Almost all socket testers are responsible for checking that the earth is neutral, live, and round the right way. Some of these socket testers may also offer additional features to the user, as the presence of LEDs to indicate whether the socket is working correctly or not. Alternatively, some socket testers may even have a combination of indicators to tell you which type of fault is present.
One of the falls that are very easily found with the help of a socket tester and can be pretty difficult to identify by the use of other testers like voltage testers or multimedia testers is the swapping of the neutral and earth wires. This happens because the neutral and earth wires are very common at the substation. Therefore, electrically they become indistinguishable.
Categories of socket testers
There are primarily three categories of socket testers: simple, advanced, and professional. The key difference between all three types of socket tester categories is their ability to measure and display the earth fault loop impedance values in either specific ranges or numerical values.
Simple socket tester
- Indicate the presence of a functional socket
- Detect the presence of earth
- Detect line wire or neutral reversal
Advanced socket testers
- Indicate that the socket is functional or not
- Detect the lying or neutral reversal
- Detect the presence of earth
- Display the range of earth loop impedance values.
Professional socket testers
- Indicate functional socket
- Detect the presence of line and neutral reversal
- Detect the presence of earth
- Display numerical values of earth loop impedance.
A proper earth loop impedance measurement is crucial to ensure that all the overcurrent protection devices have a disconnection time that is fast enough to avoid electrocution. If there is a fault in the earth loop impedance, the values will be less than those specified in wiring regulations. If the earth loop impedance values go higher by a few ohms, this can cause problems with disconnection times and increase the risk of electrocution. Therefore, socket testers that can detect the earth loop impedance values in the range can reveal much more information about the safety of the installation from the electrical point of view. You can get a good socket tester from the TTS group. This is a company that is dedicated to making test tooling solutions. Their socket testers are of high grade and have good functionality.
You must understand that socket tester are not an alternative solution to the complete verification of the wire installation. However, a socket can serve as a first-line indicator to help you identify any potential unsafe installation and wiring faults. Socket testers can act as a very useful service tool to identify unsafe conditions before starting work on the existing installation as well as appliances. When you go to buy the socket tester, think about your budget but do not put the entire emphasis on the budget itself. Buying a socket tester that costs low but does not function will not help your work.
