Need urgent help with power line for a wedding


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Old 09-23-17, 03:51 PM
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Exclamation Need urgent help with power line for a wedding

I have a buried power line ran to barn it's on it's own meter with a with a double 100 amp breaker in it and it has been working for more than 10 years and about a month ago it stopped working I've dug up some of the line and have tested it and I don't get power in the ditch but get power on the line out of the breaker all the way down to the ground but as soon as the tester gets close to the ground it shows no reading but dig up more of the line and it shows power to the ground again so I'm just confused and need help because we're having a barn wedding out there and need power lol I was wondering if the breaker could be bad and still allow some current through to give a reading any help will be greatly appreciated
 
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Old 09-23-17, 04:02 PM
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Welcome to the forums.

You really need a meter or a two lead voltage probe. You need to check for 240VAC on the lines leaving the breaker and going to the barn. You should have 240VAC from hot to hot and 120VAC from each hot to ground. Then you need to do the same thing at the barn.

A basic $15 dollar analog meter from a home improvement store is all you need.
 
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Old 09-23-17, 04:04 PM
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get power on the line out of the breaker
If it is a non contact tester it can not be used to determine if the breaker is hot or if the wires to the ground are hot. For that you need a multimeter or test light/
 
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Old 09-23-17, 06:20 PM
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Check where the feeder originates with a volt/ohm meter and see if you have voltage there. If you do, then the problem will be down stream.
 
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Old 09-24-17, 04:43 AM
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I am confused how the barn has it's own electric meter which implies that it is fed by the power company. Then you say you checked for power at the breaker which implies it's being fed from a panel in your house. So, how does the power get to your barn.

Also some punctuation makes your post much easier to read.
 
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Old 09-24-17, 08:03 AM
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I'm picturing two meters on a pole outside the house.
A meter for the house and a meter with a 100A disconnect for the barn.
 
 

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