Should I buy a Martindale 2240 Multifunction tester?

[HappyHippyDad]

Hello..

I will be finishing my domestic installers course in June and would like to purchase a MFT.

Megger seems to be by far the most talked about MFT but very expensive.

I have seen the Martindale 2240 for around £250 brand new (or £100 on ebay) and wondered if anyone had any experience or knowledge of them?

Is it worth spending £500 for the Megger or can you get everything you need from the Martindale?

Thanks,

Happyhippydad..

 

[HappyHippyDad]

ps.. Any other advice on MFT's would be useful, i.e which brands (or models) to AVOID and which tests or specifics of each model you have found useful..

Thanks again.

 

[Octopus]

IMHO you should buy a new one, surely you've budgeted for that.

Don't buy anything which isn't calibrated

 

[Gazmm]

i have a vr2230, it does everything i ask of it and its fairly easy to use but... (theres always a but) itll never rival a megger or a fluke
zs testing with an rcd in line is useless, it cannot go lower than 1 ohm in this mode and its wildly inaccurate .ive replaced the original fused leads as they added 0.3 ohms to all my ze readings.my next purchase will be a fluke when i eventually kill the martindale.
its your call but id be saving up abit longer and be happy with your purchase.

 

[Engineer54]

As a rule of thumb, Always buy the very best you can afford, when it comes to your electrical test kit. Going down the cheap path will generally bite you on the bum!!

Doesn't matter what the brand manufacturer, your test equipment is your most important asset as an electrician.... Of course you have to know how to use them!! lol!!!

 

[fancypantsyeah]

I HAVE HAD 2 IN PASTA METREL AND A MEGER THINK BOTH AREAS GOOD AS EACHOTHER ....buy a new one though don't et second hand ya just buying someone esles problems ,,,, that what mi dad says anyway....lol......exspensive though ....

 

[cbw]

You see I have bought both of my Flukes second hand, and am really pleased with them.

One I have had for years and owes me nothing, the other I have just bought from a forum member, and it seems great.

So I would reccomend the second hand route!

 

[MarkieSparkie]

i have a vr2230, it does everything i ask of it and its fairly easy to use but... (theres always a but) itll never rival a megger or a fluke
zs testing with an rcd in line is useless, it cannot go lower than 1 ohm in this mode and its wildly inaccurate .ive replaced the original fused leads as they added 0.3 ohms to all my ze readings.my next purchase will be a fluke when i eventually kill the martindale.
its your call but id be saving up abit longer and be happy with your purchase.

You are right mate, I flagged this up on a thread a while ago, a sales weakness and quite surprising, however most MFTs are not very accurate below 1 Ohm on no-trip, perhaps Martindale are just honest about this by limiting the resolution. Even the new VR2250 has a similar specification. Otherwise these testers are nice to use.
I've rarely had any issues with no-trip testing with any of Martindale VR223x models I've used in the past and have not found them inaccurate, but it does mean that Zs impedances below 1 Ohm require a modified measurement technique. The inaccuracies you experience may be due to the lead set(s), as the MFT and lead set should be calibrated together in order to achieve accuracy within the specification.

 

[oracle]

Having used Megger Martindale and Fluke mostly over the years the most reliable was the Megger 1552. Recently got a Seaward Powertest 1550 for £299 and have had good results from it

 

[Rpa07]

4 year old post Oracle and I know Happyhippydad is as busy as anything so probably has it sorted - good reply though and always useful to someone. All the best