Multimeter which could measure above 1000V (DC) - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Martin72
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 11, 2022, 08:05:40 pm
content: Hi,I´m looking for a multimeter which could measure voltages above 1000Vdc.So far I´ve found ones from Beha-Amprobe, the models HD110C and HD160C.They got a CATIVrating of 1000V (!!!) and could measure dc-voltages up to 1500v.Simple question, do someone knows other models on the market ?Thanks in advance,MartinP.S.:Links to the amprobe meters:HD110CHD160C

author: PartialDischarge
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 11, 2022, 08:27:10 pm
content: Why don’t you just add a hv probe to your preferred dmm?https://www.tme.eu/es/details/flk-80k-6/sondas-de-alta-tension/fluke/fluke-80k-6/

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 11, 2022, 08:29:06 pm
content: How much over and with what accuracy? And in a professional environment, keep in mind that most of your test leads are rated to 1000V only.Some old-school meters go to 1200VDC but have no CAT ratings of any kind.HV dividers are the safest, but usually degrade accuracy to the 1% region or so.

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 11, 2022, 08:33:13 pm
content: you don't want to be mucking with regular wires on that ... use HV probes.

author: Martin72
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 11, 2022, 09:11:27 pm
content: Hi,I know HV probes/dividers, but don´t want to use them.Background:As mentioned in another thread before, I´m planning a testing place for pcbs.We must test/adjust dc-link supervision circuits for example.Thresholdvoltages could be going up to 1000Vdc, in future projects above 1000v.In the past we realize the voltage by connecting supplies in series - I don´t want that anymore for safety reasons.So I´ve ordered a single supply fromMagna-Power, which could deliver 0-1500Vdc/1A.Multimeter is needed for controlling the outputvoltage.@bdunham7:The accuracy of the linked beha-amprobes seems ok to me (0.1%), but a little bit better if avaible would be welcome.I just wonder if there are other meters with 1500V ranges on the market, otherwise I´ll buy a beha-amprobe.I would make testleads with hv-wires.Martin

author: PartialDischarge
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 11, 2022, 09:21:35 pm
content: Some notes:-The magna Psu already has a meter, it should be checked for calibration but I see no reason to use another external meter-For measurements in the secondary of a power supply you don’t have to worry about cat iii or cat iv-You mention that you don’t want to use hv probes, but still haven’t said why you don’t want to, any technical reason or just don’t like it...

author: Martin72
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 11, 2022, 09:35:19 pm
content: Hi,Just don´t like it...QuoteI know, I´ve "marked" the CAT of the beha-amprobe, because I didn´t see 1000V CAT IV rating on a multimeter so far.No really needing here.QuoteEvery supply we got has a inbuild meter, nevertheless we use everytime a multimeter for controlling the voltage.Why we do that ? Simple reason:Every testequipment we use must be external calibrated.But you don´t have to calibrate supplies, when you use a calibrated meter...Martin

author: joeqsmith
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 12, 2022, 01:34:44 am
content: https://www.hioki.com/global/products/testers/dmm-3/id_5847http://www.uni-trend.com/meters/html/product/NewProducts/UT196/Of course, there's my trusty UT90A, shown measuring a HV source. I'm sure there are other low end meters if you spend some time with Google.There are some decent HV meters that are more specialized too.

author: rsjsouza
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 12, 2022, 03:51:05 am
content: Amprobe HD110C and HD160C perhaps?https://www.amprobe.com/product-category/multimeters/industrial-multimeters/

author: Axtman
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 12, 2022, 03:58:52 am
content: Fluke 393 FC?https://www.fluke.com/en-us/product/electrical-testing/clamp-meters/393-fc#

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 12, 2022, 09:27:59 am
content: Quote from: Martin72 on March 11, 2022, 09:35:19 pmJust a little FYI: in English, the verb “control” means “steuern, einstellen”. I think you mean “kontrollieren”, in the sense of “prüfen, bestätigen”, which is to “verify”.FWIW, I recently worked on a piece of custom lab gear which charges some huge capacitors to as much as 2kV. For that, we added both a simple front-panel analog meter (i.e. a voltmeter that is self-powered) as well as banana jacks for connecting an external multimeter, by using the 10Mohm of the meter’s input resistance as part of a 100:1 voltage divider. That keeps the high voltages safely inside the box, with no risk of someone inadvertently connecting a 1kV meter to a much higher voltage.

author: skander36
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 12, 2022, 09:32:20 pm
content: Brymen 867/869 ?

