Multimeter Recommendation

[ca90ss]

I have customer with a piece of equipment that has been having issues. I've called the manufacturer and they claim that a voltage drop is causing the issue but it can work for several hours before acting up so I need a meter that I can plug in in the morning and then come back at the end of the day and see if the voltage has dropped at any point during the day. I have several meters but none that will do what I need. I know the new Snap on and some of the more expensive Fluke meters like the 289 will do it but I only need it for this specific test and don't want to spend >$500 on another meter. Does anyone know of a cheaper meter that will do what I need? Thanks.

 

[zkling]

What is the voltage level and current type? Do you have a laptop you can spare for the duration of the test?

 

[ca90ss]

I need to test the 120v wall outlet that the piece of equipment is plugged into.

 

[Mr. T]

Something like this?

http://www.extech.com/display/?id=14417

 

[dogdog]

you don't needed a multimeter, you needed a data logger ... just google "AC voltage datalogger" of sort to find something that fits your needs... but definitely not a multimeter.


There are others in the market... just use the correct search terms... not cheap.

for example...
https://www.omega.com/en-us/control-and-monitoring-devices/data-loggers/p/OM-DVCV-Series

this one claims 100,000 logs... which is about 24 hours worth.. if you take a reading every second etc 86000 sec to a day...

http://www.extech.com/display/?id=14417

 

[Rabid Badger]

Does the equipment draw a lot of current? If not, a far easier way to eliminate mains power as the cause would be to plug it into a battery backup and see if the problem persists.

Can you divulge what the equipment is? That would make giving troubleshooting advice a lot easier.

 

[Citation]

Do you need a logger or just to capture the min during the time? Many meters have a min/max or min/ave/max fuction. Just make sure the auto power off doesn't stop a reading early. A used Fluke 27 would have it. I'm all but certain you could find a meter for around $50 that could do it.

 

[KSJeff]

Fluke 117 with a min/max will do that. Probably some cheaper meters with a min/max will give you the low/high voltages over a period of time.

 

[matt_i]

Try another circuit? 12ga extension cord would be cheaper than a logging multimeter on any day of the week.

 

[ca90ss]

It's a dc power supply on a boat. All I need is a meter with a min/max feature that doesn't have an auto shut off.

 

[Rabid Badger]

What meters do you have?

 

[PhysicsDude]

Owon B41T+ can do it. It can record 10,000 offline records, so you can record a little over 12 hours of data with a 5 second reading interval. You can upload the data onto your phone and send it to a computer to make an excel sheet with it.

The instructions and phone app are in chinglish, but the features are all there and not that hard to use. It doesn't have auto shutoff when in data logging mode either.

I bought one and actually really like the meter. It has all the fancy features of a high end meter, at a cheaper price, but like I said, its very much made in china.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XKQTPCQ/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[General Geoff]

The Brymen BM869S disables auto-shutoff when in MAX/MIN/AVG recording mode.

 

[Rabid Badger]

So does the Brymen BM235. You can pick it up from EEVblog.com for about $90.

 

[redwrench60]

My Fluke 87 series 3 and series 5 both disable auto shutoff when put into min/max record mode. After a while the screen powers down to save battery but the meter stays on and recording.

If you just need to see if a 120 volt wall receptacle is staying powered up just plug in a digital clock. When you come back if the display is flashing and the time is off you know it lost power.

 

[Citation]

The Bryman meters are great but you don't have to buy "Brymen" to get a one. The Greenlee DM820a and DM200 (and the others that look similar) are all rebranded Brymen meters. Off ebay they can be a great deal.

This Amprobe is also a Brymen and a VERY good value (am-270)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004W2NJLO/?tag=atomicindus08-20

The AM-270 is a twin of the Greenlee DM820 (not the 820A). I don't know the original Brymen model. Regardless, if "new" is a requirement, I would suggest the AM-270. If used/ebay is an option, I would try to find a Greenlee DM-820A. I got mine for about $50 but it was clearly used.

Used examples from ebay (no relation or seller recommendations)
Greenlee meter with same guts as Amprobe 270. Very good meter and honestly, other than a crappy back light, little reason to get the newer 820A unless the prices are close.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/GREENLEE-M...232482?hash=item2ace726f22:g:7wMAAOSw5hVdCTQQ

If you wait you can find the Greenlee 820A for well under $100. This is one of the best deals on a serious quality multimeter that isn't some sort of rare fluke of a deal (like the $50 I spend for an Buy It Now Fluke 87-III). Puns aside, it's common to see the DM-820A going for under $100 in good shape.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/BRAND-NEW-...579254&hash=item2a9c6dd275:g:4FUAAOSwLQpZtt-x
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Greenlee-D...285784&hash=item1cd2c5c833:g:agoAAOSw7xdc8T52

 

[californiaHank]

It's a dc power supply on a boat. All I need is a meter with a min/max feature that doesn't have an auto shut off.

