Testing ufh

[Versatile]

Hi all
What do you use to test electrical ufh prior to installing
Or do you leave it to the electricians
I've got a few coming up where I don't know the electrician installing the mat
Not that I don't trust him to have checked it's all ok
But don't want to be out on a limb so to speak
Thanks in advance

 

[Qwerty]

I use a warmup watchdog. It's basically a continuity tester which emits an alarm if the wire is damaged. I use a multimeter to obviously test resistance

 

[Dan]

Multimeter generally. I wasn't installing when these gizmos were around but ring shout out to @Uheat - Keith to see if he can sort you out a gizmo like the warmup one for a good price. Pretty sure they'll know the score they're electricians.

 

[Old Mod]

I use a warmup watchdog. It's basically a continuity tester which emits an alarm if the wire is damaged. I use a multimeter to obviously test resistance

That's the fingy Geoff, couldn't for the life of me think what it was called! So for once I kept quiet! Haha
Well.......almost!

 

[p4ulo]

Cheapo Multi-meter here. At a few points during the install process the instruction booklet asks you to take a resistance reading and record it, so you'll need one at some point.

 

[Marvo]

There's 2 things you need to test for, continuity is one which indicates whether the heating wire has been broken. the other thing is insulation resistance which indicates whether the insulation on the heater wire was damaged.

The problem with the insulation test is that it will only really show if there's a problem after the heater wire has been installed. You could test the wire first before the install but you'd really need to dump it in water to get a meaningful result which probably isn't really practical.

Any cheap and cheerful multimeter will test for continuity, it doesn't even need to be calibrated, you can just self test it before use by shorting the leads. Insulation testing requires a megger tester which is a specific type of tester that's a bit more expensive.

 

[White Room]

Sparkys job then

 

[Versatile]

Got a cheap multi meter from screw fix
Only a tenner but done the job

 

[Marvo]

If I was a tiler (which I'm not) I wouldn't trust the installation sparky (which I'm also not) because after you've finished the tiling and the place looks like a work of art I wouldn't want that to be the time I find out the heater wire isn't working and the sparky isn't answering his phone

 

[Marvo]

Got a cheap multi meter from screw fix
Only a tenner but done the job

Way to go. No need to be a brand snob and pay a fortune for a Fluke, any cheap tester from Screwfix or Block and Quayle will do for a quick continuity test.