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 12, 2022, 11:25:16 pm
content: Quote from: Martin72 on March 11, 2022, 09:11:27 pmFor that I'd grab some resistors and build a fixed x100 voltage divider* to attach to the output then use a 10V multimeter to measure it. Put it inside a well insulated box.Genuine 1000V+ multimeters will be hard to find/expensive for safety reasons (and probably just have a x100 divider inside them, so...)(*) Or maybe even a x1000 divider to make the conversion easier. It's a power supply so not very sensitive to impedances and the reading shown on the meter could be in "kV".

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2022, 01:30:42 pm
content: Quote from: skander36 on March 12, 2022, 09:32:20 pmThose are rated to 1kV, which means they cannot be calibrated to 2kV (since there are no calibration instructions/standards for it), which means it cannot meet the OP's requirements (which are to only send out a meter for calibration, instead of having to send out meters and power supplies).

author: skander36
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2022, 05:53:58 pm
content: I am quite sure about the measurements for the preliminary tests but for sure, they will not be able to be used for the official homologation / proof of the results, as long as they are certified for another interval.

author: Martin72
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2022, 07:38:04 pm
content: Hi,QuoteFor private use, I would do it also.At work, it´s a little bit "different"...Interesting to see that the brymen can handle voltages over 1000v, but like it´s mentioned before, it is not specified so it won´t be calibrated.Actually it seems there´s no alternative to the beha-amprobes, the linked UT-196 seems nowhere to get.Martin

author: mendip_discovery
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2022, 07:53:13 pm
content: Build and use a voltage divider as used in the HV probes.I plan to build an indicator that will read 5kV DC, using a divider and a small LCD display and put it in a small box.

author: Martin72
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2022, 08:32:25 pm
content: A note, not for those who had posted here, but for others, newbies, if they read this thread someday in the future:When building a divider for HV, take care of the maximum voltage rate of the used resistors...Better use a couple of resistors in series.

author: alm
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2022, 09:10:29 pm
content: Quote from: Martin72 on March 13, 2022, 07:38:04 pmIs it a problem that the Amprobe meter is only rated for Cat IV 1000V on the front panel? In the specifications it says Cat IV 1000V AC / 1500 V DC which I find confusing: According toFluke(who I believe owns or used to own Amprobe) a Cat IV X V is rated for X Vrms AC or X V DC. Not 1.5*X V DC. I'd have preferred if they'd have rated it Cat IV 1000 V / Cat I 1500 V.Otherwise a high voltage probe might be a better choice to satisfy the health & safety requirements. The decent ones are rated Cat I for the maximum rated voltage (e. g. 6 kV). And you should be able to send a high voltage probe to a calibration lab without any problems.

author: Martin72
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2022, 09:41:35 pm
content: Hi,QuoteIn the time as our hi-pot ac tester was defective, we test with dc-voltage, increasing the voltage to ac*sqr2.HV probe I don´t want to use because of simple reason.The scaling reading - Will everyone at everytime keep in mind, that e.g. 1.450V means 1450V ? Or 14.50 ? Or 145.0 ?You may say sure, why not - But I want to minimize possible problems.

