Megger Mft 1730 calculating R1&R2?

[Sparky Ninja]

A student of mine had his new toy delivered today (delivery first thing, thank you very much Tester Meter). We've had a play with it and I am surprised to see that it has a method of caculating R1&R2 as what appears to be normal practice.

You turn the dial to Zref, make a loop impedance measurment (at the Ze or Zdb position) and it is stored as the reference value.

You then change the dial to R1&R2, make a loop impedance measurment at the Zs position, the readout will then display the R1&R2 value by deducting the reference value from the value obtained at this position.

I don't like this.






Also in their instructions it says that with storing the data R1 = cpc and R2 = Live??

I might have to send them an email.

 

[Amp David]

It makes it easier for the lazy testers out there to get to their next job quicker, not the best idea.

 

[MarkieSparkie]

Second that Widdler. My apprentice bought one and we had a play with it before he used it in anger. I was gob-smacked by this and immediately wrote a letter of complaint to Megger highlighting this blatant use and encouragement of bad and inaccurate test practice.

 

[Amp David]

Have they replied to you yet Markie?

 

[contract harry]

I got a couple of these and the whole R1+R2 calc is nonsense. Also there are supposed to be issues with the Auto null, although mine have been Okay so far. HOWEVER, the phase rotation and two prong no trip ZS has made it a massive hit with the lads. The clamp is pretty cool too. H

 

[335-pilot]

I was thinking of buying this meter but having read this post am back to square 1, Any suggestions? I would like to get a meter that has software capability to run the paperwork if its not too much more

 

[nikmet]

I got a couple of these and the whole R1+R2 calc is nonsense. Also there are supposed to be issues with the Auto null, although mine have been Okay so far. HOWEVER, the phase rotation and two prong no trip ZS has made it a massive hit with the lads. The clamp is pretty cool too. H

Is the clamp included in the price or extra ££

 

[onions1066]

DO NOT BUY! i have one of these testers and i have found a couple of annoying problems with it, ZE/ZS readings take forever! about 20 seconds to get a reading, doesn't sound long but when you have every point to do it does become tedious. I also get ridiculous readings when testing wylex consumer units? Megger rep came to visit us and had no answer for this. They are going to take it back to the factory and see what the issue is with reading through wylex RCD's? for the time being been told to calculate all ZS's! so thats right the tester can calculate it's own R1+R2's and now i have to calculate ZS values! doesn't really leave me much to do. on the bright side the auto test and the RCD is very good but other than that i am not impressed at all. Just to clarify a couple of points i'm not really using the auto calculate for R1+R2 and i am not calculating ZS values i have gone back to the trusty robin kit while i await clarification from megger, because until it is sorted i believe the results i am getting arent worth the paper they are written on. But when all the problems are sorted i believe it will be a good piece of kit and when they are sorted i will let you guys know.

 

[onions1066]

if the clamp is included i will be pretty annoyed because we didnt get any! thats something else to moan about!

 

[Guest123]

>Coughs<...Fluke...>Coughs<...:donatello:

 

[richy3333]

Well I am/was a Megger man through and through but I just wannna chuck my 1730 out of the window!

The iclamp is not included with the tester, that's another £210 + VAT!

I can't get Powersuite to work (it's something to do with the software, not the MFT)

I'm now getting a wide variation on Zs readings from my 1730 when compared to my 1552. So it's likely I have a week of testing to double check! - 16A type B. 1552 = 0.83 ohms. 1730 = 2.59 ohms? The tests are done fast on the 1730 though, only a few secs, not 20+ as other posters have mentioned

 

[335-pilot]

Anyone know if the 1710 is any better?

 

[BigBreakfast]

I must admit to liking the 1730 but I stay away from the gimmiky ZREF , not for real testers that option! About the only niggle I have with using it is the long time to do Zs compared to fluke or seaward, otherwise the tester has performed well and no wild readings that I have noticed. Software loaded without trouble too. Only had it for short while though, so still time for gremlins to appear.:willy_nilly:

 

[onions1066]

if you are getting Zs readings in a couple of seconds you cant be using the non trip 2 wire test? the wild reading tend to be on wylex consumer units, Megger are aware of this and are going to update the software so if you have got one it would be worth contacting whoever supplied it to you to see if they will update yours for free as well?

