If I remember my IEE Regs correctly testing domestic circuits normally energised at 230 volts AC is to be done at 500 volts DC, three phase industrial circuits subjected to 400 volts (line to line) is done using the volts facility. You might not need the latter but most instruments will offer the facility – they'd be no use to a commercial electrician if they didn't. Which kinds of begs the question of the quality of an instrument which doesn't offer the facility.
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Insulation testing is about whether the appliance under test will kill you or not, and the same goes for the continuity tester which will likely be part of the same instrument and which performs an equally important test. At least with a calibration certificate in your hand you know if the information acquired from the measurement can be trusted.
As Emgee notes, if we could have some idea of your intended use for such measurements we could offer better relevant advice.
Seasons Greetings Simon
Hi,
Some time ago I purchased a MASTECH MS insulation resistance tester (commonly known as a megger) from Ali Express and I am very pleased with it. Good specs and a good price. Some of the cheaper units did not appear to have good low insulation resistance readings on the high voltage setting if that makes sense. So on the 500 volt setting (normal for 230-250 volt countries) the readings that are critical are in the 0.5 to 5 Megohm range as anything above this is largely academic. Some of the cheaper units did not appear to be able to display meaningful readings below 2 or 5 Megohm and this made them useless for me. Recommended unit for my general usage.
Hope this helps. Cheers and Christmas greetings, StephenS.
Thanks all for your useful and thought provoking comments.
I suppose when I think about it, it wouldn't be the most frequently used tool in my armoury. But I occasionally do small mods to my domestic arrangements and it would nice to be able to say I have made 'that final check and all is ok'.
Also what seems to be popular at the moment here is two washing dryers tripping the ELCBs due to leaky heater elements. When I check these for insulation resistance with a normal Ohmmeter you seem to be able to get any figure you want up to 20Meg depending on the time of day. I was hoping that a higher test voltage would make this kind of check more reliable. (I do hate to spend money on parts when I don't have conclusive proof that they are defective…. of course its always ok to spend on tooling )
Thanks StephenS for your positive comments on the Mastech. That looks like a reasonable device.
Posted by SillyOldDuffer on 19/12/ 18:24:26:Is it necessary to disconnect everything before using a Megger? For example, I'd have thought putting Vdc into a anything semi-conductor like a switch mode PSU risked killing it.
Rectified single phase is around 320VDC, full wave rectified 3-phase about 720VDC. So not that far from 500V or V respectively. There are nasty spikes on the mains as well. One of the EMC/EMI mains tests applies a series of spikes on top of the mains, of both polarities, at 500V, V and V to see if anything fails. The whole test sequence can take around 2 hours. Which is long time to hold ones breath and hope the equipment under test doesn't go phut!
Insulation testers will be fairly high impedance so the currents flowing will be low. Any proper mains input equipment should have transient protection on the input against the spikes. These will cope with the low DC currents.
Andrew
If you want to know if a piece of equipment is safe to energise the insulation tester is the kit to reach for, as a low voltage resistance test using a Fluke DVM as an ohmmeter doesn't cut the mustard. Other makes are available. Quite apart from the regulations, you need that high voltage for the test to be a valid representation of the real life energisation using mains supply. So while the insulation tester isn't the most frequently used bit of kit an anyone's toolbox, when you need it, you need it.
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The same goes for the continuity tester. A simple ohms check won't pass 20 mA (the specified minimum test current through a short circuit) through the earth continuity conductor, and won't find loose screws, oxidised connections and the like.
So it's a specialised gadget for a very specific purpose, being the final checks to confirm that an appliance is safe to energise. By all means do the best you can with a digital ohmmeter but bear in mind these are not representative tests of the satisfactory state of the appliance, and if you are taking responsibility for someone else's welfare (don't we all?) the tests had better be done in the approved fashion.
Don't agree about digital vs analogue, digital is much more robust, holds its calibration better, is at least one or maybe two orders of magnitude more sensitive.
Testing stuff with semiconductors exposed to the test voltage is a whole different ball game, well beyond the scope of the casual user. The possibilities for ending up with a piece of equipment which you know is safe to energise but now needs repair are endless.
As Phil has it above, if you are testing motors and heaters, an insulation tester is going to be essential, not least because it's the absolute first question anyone using the equipment should (will) ask. Has it got a valid insulation test? Second question is what is the earth continuity conductor resistance. Without confidence in the answers (for which read sight of a valid test certificate for the measuring instrument) cut the plug off.
HTH Simon
FYI measuring something with an ohmmeter and getting a varying reading is absolutely typical of having water in the circuit. Did I mention you need an insulation tester?
Seriously this is very much an example of where the high test voltage of a "Megger" (other makes etc) gives you an answer you can believe. With the high test voltage of a proper insulation tester you will (probably) get a more repeatable answer, though of itself the fact that the measurement is not constant indicates that the equipment should be withdrawn from service, even though the range of readings is otherwise acceptable.
Seasons Greetings to one and all
Simon
Measuring insulation resistance with high DC (relative to normal operating voltage) is pointless if all you are trying to ascertain is whether the equipment is safe to energize. Take a typical domestic 240V installation with MCB overcurrent protection and 30mA RCD earth fault protection. To operate the MCB the phase to neutral or earth insulation would need to have an resistance of just a few ohms and to operate the RCD an resistance of a few Kohms. Both these values are easily detectable with a multimeter and a deciscon on the safety of energizing can be made. Once the system is energized the safety of the system and its insulation is down to its design, maintenance and operation.
However if you are trying to ascertain the condition of the insulation then its resistance (measured with high DC voltage) may be helpful but interpreting the results will be difficult.
At higher system voltages (above 11kV) there is evidence that high DC test voltages cause damage to plastic insulated cables.
My view is use a decent multimeter to check your insulation.
Michael Gilligan, yes, I noticed the lettering does seem odd on that megger, there was a mine version which was lower voltage (I have one) but they were black.I alsao have an older wooden one with "Royal Engineers" branded on it! Now we know there was also an aircraft, and a train model too! The needle position is random till the handle is wound, so could be anywhere on the scale. Sorry Simon Williams< I can't agree on robustnes, I have spent literally thousands on modern digital equipment, and have chucked it all out when it failed, and not replaced it, but I am still using an AVO8 and a megger from the early seventies! As to digital equipment being more accurate, don't believe it, check your specs and you will find that your test gear has a given accuracy at a fixed temperature only, because its electronics is sensitive to ambient changes, the AVOs and meggers use wirewound resistors which are unnafected by temperature, and anyway, the actual difference in claimed accuracy is so small as to be irrelevant, but the AVO will hold its accuracy over a much wider range of ambient temp. As to sensetivity, they all measure within the parameters of the selected scale. My problem with digital meters is that they are trying to measure values which are very often analogue! try watching a capacitor charge up with a digital meter, and looking for the little needle dips which indicate breakdowns at certain voltages, or going around tapping and rattling to find a loose connection or broken flex, ok, you can press hold and see a reading for a varying voltage, but on an analogue meter, you can watch it happen.