Which Tester to choose?

[ben sparkz]

Hi can anyone help me with a difficult decesion? I recently passed my 2391 exam and and wondering which tester to choose, I want something relatively cheap and easy to use and it has to be digital with auto null and trip lock features. Any suggestions?

 

[telectrix]

megger 1552 or 1553. dead simple to use and all the features inc. ramp test and auto test for RCDs. lead nulling is only needed on continuity ranges.

 

[Johnuk]

yes the megger is easy to use

 

[somersetsparks]

not a megger 1720, build quality is terrible IMO, you may as well just use test lamp then the 2 wire de-lock TBH, The leads pulled apart when trying to pull the clip on ends apart and the sockets for the leads on the back have iffy connections. This was a brand new tester (now 6 months old).

rant over !!

 

[Farmelectrics]

What do these cost

 

[Guest55]

fluke all the way . faster than megger ;-)

 

[phb]

fluke all the way . faster than megger ;-)

You might aswell carry a dice in a big yellow box, fluke aren't accurate...
and are slower then the new megger.

Either aren't cheap anyway, have a look at a metrel, takes a bit of getting used to but does absolutely everything ud probably want and more

 

[Brightspark2]

I dont rate megger myself anymore...

Constant problems with there meters...chk leads, ok checked the leads I'll try again...chk leads, ok checked them again...noise on line, ok I'll turn the music down...I'll try again...batteries flat...

Get the AVO out!!...the old fail safe EFLI AVO meter...no batteries, simple...watch out for RCDs though :-s

A slight tap on the front and the battaries used to fall out the megger too...did a field repair on that though...

 

[Guest55]

You might aswell carry a dice in a big yellow box, fluke aren't accurate...
and are slower then the new megger.

Either aren't cheap anyway, have a look at a metrel, takes a bit of getting used to but does absolutely everything ud probably want and more

i have both.
the fluke is faster by a mile and only slightly less accurate , and has better leads.

 

[somersetsparks]

unless you are always near the limits with your circuits I wouldn't worry about a little bit of inaccuarcy, the megger on 2 wire d-lok is roll of the dice to!

Megger have gone downhill majorly IMO, bring back robin, they're test gear lasted forever

 

[Guest55]

the megger on 2 wire d-lok is roll of the dice to!

resolution is reduced to 0.1 ohms on 2 wire loop test , not great.

 

[somersetsparks]

my megger would give 5 wildly different readings on 5 pushes of the button on the same circuit, so may as well be 0.50 ohms of resolution lol It really is that useless, in fact,
if you want a true reading you may as well bypass rcd and test on high.
Tin hat well and truly on!

 

[Guest55]

if you want a true reading you may as well bypass rcd and test on high.
Tin hat well and truly on!

take the hat off , you are correct , no-trip lowers accuracy.

 

[somersetsparks]

I was waiting for a tirade of abuse about by passing RCD's ;-)

 

[Guest55]

well rcd's were in use long before no-trip testers came on the market so shoving wire links across the rcd terminals was common practise for a long time

 

[somersetsparks]

well rcd's were in use long before no-trip testers came on the market so shoving wire links across the rcd terminals was common practise for a long time

I still do it in empty places saves wasting time staring at the empty megger screen waiting for inaccurate results to appear!

 

[lauriehurman]

I've said it before - I'll say it again

If you're going to go to the trouble of fitting a temporary wire link to get an accurate result then why not fit it between line and earth at a socket or light and then test across the open RCD.

Laurie

 

[jamsey]

personally i own a metrel eurotester and never had a problem, easy to use, even came with a in van charger which is really handy if you forget to charge it the night before use lol it has all the bels and whistles the the megger stuff has and you can even get a version that pugs into your pc, or buetoth....lol

 

[SensesFail]

Iv not long bought the megger 1730 with software good meter easy to use although the software takes abit of getting used to. But really a good old test sheet and pen do just as good. Looked at the fluke 54B and that looked really good. The megger is well built and packed with great features.

 

[somersetsparks]

Iv not long bought the megger 1730 with software good meter easy to use although the software takes abit of getting used to. But really a good old test sheet and pen do just as good. Looked at the fluke 54B and that looked really good. The megger is well built and packed with great features.

They would be good testers, they have good features and are very quick but the quality is very poor, all 3 on our company have been sent back at 6-9 months old with various faults, software and hardware, its covered by the warranty but that doesnt mean much when you lose the use of something you paid for while they fix it.
after many years of megger, I think they are looking into other makes.
Our testers are used all day every day on I&T's so do get put through they're paces but should still be able to do 6 months without a problem.

The leads that came with 1730 were of such quality that when i tried to pull the probe tip off of it to put the croc clip on it ripped the cable out of probe, brilliant

 

[sparkyman65]

used most fluke, robin, kewtech, metrel but opted for megger tester is easy to use and in all fairness their support network is one of the best

 

[DNS1]

I use a Metrel and can't fault it...

It gets laughed at because it's not a Megger or Fluke, it gets laughed at because it's bright blue and yellow, but it's very easy to use and very accurate!

I wouldn't be without mine!