I just nerd-ed out for the past half hour to a set of websites that cover about every engineering measuring instruments by FLUKE. And then I downloaded a set of references about True-RMS, Clamp Meters and their usages. WHOAAAA.
Don’t like that lar. I’m in the market for a current clamp actually. A month back, I had to fix the plugs of a water heater. It was in a devastating shape. The heater produced a high current which kinda melted the socket and plug together. My brother and I figured that since it was a home heater, it wouldn’t have these kind of effects. Okay, time for ELECTRICITY 101!
In household electricity, there are 3 things you should know about. VOLTAGE, CURRENT, RESISTANCE. And of these 3, they have a mathematical relationship as such; V = I*R. I’ll be as brief as ever here. Voltage is always 240V in households. Resistance is dependent on Before I nerd out again, of all these 3, CURRENT is the most dangerous.
High current CAN kill you. High current occurs when the RESISTANCE is low and VOLTAGE is high. Since voltage is constant in a household, resistance makes a difference. HIGH current makes high heat that can melt stuff.
Normally, most household appliances can tolerate up to a current of 13 Amps. Special appliances like washing machines, air con units, electrical kettles and water heaters produce up to 15 Amps. And Plugs and sockets usually tolerate till 14 Amps. Thus, my water heater made such high current that it melted the plug!
A little maths and I found out that my heater was producing more than 13 Amps that we originally thought. Uhoh. But maths is not enough. You will really need to measure the current. So here’s where the current clamp comes in.
I really wanted to buy one when I actually found out when one actually costs $200 minimum! WHAT THE. Electrical engineering, expensive business.
No comments:
Post a Comment