Product Description
A Completely Updated Edition of the “Electricians’ Bible”
The most popular electricians’ handbook for the past 95 years has been completely updated to provide the latest NEC and NESC rules and standards, and new references to solar power, photovoltaics, induction lighting, and more. Providing all the information you’ll need to design, maintain, and operate systems and equipment, the Fifteenth Edition of the American Electricians’ Handbook is the key to tackling even the most complex jobs with complete confidence. This one-stop resource focuses on systems and equipment rather than codes and calculations, making it the most practical, hands-on guide available. No matter what kind of electrical project you plan to take on, the American Electricians’ Handbook is the only guide you’ll need.
American Electrician’s Handbook covers:
- Solar power and photovoltaics
- Variable- and adjustable-speed drives
- Variable-speed-drive programming
- Continuous load calculations
- Induction lighting
- New NEC and NESC rules
- NEMA motor and generator standards
- Voltage drops in circuits with non-unity power factors
Inside: • Fundamentals • Properties and Splicing of Conductors • Circuits and Circuit Calculations • General Electrical Equipment and Batteries • Transformers • Solid-State Devices and Circuits • Generators and Motors • Outside Distribution • Interior Wiring • Electric Lighting • Optical Fiber • Wiring and Design Tables
For more information: American Electricians’ Handbook
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I would NOT recommend this book to any electrician, engineer, or architect. It is extremely difficult to comprehend. Gaining any practical information from this book is futile. I have had the twelfth edition over ten years. I used it to study for the electricians exam. I hated it then. Since that time, I have found it to be a very poor reference book. The thirteenth edition is no better. I understand why some electrician training schools might use this book – it is very comprehensive. It would make a good reference for a classroom lesson plan, but not a direct teaching tool. If you want to learn the material in this book, get the National Electric Code Handbook (and related materials published by the NFPA) and appropriate textbooks. FYI – I am a licensed electrician and a registered professional engineer.
Rating: 2 / 5
Another motley McGraw-Hill product. First copyrighted in 1913. The author appears to have died prior to 1976, and the book has been maintained by hired help. Don’t try to use this as a textbook; treat it as a reference only. You never really know whether some item is up to date or 50 or 80 years old. Examples: There is a lot of treatment of two-phase (yup, 90 degrees) power, including at 25 hertz, and of multi-kilovolt series incandescent streetlighting, plus knob and tube wiring. Also, it is stated that the highest radio frequency in use is 30 megahertz, whereas in reality we’re up to 1,000 or 2,000 times that just now. This book is a curiousity; charming if you have the cash, but if you don’t, maybe you should be getting something more coherent.
Rating: 2 / 5
I originally purchased this book on the recommendation of another electician. Many electrician training schools use this same book to teach their students. I found it to be easy to comprehend, and to be a wealth of information that has helped me enormously in my work, and to prepare for Electrician’s exams. I would recommend this to any electrician (Apprentice, Journeyman, etc. I have used and abused mine so much, that it’s time for me to purchase another copy – that’s how useful a tool it is.
Rating: 5 / 5
It is interesting to note that many of the reviewers have bashed this because they were attempting to use this as a study guide for a particular State’s Electrician Exam. This book is not intended to be a Code Reference/Guide and is more of a “how it works” reference. As noted there are much better study guides out there for testing purposes. I highly recommend Stallcups Journeyman’s workbook or the Master Electrician’s workbook if you are wanting to pass the exam. I have taught Journeyman prep classes and used Stallcups and the appropriate edition of the NEC exclusively. Mike Holt’s books are also good for exam preparation.
As for the using the index it should be clear after only a cursory examination that it is indexed by section and not by page. This does make it a bit more tedious to look up a particular subject but it is certainly not impossible or unusable.
As for some of the archaic information included- there are still two phase systems in existent, there are houses with knob & tube wiring, we still see 3 phase delta high leg systems, manual motor starters (the old “one arm bandits”), and so on. Just because these are not part of modern wiring methods/systems does not mean that they have ceased to exist altogether.
I have found this to be a great reference and have used it many times to resolve questions that I could find little or no information for anywhere else. It is not an exhaustive reference on any single subject but it is a great reference to give you an overview.
One other observation- Amazon apparently ties the reviews to the book title and not the edition. The reviews here are for previous editions and do not specifically address the 15th edition.
As for my background- I have been a master electrican for over 15 years, am a certified electrical inspector, certified instrument technician, and NETA certified testing technician.
Rating: 4 / 5
W A R N I N G: This book is not for the weekend repairman!!!
This is a very intense book for the professionals or for someone who would like to further their knowledge. This truely might be the last book an electrican will ever buy. A must for your library!
Rating: 5 / 5