author: PartialDischarge
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2022, 10:00:03 pm
content: Quote from: Martin72 on March 13, 2022, 09:41:35 pmIf that is the way you see it maybe you are confusing voltage reading with system safety, and one has nothing to do with the other.Regardless of the output voltage, ie regardless of the reading, a user should not have access to that voltage, a panel door with safety switch connected to the HV psu should disconnect the output in case the user opens it for manual work. A common mistake in using DMMs to monitor the voltage in dc buses is that they may be set to AC, thus reading 0, when in reality you have for example a dangerous voltage.For even more safety a AC/DC voltage indicator connects to the output of the PSU all the time and leds will blink whenever there is a voltage present above a threshold, usually 50V. These are standalone devices with no aux power needed.

author: skander36
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2022, 10:00:51 pm
content: Quote from: Martin72 on March 13, 2022, 07:38:04 pmNot multimeter. In other price range (3995$), Hi-Pot voltmeter :https://vitrek.com/4700-precision-high-voltage-meter/

author: Martin72
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2022, 10:28:04 pm
content: Wow..

author: threephase
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2022, 11:28:29 pm
content: Look for instruments designed to work on Solar PV systems, they frequently need voltage capability up to 1500V DC.One such instrument is the HT65 from HT Instruments;https://www.ht-instruments.com/en/products/digital-multimeters/trms-multimeters/ht65/

author: joeqsmith
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2022, 11:30:46 pm
content: Quote from: Martin72 on March 13, 2022, 07:38:04 pmWhat was the problem with the HIOKI?Alsohttps://www.metrix-electronics.com/product/bk2860a/https://majortech.com.au/product/1500v-dc-ip67-true-rms-bluetooth-multimeter-2/You could also go with something a bit more upscalehttps://vitrek.com/4700-precision-high-voltage-meter/We have an old Brandenburg.

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2022, 11:31:07 pm
content: The Fluke 393FC clamp meter actually says CATIII/1500VDC on the front. They're not cheap...

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 14, 2022, 02:30:36 am
content: Quote from: alm on March 13, 2022, 09:10:29 pm1000V AC is the RMS value of a sine wave so the peaks will be at 1414V.

author: PartialDischarge
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 14, 2022, 03:01:06 am
content: Quote from: Fungus on March 14, 2022, 02:30:36 amI think he knows that. What he means is that in the IEC tables ac rms and dc are the same for CAT rating testing.Also a little known fact is that there are 2 CAT IV ratings, one with basic insulation and other with reinforced, the latter having a much larger testing voltage.

author: threephase
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 14, 2022, 10:49:44 am
content: Quote from: joeqsmith on March 13, 2022, 11:30:46 pmUnfortunately the Hioki DT4254 is discontinued and is replaced with the DT4261 and P2000 HV Probe. Although Farnell UK still has some until stocks are exhausted. The BK Precision is also discontinued, but there seems to be a bit of availability.https://uk.farnell.com/w/c/test-measurement/multimeters-clamp-meters/digital-multimeters-hand-held?voltage-measure-dc-max=1.5kvThose MajorTech units look interesting, but poor availability in Europe, same as the UT196, interesting unit but does not appear to be available in Europe yet.Some of the test equipment designed for solar PV will go up to 1500V DC. The Amprobe, Fluke 393 and HT65 already identified are the most common options available in Europe, without going for a specific Solar Tester.Time Electronics do the 5075 7.5 digit bench multimeter that will measure up to 10kV DC if you really want to go for it;https://www.timeelectronics.com/ate-bench-calibrators-multimeters/5075-75-digit-multimeter/If you want to keep them away from the voltage, you could always go for a Seaward KD1E/15D, that has a digital readout!!https://www.seaward.com/gb/products/high-voltage/voltage-indicators/109a910-kd1e-15d/

author: jonpaul
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 14, 2022, 10:56:20 am
content: old high R x10 probes had 90..990 meg R,to working together 10 MDVMs, others were for 20,000 ohm/ V VOM.also Voltech made dedicated Hv DVMS, checking ebay and ham radio will eventually get,you a solutionJon

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 14, 2022, 12:43:40 pm
content: There's loads of Fluke 27FMs on eBay that come with the HV probe:https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=fluke+27fmBut for a fixed installation like this I'd build a resistor divider. Maybe even build a cheap multimeter into it as well.