Calibration Poll

[Former Sponsor TM]

Browsing recent threads regarding calibration, it’s been interesting to see what people are paying for an annual calibration service on their test equipment.

Please could everyone take a second to vote in a quick poll to give indicate what price you are or have been paid in the past. Prices include VAT and are based on a standard calibration service on a multifunction tester - thanks in advance.

 

[Richard Burns]

I cannot vote on the first two on the list, the second of which is the relevant one, the tick box will not activate, may be just an initial glitch.

 

[Richard Burns]

I stand (sit) corrected it is the forum sponsor expansion arrow (that has now moved to the left) that is blocking those lines, once the sponsors are expanded it is OK.
If the sponsors are hidden then the top two options are not available

 

[wozz]

second one but the tick box wont work. and its usually £50, and they dont charge me for failed testers ive picked up along the way.

 

[MDJ]

£50.00 at the wholesalers for me as well no2

 

[Former Sponsor TM]

I stand (sit) corrected it is the forum sponsor expansion arrow (that has now moved to the left) that is blocking those lines, once the sponsors are expanded it is OK.
If the sponsors are hidden then the top two options are not available

Dan - can you please have a look at this as it's the same in my browser too. I'm using Chrome...

 

[Former Sponsor TM]

Morning all - the poll should be working fine. Please can everyone take a minute to submit a vote - thanks in advance

 

[Engineer54]

Anyone taking an MFT into a wholesalers for calibration while you wait, or have a guy come round to conduct an on-site calibration, and your calibration cert isn't even worth the paper it's written on. I'd go further, and say that those conducting such calibration tests are doing so fraudulently.

There are set procedures that need to be followed, before any testing can be conducted, that relate to both the equipment that is to be tested/certified, and the equipment that will be used to conduct the testing and being certified calibrated against!! One of the most important procedures, revolves around laid down environmental conditions of the test area/lab....

You can check those conditions, as they should be clearly printed on any Certificate of Calibration issued....

 

[Former Sponsor TM]

Hi everyone. The reason I started this poll was to see what people were paying in order for us to pitch a one stop calibration service that is specific to forum members.


Over the last few years we have invested a lot of time and money into the latest Transmille calibration equipment and software. Calibration is carried out at our premises in Leeds in a controlled environment and we offer a service which is fully traceable to both national and UKAS standards along with a personalised calibration certificate. Over the last two years we have also been audited by many UK manufacturers and carry authorised calibration partner status; this enables us access to calibration reminder reset codes and service manuals.


As a forum sponsor, we try our best to support you all in any way that we can. Further to this I would like to propose the following prices for a calibration service:


Multifunction Tester - £60
Single 17th Edition Tester - £40
230V PAT Tester - £60
230V/110V PAT Tester - £70


The above prices include VAT, collection and return courier service. We aim to complete the service within 2-3 working days upon receipt of your equipment.
We use DPD, who will send you both SMS and email notification of collection and delivery time slots to minimise disruption to your day.
To arrange booking a collection, please email [email protected] or contact us on 01132 48 99 66.

 

[sparkymalarky]

what about N.Ireland? Are we included? We always get the raw deal on stuff like this

 

[Former Sponsor TM]

Unfortunately we are charged over 3 times the normal logistics rate to and from Northern Ireland. If you could fund sending the equipment to us yourself, I will calibrate and return to you for the costs above.

Please note that the 2-3 day working day turnaround may be affected by a day or so by the prolonged shipping times.

 

[sparkymalarky]

Ok I will do the sums and see what happens! We have approx 15 items...

 

[Former Sponsor TM]

I've sent you a PM ^

 

[a1colly]

Bang on for me, got a MFT for next week

 

[Carlosfandango]

What about west of Scotland, we always get humped for delivery or companies refuse to do deliver?

 

[Former Sponsor TM]

What about west of Scotland, we always get humped for delivery or companies refuse to do deliver?

I'll check but we've sent out hundreds of DPD consignments to Scottish highlands and remote areas. Some areas carry an extra day or so for shipping, but I'll confirm this if you can let me know your postcode.

 

[mpb]

I haven't used the poll because there wasn't an option for me.

My MFT is £60 and PAT tester was £50.

Dropped into the Calibration Center in Stafford (15 minutes from Home) and collected the next day.

Martin

 

[plugsandsparks]

I am reasonably close to OEM service dept. So I drop it off in the morning, go and have breakfast, make a few calls and collect a few hours later. Works for me as I can need the MFT at very short notice so 2-3 or 4 or 5 days without does not work

 

[Engineer54]

I am reasonably close to OEM service dept. So I drop it off in the morning, go and have breakfast, make a few calls and collect a few hours later. Works for me as I can need the MFT at very short notice so 2-3 or 4 or 5 days without does not work

Fine if all you want is a sticker on your MFT, but the certificate itself will be next to worthless!!

