Multifunctional Testers - Which one have you got and how long has it lasted?

[GBDamo]

Sometimes if doesn't have to - it depends on an individual or businesses circumstances, for example:
Dilog 9083P £325+vat
Megger 1741 £875+vat
The Megger is £550 more than the Dilog.
For a business, an MFT is a capital expenditure as opposed to a revenue item.
Typically a business will apply the '25% reducing balance' method of depreciation.
In year one (the year of purchase), the Dilog would charge £81.25 depreciation to the P&L and retain £243.75 on the balance sheet as fixed assets. Whereas the Megger would charge £218.75 depreciation and carry forward £656.25 asset value. So in year one, the Megger has actually only cost you £137.50 more, i.e. less than one typical morning's work, to have the latest tool you fancy, drool over and work hard for.
Fast forward to 2024 when Megger bring out their newer flagship MFT, the book value on the balance sheet of your 1741 is just £155, but the street price for a second hand one is still around £400 and every apprentice wants one, so you easily make £250 profit on resale when you sell it, which offsets against the year one depreciation on your new tester.
Conversely the residual value on secondary and tertiary brands, is often beneath the 25% reducing balance curve, giving you little or no profit on disposal.

Okay, so i make a £10,000 MFT with few discernable benefits over a £325 one yet they'll sell like hot cakes?

 

[Deleted member 105166]

Okay, so i make a £10,000 MFT with few discernable benefits over a £325 one yet they'll sell like hot cakes?

Probably stretching a point there.
But (crystal ball time) when AFDDs are perfected and made mandatory for new circuits >=32A in the 19th Edition in 2025 and Megger launch their shiny new £1,600 MFT1951 with onboard arc fault simulation, they will sell loads of them.

 

[fairlight]

Ethos 8400.
The leads are pants, tried to buy megger leads for quality, but on the Ethos the blue/green leads have to be piggy backed for a high current Zs test, which the megger leads don't do. A big downside is that the no trip test is strictly 3 wire, which means you cant test at switches on RCD protected circuits, that's a real disadvantage. The IR test is not press and hold, it does a test over a few seconds and averages. That's a disadvantage for fault finding because I want to hold 500v on the fault for a while, if it starts low and rises that's usually damp....I cant use my experience of what the meter is telling me. Eats batteries as well.
Mines been back to Ethos twice (had it less than a year). The last time because Zs readings always came back as 0.01 ohms....(PFC off the scale!). They sent back a new meter with the old serial number peeled off and applied to the new meter. On the plus side the auto RCD test is awesome.
Based on my experience I'd say don't buy.

 

[stevethesparks]

I've had a metrel eurotest for about 15 years now without a glitch.
Also got a megger 1720 and kewtech, we had a megger 1730 until one of the lads dropped it, megger wanted £ 250.00 just to look at it , from what I've heard it's their standard reply. It's still sat in the office waiting for me to make a decision.

I had a similar problem with a 3 month old 1711, they are a beautiful instrument to use, but do appear to be susceptible to drops. I pointed out there advertising shows a truck driving over a 1700 series and survives. They were adamant that as the drop was 1.2 metres, it wasn't covered by warranty.
I then purchased a 1721, and within a day or two, Megger had a change of heart and offered to repair my 1711 free of charge - of which they did.
Anyone want to buy a perfectly good 1711?
Be persistent with Megger, I'm sure they wouldn't want the bad publicity.

 

[bibby3316]

Thanks for the plug Dan - if anyone does want any info, we're always happy to help people find the right tester and we do have a fair few MFTs in stock to choose from!




We're always happy to provide a competitive, no obligation quote for repairs.
Just drop us a message on [email protected] or call 0113 248 9966 - ideally with a fault description - and we'll see what we can do!

Would you have any advice for a mature trainee as to which multifunction tester to go for, that would be value for money, but a worthwhile investment?

 

[telectrix]

my 1553 is 11 years old. never failed, never been repaired, and has passed every calibration.

 

[Strima]

Would you have any advice for a mature trainee as to which multifunction tester to go for, that would be value for money, but a worthwhile investment?

What's your budget?

