/diy/ - Do It Yourself

multimeter is similar to pic related. what should I set it to?

>>1727775
get a tic-tester which is a non contact voltage detector you just hold it near the thing you think has power and it will click if it does, and be silent if it doesnt. If you wanna use >>1727776
set it to V~200 but it will only give you accurate reading if you have the red probe on one leg and the black probe on the other. The tic-tester just needs to be in proximity to the voltage.

I’ve used cheap ones that have suicided when checking mains, and I know that people have died from it. But you wouldn’t be the first or the last to use a 2 dollar meter on mains. Even with my expensive fluke I still double verify by plugging a device into a socket and make sure the lines are dead. Also there’s the old 500 amp fuse method by nigrigging a wooden pole and a piece of metal to short the bus bars.

Set to V 200 and check with the black probe on the white main feed and the red one on the blue main feed. If it is on it will say 120v or so and if it is off it will say 0. Repeat with the black probe on the main feed again and the red one on the black main feed. Same results.

If they both test and show 0 then the power is off.

That multimeter will work fine, just make sure you have the black lead in the COM connector on the multimeter and the red one in the Voltage connector NOT the Amperage connector...

>>1727779
>V~200

>>1727784
>I know that people have died from it

>>1727784
>Set to V 200

two-thirds of people don't die. I like those odds

>>1727775
put a receptacle off the main panel with a light.
if it's on you'll die.

>>1727775
Get a No-Touch voltage detector, looks like a fat sharpie, is less than $20 from a BIGBOX store, wave it near the wires in the panel, it'll chirp if there's power in there.

They're a Must Have tool for anything dealing with line voltage electricity

>>1727810
>No-Touch voltage detector,
Always check against a known hot circuit first. Or you'll be happily hearing no chirps. Because its batteries are dead.

>>1727823

They have indicator lights to show if the batteries are working.

Multimeter rated for 240

No direct contact with metals

Boots good separation

>>1727836
Not him but it should still be tested against a live circuit.

OP if your scared of your chinkshit meter killing you, test a live circuit to make sure it’s working, then check your mains, then check a live circuit again to make sure it’s still working.
Follow these instructions to avoid death by the red menace.

OP just cover the angry bits with an oily rag

>>1727775
Just install 2 low power (indicator) lamps and power them, if they are both out either the power is out or god is telling you it's time to die.

>>1727776
200M (the one to the left of the off position)

>all these people suggesting "contactless meter"
>don't know the second contact is actually your body and it'll be protected by a chink resistor that could short at any moment and btfo you

>>1728804
You do know that the feed hasn't been connected yet (it's the loose 4/0) and the rag is just there to protect the bus from getting nicked up from pulling wires?

>>1728832
thats 2/0 and the feed is connected, comes in the top. The buss bar is live mate I installed that panel and every wire going to and from it.

>>1728820

No.

Where it says V~ in yellow and has 200 or 500 as the options is where you need to be to check voltage.

Orange circle area.

>>1727775
Literally any multimeter can indicate if something is energized if you use the equipment correctly. However, in your case, you'll probably just want a non-contact voltage detector like other anons mentioned, since I assume you won't be doing electrical work.

Lick your finger and tap on the wire. If it's live you'll feel a tingling

>>1727775
Even DT830 shit is fine, just be sure you have no more than 380V, otherwise meter can explode.
>>1727776
UNI-T are actually pretty good, I can't call 'em deathtraps.

Anyway, best way to check it you have power is to connect some load. Like a bulb. Then use live wire detector screwdriver thing to verify that live wires are turned off.

>>1729036
>UNI-T
Fuck, this is not UNI-T.
But it looks fine from outside, but combined current and volage jack suggests it can be a deathtrap. Just make sure you measure voltage in socket, not current like I did

>>1727776
>Cheap multimeter

>>1729370
>B-but it's cheap

>>1728804
Two circuits landed and the panel already looks like a hot mess.

>>1729395
I have to do it so that it looks like it's installed by an actual electrician in case anyone comes around to inspect it.

>>1729398
You should go find a j-man to yell at you. The feeds on the left are too short, and wtf is that letter S on the neutral bus? Hack.

>>1729370
>>1729373
>t. plugged in A mode
thing about getting an idiot proof

>>1729398
I mean, unless you just puked in a couple of temporary feeds for pony panels, that install is garbage.

>>1729408
you're not gonna complain about the ground wire spread out across three holes ?
Guess how the neutral 2/0 was connected :D
I think I fixed all the wires being odd lengths after I got everything laid out, pulling in the big cables fucked it all up.

>>1728821
You are retarded

>>1727775
just for information.
nothing in this thread is technically suitable for proving dead a circuit for working safely.
you can buy a specific tool for proving dead a circuit that CRUCIALLY includes an on board testing system to prove the tester is working BEFORE AND AFTER testing the circuit.
This is an important step in proving a system dead that should not be overlooked for good reason.
If you have a second supply available for proving a meter then you should properly risk asses this approach checking e.g. suitability of the meter etc.

>>1729431
Nope. Voltage can only be measured between TWO points. There's no such thing as the voltage on a single point.

>>1728804
normal people would use something out of rubber

>>1729434
People misunderstand the purpose of the volt-tic/tic-tester/ncvt. If a circuit is presumed to be de-energized, the ncvt is to be used as a preliminary sweep of the circuit before approaching the circuit with a proper metering device.

Either a 2 pole voltage checking device (here it's called DUSPOL) which is drawing a little current so you can reliably discriminate between live wires and wires which are "powered" by stray capacitance. Otherwise use a small light bulb (5-15W, suitable for your voltage) and use a normal multimeter.
Oh, and if you want to be dead sure short the wires you are working with. It can save your life.

>>1729438

you're talking about a different device, which is essentially a neon bulb in series with a resistor, that uses your body to capacitively couple electrons out of the wire and into you balls, which lights the bulb.

those require you to contact the live wire. as for the non-contact probes, they're essentially a CMOS gate with a floating input. when they're near electric fields, they see a voltage big enough to oscillate the gate at line frequency (50 or 60Hz). these things are unreliable since they dont tell you exactly which wire is live, just that a live wire is somewhere nearby.

>>1728804
>ground wire secured in not two, but three different holes

bad

>>1729455
What is the vertical axis on that graph?

>>1729497
deaths

>>1729484
I split each hot cable across two 50A breakers as well because 100a breakers were too much money and the wires didnt fit in a single 50A.
It's basically a 100A circuit now.

>>1727775
Those feeders are definitely cut to length, which in my mind looks way too short.

>>1729497
likely $$$$

>>1729418
>I think I fixed all the wires being odd lengths after I got everything laid out
I swear to god you better not have spliced inside the panel box you fucking idiot

>>1729510
>100a breakers were too much money
All the costs associated with an accident caused by a bad install will ALWAYS cost more than buying the right parts and doing the job correctly. Do not cheap out on electrical work!

>>1727775
If you hold your dick an inch or so from the lugs and it doesnt start getting erect your powers off you dont need a meter

>>1730101
no there is slack to the wires and it all got pulled out when I shoved the 2/0 back down some, it all got readjusted mostly back to something not shit.

>>1730310
I'm joke. I put them into a 60A breaker because the connector at the other end of the house is only rated for 60 amps because I was too jew to spend at the time $150 extra for 100A plug and socket and SOOW rated for 100A as well.
Plus I did not feel comfortable leaving that much amps in an outdoor cable. At least with 60A, the wires that go under the house are way over-rated in the event of some fucking bellend driving over the cord with a tractor.