 

[Former Sponsor TM]

I can appreciate that time and location is key to some of you.

Don't shoot me down - I'm simply offering a service which is flexible, affordable and also takes the hassle away from you having to think about what courier to send a unit with, what insurance options are available etc.

Part of the calibration process is allowing measurement equipment to acclimatise to the environment it is being calibrated in. A four hour period is recommended, but we tend to allow twelve hours. Taking this into consideration, I don't think a 2-3 day turnaround is a bad service to offer, and more often than not this also allows for delivery times.

I'm not sure how 15 minute calibration vans and same day services work, perhaps you can shed some light on this? We're not aiming to offer a service which is worth toffee; I would personally want to trust that the readings provided by my test equipment are 100% accurate - the service we offer is one that has been audited to national standards and is UKAS traceable.

As above, if you just want a sticker to satisfy annual assessment, please make sure you are keeping your own records of test results using a checkbox or dedicated circuit to make sure your test results are not deviating.

 

[Geordie Spark]

What about west of Scotland, we always get humped for delivery or companies refuse to do deliver?

A couple of bottles of your finest whiskey delivered to the checkpoint at Hadrian's Wall may help.

 

[123]

If a 4-12 hour period is needed for the tester to acclimatise to the site conditions, should we all not be leaving our equipment at the job the day before where it will be needed?

Or if its local work and the conditions are similar so its ok...whats the issue with popping into the local wholesalers to do it?

 

[davesparks]

Yes you do have to have your testers on site for a while before using them for them to acclimatise.
When it's a warm site and the tester is coming out of a cold van bring it in first thing in the morning and leave it to warm up then do the testing after lunch.
Or have take the tester indoors overnight beforehand and then in the front of the van where it is warmer to travel to site.

 

[Rockingit]

I almost ended up having a punch up with an NICEIC inspector over this - was my annual inspection in the winter, seriously freezing and I took him out to a building plot where I was doing new-builds, so two jobs in one hit. He asks me to do some tests, so I replied that I couldn't, as the temp gauge in the van was minus something and we're not supposed to test significantly below average temps as the results are unreliable. The look on his face was a picture!

 

[Midwest]

Know this threads a bit old, but it is a sticky. I paid £70 at my wholesalers for my last calibration. This year, I was lucky/unlucky cos' my mft went faulty and had to go back to Megger, and was recalibrated then. Test Meter, how is collection arranged? I'm 50 miles away from my nearest DPD depot, and I struggled to return my mft to Megger under Royal Mails 2kg limit.

 

[shanky887614]

Know this threads a bit old, but it is a sticky. I paid £70 at my wholesalers for my last calibration. This year, I was lucky/unlucky cos' my mft went faulty and had to go back to Megger, and was recalibrated then. Test Meter, how is collection arranged? I'm 50 miles away from my nearest DPD depot, and I struggled to return my mft to Megger under Royal Mails 2kg limit.

have a look at apc,yodel ups etc

apc is my favorite though

 

[HandySparks]

...Test Meter, how is collection arranged? I'm 50 miles away from my nearest DPD depot, and I struggled to return my mft to Megger under Royal Mails 2kg limit.

Give Test Meter a call. They'll arrange to collect from your home or workplace. They've got my MFT for calibration right now. (I wasn't planning on doing any work over the Christmas and New year hols.)

 

[HandySparks]

Give Test Meter a call. They'll arrange to collect from your home or workplace. They've got my MFT for calibration right now. (I wasn't planning on doing any work over the Christmas and New year hols.)

Ha Ha.

Since this thread has popped to the top again (presumably due to a deleted spam post or similar), I'll just mention that I got Test Meter to do mine over the Christmas break again this year.

 

[Midwest]

I've been using one of those Calcards, since my MFT was last calibrated end of 2014. Monthly checks have been consisted. Elecsa assessor happy with that for 3 years, apparently.

 

[Skimpy Wan]

Think I'll be getting one of those Calcards ordered tonight after my Check Box was "borrowed" recently!!

Smaller and good reviews from what I can see following a Google search.

 

[HappyHippyDad]

Elecsa may be happy with a calcard instead of getting the machine calibrated but Stroma aren't. They require you to have a calcard and get the MFT calibrated.

 

[Skimpy Wan]

Elecsa may be happy with a calcard instead of getting the machine calibrated but Stroma aren't. They require you to have a calcard and get the MFT calibrated.

I'm more interested in using the Calcards to check the meter before each EIC & EICR - for my own piece of mind really. Still end up throwing away £50+ a year to confirm what I'll already know! Lol

 

[Midwest]

Elecsa may be happy with a calcard instead of getting the machine calibrated but Stroma aren't. They require you to have a calcard and get the MFT calibrated.

