That incandescent current limiter is otherwise known as a rubber fuse when used as a safety device for a circuit that has a suspected short, it will limit the current and allow you to poke around a circuit for the source of excessive current draw with a lot less risk of further damage. Works great in combination with a thermal camera to find shorted components. Glad to see someone else still has that in their bag of tricks.

Zach, the man of a 1,000 Tee shirts 🙂

I use a light bulb in series with a Variac to power up old tube radios. As long as the light bulb doesn’t go bright you know everything is happy!

Some of the old school armature growlers had built in continuity testers that were current limited with a light bulb as well. Originally they had something like a 20 watt bulb but people unknowingly replaced them with 60 or 100 watt bulbs.

Love the video super interesting, but I just got to say somewhere out there there’s a safety man having a heart attack🤣🤣🤣

Zach rocking the new 'do.

Good test fixture. The only difference I do with mine for convenience is to put a bypass switch for the lightbulb so that when I need to I can apply full voltage to the load when I'm ready. One thing that I've never really agreed with was the way a lot of motor controllers are factory wired with no fuse on the primary side of the control transformer that would step the 480v down to 24v for the control circuits. They always put the fuse on the secondary side only. That works fine if the secondary sees a short or too high of a load current but it does nothing to protect the primary side of the transformers and the fuses that supply the transformer and the load are sized for the load and are far too high of an amperage rating to protect the transformer. What usually happens when there's some kind of short in the transformer itself, or some goomba replaces the fuse on the secondary side with one that's too large or is slowblow, the primary side gets smoked, and the transformer needs to be replaced. I often added fuse holders on the primary side of the transformers and as such preserved many a transformer.

Have you ever shorted 480V to ground (technically 277V)? I found myself in a precarious situation while inspecting a disconnect. Despite the disconnect being off, I reached through the arc shield with a screwdriver to check the wire clamp screw was tight on the line side. I knew it would be live but I was wearing thick gloves and the screwdriver had a plastic handle so I figured it would be fine just this one time. Well, while doing this the metal shaft of the screwdriver made contact with the enclosure and BANG!! It was like a gunshot right in my face. Sometimes the most effective lessons come from close calls. I cant even imagine what a phase to phase short would be like.

you say don't do this but I'm definitely setting up a jig... love your content sir!

Great video. Be safe in this weather.

Very clever, and truly terrifying.

Dim bulb tester. Use it on everything

every other video something along the lines of “now yall are gonna call me an idiot for this”

Love the channel. If the opportunity presents itself, I'd be very greatful if u could explain AIC ratings in breakers. Keep up the excellent content. Cheers

This is another very interesting aspect of Your lease operator/roust-about job. Lightning seems to make a mess out of those pole boxes in a quick fast hurry. Thanks for sharing all of this Zach. Best Wishes to You, Your Family and Friends.

Electricity is where I step off. Anything except 12v is off limits. I’d rather fight a shark than mess with 110 or 220.

Nikola Tesla would approve your experimentation!

Great video Zach ! We used to use a light bulb for current limiting or a water heater element also works. Just a big resistor.

... another electrifying episode !! ... 8-)) ... be safe out there and thank you for keep'n that Texas Crude bubbblin' along to us !!

The true master shares his knowledge.

Top! Very informative!

Or, in the UK, we refer to that as a "lamp limiter" in as much as it uses a lamp bulb to limit the current. Now, you take care young fella. Some of your videos are nerve-wracking enough, but a man working alone in the wilderness doesn't bode well for the future. A machine might mangle or sever a limb, but you can survive. Electricity on the other hand, can blow you out like a candle, in an instant. On the farm, we used to use 415v three phase to run grain elevators, feed mills, grain dryers, ventilation fans etc, but the scariest thing was the arc welder on the far end of an extension cord - 415 volts x 3 phases just lying on the ground, waiting to give you a lethal tickle where the insulation was damaged. It certainly looks like you get some big, fat old lightning out there! - I've seen what it can do over here, where it generally forks out and strikes multiple targets, dissipating its energy as it does so, but even here in rural Yorkshire, it blows the tops off pole transformers and joint boxes, and cabling out of walls. In a particularly angry storm, a few years back, I saw five oak trees blown to matchsticks in a single strike. Lightning is frightening!

