Fluke 434 Series Ii Application Note 2394340 Rev A

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Technology

at Work

Your troubleshooting has come to

a dead stop, while you wait for

an outside expert to do a power

quality analysis. Meanwhile, the

customer is fuming about down-

time and asking when you’ll

“have it fixed.” Sound familiar?

Now you can prevent such sit-

uations, because you no longer

need to rely on an outside expert

or try to use a complicated power

quality meter.

With the Fluke 430 Series

Power Quality Analyzers, you can

perform important measurements

with the push of a button — it’s

that quick and easy. A dramatic

improvement in power quality

meters, the Fluke 430 series is

the first high quality, three-phase

tool that electricians can use at

the service entrance to investi-

gate power quality problems.

Maintenance contracts

Preventive maintenance (PM)

contracting is a growing business,

but you need the right tools to

do it. The goal of PM is to keep

equipment and facilities in satis-

factory operating condition by

providing for systematic inspec-

tion, detection, and correction

of problems in the early stages —

before they develop into major

defects or lead to catastrophic

failures. To meet that goal with

today’s systems, you must iden-

tify power quality problems in

their early stages. What tools are

you using for that purpose?

Unfortunately, some contrac-

tors use DMMs to troubleshoot

power quality problems “because

we don’t have time to learn to

use a power quality meter.”

Power quality analyzer

uses for electricians

From the Fluke Digital Library @ www.fluke.com/library

Because customers need their

power quality problems solved

quickly, these contractors are

putting their maintenance con-

tracts — and themselves — at risk.

Others would say that limited

time is exactly the reason to use

Fluke power quality meters. Steve

Uhrich, a supervisor with Valley

Electric, Seattle, WA, says his

crews make regular use of Fluke

power quality meters because

“We can take all the measure-

ments with one tool. We don’t

have to be swapping around.

From an efficiency standpoint,

this works very well.”

What do the electricians in

Uhrich’s crew think about using

Fluke power quality meters? “I

have asked everyone in my crew,

‘If you could have only one meter,

what would you choose?’

Everyone had the same answer,

‘The Fluke power quality meter.’”

2 Fluke Corporation Power quality analyzer uses for electricians

Key functions

Why such a ringing endorsement

from electricians in the field?

Let’s start by looking at how a

power quality meter differs from

a DMM. Most electrical systems

support a range of voltage and

phase requirements (see diagram

on page 3). A DMM gives you

single measurements on single

phases in numeric format. The

430 Series Power Quality

Analyzers, on the other hand,

measures all three phases even

in 600 V CAT IV/1000 V CAT III

areas, allowing you to monitor

the entire system simultaneously.

It also graphically interprets the

data for you.

•Waveform display. The wave-

form is a picture worth 1,000

voltage readings. It allows you

to see what is actually going

on in the system.

Example: Observe flat-topping

to confirm an overloaded

transformer, so you can correct

the condition before the trans-

former overheats and fails.

Bonus: Some power quality

meters allow you to export

waveform captures for inclu-

sion in reports.

•History.You can store wave-

forms from different times or

locations and recall them for

later comparison, analysis, or

data transfer.

Example: Capture inrush

current to troubleshoot motor-

related nuisance tripping.

•Analysis. You can trend such

measurements as RMS and

peak voltage, RMS and peak

current, crest factor, watts, VA,

VARs, power factor, displace-

ment power factor, and

frequency. You can spot anom-

alies by looking at the trends

rather than taking dozens of

DMM measurements.

Example: See what’s causing

your peak load charges to be

as high as they are.

Bonus: You can display har-

monics in a spectrum view or

in a table view.

•Multi-channel inputs.

You can compare

phases in real time.

Because current is so

dynamic, you must

compare phases simul-

taneously to be

accurate. (A DMM-

based comparison of

Phase A to Phase B

requires two DMMs

and you’re still limited

to single measure-

ments). Example:

Compare phases in

real time to see how

much unbalance a

motor is experiencing,

so you can correct the

unbalance before it

burns the motor up.

Standouts

The best power quality units

provide even more functionality.

For example, consider four useful

actions you can easily perform

with the Fluke 430 series:

•Trend automatically.

