Electrical Engineering - Testing a 220V outlet for power

Author

Testing a 220V outlet for power

mckrs@hotmail.com

2005-08-19, 10:21 am

Hello all,

I recently purchased a multimeter & know little to nothing of how to
use it to test outlet voltage. I wanted to verify that I have power
going to a 220V outlet. I chose the 'ACV' option on the multimeter,
and for the voltage (mine had 200 & 740 to choose from), I chose 740 to
be safe.

The socket (as you probably know) consists of two slanted line shaped
holes & a 'Lazy L' shaped hole. Which holes should I put the red
electrode into & which should I put the black into?

Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Palindr☻me

2005-08-19, 11:21 am

mckrs@hotmail.com wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> I recently purchased a multimeter & know little to nothing of how to
> use it to test outlet voltage. I wanted to verify that I have power
> going to a 220V outlet. I chose the 'ACV' option on the multimeter,
> and for the voltage (mine had 200 & 740 to choose from), I chose 740 to
> be safe.
>
> The socket (as you probably know) consists of two slanted line shaped
> holes & a 'Lazy L' shaped hole. Which holes should I put the red
> electrode into & which should I put the black into?
>
> Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

An electrical engineer can get useful information from sticking the
probes in any combination of the holes. Being able to interpret the
readings is the key.

Which brings the question to, why do it?

If it is just to experiment with your multimeter- it might be better to
stick to batteries, by all means whilst reading up on the theory of what
should be appearing on each of the outlet pins relative to the others
and what it means if the readings are different than expected. Few
electricians will work with a live circuits unless they have to.

If it is because you are having problems with that socket, or with your
electrical supply - then you need an electrician.

--
Sue

Keen Feltcher

2005-08-19, 4:21 pm

<kirkjohnson@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1124455551.724235.109340@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Hello all,
>
> I recently purchased a multimeter & know little to nothing of how to
> use it to test outlet voltage. I wanted to verify that I have power
> going to a 220V outlet. I chose the 'ACV' option on the multimeter,
> and for the voltage (mine had 200 & 740 to choose from), I chose 740 to
> be safe.
>
> The socket (as you probably know) consists of two slanted line shaped
> holes & a 'Lazy L' shaped hole. Which holes should I put the red
> electrode into & which should I put the black into?
>
> Any feedback is greatly appreciated.
>
> Thanks!
>

Stick your tongue in there boy.

Feltcher..

gfretwell@aol.com

2005-08-19, 6:21 pm

On 19 Aug 2005 05:45:51 -0700, mckrs@hotmail.com wrote:

>Hello all,
>
>I recently purchased a multimeter & know little to nothing of how to
>use it to test outlet voltage. I wanted to verify that I have power
>going to a 220V outlet. I chose the 'ACV' option on the multimeter,
>and for the voltage (mine had 200 & 740 to choose from), I chose 740 to
>be safe.
>
>The socket (as you probably know) consists of two slanted line shaped
>holes & a 'Lazy L' shaped hole. Which holes should I put the red
>electrode into & which should I put the black into?
>
>Any feedback is greatly appreciated.
>
>Thanks!

You should see 120v between the "L" holer and the other 2. 240v
between the 2 without the "L".

phil-news-nospam@ipal.net

2005-08-19, 8:21 pm

On 19 Aug 2005 05:45:51 -0700 mckrs@hotmail.com wrote:

| I recently purchased a multimeter & know little to nothing of how to
| use it to test outlet voltage. I wanted to verify that I have power
| going to a 220V outlet. I chose the 'ACV' option on the multimeter,
| and for the voltage (mine had 200 & 740 to choose from), I chose 740 to
| be safe.
|
| The socket (as you probably know) consists of two slanted line shaped
| holes & a 'Lazy L' shaped hole. Which holes should I put the red
| electrode into & which should I put the black into?

Since I don't know what country you are in, how would I know that your
socket has two slanted line shaped holes, and a "Lazy L" shaped hole?

In many countries in Europe, "220" volts comes from a socket with two round
holes. In Australia, there are 2 slanted holes, but no "L" shaped hole.
Even in the United States, not all "220" volt sockets are like that. For
example the NEMA 6-15R and 6-30R has 2 horizontal slots and one round
ground hole. The NEMA 14-50R has 3 vertical slots and one round hole.

A safer way to verify you have power is to use a "voltage detector". It
is a device that has no metallic connection to the circuit, but can sense
the existance of voltage within an inch or two of one of the hot wires.
The one I have beeps and flashes when it is in front of a receptacle, and
even along the wall where the wire runs inside.

--
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