Tag Archives: insulation resistance

Fluke 1587 FC vs Megger MIT430/2 vs Hioki IR4056-20: Which Insulation Tester Should You Actually Buy?

If you’ve spent any time shopping for an insulation tester, you already know the market is flooded with options. But when it comes to professional-grade instruments trusted in the field, three names keep coming up: Fluke, Megger, and Hioki. Each brand has built a serious reputation — and each takes a meaningfully different approach to what an insulation… Read More: Fluke 1587 FC vs Megger MIT430/2 vs Hioki IR4056-20: Which… »

Insulation Testing for Solar PV Systems: Commissioning, Monitoring, and Field Service

A solar PV array is a power source that you cannot turn off. As long as light hits the panels, voltage is present at the DC connectors. This single fact changes everything about how insulation testing works on solar systems compared to conventional grid equipment. The DC side of a typical utility-scale array operates at 1000–1500 V DC.… Read More: Insulation Testing for Solar PV Systems: Commissioning, Monitoring, and Field… »

Insulation Testing for EV Batteries: The High-Voltage Safety Guide

An electric vehicle battery operates at 400V or 800V DC — voltages that can kill a technician who makes a mistake. Unlike the utility grid, where one side of the system is grounded, EV batteries float. Neither the positive nor the negative terminal is connected to the vehicle chassis. This is called an IT (isolé terre) system, and… Read More: Insulation Testing for EV Batteries: The High-Voltage Safety Guide »

Partial Discharge Testing vs Insulation Resistance: When Each Matters

A motor passes its insulation resistance test with a 500 MΩ reading and a PI of 3.2. Six weeks later it fails catastrophically in service. How? The IR test was measuring the bulk resistance of the insulation system, but somewhere inside the winding there was a tiny void in the epoxy-mica tape. That void had been producing partial… Read More: Partial Discharge Testing vs Insulation Resistance: When Each Matters »

Troubleshooting Low Insulation Resistance Readings: A Field Troubleshooting Guide

The reading is 2 MΩ. The motor is supposed to be above 100 MΩ. You’re standing at the terminal box with a megger in one hand and a maintenance log in the other, trying to figure out what to do next. This guide walks through the actual troubleshooting sequence for low insulation resistance readings. Not theoretical — the… Read More: Troubleshooting Low Insulation Resistance Readings: A Field Troubleshooting Guide »

Generator Insulation Testing: A Field Engineer’s Guide

A generator failure during an emergency is the worst possible time for a generator to fail. Data centers, hospitals, water treatment plants, and utility backup systems all depend on generators that sit idle for months and then must start and carry full load within seconds. Whether they do depends largely on the condition of their insulation — and… Read More: Generator Insulation Testing: A Field Engineer’s Guide »

How to Use a Megohmmeter: Setup, Test, and Safe Discharge

A megohmmeter puts 500 to 5,000 V onto whatever you connect it to. That’s the part people forget. It’s a test instrument, but it’s also a small high-voltage source with a capacitive load hanging off the end of it. The instrument work is simple. Isolate, select a voltage, connect, hold, read, discharge. What separates a clean test from… Read More: How to Use a Megohmmeter: Setup, Test, and Safe Discharge »

Best Megohmmeters for 2026: A Practical Buyer’s Guide

Every megger review article online reads like a sponsored post. “Fluke is the best. Megger is also the best. Also here are five other brands that are the best.” That’s not useful when you’re trying to decide which instrument to actually buy. This guide takes a different approach. It matches megohmmeters to the kind of work you actually… Read More: Best Megohmmeters for 2026: A Practical Buyer’s Guide »

Motor Insulation Testing: The Complete Field Guide

Motors fail. The question is whether you catch it during a scheduled outage or at 2 AM on a Sunday. Insulation testing is the tool that decides which one. This guide covers everything you need to run a complete motor insulation testing program — from a single 5 kW pump motor to a 2,000 kW medium-voltage drive. It’s… Read More: Motor Insulation Testing: The Complete Field Guide »

Temperature Correction for Insulation Resistance Tests: The Complete Guide

You test a motor at 20°C and read 200 MΩ. Looks good. You test the same motor three months later at 45°C and read 40 MΩ. Has the insulation degraded? Or is it just the temperature? Without correction, you can’t tell. A 200 MΩ reading at 20°C and a 40 MΩ reading at 45°C can represent exactly the… Read More: Temperature Correction for Insulation Resistance Tests: The Complete Guide »