Meggering Conductors with Fluke 1587

[Secon]

I have some 2/4 SO wire I am wanting to test to see if it's usable. I have a Fluke 1587 and just want to make sure I am using it correctly as I am not that familiar with it and the instructions are vague.

I hook the leads off the meter to each individual conductor with the other end in free air, then set the meter to 1000v and test. I immediately get a reading of 2.2G on most of the conductors I test, however on some it takes a few seconds and then slowly climbs to 2.2g.

If I hook the black lead to a known ground and test each wire individual or black to any one conductor, and the red to any other conductor and "Test" is this the correct way and what does the 2.2g mean exactly?

Any info you could give me on the Fluke 1587 would be great, as well as meggering motors would be great. Thanks a bunch

 

[electric_cal]

The proper way to test the feeders are to test each feeder to ground, then test each set of feeders phase to phase. A to Ground, B to Ground, C to Ground. A to B, B to C, A to C. Write down all test readings. Go to the Fluke website and review the 1587 manual. You will find it there. Good luck. :thumbsup:

 

[ATSman]

You want to test if it is useable then I'll assume it in not installed.
I would put the wire or reel of it in salt water. Then put one lead in the water and the other to each conductor & record readings. Then take readings between each pair of wires and record.
The old rule of thumb is 1 meg ohm per 1KV (system voltage) is acceptable.
2.2G is 2,200 meg ohms, a very good reading.

 

[meternerd]

I have some 2/4 SO wire I am wanting to test to see if it's usable. I have a Fluke 1587 and just want to make sure I am using it correctly as I am not that familiar with it and the instructions are vague.

I hook the leads off the meter to each individual conductor with the other end in free air, then set the meter to 1000v and test. I immediately get a reading of 2.2G on most of the conductors I test, however on some it takes a few seconds and then slowly climbs to 2.2g.

If I hook the black lead to a known ground and test each wire individual or black to any one conductor, and the red to any other conductor and "Test" is this the correct way and what does the 2.2g mean exactly?

Any info you could give me on the Fluke 1587 would be great, as well as meggering motors would be great. Thanks a bunch

That's the full scale reading of the Fluke (2,200 Megohms)...meaning you're reading a completely open circuit, which you would expect when reading to free air. Just read each conductor to each of the other conductors. If it's not installed, that's really all you can do. It should read tens if not hundreds of Megohms at least, and all tests should read about the same. A low reading indicates a pair that has failing insulation.

 

[Tony S]

For a cable there are six tests and if buried seven. Line to line x 3 line earth/groundx3 (whatever you want to call it).

The seventh test is what we refer to as a sheath test where all conductors and any mechanical protection are connected together and tested to earth/ground after being buried. It will show if the outer sheath has been damaged during installation. With water ingress the integrity of the cable has been compromised. It?s no good doing it before it has been buried. It was fine as it came off the drum, handled wrong and it won?t be.

It really annoys contractors when you tell them to dig the whole lot up and replace it at their expense ;-) We supplied the cable, if they damage it, they can replace it.



Testing motors is a different matter altogether and would take a lot of explanation along with accompanying diagrams.

As for the meter, it took me a couple of seconds to find the instruction manual.

 

[Secon]

I have the manual that came with it and nowhere does it say what readings should be, nor how to test conductors In the manner that I am asking.

To make clear, yes I have sections of 2/4 that are anywhere from 50' to 150' long. I have a 375' run to make for a 480v 50 Hp motor. I will have to splice the sections together to get my length. Not to sound stupid but saying test a,b,c to ground I am assuming the black lead to a known ground and the red test lead to any single conductor the the opposite end of that conductor in free air? And the same method if I use a-b, a-c, or b-c with the other ends in free air?

This is how I had been testing and the meter immediately goes to 2.2g when inducing 1000v to the conductor. However on a particular (let's call it "b") conductor the meter goes to 2.2 but takes about 6 seconds to get there when holding the test button, all others about 1 second. Also I can visually see a bare spot in a conductor (on another cord)showing copper and the meter still goes to 2.2 g on that conductor, one I can clearly see is bare or would it just show me a phase to phase or phase to ground fault?

i used to own a 1520 fluke and it seemed straight forward more so than this 1587. Motors you could just hook to any 2 "L" leads and get a accurate reading of how many mega ohms. Simple.. The 1587, not so much. And again the instructions say how to plug the leads into the meter but nothing of how to test the circuit and what reading you are looking for. That's why I here

 

[Cow]

I have the manual that came with it and nowhere does it say what readings should be, nor how to test conductors In the manner that I am asking.

To make clear, yes I have sections of 2/4 that are anywhere from 50' to 150' long. I have a 375' run to make for a 480v 50 Hp motor. I will have to splice the sections together to get my length. Not to sound stupid but saying test a,b,c to ground I am assuming the black lead to a known ground and the red test lead to any single conductor the the opposite end of that conductor in free air? And the same method if I use a-b, a-c, or b-c with the other ends in free air?

This is how I had been testing and the meter immediately goes to 2.2g when inducing 1000v to the conductor. However on a particular (let's call it "b") conductor the meter goes to 2.2 but takes about 6 seconds to get there when holding the test button, all others about 1 second. Also I can visually see a bare spot in a conductor (on another cord)showing copper and the meter still goes to 2.2 g on that conductor, one I can clearly see is bare or would it just show me a phase to phase or phase to ground fault?

i used to own a 1520 fluke and it seemed straight forward more so than this 1587. Motors you could just hook to any 2 "L" leads and get a accurate reading of how many mega ohms. Simple.. The 1587, not so much. And again the instructions say how to plug the leads into the meter but nothing of how to test the circuit and what reading you are looking for. That's why I here

Separately insulate all the wires at one end of the cable. At the other end hook your black and red test leads to a pair of wires. Black to one, red to another, test at 1000v until the test reading is sufficiently high enough you know the cable is good. If I see the reading passing several hundred megaohms and still climbing steadily, I call it good and move onto the next pair. Do this for every possible pair combination.

 

[JRW 70]

Maximum meter range

Maximum meter range

To find out what the maximum reading of your meter
is, just run the test without the leads attached and
at the maximum voltage.

Then if the wire tests to that reading, that is the limit
of what can be determined by that device.

JR

 

[just the cowboy]

Don't do it

Don't do it

Unless this is for a test I would not splice the cables that many times, it is only asking for trouble. As someone said imerse in salt water and test would of showed you that barespot.
As for megging a motor it depends on the motor but the most common test for a 3 phase motor is to tie all the leads together and test to ground. Most 3 phase motors have a common tie point in the motor so reading phase to phase don't get you anything. If the motor has seperate windings as in single phase motors then winding to winding will tell you a short.