 

[Midwest]

my 1553 is 11 years old. never failed, never been repaired, and has passed every calibration.

Hope you had your fingers crossed when yo said that!

 

[static zap]

my 1553 is 11 years old. never failed,

... Respected for its worth - and probably never dropped 2m onto a painted concrete floor ...
Life expectancy must depend on part if it treated kindly , or slung in back of van jostling with reels of T&E.

 

[Strima]

my 1553 is 11 years old. never failed, never been repaired, and has passed every calibration.

My 1552 is 9 years old, had the cable plugs repaired once but apart from that has never missed a beat.

Except last month when testing a TPN board full of RCBOs, it got a bit warm after the twentieth time test... ?

 

[electric al]

I have a 3 piece Robin set , had it over 15 years now

Yeah me too dusty . Does the job just as well as my fluke 1642 and no probs with calibration

 

[telectrix]

... Respected for its worth - and probably never dropped 2m onto a painted concrete floor ...
Life expectancy must depend on part if it treated kindly , or slung in back of van jostling with reels of T&E.

mine is kept in a padded camera case. for fault finding i use a IR/cont. Megger BM summat, cost a tenner faulty. all it was was a broken connection on the inside of the lead socket. passed calibration and if i drop it it's only 4 pints lost.

 

[HappyHippyDad]

Megger 1741, 1735, 1731 and a Metrel 3155 eurotest

Do you still have them all Richy?
Don't worry I'm not looking for a freebie like last time, just interested ?
I have a 1731 which I love. The metrel mi3000 lasted quite a few years though and was adequate, it's now kept as a spare.

 

[rlsecurity]

HI
Just looking at buying a metrel ML3155 XD
would anyone happen to know what the difference between the standard kit and the euro kit is. for the £400 difference

thanks

 

[PEG]

I have an embarrassingly large collection of devices,some for work,some for fun,but in the latter MFT club,i have a 1720,with the latest version download,which has been very good.

I took the time to learn it's every option,and would keep it,even on a future upgrade,which will probably arrive out of giddyness,more than need

I would always stress the need to know whatever device,100%,rather than chase any dazzling,newer versions.

In the last month,i have used a DC current meter,and an inclined manometer,both of which,are older than me mum

 

[richy3333]

@happyhippydad Morning. Happy new year. Yes we still have all those test instruments. The Megger is the daily go to and to date the Metrel has been used mainly on EV testing with additional extra bits; but I am going to take it on as my main tester sometime soon.

We have a lot of Megger test equipment (clamps, earth leakage, AVO, iClamps, PAT testers etc) but these last couple of years have felt the MFT's are not made as well as they used to be.

The last 1700 series we ordered arrived with the top and bottom detached! It was all sorted out OK but knocks your confidence in the equipment somewhat.
[automerge]1577962855[/automerge]

HI
Just looking at buying a metrel ML3155 XD
would anyone happen to know what the difference between the standard kit and the euro kit is. for the £400 difference

thanks

@rlsecurity if you look on the meter UK website there is a chart showing what is and isn't included. Scroll down to the bottom of this page:

MI 3155 EurotestXD

MI 3155 EurotestXD is the newest flagship of Metrel’s most advanced line of multi-functional measuring instruments and is designed specifically for testing in industry. What differentiates this instrument from the rest is its ergonomic design and an intuitive user interface, encompassing a...

www.metrel.co.uk

 

[Marti]

Kewtech KT65 for last 3 years. It’s been reliable and we understand each other. I do have Megger envy building, but the KT just won’t die .

That KT65 was one of the few I considered before pitching for a lightly used Megger 1730. Looks nice and fool-proof compared to the Mettrel and Fluke Had a Fluke on loan recently. Can't say much about the accuracy, which should the the most important consideration, but find the 1730's "child's toy" controls far easier to set correctly.

Does anyone else test their MFT against a Cal-Card and a known RCD? Mine gets a run through and spreadsheet log roughly every month. Give me a heads up as to potential issues.

 

[Midwest]

Does anyone else test their MFT against a Cal-Card and a known RCD? Mine gets a run through and spreadsheet log roughly every month. Give me a heads up as to potential issues.