Perhaps its got something to do with NIC/Elecsa flogging Calcard and Stroma don't! PS: And Stroma do a calibration service.

 

[a-z electrics]

I can appreciate that time and location is key to some of you.

Don't shoot me down - I'm simply offering a service which is flexible, affordable and also takes the hassle away from you having to think about what courier to send a unit with, what insurance options are available etc.

As above, if you just want a sticker to satisfy annual assessment, please make sure you are keeping your own records of test results using a checkbox or dedicated circuit to make sure your test results are not deviating.

This last method is what I tend to do now and get a "proper" calibration every 3 yrs or so.. after all, its far more reliable to check every month than every year and if anything looks off track, then can address it.
as for sending my mft away for 3-4 days, this would be difficult for me to do without, plus there is the extra risk of drops etc during transit. I know you can label it as Fragile but I used to work for Royal Mail (and these are probably the best) and I know what can happen!!

 

[Risteard]

An ongoing accuracy test is nothing like a proper instrument calibration which is conducted under controlled conditions (e.g. temperature). It is not intended to replace calibration.

 

[a-z electrics]

An ongoing accuracy test is nothing like a proper instrument calibration which is conducted under controlled conditions (e.g. temperature). It is not intended to replace calibration.

Perhaps not but in my opinion it's more reliable. A proper instrument calibration is like an mot.. A snapshot at one point in time. After being bashed about on its return journey it can all be a waste of time.. And money!

 

[Risteard]

Perhaps not but in my opinion it's more reliable. A proper instrument calibration is like an mot.. A snapshot at one point in time. After being bashed about on its return journey it can all be a waste of time.. And money!

It absolutely isn't more reliable, but without doing it you have no means of ensuring that following calibration that the instrument hasn't become inaccurate.

 

[davesparks]

Perhaps not but in my opinion it's more reliable. A proper instrument calibration is like an mot.. A snapshot at one point in time. After being bashed about on its return journey it can all be a waste of time.. And money!

A calibration is not like an MOT, an MOT is just a comparison against a standard. True calibration is the act of checking against a reference standard and the adjustment of the instrument to be correct.

 

[a-z electrics]

A calibration is not like an MOT, an MOT is just a comparison against a standard. True calibration is the act of checking against a reference standard and the adjustment of the instrument to be correct.

Exactly what happens when I take my car for an mot!!

 

[davesparks]

Exactly what happens when I take my car for an mot!!

Then your MOT tester is doing it wrong if he makes any alteration to the vehicle as part of the MOT test.
You should report them to VOSA and they will investigate with a high probability of legal action being taken

 

[Midwest]

Then your MOT tester is doing it wrong if he makes any alteration to the vehicle as part of the MOT test.
You should report them to VOSA and they will investigate with a high probability of legal action being taken

Yep I get my MFT mot'd, .......cough calibrated every year. Well I don't actually, I use one of those naughty Calcard things, so another year before calibration, sorry I mean mot, no oohh damn it

 

[HandySparks]

Ha Ha.

Since this thread has popped to the top again (presumably due to a deleted spam post or similar), I'll just mention that I got Test Meter to do mine over the Christmas break again this year.

And again.
Collect Wed 28th Dec. Return after 3rd Jan.

 

[Pat H]

My MFT is off being calibrated by Megger (needed a software update) but I'll look at the Calcards as well for ongoing checking.
But will still get calibrated annually. Probably by Test Meter people (they couldn't this time as they can't do software update)

 

[Octopus]

Problem with calibration is that most SE people can't afford to be without their tester for long....

Year before last I had it done at home by a "travelling" calibration chappie - excellent service - he checked and calibrated my MFT whilst I did paperwork - so no wasted time or money. His rates were very reasonable too.

 

[HandySparks]

And again.
Collect Wed 28th Dec. Return after 3rd Jan.

And again this year.

I don't plan to be using the MFT over the next week or so.

 

[HandySparks]

And again this year.

I don't plan to be using the MFT over the next week or so.

Well I have a Megger MIT401 IR/continuity meter, so if someone's desperate enough for my services I'll just have to work with that. Just no RCD or loop testing.

 

[pirate]

Just got my PAT machine back...only away for 3 days, so "by return "
service. £54 including VAT and return by courier. Seems ok to me, but this is a simple Pass/Fail type I use only on rented flats with limited portable appliances.
Our sponsors are offering me £19 including return, and gave me a £5 discount voucher on my AVI, so not a bad deal imho.
It's all about traceability and being seen to be doing the right thing.

 

[Midwest]

And again this year.

I don't plan to be using the MFT over the next week or so.

Where did that year go. When your young, time seems to drag, when you get older it flies by