Best tester for DIY

[AdamWatson]

What specific test do you want to do?

There isn't one specific test, I want to be able to establish if the wiring is safe or not

 

[ban-all-sheds]

If I knew all there is to know I wouldn't be on here asking.

Indeed not, but until you know about all the different sorts of tests that are needed you can't decide which ones you want to do and therefore you can't decide what test equipment you need.

I can't how investing in some kit to do some tests that wouldn't otherwise be carried out till I have to funds to allow a consumer unit upgrade is a bad thing.

It's not, but your apparent budget of £100 is inadequate for the equipment needed to do those tests and you'll need to do some studying to understand the testing processes.

A quick search on google suggests 2.5ohm is above the maximum and so there is an earth fault on the ring increasing its resistance.

No there isn't.

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Book/5.3.1.htm

There isn't one specific test, I want to be able to establish if the wiring is safe or not

• http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Book/8.1.1.htm
  
• http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0863418570 or http://www.theiet.org/publishing/books/wir-reg/inspection-testing-5th-edition.cfm
  
• http://www.amazon.co.uk/Practical-I...r_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1289894346&sr=1-10
  
• http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb...%3Ainspection+testing+electrical&enc=1[/list]

 

[riveralt]

A quick search on google suggests 2.5ohm is above the maximum and so there is an earth fault on the ring increasing its resistance. .

While your post indicates a willingness to learn, you would be better off going to a college night school to get a proper understanding of the reasons why we test; an understanding of how we test and more importantly how we interpret the results to determine the nature of the fault.

Google answers should not be relied upon; the answer you have given could right or it could be wrong. Provided you have corrected conducted the test i.e. stuck the probes on the correct terminals..
Did you do the test on a live final ring circuit or a dead one?
Is your earthing system TNS, TN-C-S or TT?
What was your external loop impedance?
What was your r1, r2 and rn results?
What were your R1+R2 results?
What were the results of the your insulation resistance tests?
What were your polarity results?
What were your Prospective fault current results?
Do you know what the 'rule of thumb' figures are?
For the given circuit what number are your looking for?

For the example given by Taylortwocities if you were operating under TT conditions your result would be excellent.

If you were operating under a TN system then your max figure, using rule of thumb would 1.15ohms.
EFLI is made up of Ze and R1+R2, which means the 'fault' could be a loose connection line, neutral or cpc cable at a junction - it could be Ze. It could be a spur................etc.

I would then post a question on here giving my method and results etc and I'm sure someone would give some help. If I couldn't successfully rectify the fault I'd call a sparky.
No tests means I'm go about my life never knowing the earth is faulty.

Is it - read above.

 

[davelx]

there a Metrel Easitest all-in-1 on ebay at the mo:

Brilliant! We can use it to prop the door open! (No bricks handy)

What a very helpful, mature response. If you have an opinion on that unit, or on its usefullness in this case then by all means give it. Stupid comments like the above we can do without.

 

[londonboy]

there a Metrel Easitest all-in-1 on ebay at the mo:

Brilliant! We can use it to prop the door open! (No bricks handy)

What a very helpful, mature response. If you have an opinion on that unit, or on its usefullness in this case then by all means give it. Stupid comments like the above we can do without.

Preaching off a pedestal sums it up I think, looking at the rest of his posts

 

[ban-all-sheds]

If you have an opinion on that unit, or on its usefullness in this case then by all means give it.

They could be very relevant.

One has to start with the assumption that it does actually work. So is it lacking in features, or possessing of drawbacks which make it unattractive to professional electricians but which would be of little consequence to a DIYer?

Examples which spring immediately to mind would be:

No test button on the probe
No storing/downloading of test results
No non-trip EFLI
No test lead zeroing
Not robust enough to be bounced around in the back of the van

 

[Adam_151]

If you have an opinion on that unit, or on its usefullness in this case then by all means give it.

They could be very relevant.

One has to start with the assumption that it does actually work. So is it lacking in features, or possessing of drawbacks which make it unattractive to professional electricians but which would be of little consequence to a DIYer?

I had a metrel easitest a while ago until I upgraded, things I didn't like, were

- Non trip loop test only gave 1 decimal place resolution, also seemed quite a way off what I knew the result should be in many cases

-Loop testing at light fittings, etc required more hands than I have, due to no autostart and no remote probe (might be available as an extra)

-After a year or so, it seemed that the selector dial was wearing out or picking up dirt and you'd struggle to zero the leads and you'd end up moving it back and forth to get it to work

-Continuity would go and take a reading when button pressed and then report it back a second later (same with insulation), so if you stop being able to press the probes into the terminals as hard as you should in order to hit the test button, then you get a funny reading, better testers update the reading constantly while there is some continuity present, so you can watch the display while squeezeing the croc clips etc

-Like most loop testers, trying to test near the origin was a waste of time, but theres not many that will manage that well

Don't get me wrong, it does what it says on teh tin-almost (you might as well as roll a dice as do a non trip loop test), but it got infuriating using it on a day to day basis

 

[RF Lighting]

I really like my metrel MFT