Packaging MFT for transit to Calibration Centre

[Lister1987]

Anyone sent Thier meter(s) to Calibration Centre in Stafford via the provided UPS service they offer?

How would you advise to pack the MFT? (aside from well), send in original hardbox inside a cardboard box/ wrapped in rubble sack?

 

[Strima]

Bubble wrap and a decent box.

 

[Midwest]

And make sure you have the relevant postal insurance.

 

[telectrix]

or wait till YESSS Warrington have a fre calibration day.

 

[Lister1987]

And make sure you have the relevant postal insurance.

It's being sent by the service provided by TCC so surely they would be liable for damage in transit? Otherwise why provide a service to send it to them if they don't carry insurance?

or wait till YESSS Warrington have a fre calibration day.

I keep hearing bad things about calibration days (CEF ones typically) that it's a case of pile em high and use generic test results, pass the majority and flunk a few so it looks 'legit' - not the case with YESSS? I would wait bit the above and the fact I want to get using my meter properly in college ??

 

[davesparks]

It's being sent by the service provided by TCC so surely they would be liable for damage in transit? Otherwise why provide a service to send it to them if they don't carry insurance?


I keep hearing bad things about calibration days (CEF ones typically) that it's a case of pile em high and use generic test results, pass the majority and flunk a few so it looks 'legit' - not the case with YESSS? I would wait bit the above and the fact I want to get using my meter properly in college ??

That's a very naive outlook you have there, you shouldn't just assume anything.

Calibration days, Mobile calibration services, 24hr/quick turnaround services etc are very unlikely to ever be a good quality/'proper' calibration service. Generally they will be plugging the meter into a fancy version of a checkbox and recording the results, probably not in laboratory conditions or after leaving the meter to acclimatise for a suitable length of time. no actual adjustment of the calibration will be carried out if the results don't tally, you'll have to send it away for repair.
But then mfts and the other testers we use aren't exactly the highest of precision instruments so does it really matter?

 

[Midwest]

Verify in their T&C's what their insurance covers you for.

 

[Baddegg]

For the grief and stress and waiting involved and worrying about damage to ya testers....then more grief getting em fixed/replaced if they do get damaged...just pay the extra and take to a local proper calibration centre, most industrial estate will have one ?

 

[westward10]

We accidentally sent an analogue insulation resistance and continuity tester to one of these calibration days. It had been dropped and the needle no longer dropped back to its correct position, it was impossible to zero it for continuity tests. It was bundled up with a load of other meters but nevertheless it came back with a calibration certificate even though it did not function.

 

[TCS2020]

Hi

I also need my MFT calibrated, but it's hard to know who to trust. Any one have any decent recommendations or link to previous thread? I like my MFT so I want it looked after well. Am in London btw

Thanks

 

[Strima]

Mike does a postal service with quick turnaround: On Site Calibrations | Expert On Site Calibration Of Equipment - https://www.onsitecalibrations.co.uk/

 

[TCS2020]

Mike does a postal service with quick turnaround: On Site Calibrations | Expert On Site Calibration Of Equipment - https://www.onsitecalibrations.co.uk/

Will give them a shout in the morning- thanks!

 

[TCS2020]

Any London places? Walk in also?
Called up one just outside town who wanted £90 plus VAT for a 20 min job. They’ve been around for a long time but didn’t sound right to me and that is way too much

 

[pc1966]

Called up one just outside town who wanted £90 plus VAT for a 20 min job. They’ve been around for a long time but didn’t sound right to me and that is way too much

Recently I bought a DiLOG MFT and it has an offer for extended warranty and calibration for £65+VAT per year. So that price is not way out of line even though it is expensive.

But most require you to pack it up and post it, though some offer a collection service (think DiLOG one is, must check).

 

[FatAlan]

Interesting that my ELECSA assessor stated that they no longer require an annual calibration certificate only evidence to see that it’s checked for accuracy regularly. So a check box or card with regularly checks followed by actual calibration if there is a problem seems the way ahead.

 

[pc1966]

Some things like resistance are easy to check with a box with a few known resistors (high value and low value) and in most cases you are checking for "is it broken?" which is a whole lot cheaper and easier than a specific check such as "is it 0.1% or 0.5% accurate?". I remember one of the guides once said to do that regularly.

But some other things are much harder to check without specialised equipment, such as the RCD trip testing, but I guess if the main instrument is still reading resistance OK it is likely to still work. Even then if you have a known RCD at home/work then you could periodically check it is acting the same way to look for change if not absolute accuracy.
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I see Megger make a test kit for around the same price as a entry level MFT:

Megger MTB7671 Calibration Test Box

The Megger Test Box is an essential purchase for testing your equipment, providing readings that conform to British Standards.

www.tester.co.uk

If you have several at your company it might be cheaper to buy one and do your own checks (even offering it to others for a small fee).

 

[TCS2020]

Recently I bought a DiLOG MFT and it has an offer for extended warranty and calibration for £65+VAT per year. So that price is not way out of line even though it is expensive.

But most require you to pack it up and post it, though some offer a collection service (think DiLOG one is, must check).

Yeah I think I still have the card somewhere, need to have a look.

thanks

 

[pc1966]

For more general testing and calibration I have got stuff from these folks before:

Precision Test Instruments for Calibration

Time Electronics are the leading manufacturer in design and development of precision test instruments and performance calibration equipment.

www.timeelectronics.com

They do resistance boxes, voltage sources, etc, but generally at high-ish cost for very high accuracies. I have one of these kicking around which is more of a multimeter check box (to 0.1%-0.01% accuracy):

https://www.timeelectronics.com/assets/upload/download_centre/documents/1068-datasheet.pdf

 

[ChipFanDave]

Acutest in Stoke are a good calibration and repair service, if you ring them they often have the mobile unit out and about and if they can will call in to can collect you instrument for repair then post it back or may drop it off if passing.

 

[TCS2020]

Cheers, thanks for the recommendations