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Home > Home & Garden > Electrical & Lighting   »   trace a dedicated electrical circuit

 
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Old Dec 16, 2007, 12:31 PM
dan13
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trace a dedicated electrical circuit

here it is!

i have a time clock at work for the emplyees which is getting power from an outlet.
i want to make sure the clock is not sharing power with other outlets
i want to find out without shutting power off to time clock (unpluggint it)

thank you
DAN:

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Old Dec 16, 2007, 04:05 PM   #2  
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The easiest way to do this, is turn off the breaker serving that outlet, and check all spaces to see whats off. Bring along a plug in lamp, or go buy you a current indicator for $9.
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Old Dec 16, 2007, 04:41 PM   #3  
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OK, the building is wired up with conduit or something and you don't want to kill power to the time clock? You should be able to take the screw out of the cover plate and slide it out over the cord. Take a flash light and look at the wires in the box and the conduit. If you see more than one conduit and a black or other color wire, white, and maybe a green, that is a sign it is sign something else is tied to it. Follow, or guess at how the conduit may run back to the breaker panel. Often it will go up to the ceiling, and then to the breaker box. Check any junction boxes. If it is the only thing on the circuit, its colored wire will not be spliced, or go off in a conduit towards something else. The white could be spliced to another white, or other unconnected wires may be in the conduit.

I don't know if the clock will draw enough power to get a good amp reading or not, or if you can get at the wires with a clamp on ammeter. If you get the same reading at the clock as at the breaker, with all the lights on and things drawing power from all the outlets, it should be a dedicated circuit.

The above means more poking around live circuits than I like to do. Might better be delegated to somebody with training, experience, and the right tools.
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Old Dec 17, 2007, 08:58 AM   #4  
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Another way, is turn all breakers off, except the time clock(Provided you know which circuit it is on). Then look for voltage on nearby circuits for voltage. if any are live, then they are probably on time clock circuit.
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