I am in the market for a Digital Multi Meter (DVM).
I have read very good reviews on this one sold at HF.
http://www.harborfreight.com/5-in-1-digital-multimeter-98674.html
However, I don't want to spend that much. It frustrates me that a few years ago you could have picked it up for about $20 less.
I will mostly use it for Automotive and Appliance repair. I see having a thermo couple input as a bonus and not a requirement.
I have gone through some cheap ones and some mid range ones. Eventually they don't work or become inaccurate and make using them a chore.
I want something that will be reliable, robust and easy to use.
What have you guys used and liked?
Most of HF stuff is manufactured by Mastech. Usually pretty shoddy built quality and not worth the price, but crammed with features to try to make up for it.
No love for ESI (Electronic Specialties Inc.)? Worth checking out and used to be a favored brand here.
ESI doesn't make anything. They just rebadge meters from random Chinese companies. For example:
ESI 380 is a rebadged 830 model (made by a crazy number of manufacturers, no telling exactly who makes it). This is like the chocolate chip cookie of multimeters. There are a million makers who all make it and they vary in quality but pretty much none are outstanding.
ESI 597 looks like a rebadged Uni-T
I recognize most of the others are common Chinese manufacturers with slight decorative tweaks, but don't feel like tracking down the specific models.
Fluke is generally quite good but quite expensive.
Shockwave, the 87 and 88 are very similar but I prefer the 87. The 88 has a few features such as reporting frequency as an RPM reading vs Hz, the 88 defaults to the 60V DC range because that's the best range for 12V signals. The 87 defaults to auto-ranging. Basically any measurement you can take with an 88 can be made with the 87 if you do some math. I think the 88 is often packaged with the accessory leads that are more useful for automotive work.
Personally I would rather have an 87 because it's a better universal meter.
Completely agree. The 87-V is a very good all around meter with an excellent track record of maintaining performance. The phone interference issues are overblown, they only apply to specific board revisions. If you do have a meter that has this issue, contact Fluke and they will replace the board with a newer revision at no cost (be prepared to show that it has this issue). They will also recalibrate your meter (with NIST cert) for free as part of that process.
For the OP's $50 the Fluke 101 is about the only Fluke option. It's high quality but very limited in functions. If the OP is willing to search ebay I would suggest an older Fluke like a 73-iii (the last generation of the box model) or a 73-4 (or 77-4 or 23-4), the family of swoopy ones. The Fluke 25/27/8025A/B are also very good options. The reason why I like the older meters is they have "touch-hold" while the newer, low end Flukes don't. Touch-hold is a super useful feature. Turn it on, then touch the probes to what ever you are measuring. The meter beeps, you can now remove the probes and look at the reading. This lets you keep your eyes on the probes when getting a reading. Most "hold" features just freeze the display the moment the button is pressed.
The Fluke 25/27/8025 can be a great value. These are the old military model. Super durable (and big). They have the touch hold and often can be had for under $50 off ebay.
Also agree here for the most part. Though I would mention the former military surplus 27/FM is a dramatically better meter than the 27. If the choice comes down to the two, I would take the 27/FM every time. Too bad OP isn't looking a couple of years ago when the government cleared out THOUSANDS of these meters. You could get them for $20 NOS never used in a case with a 40KV high voltage probe on eBay. No chance of that now, it was a ridiculous deal. I would add the Amprobe AM-510 to your list of Flukes at this price range (Amprobe is a Fluke subsidiary). It is UL-listed, has a lot of features and is well made. It only costs $50 which makes it one of my favorite meters at this price point.
Greenlee's DM200, DM210, DM810, DM820 are also great options and can be found on ebay in the ~$50 range if you wait around. The 210 and 820 can read themocouples. All are rugged (the DM200 family is also sold as a Matco meter) and well made. The OEM for those meters is Brymen. I think they are to Fluke what Gearwrench is to Snap-On. Perhaps not "the best" but often so good for the money we just don't care.
Brymen makes some very solid quality stuff. They have some UL-Listed CAT IV 1kV meters, something that almost no other manufacturers offer. Some of the safest meters on the market. A better comparison would be Snap-on to Matco or something like that. Fluke hasn't been innovating as of recent (Danaher has a tendency to do that to their subsidiaries). I hope that now that Fluke is independent again we will see them start to innovate. The BM869S (Greenlee DM-860A) is a killer meter that goes toe to toe with the Fluke 289 but at around 1/3 the price. In general, Brymen and Keysight (formerly HP and Agilent) are on par with Fluke or close to it. Others that can be just as good as Fluke are Gossen (European brand, their 30S is insane with an insane price), Yokagawa, Hioki, etc.
I'm not as familiar with it but Kline's 1000 and 2000 meters seem to be on ebay a lot for under $50 in great condition. Probably a good buy.
Klein is hit or miss, their lowest level stuff is made by Mastech. I think the 1000 and 2000 are the mid-range which is made by Fine Instruments out of Korea. This is the same company that makes TPI multimeters, Snap-On multimeters and of course BluePoint multimeters. They also rebrand for a few other companies. The quality is pretty good, but not up to Fluke level. The high-end Klein meters are made in the USA (not sure if by Klein or whom) and are VERY good quality.
Finally, Southwire isn't a bad option. Southwire's stuff is made by the same OEM as the newest "better" Craftsman and Extech meters. A Southwire with temp function can be frequently had for under $50 in near new condition on ebay. Not bad for the money but I have found the meters a bit slow to auto range and slow to buzz for continuity.
Yep, these are all CEM China made meters. Oddly enough, Extech is the worst quality of the bunch (horrible DOA rates, indicate they are scrimping on QA/QC). I would agree with calling them not bad and all of your points about their performance.
Lastly, I would avoid the FLuke 11x series of meters entirely. Fluke recently cut the warranty to 3yrs (from the previous 10 yrs). Additionally, they are very precisely designed to lack certain features to prevent them from stealing sales from the more expensive meters. They are manufactured in China by Uni-T, not the USA, though they are Fluke USA designs. The general quality is significantly lower than Flukes USA made meters. At that price point I would be drawn more to the Brymen BM257S or BM235 which are dramatically more well featured and better performing meters for the price.
