# it is about time again



## rcurras (Jun 16, 2007)

Well, I am feeling stronger again after receiving my “fail” notice yesterday by mail. I would like a recommendation on a good Power Analysis book. October, be ready, I am coming to you.

RC


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## jdd18vm (Jun 16, 2007)

RC

Sorry to hear that. I am scheduled to take it in Oct as well. Had to postpone it in April for personal reasons.

Been out of school forEVER..and so much is overwhelming. I heard good things about Power System Analysis by John Grainger. I was enrolled in the "the other board" Passing Zone and the proctor suggested it. I have a copy here..its intimidating.

Any thoughts on what you'll do different?

John


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## rcurras (Jun 16, 2007)

jdd18vm said:


> RC
> Sorry to hear that. I am scheduled to take it in Oct as well. Had to postpone it in April for personal reasons.
> 
> Been out of school forEVER..and so much is overwhelming. I heard good things about Power System Analysis by John Grainger. I was enrolled in the "the other board" Passing Zone and the proctor suggested it. I have a copy here..its intimidating.
> ...


Based on my previous experience, I need to study harder on NEC and Power Systems (i.e. Transmission and Distribution).

RC


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## benbo (Jun 17, 2007)

rcurras-

Sorry to hear you have to retake the test. you probably only missed by a few questions. I took ECC, not power, so hopefully Luis, Freon, Art or singlespeed will offer some help. My feeling is you have to work problems, or at least go through problems and make sure you understand them. Better to work them yourself. You may be able to pass by reading and using references at the exam, but it is safer to work problems. Therefore, I would look for books with minimal theory and a lot of sample problems and solutions.

The best example of the difficulty is the NCEES sample questions, but you probably already have that. Other than that, the Camara books by "the other board" can help, and possibly Kaplan.

Finally, a lot of the study material for the old test, although tough, tends to emphasize power. THe books by Bentley and Lincoln Jones come to mind. Also, someone on here recommends a book by Chelpati. I think I had that book and gave it away because it emphasized power. This guy says it is very good, if you can find it, because it is out of print.

Hopefully you'll get some more replies. Remember, you are in an elite class just to be in a position to sit for the exam. almost everyone eventually passes if they don't give up.


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## rcurras (Jun 17, 2007)

benbo said:


> rcurras-Sorry to hear you have to retake the test. you probably only missed by a few questions. I took ECC, not power, so hopefully Luis, Freon, Art or singlespeed will offer some help. My feeling is you have to work problems, or at least go through problems and make sure you understand them. Better to work them yourself. You may be able to pass by reading and using references at the exam, but it is safer to work problems. Therefore, I would look for books with minimal theory and a lot of sample problems and solutions.
> 
> The best example of the difficulty is the NCEES sample questions, but you probably already have that. Other than that, the Camara books by "the other board" can help, and possibly Kaplan.
> 
> ...


benbo:

I am very grateful for your advice and this wonderful forum. This forum has become a very useful and powerful tool for all engineers who plan to take the EIT and PE respectively. When I started studying for my PE last February, I was surprised due to the lack of information about this test on the web (mainly a group of people like you giving references, study tips, etc.). Again, thanks for being part of your family.

RC.


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## Frontier05 (Jun 17, 2007)

benbo said:


> rcurras-Sorry to hear you have to retake the test. you probably only missed by a few questions. I took ECC, not power, so hopefully Luis, Freon, Art or singlespeed will offer some help. My feeling is you have to work problems, or at least go through problems and make sure you understand them. Better to work them yourself. You may be able to pass by reading and using references at the exam, but it is safer to work problems. Therefore, I would look for books with minimal theory and a lot of sample problems and solutions.
> 
> The best example of the difficulty is the NCEES sample questions, but you probably already have that. Other than that, the Camara books by "the other board" can help, and possibly Kaplan.
> 
> ...




I would agree except for the part about theory (if I read it corretly, and may not have).

You must know the theory behind the problem before you know how to approach it. One word can throw the problem into a whole different tail spin then some sample problem you may have gone over in studies. Do lots of problems, sure, but understand the theory is very important in my opinion. Even if you find a book with minimal theory, have a different book to know the theory for problems that may be a blur.

