Do I need a Megger???

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electricmanscott

electricmanscott

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Location
Boston, MA
Occupation
Massachusetts Master Electrician, one man show.
I do not have nor have I ever used a megger. Would such an instrument be effective in trying to find a fault in an AFCI protected circuit showing and arc fault?

Damn you 2008 NEC!! :mad:
 
electricmanscott said:
I do not have nor have I ever used a megger. Would such an instrument be effective in trying to find a fault in an AFCI protected circuit showing and arc fault?

Damn you 2008 NEC!! :mad:
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a megger would be perfect for that. its simple to use. i use an MJ159. its about 950 dollars and hand cranked. the fluke insulation tester is pretty high quality also
 
electricmanscott said:
I do not have nor have I ever used a megger. Would such an instrument be effective in trying to find a fault in an AFCI protected circuit showing and arc fault?

Damn you 2008 NEC!! :mad:
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It's probably one of those TR receptacles gone bad.

Just joking Scot.:grin: :grin:
 
growler said:
It's probably one of those TR receptacles gone bad.

Just joking Scot.:grin: :grin:
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Seriously!!

This is an apartment gut remodel. Two AFCIs are tripping occasionaly. Nobody is living there yet and it basically just lights on. I replaced the GE Arc Faults with Siemens. Not legeal but they are exactly the same breaker. The Siemens breakers have led's to indicate what condition caused the trip. The breaker that tripped while I was there is showing "Arc Fault".

This may be the beginnings of a needle in a haystack kind of search.

This is a case where I think I should have the best and proper tool for the job. I can forsee more instances of this type of troubleshooting.

The other thing was the inability of the contractor to plug in the gas stove. Yep...TR receptacle!! I got it in but it took some coaxing. :wink:

Just shoot me already. :roll:
 
You cannot go wrong owing a megger. IMO every electrician should have one, almost as important as a voltage tester. Like a voltage tester it can save your life.
 
Too little detail

Too little detail

You can not use a megger nor loop impedance testing to 100% rule out arc incidents, helpful, sometimes, 100% every time? Never.

A megger puts out a constant voltage over time with a certain level of amperage, an arcing incident or issue can't be simulated in that manner. I have to agree there is not a tester available to test an arcing fault to any certainy.
Testers like the Ideal SureTest 61-165 can simulate certain scenarios but not every angle.
 
i thought of this before. did you check to see if any other circuits neutral was accidently tied to the neutral from circuit that has the arc fault on it? that could cause tripping problems
 
brian john said:
You cannot go wrong owing a megger. IMO every electrician should have one, almost as important as a voltage tester. Like a voltage tester it can save your life.
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How will it save your life????? Or do you mean save your butt?
 
I have inspected/repaired several jobs over the years where had a megger been utilized prior to trying to re-energize a switchboard after a fault in the board. In all instances the switchboard had sustained damaged that was ignored. Simplying meggering the bus would have alerted the electrician to the dangers involved.

One electrician may still be alive, several would still have possibly avoided severe body damage. Not to mention the cost of repair and lost revenue from the building shut down.
 
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