Not sure about rental sources in your area, but there are two options: 1) An underground cable fault locator, aka a "thumper," which only works on direct buried cables. It is a destructive test (at the fault location), and should only be performed when there is a known fault in order to locate it. It requires "walking" the cable run with a sensing device to hear the "thump" generated by the high current/high voltage induced on the line.
2) A time domain reflectometer (TDR), which is sort of like radar in that low energy signals are reflected by changes in cable impedance; it is non-destructive, but also not as accurate in terms of the location (providing a cable length to the fault, rather than a "thump" at the actual fault location) and typically cannot see higher resistance (≈>200 MΩ) faults that the thumper can. Brian Mehalic NABCEP Certified Solar PV Installation Professional™ R031508-59 National Electrical Code® CMP-4 Member (520) 204-6639 Solar Energy International http://www.solarenergy.org On Tue, Apr 18, 2023 at 8:27 AM Matt Sherald via RE-wrenches < re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote: > Hi Drake, > > I've rented a set-up from my electrical supply house. I'd check to see if > Scott Electric/Advantage Rental serves your part of Ohio. > > If memory serves, it is two pieces of equipment that you need. One to > trace the line and a second to find the fault. > > -Matt > > On Tue, Apr 18, 2023 at 11:20 AM Drake Chamberlin via RE-wrenches < > re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote: > >> I understand that there is a tool that locates underground faults in >> buried cables. No one in our area has one. There are high tech cable >> tracers now, but they don't advertise that they can find underground >> breaks in wires. >> >> One company online had one that advertised that function. The entire kit >> came to $5 or $6K. >> >> Does anyone know where one can be rented. >> >> Thank you, >> >> Drake >> >> Drake Chamberlin >> Athens Electric LLC >> Ohio Electrical Contractor’s License 44810 >> CO Master Electrician’s License 4526 >> NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional >> >> >> >> -- >> _______________________________________________ >> List sponsored by Redwood Alliance >> >> Pay optional member dues here: http://re-wrenches.org >> >> List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org >> >> Change listserver email address & settings: >> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org >> >> There are two list archives for searching. When one doesn't work, try the >> other: >> https://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/ >> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org >> >> List rules & etiquette: >> http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm >> >> Check out or update participant bios: >> http://www.members.re-wrenches.org >> >> > > -- > Matt Sherald > PIMBY Energy, LLC > 304-704-5943 > > > _______________________________________________ > List sponsored by Redwood Alliance > > Pay optional member dues here: http://re-wrenches.org > > List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org > > Change listserver email address & settings: > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > There are two list archives for searching. When one doesn't work, try the > other: > https://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/ > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > List rules & etiquette: > http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm > > Check out or update participant bios: > http://www.members.re-wrenches.org > >
_______________________________________________ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance Pay optional member dues here: http://re-wrenches.org List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Change listserver email address & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org There are two list archives for searching. When one doesn't work, try the other: https://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/ http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List rules & etiquette: http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out or update participant bios: http://www.members.re-wrenches.org