That’s what I did when registered with a Scheme. Then every third year, I’d have it calibrated. I replaced the Calcard then, but then someone pointed out the card is just a set of known resistances, which can’t alter.
As did a Zs test as well as RCD test on the same socket. If was doing it now, I would install a dedicated socket on its own RCBO, to save messing around isolating devices.

 

[Marti]

That’s what I did when registered with a Scheme. Then every third year, I’d have it calibrated..

THAT'S INTERESTING! I hadn't realised that if you monitor the readings and they remain the same it isn't necessary to fork out anything between £50 - £125 every year for a calibration test. Thanks Midwest.

 

[Midwest]

If you are with a Scheme, just clarify what they require. I was with Elecsa, and purchased my CalCard from them.

 

[Risteard]

Personally I advocate annual calibration in addition to ongoing accuracy checks. These are nowhere near as thorough or controlled as the calibration process.

It's all academic for me anyway as RECI require annual calibration without exception.

 

[stevethesparks]

On my last three NICEIC visits they have changed their minds each time
Was every 3 years
Then endless if I had my own proving unit,
now back to every year.

 

[plugsandsparks]

KT65, selector switch went in warranty, that was just dirt , it does get used in some nasty industrial locations, since then its now over 9 years old still going strong, have another KT65 as back up but never been out of the house.
Only other thing is one of the leads broke

 

[BruceBanner]

Matrel 61557, does all & more, passes calibration every year.

 

[Andy78]

Matrel 61557, does all & more, passes calibration every year.

Good solid tester, although it only does type AC RCD testing which my mate found a limitation recently to his otherwise comprehensive tester.

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

The new kewtech kt63 + I think it is looks pretty damn good... Has built in dc testing for rcds which is good as we are moving towards type a etc.... Most can't test them... Only the ac side... Its nearly £1k though

 

[Buzz Nad]

Megger 1731 not failed me yet.... Absolutely fantastic bit of kit....

 

[Snailspark]

I have a Megger MFT 1741-BS. Had a Megger MFT 1553 before that. (Still have it as a backup.) New one is much faster and also has rechargeable batteries. Great instrument, although some would still swear by the 1500 series over the 1700 series.

Speak to Megger and get it upgraded to the new 1741+ I think they will do it for a low price....

 

[Risteard]

Speak to Megger and get it upgraded to the new 1741+ I think they will do it for a low price....

Do they offer a deal on upgrading to the 1741+?

I'll be honest - I was fuming when I found out that it had been released as I've only had my 1741 just over a year and would have bought the 1741+ had it existed at the time. (I see there's a nice limited edition black version of it too...)

 

[Micktw68]

A couple of Megger 1553s one with Bluetooth feature that was used once.
interested to hear that Megger potentially do an subsidised upgrade to the 1700 series. Does anyone have any idea how to go about it.

 

[pc1966]

Recently got a DiLOG DL9118 MFT as it seemed to be a decent enough unit for the price, but don't have any experience to compare that with, say, the Megger MFTs.

However I still prefer my Megger MIT230 for general bond impedance testing (seems a little quicker / more responsive) but mostly because on insulation it goes up to 1G ohm which I have found useful (not domestic testing).

 

[Jurassic Sparks]

Megger 1553
kept clean and always wiped over with a cloth and put back in its box
the Calibration centre look after it for me

 

[pc1966]

Does anyone else test their MFT against a Cal-Card and a known RCD? Mine gets a run through and spreadsheet log roughly every month. Give me a heads up as to potential issues.

What a great idea!

I have never seen the CalCard before, but I have some other resistor calibration boxes that are not as convenient to carry/keep with the instrument/etc.

 

[Instantsafe]

Are we the only country to use MF testers ?

I have spoken to sparks from America , Canada , New Zealand , Australia , Greece and Spain non of which use a MF back home

Yes, they don't get used much here in Australia, most sparkys use a multimeter, and have an IR tester and an RCD tester.
I actually purchased a used Di-Log 9083P which is built in the same carcass as a Seaward PAT tester. But I had to purchase that in UK and have it transported to the colonies.
I quite enjoy using it, having so much to choose from on one unit.
We don't have the same procedures as you have in 17th, or I think it's the 18th now!

