Basic Electricity
1:24
CP 1 – Cathodic Protection Tester Course Manual
©
NACE International, 2000
02/01/05
Voltmeters
Because the D’Arsonval meter responds to current flow through the
coil, the current magnitude resulting in full-scale deflection of the
meter can be determined. Also, the series resistance of the meter coil
is known. The meter can be used to determine voltage by using
Ohm’s Law. The full-scale voltage is simply the full-scale current
times the coil resistance. This is the smallest full-scale voltage range
possible with the meter. Larger full-scale voltage ranges can be
made available by switching resistors in series with the moving coil,
which reduces the magnitude of voltage drop directly across the coil.
For low-voltage ranges, the circuit resistance becomes more
sensitive and external resistances such as those associated with test
leads and reference electrode-to-electrolyte contact may cause an
error in the reading.
Ammeters
If the meter is used as an ammeter, resistors are placed parallel to the
moving coil to shunt a significant portion of the total current around
the moving coil. The position of the range switch determines the
value of the shunt resistance. The higher the current to be measured,
the smaller the shunt resistor must be to allow greater portions of the
current to bypass the coil.
Ohmmeters
If the current is measured and the driving voltage is known, the
resistance of the circuit can be calculated by Ohm’s Law. An
ohmmeter measures the current flow caused by a known voltage
source and indicates resistance on the scale or readout.
Ohmmeters find limited use in corrosion work. They can be useful
for checking circuit continuity and for other testing in rectifiers or
resistor panels, but they are not suitable for testing resistance
between structures in an electrolyte (e.g., across an isolation joint, or
casing to pipe). There are two reasons for this. First, when two
structures are electrically isolated from each other by a fitting, there
is a parallel resistance through the electrolyte. The ohmmeter cannot
WARNING – DO NOT TOUCH THE METAL PARTS OF THE
TEST WIRES WHEN TAKING VOLTAGE READINGS.
Summary of Contents for CP 1
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