Motors and drives, the key components of any facility, are used everywhere and can be prone to a number of unseen problems.
Blog
Fresh, frequent news and information about test and measurement from Fluke experts and field professionals. You’ll find tips, how-to, updates, and experiences via text, audio, video, slideshows, and e-magazines in flip book format.
Top stories
The electrical power issues that most frequently affect industrial plants include voltage sags and swells, harmonics, transients, and voltage and current unbalance.
Fluke experts get to the heart of your maintenance and measurement questions with tips and tricks—in less than a minute.
Read the wastewater plant case study on how the Fluke 3540 Power Monitor paid for itself in five months by eliminating the need to use contractors.
Most problems with single-phase motors involve the centrifugal switch, thermal switch, or capacitor(s). If the problem is in the centrifugal switch, thermal switch, or capacitor, the motor is usually serviced and repaired. However, if the motor is more than 10 years old and less than 1 HP, the motor is usually replaced. If the motor is less than 1/8 HP, it is almost always replaced.
With the push to energy independence and renewable energy sources, HVAC technicians need to know how to troubleshoot photovoltaic systems
Recent stories
Curb explosive potential with intrinsically safe tools. For those who work in industries where flammable materials are present—such as petrochemical and pharmaceutical plants, oil platforms, refineries, pipelines, and mining—the potential for an explosion is a daily reality. All it takes is a flammable material coming into contact with air and an ignition source.
Late on a Sunday afternoon the Kern County Fire Department responded to a call at a store on Rosedale Highway in Bakersfield, California. Crews found that a row of solar panels on the roof had caught fire. Some of the panels were still live when the crew arrived, so the fire crew had to take extra precautions until electrical power could be disconnected.
Pressure calibration can be challenging in the best of environments. Working in an area that has the potential for explosion takes the degree of difficulty to another level—one where the technician needs proper training and equipment.
Fluke engineers its clamp meters to withstand a high degree of unconventional use—as a wedge, makeshift pliers, nutcracker, whatever a tech might dream up in a moment of need.