 

[richy3333]

if you are getting Zs readings in a couple of seconds you cant be using the non trip 2 wire test? the wild reading tend to be on wylex consumer units, Megger are aware of this and are going to update the software so if you have got one it would be worth contacting whoever supplied it to you to see if they will update yours for free as well?

The readings were taken using the 'kettle' lead off a regularly used test socket and compared against my 1552. Admittedly it is a Wylex rewirable board.

You'd expect the unit to be 'right' as it came from Megger direct

 

[onions1066]

we have 12 of these testers accross the company as we thought it was time to replace the robin 3 piece kits, and all are being returned to megger as they all have the same fault, your right though you would of expected them to run the required tests before releasing them out onto the market but obviously not!

 

[MarkieSparkie]

Have they replied to you yet Markie?

Had a rather bland letter on Saturday, saying my comments had been noted by the Megger management with concern. They have forwarded a copy of my letter to the Technical Department who have been told to contact me within 14 days. I will mention the other concerns expressed in this thread when contacted.

 

[William Irons]

hi i just bought the 1730 but im finding it difficult to bluetooth results.By that i mean i am just practicing at home with it doing tests on my own house and trying to blue tooth the results to the cert on my computer i can do this one at a time but i have been testing say, a whole circuit and cannot send the results all at once or do a lot of circuits and then send them to the cert if you can only send the results one at a time then its a pile of expensive c$$p no doubt i will send in back if it doesnt please. I also cant send results one at a time from downstairs to the cert upstairs is the bluetooth technology that poor . The instructions for downloading are very vague or maybe its me being impatient i have other questions about subtracting ze but thats for another time bring back my good old 1502​

 

[richy3333]

hi i just bought the 1730 but im finding it difficult to bluetooth results.By that i mean i am just practicing at home with it doing tests on my own house and trying to blue tooth the results to the cert on my computer i can do this one at a time but i have been testing say, a whole circuit and cannot send the results all at once or do a lot of circuits and then send them to the cert if you can only send the results one at a time then its a pile of expensive c$$p no doubt i will send in back if it doesnt please. I also cant send results one at a time from downstairs to the cert upstairs is the bluetooth technology that poor . The instructions for downloading are very vague or maybe its me being impatient i have other questions about subtracting ze but thats for another time bring back my good old 1502​

Hi Supermajor.
I'm guessing the issues with bluetooth might be down to the limitations of the medium rather than the MFT or your computer. I presume bluetooth only has a limited range and then that will be affected by external influences - walls etc?

I think there are two distinct ways to send information (though I haven't had a chance to try the process out yet) and you have to decide which one to do. Either sending individual results - what they call blobbing where I think you have a cert open and send the result to a field, else you send all or selected results to the download manger to then place manually into a cert? I could be wrong, but that's how I understood things from a chat with the software guys yesterday.

Might be best to ring the techie guys to get some help.

Richard

 

[topquark]

Bluetooth has clear line of sight range of about 10 metres.

@richy3333 if you attached the megger to your computer before installing the software it's possible it has loaded the wrong drivers. If you haven't already uninstall it, remove any drivers associated with it (via device manager in control panel, assuming it's windows) then reinstall the software before attaching the megger.

 

[richy3333]

Cheers topquark, I'll try that

Spoke briefly to Megger this morning and they say that the issue they are aware of is with a specific Wylex RCBO, not Wylex boards generally. They are currently looking into matters.