Just push a button,

and the Fluke 430

series will record and

analyze power quality

readings on all three

phases. When you

select a menu, the

Fluke 430 series

begins recording all

functions in that menu

automatically. You

don’t need to go

through elaborate

setups, choose

between types of

measurements to

record, or choose

between recording

and looking at the

readings. Example:

Push a button to trend

spikes and sags

related

to specific

events or equipment.

3 Fluke Corporation Power quality analyzer uses for electricians

Fluke Corporation

PO Box 9090, Everett, WA USA 98206

Fluke Europe B.V.

PO Box 1

186, 5602 BD

Eindhoven, The Netherlands

For more information call:

In the U.S.A. (800) 443-5853 or

Fax (425) 446-5116

In Europe/M-East/Africa (31 40) 2 675 200 or

Fax (31 40) 2 675 222

In Canada (800) 36-FLUKE or

Fax (905) 890-6866

From other countries +1 (425) 446-5500 or

Fax +1 (425) 446-5116

Web access: http://www.fluke.com

©2004 Fluke Corporation. All rights reserved.

Printed in U.S.A. 9/2004 2394340 A-US-N Rev A

Fluke. Keeping your world

up and running.

•View on four channels.

Watch all three phases and

the neutral. No more switch-

ing back and forth and

juggling things in your head.

You can see the current on all

three phases and the neutral

at the same time. Example:

See if a motor is single-phas-

ing, or see if a lighting ballast

is causing excess current in

the neutral.

•Perform simultaneous cap-

tures.Capture voltage and

current waveform data on all

phases simultaneously.

Example: Set the Fluke 430

series to trigger on a voltage

sag. By looking at the wave-

form characteristics, you can

trace the event to a faulty

capacitor on a large AC unit.

•Perform system monitoring.

Capture system benchmarks

and then run an automatic

comparison on a regular basis.

Example: For routine PM, you

run an automatic comparison

to detect problems arise from

such causes as corroding

grounding connections, arcing

breaker contacts, leaking

power factor capacitors, or

motors in early stage winding

failure.

It also runs on battery for 7

hours. And let’s not forget the

impressive safety designed into

the Fluke 430 series. The Fluke

430 series meets several safety

standards, and it’s the only

handheld three-phase power

quality meter rated for 600 V

CAT IV and 1000 V CAT III for

service entrance use.

Building business on

power quality

The Fluke 430 series can handle

all of your electrical measure-

ment needs for preventive

maintenance, but how can it

help you gain new business?

Suppose a customer hired you

to install a new 75kVA distribu-

tion transformer and panel. You

can do that project and walk off

with your margin on it and hope

for another call. Or, you can turn

that project into a stream of new

projects by identifying other

needs — while you are still on

site. Example: You show the cus-

tomer a graphical display of

voltage distortion to support the

need for work on the lighting

system.

Valley Electric uses a Fluke

power quality meter to gain new

business. Uhrich says, “We show

the customer a need, which they

often can’t understand. But when

we have a screen capture, we

can

show the layperson what is

happening and they can under-

stand it.”

This understanding builds

trust, which leads to repeated

sales. Uhrich says, “Using Fluke

power quality meters allows us

to get work we couldn’t other-

wise get.” And, this is a

win-win. Uhrich says, “We help

customers avoid shutdown, and

we build our business.”

Utility

power Ground

system

Main switchgear

UPS PDU

480 V

panel

Starter

Disconnect

Power

factor

correction

capacitors

Adjustable

speed motor

drive

Transfer

switch

480 V/

277 V

panel

120 V/

202 V

panel

Lighting

Transformer

Emergency

generator

Receptacle

000124

Ground

system

Main swit

PDU

480 V/

277 V

panel

120 V/

202 V

panel

Lighting

Receptacle

Main switchgear

UPS

480 V

panel

Starter

Disconnect

Power

factor

correction

capacitors

Adjustable

speed motor

drive

Transfer

switch

Transformer

Emergency

generator

000124

CAT II

300 V

CAT III

1000 V

CAT IV

600 V

The Fluke 430 is the first handheld power quality analyzer rated for use at the

service entrance (CAT IV). That means you can now prove where power quality

problems are coming from — is it the utility, a conflict in the line, or an equipment

malfunction? Without testing the utility power supply, you can’t know for sure.