Discuss Earth Leakage Clamp Meter...Why do I need one? in the Electrical Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

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I've read various threads on faults and it's been suggested that an Earth Leakage Clamp Meter is an essential bit of kit and some suggesting it is the first go to bit of kit in fault finding.

What am I missing out on then? I do numerous call outs, and have yet to be beaten on one. What's it going to offer that some of my various bits of test equipment can't solve (IR Tester/MFT/PAT tester). Will it speed things up enough to pay for itself, or is it just going to be an expensive toy?

Thoughts welcome folks. My next purchase may be this, or a Dewalt DCE088D1G Green Laser (I already have a Dewalt DW087K Red Laser).
 
Can be useful. Just clamp it on and will tell you wether there is a higher than usual current on the earth. For RCD tripping issue it’s handy
 
I've read various threads on faults and it's been suggested that an Earth Leakage Clamp Meter is an essential bit of kit and some suggesting it is the first go to bit of kit in fault finding.

What am I missing out on then? I do numerous call outs, and have yet to be beaten on one. What's it going to offer that some of my various bits of test equipment can't solve (IR Tester/MFT/PAT tester). Will it speed things up enough to pay for itself, or is it just going to be an expensive toy?

Thoughts welcome folks. My next purchase may be this, or a Dewalt DCE088D1G Green Laser (I already have a Dewalt DW087K Red Laser).
I've read various threads on faults and it's been suggested that an Earth Leakage Clamp Meter is an essential bit of kit and some suggesting it is the first go to bit of kit in fault finding.

What am I missing out on then? I do numerous call outs, and have yet to be beaten on one. What's it going to offer that some of my various bits of test equipment can't solve (IR Tester/MFT/PAT tester). Will it speed things up enough to pay for itself, or is it just going to be an expensive toy?

Thoughts welcome folks. My next purchase may be this, or a Dewalt DCE088D1G Green Laser (I already have a Dewalt DW087K Red Laser).
How will you test for earth leakage, RCD tripping, without one? why would you want 2 lasers? are you a tool tart then.
 
insulation resistance tests still work a treat.
I'd agree it used to, you could do a global IR on a circuit or installation and from that you could calculate pretty accurately what the leakage would be.

That was the days before installations had LED drivers, game consuls, numerous chargers for electronic devices, multiple PC's and laptops, cordless phones etc etc all of which have noise and surge suppression circuits that all leak to earth to some extent.

Accurately measuring standing/functional leakage current now requires a live test with a clamp meter that has a miliamps range.
 
Ramp test the RCD with appliances etc on and the ramp test the RCD without. The difference is the earth leakage.
but with things like freezers, how would you know when and if they were running?
 
How will you test for earth leakage, RCD tripping, without one? why would you want 2 lasers? are you a tool tart then.
Have never found the need to date to test for Earth Leakage. RCD Tripping I've found can be solved in a multitude of ways, including IR tester, MFT, PAT Tester, Pen and Pad.

Tool Tart, hmmm I do like my tools but it's more that my company is continually expanding, a 2nd laser level would be beneficial. And if adding a 2nd, then the Dewalt Green Laser is a weapon, but it's hard on batteries so better to go with the 10.8v version for a little extra.
 

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