Advanced Socket Tester
- Thread starter Sandyn
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Looks a decent one and Kyoritsu are a reputable brand.
I use the equivalent Martindale for quick checks.
The loop test feature is a big plus for these.
Now the funny....
I had the electric company (the DNO) fit an isolator switch in the tails from my meter to allow the supply to be isolated. This saves the electrician having to pull the main fuse when changing the consumer unit which they're not technically supposed to do.
DNO sent a couple of guys from the contractors who replace the meters to do it.
The total extent of their testing to prove the quality of their workmanship and my supply was to use one of these £50 check plugs before and after.
Considering a spark needs £500+ worth of test kit to properly check the wiring downstream of this, I was a little apalled !
I use the equivalent Martindale for quick checks.
The loop test feature is a big plus for these.
Now the funny....
I had the electric company (the DNO) fit an isolator switch in the tails from my meter to allow the supply to be isolated. This saves the electrician having to pull the main fuse when changing the consumer unit which they're not technically supposed to do.
DNO sent a couple of guys from the contractors who replace the meters to do it.
The total extent of their testing to prove the quality of their workmanship and my supply was to use one of these £50 check plugs before and after.
Considering a spark needs £500+ worth of test kit to properly check the wiring downstream of this, I was a little apalled !
That sounds a bit iffy!!
The loop feature is very handy. I found earth problems with my daughters house when they moved in.
All they're doing is checking for correct polarity before they start, they will have checked polarity at the service head to confirm you don't have a double cross polarity then test when finished that they've not put a cross polarity on, there is no requirement for them to test anything else as they didn't altered your installation. They're probably not even qualified electricians.
steve158
Member
Bussy is quite correct. The DNO is only responsible for the supply up to the cutout, the electricity supply company for the connection between the cutout and the meter. Any equipment after the meter is the responsibility of the property owner. An earth fault loop reading, a voltage reading and a polarity check is all that is required to be carried out by the DNO.
The DNO is responsible for the supply to the property and means of earthing, so upto where your tails connect to go to the board or upto the fused isolator if provided. When you meassure the prospective fault curents or earth loop impedance this will include the entire circuit back to the local sub, in the old days of R1, R2 the circuit external to the property was Ze and for PMS domestic supplies often stated as 0.35 ohms. Now with multifunction testers all these can be done with a simple button push and a value given, no calcs needed.
But I thought they would use something a bit more sophisticated than a £50 plug in tester? I thought they were more 'hobby' type testers? Gives me more faith using it
.The earth loop impedance at my meter tails is outside spec. Not a whole lot, but it's outside spec.
A plug type tester, even a good one, can't measure these low impedances with enough resolution to know that which is why I was a little surprised to see it used.
If it becomes a problem for me, i'll have the DNO back to fix it as they have an obligation to maintain a service after providing it.
A plug type tester, even a good one, can't measure these low impedances with enough resolution to know that which is why I was a little surprised to see it used.
If it becomes a problem for me, i'll have the DNO back to fix it as they have an obligation to maintain a service after providing it.
steve158
Member
In my area, London and the South East, it would not have been the DNO (UKPN) who arranged for the isolator as this would be the responsibility of the company who supply your electricity. Even so, the earth loop impedance should have been recorded and reported if not within spec ie. above 0.35 ohms assuming a PME supply. If this was not done and the reading is high then you should report it immediately direct to the DNO.
I have that same Kewtech 107 £50 tester - very useful for checks. I also have a cheapie sub-£10 one, which I probably use more frequently as it's a lot easier to read.
I believe the main difference between the £10 and £50 models is checking earth loops (to a limited degree). Like all these tools, they are very useful once you acknowledge the limitations.
I believe the main difference between the £10 and £50 models is checking earth loops (to a limited degree). Like all these tools, they are very useful once you acknowledge the limitations.
I was checking a circuit and found a couple of sockets were giving a 'caution' on the earth loop test. All that was needed was a final torque on the earth connection They were already very tight, but the extra twist brought the impedance into the 'OK' range.
Steve, same up north supplier generally fit isolators, but the only test we would do would be for polarity, no earth loop impedance test. DNO will fit an isolator if they are upgrading the service cable and service head, a few years ago we had contracts to fit isolators to all council properties to allow for re-wires, on one estate just after we had finished the DNO decide to upgrade all the supply cables and service heads on that estate they actually removed all the isolators we had installed and put their own in.
