Multimeter

[ezgosparky]

I need help choosing a multimeter. I own a basic craftsman meter (third one now). It works when it wants to. I measure ac and dc volts and ohms. Volts dc max 72. And 120 ac max. my boss has a Chinese fluke he replaces yearly. Brand name doesn't matter to me just want longer life and accuracy.

 

[espyking83]

Then you want a Fluke.

 

[zkling]

Budget?

 

[theknurl]

Then you want a Fluke.

yes!

 

[Buster21]

Check out the Fluke 115. It is now my goto meter. It is comapact, has a large display and does everything a DIY's needs to do. Mine does say it's made in China but I have had no issues with it in a pretty harsh shop enviroment.

 

[ADSR]

Check out the Fluke 115. It is now my goto meter. It is comapact, has a large display and does everything a DIY's needs to do. Mine does say it's made in China but I have had no issues with it in a pretty harsh shop enviroment.

220 bucks!

 

[ADSR]

220 bucks!

sorry, that was damn amazon canada.

135 usd

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000OCFFMW/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[RedneckWelder]

As someone who needs a good meter for the job, I'm a big fan of Fluke.

I use a Fluke 87V at work, and at home I have a milsurp Fluke 27FM I got off of Ebay. I highly recommend these milsurp units since you can get them for cheap (mine came with a great manual and a high voltage probe)

There are cheaper multimeters but be aware that often they are lesser multimeters. Fluke takes the user's safety very seriously, and a lot of the cheaper meters while they can be pretty accurate and reliable few match Fluke's safety features.

 

[Buster21]

220 bucks!

I think I paid around $125.00 when I got mine. I think they are now around $135.00 on Amazon.

 

[garboui]

+1 on the fluke 115.

we have a couple of these at work as well as a couple 15yo flukes that just dont die even when beaten on.

The 115's are by far my fav go to meter in our lab. Price to feature wise this is probably teh best fluke for the price. Look at places like newark/element15 and jameco for sales on these. Often there is an option to buy them with NIST calibration certificate or not. Dont worry about forgoing the calibration cert. we bought the non calibrated ones and when we tested against our calibrated HP bench meter they were more than close enough even for lab work.

$159 non calibrated
http://www.newark.com/fluke/fluke-1...83K1718?ost=fluke+115&categoryId=800000005825

$227 - $277 depending on cal grage
http://www.newark.com/webapp/wcs/st...tegoryId=800000005922&langId=-1&storeId=10194


this will be the last meter you buy. well unless you run it over.

 

[JDon99]

I've had my 115 since I was in college(11 years). It has never let me down. At work I carry a t5-600 in my bag for basic voltage and continuity stuff and I keep my 87v in the shop for more precise measurements.

 

[ADSR]

I'm glad this thread was posted, as i've been meaning to post the same thread.

Looks like a 115 will be ordered pretty quick here.

Thanks guys.

 

[Brownsfan]

I will go against the grain and recommend the Klein. Mm2000. Only $110 at home depot. True RMS and temp. If you want USA made then step up to the MM6000. Can be had for $177 on Amazon. I own the 2000 and it replaced a old Fluke 73 after it broke. I will upgrade to the 6000 soon. I use it daily in the automotive electrical field and its great especially for the money.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CQU2Y1K/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[Westly]

I've used this Beckman DM78 since the mid eighties. Been all over the world in all kinds of conditions. Use it an average of a couple times a month and only replaced the battery once since I've had it (watch battery). Probably $10 used on ebay if one shows up.

http://kuzyatech.com/vintage-twins-beckman-dm78-and-hioki-3217

 

[Westly]

One good thing to do with meters is unscrew the probes from the handles and put some silicone sealer in the handles and screw them back together. This keeps the wire from turning inside the probe handle and eventually breaking at the solder joint.

 

[ezgosparky]

I use my meter 8 to 10 times a day. The 115 fluke isn't the Chinese version is it? I was just looking at the Klein meters at rual king. I need to buy a good one to last maybe a long time. I take good care of my tools. Maybe fluke it is.

 

[zkling]

What is your max budget? What do you use your meter for?

 

[Brownsfan]

The 115 is the China meter. All of the 1xx series are China. I have had the Klein MM2000 for about 3 years with zero issues. Using it all day every day. Dont count them out. The MM6000 is a feature packed meter and USA made at a great price. Great value for the money. I also have the CL2000 ac/dc clamp meter and I cant say enough good things about it.

 

[ezgosparky]

I'm a golf cart mechanic. Ac and dc volts. Testing diodes. And capacitors. Ohms. No budget really. I like the 115 fluke. The price is right.

 

[gte718p]

Fluke 8x series and call it a day. I have an 83 III and 87V both great meters. 7- series are good too.

