How to Use the 2023 Hioki IR4056 Insulation and Continuity Tester- Unboxing and Review [CC] 

Thanks Seph. I read quite a bit about insulation testing being done onboard by ship electricians/ electrical officers. I know you are an expert on this already. Ingat bro.

Salamat din po!

Thanks for your comments. This unit of IR4056 actually belonged to my brother. I have the IR4057 which is almost the same. Sorry I can't picture out the outdoor extension leads you mentioned, but I think in general a 1.4MOhms insulation seems very low for a branch circuit wire, although it may pass the threshold that you set. I repaired a branch circuit submerged in flood water so I know what you mean with moisture ingress on wire insulation. My IR4057 simply turned red and beeped continuously indicating a totally failed insulation. That remote test lead sure is a good addition. Another feature I appreciate is the 200mA continuity function. As you already know it puts more pressure on test objects than what a standard DMM can do, all the better to expose weak links of conductors, as well.

@@ramschannelreviews The extension lead is just a long lead from a Power Point Outlet to a device that you want to plug in. It is not part of the permanent House wiring. Now using ohms Law, 1.4MOhms at 245VAC gives you a leakage of 0.175mA. So 1/5th of a milli Amp. Our Wiring Rules state that in a domestic installation, the minimum Insulation between any conductor has to be 1 Mega Ohm..that's the rock bottom minimum, measured at 500Vdc. That is with nothing connected in the circuit. Now for a house wiring (backbone), I would NOT except that value, despite that it passes as per rules. I also tested the extension lead at the 500Vdc setting on the IR4056. Good fun communicating with you. It gets my old brain cells going as I have to remember all the rules and maths I learned 25+ years ago and haven't had to use it much since then.

@@alf699 Thanks for clarifying. I think we call that by a slightly different name: extension cord, haha. Very common here. You have a plug at one end (goes to a wall outlet) and a portable, surface type outlet at the other end, where we connect appliances or power tools. Sometimes it goes to the neighbor without electricity yet where it becomes a flying connection and illegal. It's interesting you mentioned 1/5 of a mA leakage. I've read that below 1mA, current is still imperceptible, tingle at 1mA, "mild" shock at 5mA, and can already be deadly at just 10mA. I suppose it puts the job of an insulation tester an essential one for safety.

@@ramschannelreviews We over here in Australia use RCD's (Residual Current Devices) These are mounted in the House Meterboard for each Circuit and they are part of your CB protection per circuit. The legal limit before tripping is: "30mA" maximum. So 10mA is unlikely to kill you as it has to get passed the natural Resistance of the skin first. 5mA would cause a lot of nuisance tripping. The RCD's work by checking an imbalance between Active and Neutral (or in your case Line1 and Line 2). They are essentially simply a current Transformer (CT). If the same current flows in and out, it's balanced and no voltage is created across the two ends of the winding. If there is an imbalance (current from one side goes somewhere else example: to ground via yourself resulting in an electric shock), then the imbalance creates a voltage across the coil (CT) and causes the RCD to trip. Don't quote me but I think it takes less then 200mS. I know it's less then one heart beat.... Anyway..just some info, if you didn't already know 🙂

@@alf699 I appreciate the insights. One of the circuit breakers in my demo board is actually a mini RCBO.

Thanks for your comments. I hope it helps make your job more efficient.

@@ramschannelreviews thank you sir I am regularly watching ur video

Thanks for your appreciation!

Thanks for your support! I appreciate Hioki's product innovation. They work on bringing a positive user experience. I think a lot of their test equipment also give quite a great, competitive value when you compare them with more well known brands.

Thanks for watching. Note that there are safety procedures to observe first before actual Insulation Resistance (IR) test is performed. This is just my personal opinion. The low voltage selection, 50V DC is generally used for preliminary testing of circuits. For circuits where operational voltage is 125V the test voltage of 125V or 250V DC may be used. For 230V circuit wiring or 230V rated motors, the 250V DC or 500V DC test voltage can be used. For circuits serving 460V, the 500V DC or 1000V DC test voltage is often used. That said, it's still up to the judgement of the engineer on site which IR test voltage to use based on equipment and personnel safety, the requirements of the client, contract compliance, and if the manufacturer of the equipment being tested specifically requires a certain IR test voltage to be used. There can be reasons other than these, so you may want to do a bit more research.

Congrats! It's a fine test equipment from Japan.