Useful Information Regarding Insulation Tester

By Barbara Morgan


Under perfect conditions, current that is allowed to pass through a conductor is supposed to go all the way through to the destination intact. However, given that there are no perfect conditions, current leakage occur and electrical energy is lost along the way. This happens for different reasons. Resistant sheathing is usually used to clad conductors in order to try and prevent or minimize the loss of electrical energy due to leakage. This is worth knowing about Insulation tester.

In some cases, current is allowed to escape and get lost due to imperfection in the material used to insulate conductors. When this happens, a lot of harm is done to electrical circuits and machinery. For safety purposes, routine testing can help in determining if the insulation is performing well. Problems can be identified through routine tests before equipment failure or injury happens.

This testing process is done using a pieces of equipment referred to as an cladding tester. The equipment tests the integrity of the cladding by measuring its resistance to the flow of current across it. If the cladding is of high quality, it means that very little current will escape through it. On the contrary, if the cladding offers very little resistance, then a higher amount of current will flow across it.

When measuring the quality of material used to make the sheath, different kinds of current are tested. Absorption, leakage and capacitive currents are the three main types of current tested. The current that occurs immediately when voltage is applied to conductors is referred to as capacitive current.

Capacitive current is similar to the first burst of water from a hose. The initial burst is usually very high, but it then reduces very fast. The drop is caused by the fact that the hose becomes filled with water after a sort while and the flow of water becomes steady. In the case of electricity, the conductor becomes fully charged, hence the drop in current flow.

Absorption current is similar to capacitive current in that it starts out high but then drops. The only difference between these two kinds of currents is that absorption current drops at a much lower rate compared to capacitive current. The gradual drop in absorption current is due to the storage of potential energy in the cladding. Absorption current makes an important part of the time resistance method of cladding testing.

Conduction current is the other name used for leakage current. This current is present through and over the cladding and it is small and steady in nature. The increase in leakage current implies deterioration of the cladding over time as well. In insulation test meter, the rise in leakage current is indicated as a reduction in resistance.

There is a wide range of cladding testers in the market today. The various models of these products are made by manufacturers located in various countries. The quality of individual testers depends on the manufacturer of the equipment. Also, the various models of these devices in the market are used in different applications. There are testers that are meant for residential testing and those that are meant to be used in industries.




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