I've shared my opinion in other threads on study material that helped me most. Another good book I used is the 2nd addition of electrical power calculations. It's been out of print, but it's an excellent reference that became very useful for me. I guess if searching hard enough, you could probably find a copy somewhere?

The test isn't an easy one, thats for sure. Good luck with your next go around RC.


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## benbo (Jun 18, 2007)

I should have been more clear. You need to read enough theory to understand the problems. But some people read through the EERM like a novel and never put pencil to paper. It is painful to work problems, but you need to tyr some. That's all I meant.


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## superme (Jun 18, 2007)

RC, check out this thread for some lengthy discussions on what is and isn't available for this test:

http://engineerboards.com/index.php?showtopic=2999

I'm the guy benbo was talking about that likes the Chelapati book. It's the only book that I ever came across that was directly applicable to the test. All the other books, while decent electrical engineering books, only vaguely apply to the PE test.

Be wary of the EERM book. It's big and there's a lot of information in it, but it won't help you find the answer for PE problems very much. If you don't believe me, try this experiment: Get the NCEES practice test (the only accurate practice test available) and try to find the answer to each problem in the EERM. You will see that either the answer isn't in there, or it is extremely difficult to find because it will be buried under a mountain of information that the PE doesn't really care about. I wasted over a month using the EERM to study. I can't say it helped me much at all.


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## Techie_Junkie_PE_LEED_AP (Jun 19, 2007)

Supreme,

Do you have a ISBN # or can you scan the cover? You've peaked my curiosity about this book, but you're the only one I've heard talk about it. Also, if you have your PE, are you interested in selling it?


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## rcurras (Jun 19, 2007)

how good is this one (already cited)?

Power System Analysis by John Grainger

http://www.amazon.com/Power-System-Analysi...r/dp/0070612935

RC


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## Frontier05 (Jun 20, 2007)

rcurras said:


> how good is this one (already cited)?
> Power System Analysis by John Grainger
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Power-System-Analysi...r/dp/0070612935
> ...



It's a pretty good book. The theory is definitely in that book. It seems like most grad level power systems classes through-out the country use this book- found out I have a few of them. I don't think you will find many to give is a super bad rating - it's very popular.

Time for some spring cleaning.


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## Techie_Junkie_PE_LEED_AP (Jun 20, 2007)

For Power PM, in addition to Power Systems by Grainger, another great book is by Theodore Wildi titled Electric Machines, Drives and Power Systems. Both of these are expensive but excellent. In my opinion, Grainger's Power System Analysis is great if you work in the industry, but goes into way too much detail for the PE, so skim it and don't go all the way through the math and derivations.


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## moderndoug (Jun 20, 2007)

Just food for thought - Call me wimp if you want, but I am a EE that graduated 20 years ago, so I took and passed the ME Thermal/Fluids. I was too intimidated by the new EE stuff.


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## rcurras (Jun 20, 2007)

Frontier05 said:


> It's a pretty good book. The theory is definitely in that book. It seems like most grad level power systems classes through-out the country use this book- found out I have a few of them. I don't think you will find many to give is a super bad rating - it's very popular.
> Time for some spring cleaning.


Frontier05 &amp; Techie_Junkie

I think that I will buy it, since what I need at this time before start doing problems, is catch the theory first. The one that used while at college is not so good; besides, I did not take any upper level courses in power (i.e. transmission and distribution, where I did a poor performance last April).

RC.


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## benbo (Jun 20, 2007)

moderndoug-

I would not call you a wimp. On the contrary, unless you have been doing technical mechanical work for the last 20 years, it is always impressive to pass an exam out of your field.


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## superme (Jun 20, 2007)

Techie_Junkie said:


> Supreme,
> Do you have a ISBN # or can you scan the cover? You've peaked my curiosity about this book, but you're the only one I've heard talk about it. Also, if you have your PE, are you interested in selling it?


Hmm...well, I borrowed that book from a friend of mine, and he recently took it back to give it to someone else that is now studying for the test. The ISBN number was 0-942115-16-3. I've searched high and low for the book and the second volume which I was never able to find. I even talked to Chelapati's people about it, and they don't even have the original book anymore.

Best bet is to keep an eye out on ebay or used book sites.


