# Ideal 61-797 Megger



## dareibreathe (Sep 9, 2009)

I was wondering if anyone has used one of these. We have been having problems at my company with this megger. We basicly cant get it to fail. We took a piece of 500 mcm and taped up the end and took a hack saw and cut it in the middle, and exposed the copper. then we took one lead and stuck it into the wire and put the other lead to ground. We tested at 1000v and it would not fail. we're not sure if the meter is broken or not but it is brand new so any help would be great. 

thanks 
Tony


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

So what path between the conductor and ground did you provide? If there isn't one, the megger can't find it.


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## dareibreathe (Sep 9, 2009)

nothing i suppose. are you saying you would need a jumper from the conductor to the ground?


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

dareibreathe said:


> nothing i suppose. are you saying you would need a jumper from the conductor to the ground?


Unless you provide a path (circuit), all you're measuring is the resistance of air. If you put a jumper in, you'll end up measuring the resistance of the jumper

If you're up for a long read, check out Stitch in Time.


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## dareibreathe (Sep 9, 2009)

so your saying instead of taping up the other end of the wire in question We should have a jumper to ground on one end and on the other would be one lead from the megger and the other lead would also go to ground?


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

dareibreathe said:


> so your saying instead of taping up the other end of the wire in question We should have a jumper to ground on one end and on the other would be one lead from the megger and the other lead would also go to ground?


What I'm saying, if I read your OP right, is all you're doing is measuring the resistance of the air between the conductor and ground. You could completely strip the conductor of insulation and as long as it's not grounded, the megger will pass it.

Now, put some dirt, or grease, or oil or water 'twixt the wire and ground and see what happens.


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## BadSplice (Sep 5, 2009)

dareibreathe, what are you doing with the megger, what is your purpose in using it?


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## Dennis (Oct 10, 2008)

_"We took a piece of 500 mcm and taped up the end and took a hack saw and cut it in the middle, and exposed the copper. then we took one lead and stuck it into the wire and put the other lead to ground. We tested at 1000v and it would not fail. we're not sure if the meter is broken or not but it is brand new so any help would be great." _

Of course it would not fail, you dont have a complete loop. Thats the purpose of megger if to see if there is a short to ground due to insulation
issue. The only way you can get it to fail is to make sure your distance from ground and the expose copper is enough to cause an arc.


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## McClary’s Electrical (Feb 21, 2009)

:no:You're lucky no one got hurt. guessing at how to use a megger is not smart.


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## Zog (Apr 15, 2009)

dare I breathe, dare i ask, did your employer provide you with any training on how to use your new toy?


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