 

[MarkieSparkie]

hi i just bought the 1730 but im finding it difficult to bluetooth results.By that i mean i am just practicing at home with it doing tests on my own house and trying to blue tooth the results to the cert on my computer i can do this one at a time but i have been testing say, a whole circuit and cannot send the results all at once or do a lot of circuits and then send them to the cert if you can only send the results one at a time then its a pile of expensive c$$p no doubt i will send in back if it doesnt please. I also cant send results one at a time from downstairs to the cert upstairs is the bluetooth technology that poor . The instructions for downloading are very vague or maybe its me being impatient i have other questions about subtracting ze but thats for another time bring back my good old 1502​

When I used bluetooth with the MFT1553 I found the performance was dependant on the quality of the bluetooth receiver or dongle. The Belkin F8TO17 dongle gave the best performance and reliable transfer of data to my laptop. The result has to be sent after each test. As you have found multiple downloading does not work, you either get nothing or a load of gobbledy gook.
You might be interested in an earlier thread on this subject:
http://www.electriciansforums.net/i...27906-anyone-using-megger-1553-bluetooth.html

 

[onions1066]

richy3333 i havent found the problem with wylex rcbo's it was with wylex rcds, still no updated software yet, these testers are probably going to be returned as they arent really any use to us as they are. Been to have a look at some others yesterday, so the wheels are in motion. shame because it did look promising at the start.

 

[trypod]

Any news yet?

 

[richy3333]

Apologies because I am late updating the thread about my situation.

Megger were brilliant in helping me and resolving the issues I had. It wasn't a faulty tester at all, but just my use of the machine and interpretation of the readings I was getting. 5 minutes on the phone with their technical department and a couple of emailed crib sheets and I was sorted.

Software wise I had a long telephone call with Meggers software developers (2 hours). They got me sorted too. They remotely accessed my laptop and found that a number of settings had to be changed on the laptop. They did also mention that bluetooth technology (nothing to do with the MFT or software) only works over a certain distance and will be inhibited by walls/barriers etc. I still haven't had time to review Powersuite software (too busy with work), but have to say I was mightily impressed with Megger and the Powersuite guys.

I also used the Ra tester on the 1730 last week to test 2 dozen TT installations on caravans and it worked a dream

BTW whilst I have been testing I did my continuity as normal but then later on tried the auto calculation R1 + R2 function and always seem to get 0? I'll try and email Megger this week to find out why this is the case...

 

[contract harry]

Hi Guys,

No, the clamp is extra. Hell...............something for nothing.....????

I've been using one and I really like it. Granted it does "wurrrrr and clunk" doing the two prong ZS but I think age has made me patient. The layout seems well thought out and the straps let it rest nicely on your belly. The ZS and PFC flash up at the same time on the screen which is good, and generally all of the usual customiseable features you expect from Megger MFT's are present. Probably the acid test is that the two 1730's are always first out of the workshop in the morning.

Thumbs up here!

H

 

[trypod]

richy3333

what info were in the crib sheets?

 

[Sparky Ninja]

Never fear guys, it's all explained here..

[video=youtube;y0lwdJb9_-k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0lwdJb9_-k&amp;feature=youtube_gdata_player[/video]

FFS!!

Makes me realise how good I am with a whiteboard.

Dude, if you are a member of this forum pm me and I will give you some pointers.

A couple of errors in the vid too.

 

[richy3333]

That's 13 minutes of my life I can't claw back

As you say Widdler, several mistakes.

Can someone tell him that ZE is actually Ze.

He then refers to Zs as an external earth fault loop impedance.

Plus there is no requirement to put his R1+R2 calculation in brackets because in the example shown it is a simple maths addition and not part of a longer formula.

He shows how to measure the Ze incorrectly also. No mention of isolating the installation and removing the earth cable to avoid any parallel paths etc.

Can this guy stan still for 1 second?

 

[contract harry]

ZS should be measured with the bonding in place because it can have a significant effect on the measured reading, especially in the case of TT installations. What's the beef with simply measuring the R1+R2. You will have the conductors and CPC already removed to perform other tests like "ring continutiy" so it's hardly a mission! Or......in line with this you could simply pace the distance from the DB, guess the length and use the table "formerly known as 9A" to calculate.
As a side issue, probably 80% of all remedials in domestics in my experience are directly linked with ring final circuits. With bigger and cheaper DB's and peoples' change in electric usage habits rings are surley overkill, and I very rarely use them in new builds now.
Anyway..........Megger..........appreciate there was some extra room on the dials, but I think the kind of folk you are aiming this lazy "cheat" at are not the kind who would be splashing out for your products IMHO.

Harry