Earth Leakage Clamp Meter...Why do I need one?

[123]

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).

 

[Cadgey123]

I would still say 80% of my call outs with tripping RCDs or rcbos has been due to ingress of water.

 

[Deleted member 26818]

I would still say 80% of my call outs with tripping RCDs or rcbos has been due to ingress of water.

Don’t touch the stuff unless it’s boils and had a teabag dunked in it.

 

[GBDamo]

What I can’t understand is what is the difference between some of the £300-500 dedicated earth clamp meters and £50-100 clamp meters that measures down to single digit milliamperes, and these are not total crap.

 

[telectrix]

the expensive ones are more accurate due to the lower resolution, but my cheapo thats resolution of 1 mA will do what i need. coupled with a hammer, can find any fault going.

 

[GBDamo]

What I can’t understand is what is the difference between some of the £300-500 dedicated earth clamp meters and £50-100 clamp meters that measures down to single digit milliamperes, and these are not total crap.

the expensive ones are more accurate due to the lower resolution, but my cheapo thats resolution of 1 mA will do what i need. coupled with a hammer, can find any fault going.

thought as much might get a cheap one and see how much hammer it gets before looking for something more accurate.

 

[Deleted member 26818]

I think Fluke do one that I could plug into my multimeter.
Would imagine other multimeter companies do as well.

 

[Octopus]

I own a earth leakage clamp meter.

Useful to test background leakage .... Especially prior to doing a cu change and doing initial testing with rcd tripping.

 

[Deleted member 26818]

Can use one to check how much battery drain you have on your car, motorbike, van.

 

[123]

I own a earth leakage clamp meter.

Useful to test background leakage .... Especially prior to doing a cu change and doing initial testing with rcd tripping.

I can see the CU Change bit as useful at quote stage to be fair. That's the first post that's given me any reason why I may actually use one.

Don't understand what you mean by "initial testing with rcd tripping"?

 

[Octopus]

Don't understand what you mean by "initial testing with rcd tripping"?

Well, I use it to check the amount of back ground leakage .......... because it can help to know if you have high back ground leakage .... then something small will tip it over.

I do this along with the standard RCD tests - to see what level the RCD (s) is / are tripping at.

 

[Midwest]

What I can’t understand is what is the difference between some of the £300-500 dedicated earth clamp meters and £50-100 clamp meters that measures down to single digit milliamperes, and these are not total crap.

I bought a cheapo one, as recommended by a forum member, a TM-EL9809 for £120. Had it two years, in which time I used it once okay. Next time I came to use it, it went wibble and was apparently unrepairable.

So I went to purchase a Megger one, but they were out of stock. So without now; not sure whether its worth the investment. But if you got wads of cash, I can see them being a useful accessory, bit like a laser level.

 

[suffolkspark]

I've not had to use mine too much but once I had an intermittent tripping issue at a property which I couldn't find with IR testing, with the clamp meter around the main earth I could see that with certain parts of their cooker turned on, the leakage rose drastically. touch screen type cooker so wasn't possible to find this one with it dead, and the only other option as somebody else suggested was set an rcd tester to ramp test and work out leakage that way, this is just quicker, its only a £100 dilog that has 1mA resolution

 

[Deleted member 105166]

Unless working in electronics, you're unlikely to need accuracy to greater than 1mA. The meters with a higher top end range are of course also good for current draw measurements, as well as earth leakage, although sometimes the jaws may be too large to work around tight/densely cabled areas, e.g. Megger IClamp. An iFlex or similar device could be better in such cases.

 

[netblindpaul]

I've not had to use mine too much but once I had an intermittent tripping issue at a property which I couldn't find with IR testing, with the clamp meter around the main earth I could see that with certain parts of their cooker turned on, the leakage rose drastically. touch screen type cooker so wasn't possible to find this one with it dead, and the only other option as somebody else suggested was set an rcd tester to ramp test and work out leakage that way, this is just quicker, its only a £100 dilog that has 1mA resolution

Don't clamp the earth connection, you can get false readings.
Clamp both live conductors that way the meter measures what the RCD "sees".

 

[suffolkspark]

Don't clamp the earth connection, you can get false readings.
Clamp both live conductors that way the meter measures what the RCD "sees".

agreed that is best but my little dilog one wont fit around 2x 25mm tails, I still saw a controlled and consistent increase in leakage clamped around the main earth