Klein Clamp Meter Recall

[JohnKal]

Just a heads up :

http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Recalls/2016/Digital-Clamp-Meters-Recalled-by-Klein-Tools/

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Just a heads up :

http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Recalls/2016/Digital-Clamp-Meters-Recalled-by-Klein-Tools/

Interesting.

Klein makes great hand tools but Ive heard that their meters and electronic equipment are junk. Ill stick with Fluke!

I wonder if there will be a recall on their inductive voltage testers. Several guys posted on kleins FB page that the testers dont always pickup voltage on wires that are indeed energized....

 

[pedrodagr8]

Interesting.

Klein makes great hand tools but Ive heard that their meters and electronic equipment are junk. Ill stick with Fluke!

I wonder if there will be a recall on their inductive voltage testers. Several guys posted on kleins FB page that the testers dont always pickup voltage on wires that are indeed energized....

The recall doesn't bother me. Fluke has had similar recalls on their clamp meters a few times before as well. The usual cause was a loose connection resulting in errant readings, including live lines possibly readings as 0V. They also had a recall on one line of their DMMs back in the late 90s early 2000s where if it was subjected to higher than 400VDC it would read 0.00V. Things happen, the company is recalling it to repair it.

Kleins two lowest price meters: the Klein MM100 and MM200 were just rebadged Mastech meters, Made In China and not worth a damn. You would be better off not paying for the Klein name and just buying the equivalent Mastech model. They were complete ****. Once you step up to the Korean or American made models the quality is good to VERY good. For the Korean made stuff: Fine Test is the OEM. While the american made stuff the OEM unclear. I've heard everything from they are making these themselves, to TPI is the OEM, to crazy stuff like Fluke is the OEM,(which I don't buy, the internal designs just aren't right).

Looking at their website, it looks like they have dropped the MM100 and MM200 and replaced it with an MM300. The OEM looks Korean, but I haven't seen any proof of this yet. It would be very easy for them to have a chinese OEM style it like their Korean made ones.

Klein has really been pushing hard to make an entrance into this field. I am intrigued to see if they can pull it off. There is a market as the competition isn't the same as it used to be. Half the industry is owned by one company: Danahaer T&M which owns Fluke, Amprobe, Tektronix, Keithley, Wavetek (folded into Amprobe), Meterman (folded into Amprobe, before being acquired by Danaher), Pamona, etc. There are a lot of good companies out there out innovating Fluke at this time (Brymen and Keysight in particular, both are great manufacturers). I am interested to see how Fluke steps up their game.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

The recall doesn't bother me. Fluke has had similar recalls on their clamp meters a few times before as well. The usual cause was a loose connection resulting in errant readings, including live lines possibly readings as 0V. They also had a recall on one line of their DMMs back in the late 90s early 2000s where if it was subjected to higher than 400VDC it would read 0.00V. Things happen, the company is recalling it to repair it.

Kleins two lowest price meters: the Klein MM100 and MM200 were just rebadged Mastech meters, Made In China and not worth a damn. You would be better off not paying for the Klein name and just buying the equivalent Mastech model. They were complete ****. Once you step up to the Korean or American made models the quality is good to VERY good. For the Korean made stuff: Fine Test is the OEM. While the american made stuff the OEM unclear. I've heard everything from they are making these themselves, to TPI is the OEM, to crazy stuff like Fluke is the OEM,(which I don't buy, the internal designs just aren't right).

Looking at their website, it looks like they have dropped the MM100 and MM200 and replaced it with an MM300. The OEM looks Korean, but I haven't seen any proof of this yet. It would be very easy for them to have a chinese OEM style it like their Korean made ones.

Klein has really been pushing hard to make an entrance into this field. I am intrigued to see if they can pull it off. There is a market as the competition isn't the same as it used to be. Half the industry is owned by one company: Danahaer T&M which owns Fluke, Amprobe, Tektronix, Keithley, Wavetek (folded into Amprobe), Meterman (folded into Amprobe, before being acquired by Danaher), Pamona, etc. There are a lot of good companies out there out innovating Fluke at this time (Brymen and Keysight in particular, both are great manufacturers). I am interested to see how Fluke steps up their game.

Thats why you shouldnt buy things based strictly on a name.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

The recall doesn't bother me. Fluke has had similar recalls on their clamp meters a few times before as well. The usual cause was a loose connection resulting in errant readings, including live lines possibly readings as 0V. They also had a recall on one line of their DMMs back in the late 90s early 2000s where if it was subjected to higher than 400VDC it would read 0.00V. Things happen, the company is recalling it to repair it.

Kleins two lowest price meters: the Klein MM100 and MM200 were just rebadged Mastech meters, Made In China and not worth a damn. You would be better off not paying for the Klein name and just buying the equivalent Mastech model. They were complete ****. Once you step up to the Korean or American made models the quality is good to VERY good. For the Korean made stuff: Fine Test is the OEM. While the american made stuff the OEM unclear. I've heard everything from they are making these themselves, to TPI is the OEM, to crazy stuff like Fluke is the OEM,(which I don't buy, the internal designs just aren't right).

Looking at their website, it looks like they have dropped the MM100 and MM200 and replaced it with an MM300. The OEM looks Korean, but I haven't seen any proof of this yet. It would be very easy for them to have a chinese OEM style it like their Korean made ones.