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## Frontier05 (Jun 20, 2007)

superme said:


> Hmm...well, I borrowed that book from a friend of mine, and he recently took it back to give it to someone else that is now studying for the test. The ISBN number was 0-942115-16-3. I've searched high and low for the book and the second volume which I was never able to find. I even talked to Chelapati's people about it, and they don't even have the original book anymore.
> Best bet is to keep an eye out on ebay or used book sites.



Are you sure that is the correct ISBN #0-942115-16-3 ? Seems to come up a different book then the civil engineers Chelapati book.

This place has so many books --- http://www.abebooks.com/

Hey, I found the second addition of handbook of elect. calcs. out of print and hard to find, but it's there for almost a hunderd smakers. 3 in stock.

ISBN 0-07-057048-5

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResu...p;y=12&amp;x=50

wow - I didn't notice the disclamer. it shows the 2nd addition book in the picture, but says the actual book may be different then the picture shown. tried .... but that is the ISBN # in my book. If your really interested, it's a good idea to verify first.


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## theplayer (Jun 21, 2007)

I passed the electrical power afternoon PE first try. The Schaum's Outline of Electrical Power Systems and Schaum's Outline of Electrical Machines &amp; Electromechanics were my power references along with my EERM. The EERM doesn't have enough depth in transformers and short circuit analysis. The Schaum's outlines contain many example problems and I was able to use these books more than once in the power session. They are cheap also! I wish I would have worked more short circuit analysis problems in my studies. The NEC handbook was also helpful, more helpful than just the code book.


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## chaosiscash (Jun 21, 2007)

You hardcore EEs will laugh, but besides the EERM and the NEC Handbook, I used an Ugly book several times. It can get you in trouble for complicated code questions, but its a great quick reference for more general problems. I also printed and bound a copy of Beaty's Handbook of Electric Power Calculations. A couple of questions in it were real helpful.


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## Cyclone (Jun 21, 2007)

I would also suggest taking some sort of reference material that is typically used by electrical contractors such as Uglys Electrical references.


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## rcurras (Jun 21, 2007)

chaosiscash said:


> ...I also printed and bound a copy of Beaty's Handbook of Electric Power Calculations...


from where?

thanks

RC


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## chaosiscash (Jun 22, 2007)

I'll PM you.



rcurras said:


> from where?
> thanks
> 
> RC


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## GAZOO (Jun 22, 2007)

I got me results yesterday and it was the most pleasant one! I know others asked this question but I will ask it again, what study materials available to help me to be more prepared? I tried "the other board", Kaplan, NCEES and Power Analysis by Grainer but they all go thru the theory more than solving problems! I think what I am looking for more is practice exam books on solving problems; can any one help me out with some references?

Thanks,


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## rcurras (Jun 22, 2007)

GAZOO said:


> I got me results yesterday and it was the most pleasant one! I know others asked this question but I will ask it again, what study materials available to help me to be more prepared? I tried "the other board", Kaplan, NCEES and Power Analysis by Grainer but they all go thru the theory more than solving problems! I think what I am looking for more is practice exam books on solving problems; can any one help me out with some references?
> Thanks,


I think that two excellent options (if you are a power guy like me) are (lots of problems):

Schaum's Outline of Electrical Power Systems

http://www.amazon.com/Schaums-Outline-Elec...8685&amp;sr=8-4

Schaum's Outline of Electric Machines &amp; Electromechanics

http://www.amazon.com/Schaums-Outline-Elec...8685&amp;sr=8-4

RC


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## GAZOO (Jun 22, 2007)

rcurras said:


> I think that two excellent options (if you are a power guy like me) are (lots of problems):
> Schaum's Outline of Electrical Power Systems
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Schaums-Outline-Elec...8685&amp;sr=8-4
> ...



Yes I am a power person too,

I will check these books out,

Thanks


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## Techie_Junkie_PE_LEED_AP (Jun 22, 2007)

rcurras said:


> I think that two excellent options (if you are a power guy like me) are (lots of problems):
> Schaum's Outline of Electrical Power Systems
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Schaums-Outline-Elec...8685&amp;sr=8-4
> ...


I have both of these and they are certainly worth the bargain price of $15-$20!


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