ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Megger

Yeah, that's true. Thanks for your consideration. The problem now is trying to decide which one to buy.

I was lucky to find a good deal, I borrowed a megger for testing at a fire job, it worked out great, found all the faults, it was then i decided to buy one, after pricing the new ones, i cooled off for a while, then a local EC was selling everything in the shop, I knew he had a megger, so i showed up 5:00 AM thinking i would be there first, trucks all around the block, so at 7:00 they open the doors, well i watched as the first group came out arms loaded, by the time i got in there, not much was left, a few pipe benders, a wire rack, and a megger, i picked it up and looked at the tag $25, when i paid for it, he said, what are you going to do with that?, So you have a point when you say not many use them, But the best place to buy, is an EC's sell out.

Mike & LK, I agree a megger is a very useful tool to own. On Sunday myself and another electrician will be testing the secondary conductors on a 3000 amp 480/277 underground service. We will be using a megger to do insulation resistance tests on each conductor. The facility we are testing at checks their underground cables yearly. Test results can be compared from previous years to see if the insulation is breaking down.
A good 73 page booklet on the use of Meggers is "A stitch in time" the complete guide to insulation testing. It is available at www.megger.com .

Just a slight re-traction here guys.
Look, I think I may have come over too strong in my posts above.
I'm all for Megger testing and as PaulUK said it is still in our regulations.
However, to call another countries training lacking is beside the point.
I view the Megger as just another tool in our arsenal, to give the customer (and ourselves) peace of mind, not only during the building process, but afterwards as well.
You don't have to spend Mega-bucks to get a good Megohm-meter, although the marketing branch of the larger Test Equipment companies will tell you different.
All a Megohm-meter has to do is send a DC voltage of twice the working voltage of the wires (ie: 120V= 250V, 240V=500V)down the circuit under test.
What's more, the current is so low, there is no way that anything could be damaged.
It isn't a Hi-Pot test, therefore it isn't destructive, I've worked with Hi-Pot tests as a Line Mechanic and they are only used on MV and HV cables, before they are connected to anything.
Comparing a Megger test with a Hi-Pot test is like comparing Oranges with Bananas.
Also,
I just go with what I've been taught, if I can pass that on, so be it.