Klein has really been pushing hard to make an entrance into this field. I am intrigued to see if they can pull it off. There is a market as the competition isn't the same as it used to be. Half the industry is owned by one company: Danahaer T&M which owns Fluke, Amprobe, Tektronix, Keithley, Wavetek (folded into Amprobe), Meterman (folded into Amprobe, before being acquired by Danaher), Pamona, etc. There are a lot of good companies out there out innovating Fluke at this time (Brymen and Keysight in particular, both are great manufacturers). I am interested to see how Fluke steps up their game.

Ive seen videos and pics of fluke's manufacturing plant which is in washington. Nothing like Made In the USA!!

 

[rlitman]

Ive seen videos and pics of fluke's manufacturing plant which is in washington. Nothing like Made In the USA!!

Fluke is also importing stuff from China.
At work, we recently purchased an Amprobe digital meter. Also made in China, but seems much better made than the Klein.

What can I say, Klein meters are like SnapOn **** at Costco. It waters down a good hand tool brand.

 

[pedrodagr8]

Ive seen videos and pics of fluke's manufacturing plant which is in washington. Nothing like Made In the USA!!

Fluke's cheaper stuff is now made in China. It is going MUCH better than the previous attempt, now that Uni-T is making manufacturing most of their designs for them. That being said, the 11x series is not a great series. Not because of the build quality (which is acceptable) but the feature set is intentionally designed to NOT cannibalize from their pricier designs. The feature set is lack luster, all of them intentionally are missing features to encourage you to "buy up".

Fluke is also importing stuff from China.
At work, we recently purchased an Amprobe digital meter. Also made in China, but seems much better made than the Klein.

What can I say, Klein meters are like SnapOn **** at Costco. It waters down a good hand tool brand.

Which Klein meters have you tried? I have heard good things about Kleins higher end stuff. The MM100 and MM200 are complete **** though. Their chinese made stuff is likely Mastech (with a slight possibility of CEM), both are pretty bad quality. Fine Test, which makes the Korean made stuff is well respected in the industry for making solid (though not amazing) devices. Like I said before, I am still trying to find out who designs and makes their Made In the USA stuff.

The Amprobe AM-510 is an awesome meter, it is an Amprobe/Fluke design, manufactured by Uni-T in China. The AM-270 series is actually designed and made by Brymen in Taiwan, also a great meter. The rest of the current amprobe line are a mix of wavetek/meterman designs.

 

[rlitman]

I tried the Klein CL800. It's ok, I guess. But nowhere in the class of my Amprobe ACDC-52NAV.

 

[Sycan]

I bought one from the Home Depot this winter, is a great value when looking for a DC amp clamp.

 

[pedrodagr8]

I tried the Klein CL800. It's ok, I guess. But nowhere in the class of my Amprobe ACDC-52NAV.

Interesting, if you care, the Amprobe ACDC-52NAV is a rebadged Appa Tech 130, here is Appa's webpage for it. I bet if you look at the back it says Made In Taiwan or something similar.

 

[rlitman]

Interesting, if you care, the Amprobe ACDC-52NAV is a rebadged Appa Tech 130, here is Appa's webpage for it. I bet if you look at the back it says Made In Taiwan or something similar.

Two of the recalled Klein clamp meters have 2000 count displays. Total $#!+.
The CL310 on the recall list has a 4000 count display. One step better than total trash.

IMNSHO, if you spend more than $20 on an item with a 2000 count display, you're throwing your money out. If you trust your life to it's accuracy, you've got a screw loose. I don't care what brand you stamp onto it, these are nothing better than the **** meters put out by HF. I'll go further than some others and admit they have more uses than a paperweight, but I don't have a use for one.

The Klein CL800 I've seen in use is a 6000 count meter, and is a decently priced entry level DC reading clamp meter. Still, I've seen it give wandering voltage readings in comparison to rock solid performance from a Fluke. For clamp usage (where high precision isn't something I count on, ESPECIALLY in DC use), I'd trust it well enough, but for an everyday voltage meter, it's just not quite there.

I'm not surprised that the Amprobe ACDC-52NAV is rebadged (and I was already aware that it was imported). Still, it's a 10000 count meter (something not too often seen in a handheld meter, let alone a clamp meter), and just oozes quality, wherever it happens to be made (also, Taiwan is a far cry from China). Looks like the 52 is an APPA 133. I was not aware that it was 4 foot drop rated, but it certainly feels that solid.

 

[Old Engineer]

I tried the Klein CL800. It's ok, I guess. But nowhere in the class of my Amprobe ACDC-52NAV.

You would expect the $140 Klein to be in the same class as your $275 Amprobe? If the Klein cost $300, I could understand that that statement. But, when do you expect a product that costs half of what you are comparing with to match up?

 

[rlitman]

You would expect the $140 Klein to be in the same class as your $275 Amprobe? If the Klein cost $300, I could understand that that statement. But, when do you expect a product that costs half of what you are comparing with to match up?

No, not quite. I understand I am not comparing apples to apples.

But to me, the price difference is made up for by the difference in the feature set. I'm really only trying to compare the build quality, and I'd expect a much higher build quality for $140. Especially when my personal $99 Craftsman (made by Extech) meter kicks the pants on the Klein for build quality.

 

[pedrodagr8]

No, not quite. I understand I am not comparing apples to apples.

But to me, the price difference is made up for by the difference in the feature set. I'm really only trying to compare the build quality, and I'd expect a much higher build quality for $140. Especially when my personal $99 Craftsman (made by Extech) meter kicks the pants on the Klein for build quality.

Your Craftsman is not made by Extech. It is made by CEM China, roughly similar in quality to Uni-T. This is the same OEM Extech uses for their EX line. Their other lines are a mix of Uni-T, possibly Mastech and Brymen.