"TimR" wrote in message
...
I found this quote on a Inspectapedia, home inspection site:
"As of September 2008 we have found no test tool that reliably and
completely tests the function of an AFCI. Only the integral test button
tests the circuitry of the device as well as the trip mechanism. UL classes
these "test" devices not as "testers", but as "indicators".
Funny you should bring that up because the Eaton/CH site I was reading
mentioned using a circuit analyzer *before* installing an AFCI to help scan
for potential problems that would cause a nuisance trip. So I started
looking at circuit analyzers that could tell me if there was a problem with
the in-wall wiring. The cheapest I found was $90 for this:
NEEWERŪ TRMS Voltage GFCI RCD Tester Circuit Analyzer MS5908A but it doesn't
appear to test AFCIs although it does test for Residual Current Devices
which turn out to be like a GFCI, but speak with a British accent g. From
Mike Holt's forums:
RCD is the term normally used in the UK, and the most common trip rating
is 30ma though many other ratings exist. A UK type RCD normaly only protects
against leakage to earth/ground, and does not protect against overload or
short circuit, a fuse or MCB must also be employed to protect against short
circuit or overload. A combined earth leakage and overload protective device
is available, these are known as RCBOs. A UK RCD built into an outlet does
NOT protect downstream outlets. The common 30ma trip current does in
practice give good (but not total) protection against shock, especialy as
they normally trip at about 20/25ma, and are faster acting than USA GFCIs.
http://forums.mikeholt.com/showthread.php?t=122329
The other tester they just got pricier from the Amprobe INSP-3 Wiring
Inspector Circuit Tester Was almost $300 and folks on Amazon had some
complaints about it.
The Ideal Industries 61-165 SureTest Circuit Analyzer weighed in at over
$330 but deals with both AF and GF CI's but users complained that it was
"short" some necessary adapters.
So it looks, at first glance, like a circuit analyzer that can "test" AFCI's
will set me back the cost of at least 6 AFCI breakers. The question now is
will testing all the circuits reveal the same sorts of problems that
nuisance tripping of AFCIs would also "detect?" Is money better spent on
the AFCI's themselves or on a tool that can reveal potential hazards?
A problem is that some devices used to "inspect" an AFCI, in trying to
produce a
simulated arc fault condition, may fail to cause the AFCI device to trip
even though it is
perfectly fine.
Gives you that "warm, fuzzy" feeling about their overall effectiveness,
doesn't it? That's precisely why I've been thinking of buying a single OBC
outlet AFCI unit and testing it under real world arcing conditions that I
create - the kind of testing that drives SWMBO mad. (-:
Literature from the manufacturer of a popular "test tool" tells the user
of the tool to go
to the electric panel and use the test button on the AFCI device to make
sure it trips.
In other words the inspector cannot rely on the separate test tool. For
this reason you will
see such tools referred to as "indicators" rather than "testers": they are
not a complete and
reliable test instrument for AFCIs"
Great. This AFCI investigation is rapidly spreading out into a murky
wamp. )-;
So, trust the test button, because there is NO external way to verify the
device works?
Huh? Does that make sense?
Only in Bizzaro land. (-: What bothers me most about the lack of testers
that can actually TEST and not just INDICATE is that I would always be
suspicious that the AFCI's might not react to a real arc. There's something
just not scientific about not being able to create a reliable, repeatable
tester for a device intended to save your life. Sometimes, when
manufacturers have problems like nuisance trips, their first corrective
attempts overshoot the mark.
I guess I had just better order a single AFCI and start testing while I try
to decide whether a $300 circuit tester would be a good investment.
--
Bobby G.