 

[pc1966]

That is interesting to hear. Certainly by time you have bought an insulation tester and a RCD tester you might as well buy a MFT!

However, most multimeters cover a wider range of measurements than the equivalent MFT capabilities, but generally not as capable at the very low (bonding) or very high (insulation testing) resistance ranges.

 

[telectrix]

bought my 1553 2nd hand in 2013 from MDJ.. it's now 12 years old and passed every calibration.

 

[Mr Three ø]

I have a Megger made in the 1960s. I have had use of it since 1993. I still use it when I don't need a calibrated result. It has a DC generator 500 & 1000VDC. The meter has a current winding and a voltage winding. The result of the two magnetic fields moves the meter hand; effectively an electromagnetic ohms calculator. Just beautiful.

 

[Nick Palmer]

I have a Megger mft1552 which I bought in July 2007 and a LTW325 which I bought in June 2009. Never had any issues with either. Thinking of upgrading to a mft1741(+) .

 

[SparkySy]

I've just done the same, had my trusty Mft1552 since late 2006 and is still passing calibration and never missed a beat.
Just bought the 1741+ and it's every bit as reliable and am very pleased with it. A worthy investment, hopefully it will last as well as the 1552!
Sy

 

[Let me think]

After using a wind-up megger for many a year and borrowing from others. Thought I would embrace modern technology and purchased the DiLog DL9110 just over a year ago.

Does everything I need for the occasional domestic work that I do, it's not the quickest when carrying out no-trip tests, but happy with it and its 'relatively' cheap. No issues with it so far, just wish I had paid a little bit more for the next model up that comes with remote test probe.

 

[nicebutdim]

After using a wind-up megger for many a year and borrowing from others. Thought I would embrace modern technology and purchased the DiLog DL9110 just over a year ago.

Does everything I need for the occasional domestic work that I do, it's not the quickest when carrying out no-trip tests, but happy with it and its 'relatively' cheap. No issues with it so far, just wish I had paid a little bit more for the next model up that comes with remote test probe.

DiLog state that their remote test probe (TLRP911x) can be used with the DL9110. About £40 to buy separately.

 

[sparksfly]

Kewtech KT64 V1 6yrs and counting use it for spare internal solder to lead sockets re-soldered.
Kewtech KT64 V2 7yrs + still going strong (above issue not apparent due to redesign) They are solid & reliable

 

[Tex]

Just wondering which multifunctional testers you guys have, and how long have they lasted?

Hoping this becomes a handy thread for you all. There seems to be a massive price difference between them all. But then I guess some do things others don't? Not sure.

Let us know which multifunctional testers you have, which ones you wish you had, and how long the one you have has lasted so far.

1994 Meggers, Robin DVMs and clip-on same age, Fluke multi ditto, Hewlett Packard AC/DC clip-on that drew graphs even back then, Clare tester and a lot more even older. All employer provided but donated to me on retirement. Not used seriously now of course!

 

[Marvo]

Never owned an MFT, I still use separate testers. I do almost no domestic work, mostly commercial/industrial controls etc so I never felt the need to spend the extortionate amount of money on one.

 

[Dustydazzler]

Robin 3 piece tester set , got it when I finisged my apprenticeship

still going strong ? after 20 years

 

[telectrix]

Robin 3 piece tester set , got it when I finisged my apprenticeship

still going strong ? after 20 years

surprised they not on ebay today. "vintage" test gear. all valves in good order.

 

[Dustydazzler]

surprised they not on ebay today. "vintage" test gear. all valves in good order.

they are not for sale

although I could be tempted at the right price....

 

[Stompy2]

I bought a second hand metrel Eurotester several years ago and it has worked without a problem all these years, but it is now looking abit scruffy.

 

[Strima]

My 1552 has died after ten years, long live the Megger... ?

 

[OnlQQker]

I just purchased the Kewtech KT63 which arrived yesterday. Did a quick RCD test and one side of the cu is fine, the other side failed so needs a new RCD.
This is fastly becoming an expensive hobby!