Buying my first multifunctional tester

[Stephen-d]

Hi all,

I am new to the forum.

I am currently looking to buy my first multifunctional tester, I have looked at many from seaward to fluke but I am wondering if anyone has any recommendations?

Also, has anyone ever purchased a second hand one? Is there anything to look out for when buying?

Thanks,
Stephen

 

[James]

Mft which one do you guys rate?

My fluke multi tester is playing up so in the market for something else, what do you guys rate.

www.electriciansforums.net

 

[telectrix]

Megger man myself 1553, purchesed from a forum member second hand but calibrated 7 years ago. never failed calibration of performing perfectly, and as I look after my kit and never loan it to anyone, still looks like new. only gripes are that it's slow on no-trip loop, and the leads won't accept lightmates. still, I'm 73, coming on 33 so it will last me out.

 

[Stephen-d]

Thanks James, i'll take a look.

Cheers telectrix, i do like the meggers, it was what i used in my old company, i will keep my eye out for a second hand one first.

 

[JBW175]

Another vote for Megger here, does everything I need it to do and simple to use.

I’ve heard good things about Metrel too, but have never used one myself so couldn’t comment on it.

I suppose it’d be beneficial if you could test a couple out and go with what you’re most comfortable with using.

 

[davesparks]

Much like @telectrix I bought a megger from an ex forum member, so I had a pretty good idea that it had been looked after and would be OK.

I wouldnt be so sure about buying second hand from an unknown source such as ebay, the chances of getting something which has been abused, or stolen, are too high for my liking.

 

[Lister1987]

Got my 1730'off eBay, I'm fully aware that there is a chance it could be stolen but unfortunately for me my conscience wasn't really bothered, it's a crap way to think I know as no doubt one day it'll happen to me.

 

[telectrix]

if you check out the seller. feedback score, how lon on ebay, is it a business? if these check out, chances are it's legit.

 

[Yahtzee]

I have recently got a Metrel and it is a good bit of kit, however if you are starting out I would recommend Kewtech for the simplicity of testing and good value for money.

 

[DPG]

Got my 1730'off eBay, I'm fully aware that there is a chance it could be stolen but unfortunately for me my conscience wasn't really bothered, it's a crap way to think I know as no doubt one day it'll happen to me.

Anything bought on ebay could be stolen. Same as anything bought on ebay could be genuine, and most things will be. No reason not to use Ebay. Might as well say all 2nd hand cars are stolen. Some are, most aren't.

 

[Lister1987]

Got my 1730'off eBay, I'm fully aware that there is a chance it could be stolen but unfortunately for me my conscience wasn't really bothered, it's a crap way to think I know as no doubt one day it'll happen to me.

I get the reasoning behind the X @davesparks but I'll be honest here; I did speak with the seller and ascertained why he was selling and questioned about his experiences with it, how long they were in the trade for (general chat) and I was satisfied with the responses to commit to the sale. There the possibility that it may have been stolen but nothing I saw or felt about the seller suggested that it was

 

[nicebutdim]

A lot of stolen goods are sold off by police forces across the UK. Such goods are bought legitimately, and often resold, but those offering them for sale have commited no crime.

When buying something like an MFT on ebay I'd be inclined to buy from a registered business or ascertain if the vendor has some knowledge of its function and therefore are likely to be selling the tester legitimately. That being said; I'm inclined to agree with @DPG in believing that, simply because something is offered for sale on a platform like ebay, there is no reason to believe that goods are likely to have been stolen. MFTs are upgraded every day of the week and old units have to go somewhere. A lot of used MFTs are regulary auctioned off on behalf of local authorities, when they upgrade to newer models - some of those will be faulty/have failed "calibration" at the time of sale and many others will be perfectly serviceable.
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I'll add that I have some experience in the above, having bought and resold quantities of ex-local authority MFTs - some for parts/repair and many others in working order, but without current calibration.

Strangely I wasn't confident enough to use one myself when the need arose and instead went with the budget DL9110 form DiLog.

 

[pc1966]

If you depend on something for your work you really want to be sure of it, both from a legal point of view and just the way it has been treated. So buying used off someone you know treats stuff properly is fine, but i would be reluctant to get anything important off eBay unless there was no other choice.

I got the DiLOG 9118 as I don't need it much and at the time it was hard to justify around double for the top range Megger, etc. It seems to work well enough, but in retrospect I probably should have spent the extra ~£400 for the Megger 1741

Not for anything really important. Little things like going above 299M on IR results (which I already got on my Megger IR/low ohm meter) and being able to do 5*In for a 300mA RCD. But most importantly is the Megger has earth rod testing options, whereas I am limited to doing a Ze on to the rod and correcting for the supply impedance (usually massively smaller than to rod, to be fair, but you don't really know the supply impedance to true Earth if its TT or similar).

Both have the same underlying flaw of doing Ze/Zs/PFC and correcting for the leads. The DiLOG has no null for this test (obviously it has for low-ohm measurements) but the Megger might (anyone know for sure?). They assume a given test lead R here, just a shame no affordable ones offer 4-lead Kelvin connections to correct for leads & contact resistance

 

[static zap]

...chances of getting something which has been abused, or stolen, are too high for my liking.....

Bought my outdated model from cash converters
(but am in a similar boat to Tel ) -Learning at my age-!!
.. purpose - Staying alive - rather than -accurate results..

 

[Stephen-d]

Brilliant thanks all, there's quite a bit to take into consideration really, i definitely think it's worth shopping around for a decent one that I will be confident in.

Another question, whilst I was thinking about this the other day I remembered that my old boss was chucking out a megger MFT1553, i asked to have it he said yes but its broke. I found it in the garage the other day and the battery holder had corroded, i bought a new one and I have tried it tonight and it powers up, there is a slight bit of black in the top left hand of the screen but all in all it seems ok.
Would anyone happen to know if I was to get it calibrated would this show any faults with the machine? Is there any pre tests I could do to check it before hand?
Thanks,
Stephen

 

[pc1966]

Is there any pre tests I could do to check it before hand?

If you have a multimeter then you can compare voltage measurements (carefully, as mains is not to be played with on meter that are not at least CAT-III rated).

If you have some known resistors (e.g. 1R/10R and 1M/10M or more) or something a calcard:

CalCard Ongoing Calibration Verification for Instruments.

calcards.co.uk

Then you can see if the low-ohms reading is sane, and if the high voltage insulation test is sane (obviously if they are 1% or better resistors then you can actually check the calibration, but few folk have them lying around).

Most other things need specialised test equipment, but obviously a simple "does it work at all?" check on a RCD can be done on one of your home sockets (assuming it has an RCD, and you won't upset folk by killing the home WiFi, etc, doing the test). If it trips and give an decent time probably all is well. If not you need a 2nd tester to know if its your RCD or the MFT.

 

[Stephen-d]

Thanks pc1966, I'll give that a try before I go any further with it. I have tried the ir on it and that seems to be OK so finger crossed the rest is.
Thanks again thats a big help from you all

 

[Lister1987]

Thanks pc1966, I'll give that a try before I go any further with it. I have tried the ir on it and that seems to be OK so finger crossed the rest is.
Thanks again thats a big help from you all

If it needs repairing there are companies put there that do the for varying prices