Calibration advice

[ban-all-sheds]

I want to get my kit done - is there anything to choose between one company and another, other than price, convenience of shipping, time etc?

Presumably if they claim traceability to national standards any one is as good as another in terms of what they do?

Are there cowboys out there?

How important is familiarity with the make of equipment?

 

[t4msy]

There are definitely cowboys out there. I dropped my seaward combi compact into a local centre to be calibrated. I know the kit is pretty accurate coz i tested the circuits in my garage when i got it and use those circuits to check it. I also test it against another tester.

A week after i left it there they phone me to ask if i have the manual??? I asked y and they said they have no information on the specs of the machine or how to use it. I asked how this was possible as they are seawards local representative??? The reply was they have hit some financial difficulty and couldn't afford to buy the neccesary equipment from seaward.

I take my manual to them and leave it there. Now another week later they call me to say my kit is faulty and requires repairs. I asked what type of fault and he said it only gives one result on loop test of 0.69 ohms. I told them this was not possible as i have been using the kit all week and have all sorts of results for loop tests recorded on certificated and they are not 0.69 ohms and all vary. I also added that the kit was under a year old so i intended to call seaward to make a complaint. The guy started stuttering and offered to send it to another branch and have it back to me for monday. They are obviously trying to rip me off.

Be careful even firms that seem reputable can be cowboys.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Marvellous news - thanx.

 

[Beanzy]

BAS for the past 2 years I've used Cuthbertson Laird (bought the CM500 & Seward SuperNova from them). You send it off and they return it in about a week. Very thorough report sheet and will give advice over the phone etc. it's about £60 a piece.

They're on http://www.cuthbertsonlaird.co.uk/index.html well worth a call.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Thanks for that - my first thought was "Ouch that's bl**dy expensive. Well blow me it looks like it might be that you get what you pay for".

On their website though it's £26 per item, so I guess you're talking about an all-in-one.

 

[crystal ball]

My local Edmundsons have calibration days, when a "peripatetic" calibration guy tests anything thrown at him, £70 for all in one installation tester and pat tester last year. I also found out that a BAE Systems plant not too far away do private testing in their calibration lab, dont know about cost though

 

[Lectrician]

We send them to the manufacurer every 3yr. Then do the 3monthly checks ourself. (and send off the kit early if the 3 mothly checks show an error).

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Presumably you verify one instrument against another - I only have the one set...

And they are made in Germany...

 

[Lectrician]

Yea, but if you have a calibration checker - you use that.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Yea, but if you have a calibration checker - you use that.

I had thought about making one - a box with a voltmeter, a few high- and low-value resistors and an RCD...

 

[supersparks]

martindale do em

based in watford round the corner from watford junction

£27 per piece mainly and they will do most gear

 

[ban-all-sheds]

And that's a short drive for me - I'll contact them - thanks for that.