someone must have had to have done this before. I have reached out to a couple vendors to see what they say but looking through the manuals of their equipment doesn't seem all that suitable for what I am looking for.

Thanks,

 

[Supertester]

I think you should wait for an outage, in order to isolate the cable ends and connect a tone to the select cable, with it grounded at the far end. Trying to follow 60Hz load current with multiple cables in raceways is simple, but not really specific to the particular cable you are interested in.

 

[waross]

Do you want to find the end or trace the route?
It is easiest to trace if the armour can be lifted from ground at each end.
You need an outage.
I have done this a couple of times.
One job was a fire rebuild. Hundreds of cables burned and cut off.
The other job was cable ends when the cables were pulled partway and then coiled.
Following the cable is futile.
A tone tester on the cable is the telephone testers way. This works great when you are looking for a pair in a marshaling cabinet where you are within a few feet of every pair.
Not very good when you have to be within a few feet of the end of the cable, in an area of possibly 100 feet by 8 feet.
Or 24 feet by 20 feet with about 4 layers.
If the field end of the armour is open or can be lifted from ground, then loosen the gland connector on top of the MCC and pull the armour just free of the connector.
Take the tone tester away from the telephone guy and send him to get something. Connect the tone tester to the armour and walk down the cable following the tone.
Trying to send a signal down the cable conductors does not work well. The armour shields your tracing signal.
And you need an outage.
One example:
Fire rebuild. 8 man crew working in shifts for 24 hours a day for two and a half days trying to locate the open end of a cable in a burned out area.
No luck.
One man; twenty minutes with a tone tester on the armour.

Bill
--------------------
"Why not the best?"
Jimmy Carter

 

[Dobber1978]

Ideally would like to start at the panel or power source and follow cable to find out what load it is connected to, could be receptacles, could be lighting, could be process equipment. Because of the plant size to be able to do this you almost have to be able to trace the cable route as cable will go into a tray with many other cables and as you follow along some cable will go up through the roof, some will enter other trays and leave in different direction, some will join tray, etc... old plant so it is a bit of a mess.