HD Electric Underground Cable Fault Tester

Electric Utility Operations

HD Electric Introduces New Underground Cable Fault Tester

July 15, 2017

HD Electric Company, a Textron Inc. company, now offers its new Underground Cable Fault Tester, the UCT-8. This lightweight one-piece tool is used to test underground de-energized primary shielded voltage cables for faults.

Amy Fischbach

Test results for underground DC leakage are clearly displayed as an analog bar graph along with an indication of a good or faulted cable. A self-contained 8 kV high voltage source powers the tester using a 9V lithium battery, making the UCT-8 a compact single hot stick operation tool for testing cable. An integrated safety circuitry detects cables, which have not been properly de-energized, alerts the user of the problem, and shuts down the test to prevent system damage. An automatic shutoff feature helps the battery to last longer.

About the Author

Amy Fischbach | Amy Fischbach, EUO Contributing Editor

Amy Fischbach is the Field Editor for T&D World magazine and manages the Electric Utility Operations section. She is the host of the Line Life Podcast, which celebrates the grit, courage and inspirational teamwork of the line trade. She also works on the annual Lineworker Supplement and the Vegetation Management Supplement as well as the Lineman Life and Lineman's Rodeo News enewsletters. Amy also covers events such as the Trees & Utilities conference and the International Lineman's Rodeo. She is the past president of the ASBPE Educational Foundation and ASBPE and earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from Kansas State University. She can be reached at [email protected].