anyone recommend an earth leakage clamp meter ?

[petehall347]

have been looking at earth leakage clamp meters and its like a minefield out there . i wondered if anyone here had bought one that actually works properly ?

[stj]

never heard of it - what kind of resolution does it have?

[petehall347]

never heard of it - what kind of resolution does it have?

here is an example of one of the many look alike ones with different names and prices . https://www.amecal.com/product-page/...tester-st-9810
it wont get used enough to warrant the prices of megger and fluke ones . it does however need to be stable and pretty accurate . i say accurate but 1 or 2ma either way is fine so long as stable readings . i am trying to see what is leaking causing nuisance trips .
here is a video , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YN27-eLSWts

[stj]

the ut210e is 1mA +-3%
dont rule out a defective RCD,
but i had random tripping and it was condensation forming behind the washing machine on the hose and dripping onto the socket!

[petehall347]

i looked at that one but it doesn't look like what i am looking for . no 200ma setting and no mention its for leakage current .
have just watched this video and now feel i need to have this one . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH1S8Up5Zd8 . have also been trying to find reviews for the Ethos 3650 but cant find any . city electrics sells them

[CapLeaker]

Fluke 393FC works every time.

[petehall347]

Fluke 393FC works every time.

looks great for dc but not great to find mains ac earth leakage .

[CapLeaker]

You didn’t specify. I thought you want to troubleshoot GTI or something like that.
look at the fluke 369FC.

[petehall347]

You didn’t specify. I thought you want to troubleshoot GTI or something like that.
look at the fluke 369FC.

troubleshooting rcd tripping .

[CapLeaker]

troubleshooting rcd tripping .

The fluke 368 and 369 just do that.

[petehall347]

The fluke 368 and 369 just do that.

that's the price of a good car . it would cost far less to call someone out and i could take a break .

[CapLeaker]

that's the price of a good car . it would cost far less to call someone out and i could take a break .

How about a Megger DCM300E… good shit cost mulah.

[stj]

how often is the tripping?

[petehall347]

how often is the tripping?

its not tripping now .. its strange it was when it rained then thought we had found and cured that issue as it didn't trip for a few days .. then it was tripping at 6.30 am then it switched to 6.30 pm and now its not tripped for a few days . apparently nobody on this circuit has a timer set for that time so unless someone has been lying its most odd .. am just about to buy the ethos clamp meter from cef .

[xmetal]

I use a TIS 560. I find it works quite well. I wanted a Fluke but it was too expensive for what I needed.

[petehall347]

I use a TIS 560. I find it works quite well. I wanted a Fluke but it was too expensive for what I needed.

i looked at that one but didn't like the way it jumps from 20ma to 60a , domestic supplies use 30ma rcd .

[redwire]

Because the B-field is so low at the mA level, you need small jaws (good for only one conductor) and a very sensitive sensor- a specialized meter. Current-transformers have 1000's of turns on their core for GFCI level sensing. Then you run into drama with the core getting magnetized, the Earth's B-field (orientation) as well.
Looking at 4-20mA process loop calibrators, just a tiny jaw with dual Hall sensor there, differential mode to cancel any magnetic remanence/Earth's B-field in the core and temperature drift etc. I would say you need something like this with AC ability.

Vanilla clamp meters have huge jaws, designed for measuring 100's of amperes. If you can put a 100+ turns in there, then the mA level will come up but I find readings are noisy and unreliable.

You might be able to rent the big bucks Fluke 368 or something similar. It still leaves you 40mm jaws and needing a way to separate the conductors though.

What is the building PE ground like? Here it's usually a local ground rod and I have seen if the utility network has a bad ground or neutral issue then current is pulled out of your local ground rod. Sometimes to appliances with metal water piping like boiler or dishwashers. You can be the ground for the neighborhood. It makes the building's ground noisy. Check the N-PE voltage, and to another ground as well.

Also, natural gas piping has cathodic protection DCV on it. In the (gas supply) piping, a galvanic union is required (at the appliance) to prevent that from getting shorted out to local PE ground. You can measure say 10VDC on that gas pipe, it's normal.

If you are a landlord, it might be a tenant playing games? Or they have a problem with some appliance of theirs. They won't like you being around a lot.

[petehall347]

i am a tenant and the electrics have always been a big mess here .
the big problem is there are 4 supplies maybe 5 from the rcd . we all have localised ground rods so no prob there . or that's part of it . 30ma rcd.s can trip around 21ma so it doesn't give us much leakage each . some modern equipment can soon add up to too much leakage if all on at same time . have been looking at loop testers and variable rcd testers . was looking at diy but better and easier to buy ready made .
my neutral ground is around 2v last time i checked .
pulling power from ground is something i have seen here .the ground rod was steaming . first noticed my stereo humming along with tv doing same . was shorted mains cable . i am not on that supply these days .

i know what it all needs but it makes it into an expensive time consuming job . we all need our own rcbo but doing that is impractical due to access issues and locations . the only other way is supply us all with a 100ma rcd and then our own 30ma rcd.s should trip instead . new clamp meter will be in tomorrow so that's a start to see the standing leakage .

[stj]

the time thing is interesting.
maybe a cracked element in a water tank or even a kettle/coffee maker?

[CapLeaker]

2v neutral to ground? And it is not consistent? I say too something with a heating element maybe? Toaster oven, water heater, tea kettle etc. Weird. I guess all you can do is to isolate the circuit. When this condition happen, turn the fuse off and see what turned off and check what’s plugged in