Electricity Pylon Earth Testing

[frankatlem]

I am aware of a product on the market from (I think?) ABB for testing of earth electrodes without disconnecting the overhead earth wire. I've looked all over the net for information on this product but can't find any.

Can anyone advise of such a tester?

 

[busbar]

Possibly

http://www.aemc.com/products/html/view.asp?id=5

 

[ausphil]

Try the link in thread238-20492 . You can purchase large diameter CTs for use on pylons or other large earth electrodes

 

[aa111]

I would like to know the detail of IEEE43 and Insulation testing.

 

[frankatlem]

I should have been more specific.
I've seen a variety of products which induce voltage using a current transformer but they can be of limited use when try to measure on the legs of towers (although I have seen one current clamp with a 320mm diameter).

The device I'm trying to track down uses high frequency current (some kHz), the principle behind it is that the path to earth via the tower ground wire has a high inductance and the HF current doesn't flow that way but through the local earth system.
(I'm almost certain it's an ABB product but I can't find it on their website(s))

 

[MGT]

I may be wrong, but I think what you are wanting to test is the integrity of your grounging electrodes. If you are, you probably want to go to the AVO (Biddle) web site. They offer several earth resistivity test sets. These will allow you to determine the effectivness of your grounding electrodes and determine if you you need to augment the grounding of the tower. If your grounding field is good (<5 ohms) you might want to consider using a LRO (Low resistance ohmeter)to check for bad connections to the electrodes.

 

[cuky2000]

There are a new grounding meter develope by EPRI. One of this meter capability is:

&quot; Tower ground resistance- can be used on an existing energized or de-energized power line tower with the shield wires connected or disconnected. Output includes tower ground resistance and expected error versus confidence level........&quot;

For additional info check this site:

http://www.epri.com/newsletter.asp?issueid=5534&marketnid=8#ARTICLE3

There are schedule course for March, 2002 for &quot;Integrated Grounding System Design & Testing&quot; where the principal developer of this meter will have a section.

I highly recommend this course for those interested in understanding and modelling grounding systems.