 

[ezgosparky]

Did more research found out the 115 and 117 are Chinese with 3 year warranty.

 

[Westly]

We had these loaned to us when I was a factory electrician. You can stick the probe into the body and probe around inside a panel and not need three hands or a table to set the meter on. Also you can measure current through a wire in that cutout.

http://www.testequipmentdepot.com/products.htm?item=T5600

 

[K-Dog]

Fluke.
You get what you pay for.
Worth every penny.

 

[ezgosparky]

The fluke T5-600 is that Chinese. Pretty simple meter.

 

[devoncoolman]

My fluke 87v is one of the best meters out there. My moto is buy it once. I had a 87 before the 87v and it was great worked for over 20 years.

 

[Westly]

The fluke T5-600 is that Chinese. Pretty simple meter.

Don't know if it's Chinese. But we trusted it with 480V and virtually unlimited current which will literally turn into a fireball and blast you to the far wall if something isn't working right! My co-worker had a meter that I think he said he paid $400 for but we all resorted to the one I pointed out because it was so convenient.

 

[bob from indiana]

I have a fluke 79. it has been working for me since 95 or so. It has a Freq. counter and Cap tester. Most of the electricians I work with use Fluke meters. I also have a Beckman from Tech school and a Triplet analog.

 

[Fatboyslim]

I purchased a Fluke a few years ago and I wish I would have bought it sooner.

 

[zkling]

The fluke T5-600 is that Chinese. Pretty simple meter.

You do NOT want that for what you are doing. It is more suited to around the house AC measurements.

If you can swing it I'd go for a Fluke 87, it would give you alot of growth room, especially if you ever have to work on control circuits.
The klein MM2000 is very nice for the price though.
I usually recommend a fluke 27FM, which is my go to meter, but if you really need the capacitance measurement feature it does not have that.

 

[Westly]

You do NOT want that for what you are doing. It is more suited to around the house AC measurements.

Total and complete bull.

 

[zkling]

Total and complete bull.

Do explain...
It does not read to the tenths place for voltage
AC AMP measurement will be next to useless for his line of work
No diode or cap
Again for what he wants to do, a very poor choice. And I didn't make that statement as a random comment. I own a T5-1000, it's handy for around the house type measurements or if someone does HVAC or say facility maintenance, but for automotive or what the OP wants it for it is a very poor choice.

 

[Westly]

Some meters have a problem that it easy to check for. In what you're doing, a lot of the time you will probably be using it to test for continuity with it turned to the beep setting. For example continuity through connectors or from a wire to the chassis (looking for an intermittent short to ground). You will connect it up and start shaking wires to see if it ever beeps.

With some meters the actual continuity can be too brief for the meter to catch! To test the meter touch the probes together as briefly as you can. I've used a very quick glancing blow something like striking a match. Very light and quick. You can outrace some meters and they will not beep! That's not good.

 

[ezgosparky]

I use the amp draw when working on chargers.

 

[ADSR]

So klein MM2000 vs Fluke 115

What's more bang for the buck?

 

[ddawg16]

You either buy a Fluke or a $5 HF meter.

My son has the HF MM....it works just fine and gets the same voltage measurement as my fluke 179...just not as many digits....

 

[zkling]

I use the amp draw when working on chargers.

AC or DC side? How large of a measurement are we talking? What do you currently use for this measurement?

 

[cptn_zippy]

If you are patient, you can score an 87 from eBay for well under $200, and have a safe, accurate, well-made meter.

 

[bareass172]

The SnapOn EEDM604C goes up for sale on Ebay every few weeks for ~$100 shipped. This is a beast of a meter, and I have no idea why it sells so cheap. I did my shopping around and asking here:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=243704
And settled on that SO because it did way more than I needed, but mostly because it did it all at an insanely cheap price. The OEM on that meter is TPI (Test Products International), Snappy just paints it red and adds $200 to the price.

If you're not in a hurry though, they show up on Ebay every couple weeks and don't normally have a lot of bidding activity. I think mine was $94 shipped or thereabouts.

 

[Westly]

I use the amp draw when working on chargers.

That current notch in the T5 probably is only for AC. You can get clamps, etc. that are DC as well but that one probably isn't. But not sure. One feature of the T5 that I didn't like was it decides itself whether to measure AC or DC. It never was an issue but it was unnerving somehow.

Settings for capacitance and DC current are a couple of the rarer features but you can find them even in pretty cheap meters, especially capacitance. With some meters you can measure current by putting the meter inline not necessary usually unless that's the thing you need to know. A lot of times they have an internal fuse that is blown because somebody tried to measure voltage with it in the current position. Just replace that fuse and it will measure current again

 

[ADSR]

What do you guys think of the auto range meters?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000EVYGZA/?tag=atomicindus08-20