What would be the most important difference with a mains voltage spike with lets say 3000V P-P with the same energy level that your generator creates, to a spike 3000V p-p with your generator?
The short circuit current waveform will not be even remotely close to correct, the FWHH is twice what is called out, lack of a coupling network, lack of a way to synchronize it or change the phase, lack of polarity selection, lack of support for both 50/60 Hz, lack of ability to select the mains amplitude. I think I would also like to run burst as well as surge. There are also several other tests that would be performed.
Just because it is half wave? There are no half wave spikes on the AC line?
But to turn around the argumentation, if the effects of spikes on the mains are so different(same joule level), than your generator shoud simulate rather those, because those will most likely hit the meter.
Where did you get the idea that they have the same energy levels? You assume I am using these meters on the mains. I've been pretty clear about that. While there are standards in place for qualifying various devices for mains use, this is not what I have been showing over the last few years.
But you see I am that kind of ignorant who is trying to get an expert oppinion even if seek a bit more detailed one
Edit: Or what you could mean the aftermath of the possible shorts with main condition? Because like bdunham7 says after any breakdown(or letting through spikes) the interpretation is up to the viewer.
Your opinion is that the waveforms I use to test the meters are adequate to test mains devices. My opinion is that you're ignorant on AC mains testing. Of course, you could start doing some research if it interests you and correct that deficiency but you will not find many details in this thread about it.
Thanks for the more detailed explanation, but if I am not completely wrong, we might talk about two different thing. (You talking about coupling network, 50/60 Hz)
What you are talking about is a simulation of a full sugre event on the mains line. So after the spike, and the clamping you still have the energy pumped in and causing damage, or at least effects.
But what I was talking about (and maybe bdunham7 also) is just the voltage spike itself without mains connected. And if the rise time is the same, the peak voltage is the same and the energy as well, than the short circuit current waveform during that small spike can not be that different.
And it is not the same as an insulation tester, because it is just a short spike, so what is interesting
is the clamping speed and level. The different polarities could be the only thing which is missing, but that is not a problem, or you could just change the polarity manually for the sake of one spike.
So it would NOT be a simulation of what would happen if the same spike would come in on the mains, but only whether the single spike itself would at all get through the surge arrester (or the one single MOV in some electronics) in any form. Would it let through a short 1000V peak from 3000 V? Or only 300V? Different rise times?
So yes, different to what would happen with the mains event, but still enough to see how fast it clamps, and at which voltage. Of which the manufacturers never really tell anything.
If a manufacturer will cheap out in the protection, and want to build a product which is cheap, and doesn't go wrong over time, than it just chooses a MOV with such a high value, that it will never really
protect anything. And probably that is what happens most of the time, and most of the spike would get through.
Just like your tests with the multimeters are not safety tests, and not simulating a huge energy event, this would also not be an AC line surge test, but still interesting to check the claping level and speed.