what's the best megometer for a decent price

[chillyB]

I apologise in advance if this question has been asked before, but I was wondering what megometer was thought to be a good buy for a decent price. I need to get one and the one I choose will become the company standard so any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Bill

[HVACR2012]

SUPCO M500 ABOUT $100 WORKS WELL

[Joseph12345]

I 2nd that ^^

[hvaclover]

What the heck does 100 bucks get you in a megger?

When I buy an instrument like a megger I look for certification from a testing authority.

A bunch of green and red LEDS don't cut it. You aren't just looking for a ground resistance value, you are evaluating the dialectical strength of the winding which is expressed in mega ohms.. Thru RSES training we used an old crank mega ohm meter and the idea was if you got a bad reading it was most likely moisture in the system conducting a path thru micro flaws in the windings.

A deep vacuum was called for and a new LLFD and another megger test was conducted to evaluate dielectric improvement .


I had to dig deep in my SAMs just to make sure these facts.



( I already knew them to be true but I just wanted to be sure)

I would only buy a direct reading megger. It lets you know the TRUE state of you windings.

Supco sold a whole bunch of micron gauges that show only an LED at a certain micron level but no actual digital reading.

Would you trust one of those to day or would you buy a BluVac? Same logic applies to an instrument as important as a megger.

[eddiegoodfellar]

The fluke 1520 is nice.

[hvacrmedic]

SUPCO M500 ABOUT $100 WORKS WELL

The M500 is quite possibly the worst megohmmeter ever made.

[dijit]

I agree w/ hvaclover. I don't know how good extech products are but they have a real megger for under 200

[danielworkerbee]

For our company that does res. service only, a 'megohm' reading is just an indication of the windings insulation.
For a GM plant that monitors the motors for an assembly line, I would buy the best one possible.
luck dan

[Crazecodyk]

I bought a fluke 1587. It's very handy and have used it several times. Wasn't too terribly bad on price either

[hvaclover]

For our company that does res. service only, a 'megohm' reading is just an indication of the windings insulation.
For a GM plant that monitors the motors for an assembly line, I would buy the best one possible.
luck dan

a megger was designed for a hermetic comp, not an open motor. but I'm sure a megger is misapplied like a lot of instruments.

[jnsrose]

Very well stated hvaclover. I also have the subco m500 and I agree it is a pos. Looks good in my bag though. It also impresses the young guys with the cool lights until they know better. I agree buy a decent megger.

[gravity]

so.....whats a good megoohmer for a good price?

how about the extech 380260 or 380320 ?

[Pascone10]

I own the Extech 380260. IT works but if your trying to track the condition of the windings on a pm basis I would not recommend it. I will read 2000 Megaohms but only on the 1000v scale. Other then that it does work.
If it were me I would look at those Fluke Meggers. I love my Fluke meters..