Welcome to a new Voltlog, for today I’m going to review & teardown this Uni-T Insulation Tester, the model number is UT501A. We’re going to start with a general introduction and then continue with a teardown and presenting some real world test scenarios. If at any point you are interested in ordering one, please check out the links I’ve placed in the description below.
So, like the name implies, this meter is good for testing insulation resistance but why would you need to do that? Well you would want to test the insulation resistance of a particular circuit or piece of machinery immediately after first installation or repair or through its service life to discover potential problems before they occur.
Let’s take for example the winding of a motor, every turn of copper wire is insulated but because of stress, harsh operating environment, over time, the insulation might start to fail and by testing regularly you can start to nice if the insulation resistance starts to drop and you might be able to service that piece of equipment before catastrophic failure.
Or another good example is when you wire up the electrical installation for a new home. During the installation procedure or during the construction period, accidental damage might occur to the wiring so it’s good practice to test for insulation resistance before you start using the new installation.