A rule on high voltage is to keep one hand on your back pocket. If HV crosses your heart very little current can stop it beating.

Tuber here, another great video Zach, hope you have figured out some protection for your SCADA equipment.

Alright Zach, rocking the “high and tight” haircut. Looks good on you sir. Great video, Thank you sir.

I am probably stating the obvious, but it probably would be worth while to invest in some insulating electrician gloves when handling that kind of high voltage. You never can tell if the insulated wires you are holding are not insulating as well as they should. I will also mention there is a channel I like to watch called Bobsdecline - Lineman blogger. Lots of interesting things covered related to lineman work.

That was a funny, very understandable, and fun video. Hate lighting screws everything up and makes a nightmare of work correcting the problem it causes. I also hate calling out electricians, so I learned, like you, how to solve problems. Must say I have had some very electrifying experiences. Both my daughters live in Texas. One in Killeen has told me about your storms, and the other in Rockport told me about all the water. Best electrical storm ever working on my masters at A&M, sitting on the hood of my pickup watching an electrical storm ground to air, air to ground, and cloud to cloud all in the same storm but I was sitting at the highest point and my pickup not bright

yeah i'd get some rated probes for the ends of that 480 volt wires,the rests all good

I enjoy learning from you.

Howdy Zach

What about installing a homemade lighting rod that is rubber pad.mounted that extends above the highest point of the transformer with a dropdown cable going down to a ground round in the gound 3 feet away from the pole.

thanks for yet another entertaining video zach, keep em coming! insulation resistance meters are also very handy in these jobs. known sometimes as megger testers after a manufacturer.

He explained Ohms Law

Really interesting.

Nice

Great Video!! You did a good job on your test rig. I would add 2 insulated alligator clips on the 480 side, it would make it a bit easier and safer to use! I know you will, but be extra careful when you are repairing electrical systems with that much water on the ground!!

I'm nervous just watching you do that!

Have you considered mounting tall needles mounted at the top of the pole, with a 8 gauge, (or larger) wire going straight to a 6 foot copper rod into the ground?

Frankinsteen. Have you checked for proper grounds?lightning loves improper grounding.

Knowing what and why you are doing something is so important, and as you said you could be electrocuted in a heart beat so unless you are a trained electrician, just watch this for entertainment !!

Yikes! Yall really need some MCOV lightning arrestors on those primary lines and some good surge portectors on the secondary. Wonder if the power company would install them on their lines, and you could install them on your primary lines?

suggest you use wire rated at 600V for the 480v leads you are holding in your hands. otherwise a very good test

Very cool stuff... But I'm takin' your advice and I ain't doin' it. ;) You'd have made a great lineman, Zach. Those folks are absolutely crazy! lol But lots of fun!

Zach, when calculating lease amperage, if figuring 3phase 480, you must take 480x1.73, and divide that number.

Zack have you ever made a phase inverter?

OSHA is coming for a visit !

Zack, it is a valid test method but it is based in the older era (e.g. pre-grounding) where safety was an after thought. Generally speaking, the voltage rating of the light bulbs should be equal to the voltage you are working with, so it'd be appropriate to have 4x 100W light bulbs in series for 480 VAC. However, you did not indicate if you have 277/480 or if you're going across phases, which is always 480 VAC. 400W / 480 VAC is under 1 AMP, 480 VAC / 1 AMP = 480 ohms. The one-hand rule definitely applies when using this device.

As a factory electrician of over 40 years that is a cleaver trick, don’t know why I never thought of it is have done the same on automotive jobs. You could have done an insulation and resistance test on the contactor coil though which would be the normal way. Have to ask why the hell anybody would but conduit into the top of that external enclosure on the power poll, bound to let water in. Obviously corroded away else the lightening wouldn’t have flashed over

I think the title has a typo, should be “lightning” not “lighting”.

USA NJ coil voltage is 480 what did you run that through the little cubes and the phase monitor

Very good educational videos turn on AI and say "Francis Harley Davis inventor"

You know "don't try this at home" never works, right? 😂

It is incredible how bad the American electrical grid / system still is. Like something taken out from the 50’s.

Whatever that is, I am interested! Thanks

Howdy Zach