I'm not convinced that just connecting a logging meter and leaving it is the best way to diagnose the problem. If you see something in the logs, you'll know there's a problem, but you won't have any clues as to the cause.

I'd start by just connecting a meter, or better yet, a scope (in case the supply voltage sag is a short transient event) across the DC power input at your equipment, and just spending a few minutes cycling all the major power devices connected to the boat's DC system.

Does your system fail while the engine is running, or only when it's stopped?
Are the boats alternator(s) charging the batteries properly?

If it's a small boat, and there's only one battery for both engine starting and running the DC accessories, simply starting and restarting a cold engine can cause a big short term voltage sag in the system, especially if the battery is not fully charged, or in the best of shape. If it's a larger boat, with separate starting and house battteries, try cycling every big DC load - bilge pumps, washdown pumps, anchor windlass, stereo system, searchlights, etc. while watching your meter. On bigger boats, you often see stuff like microwave ovens that are a huge current draw while they're in operation.

If that doesn't show any problems, turn on a bunch of DC acessories and load up your DC supply and see if the battery voltage starts to fall over time.
Maybe your customer's house batteries are in bad shape, or maybe they're undersized for the load.

 

[Stadger]

120 volt outlet running dc on a boat?

 

[DGersic]

I'm not convinced that just connecting a logging meter and leaving it is the best way to diagnose the problem. If you see something in the logs, you'll know there's a problem, but you won't have any clues as to the cause.

Specific to this, I agree, but I think the OP is trying to do the inverse. He’s looking to show the manufacturer is making a BS claim that a drop in wall voltage is causing some unspecified problem with their equipment / product.

So, a log showing 120VAC constant for 12 or 24 hours, no power drops or other obvious problems on the input would be enough to go back at the manufacturer with “yeah, it’s not that, now what?”




Sent from my iPad using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[tool_scrounge]

It's a dc power supply on a boat. All I need is a meter with a min/max feature that doesn't have an auto shut off.

Buy a Fluke 8025B, 27 or better yet a 27/FM off of ebay,

 

[dogdog]

120 volt outlet running dc on a boat?

that was my question as well.... but I don't know anything about boats... AC or DC, a data logger would be what OP needs, min/max can't tell time.

 

[redwrench60]

that was my question as well.... but I don't know anything about boats... AC or DC, a data logger would be what OP needs, min/max can't tell time.

A meter with a good min/max function tells min/max/average. So if the measured value dip (or spike) was just a blip the average will reflect it. If the dip/spike was long term the average will also reflect it. Data loggers are cool and if you want to buy another tool go for it but I’ve diagnosed and repaired enough intermittent phantom parasitic draws on vehicles and equipment to know I don’t need one.

 

[ca90ss]

It's an 80' boat at the end of a long dock so it's entirely possible that there is a voltage drop depending on what the rest of the boats on the dock are doing. I know it's not losing power completely, I just need to confirm whether or not the voltage is stable throughout the day and then can proceed from there.

 

[californiaHank]

It's an 80' boat at the end of a long dock so it's entirely possible that there is a voltage drop depending on what the rest of the boats on the dock are doing. I know it's not losing power completely, I just need to confirm whether or not the voltage is stable throughout the day and then can proceed from there.

That puts a different complexion on the problem - it's beyond anything I've experience with. At my smallish municipal harbor, few boats have shore power needs bigger than 50A, and most of the dockside panels only have 30A/120V circuits.

 

[Rabid Badger]

It's an 80' boat at the end of a long dock so it's entirely possible that there is a voltage drop depending on what the rest of the boats on the dock are doing. I know it's not losing power completely, I just need to confirm whether or not the voltage is stable throughout the day and then can proceed from there.

I would actually be using two meters for this. One doing data logging to show overall voltage trends and another set to Min/Max to catch any momentary spikes or dips that are too brief to be caught by the logger.

Most meters won't shut down automatically if they're in Min/Max mode, so if you have any meters with that function you're probably set there. For logging the OWON B35T+ should do the trick. If you don't have any meters with Min/Max that will stay on you could get two of the OWONs.

If you're looking for higher quality without getting into stratospheric prices Brymen has several options. You can order them without fuss from TME.eu.

 

[Danglerb]

I'm not sure if its the right thing for it, but a Killawatt power meter is handy for most AC line checking. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00009MDBU/?tag=atomicindus08-20