Multimeter

[Hohn]

Ever work on equipment out in the field? Makes working on a car in the garage like being in a fine dining establishment. Field work is generally nasty work, out in whatever condition the equipment was operating in. Be it mud, slime, water, dust, rain, snow, frost, sun ect, and the tech is crawling around in it. All the support you have is what's on your truck. Some of these operations are hours away from civilization and the customer is paying travel time charges as well as the repair costs. Break a cheap meter or tool and have to make a 4 hour round trip for a replacement and not only is your boss going to be pissed, but also the customer that has 4 more hours of downtime waiting on his half million dollar or more machine to be back in action....The broke machine that has idled up a dozen other machines and crew and is costing them 100,000$ an hour or more.

Sometimes inexpensive is fine, but in some places, you can't afford inexpensive.

Agreed, but in that case I could buy two back up Brymens and have double redundancy and still have less money ******* in it.

Those massive data centers that store huge amounts of data still do it on a standard 3.5” hard drive. Well, actually on hundreds of thousands of them, because no single huge hard drive is close to being as reliable (or cost effective) as the array of small ones. They replace lots of failed hard drives every day, but no data is lost.

Based on this logic, I’d suggest that redundancy and backups are probably ultimately more cost effective than just trying to buy the best you can find of one thing.

I have some experience with middle-of-nowhere type applications and you are absolutely right that you simply cannot have your repair ability fail when so much is at stake. But simply spending more on a single point of failure may not have the ROI that redundancy does.

 

[richfinn]

It doesn't really come down to price with me when buying diagnostic tools, I will pay a bit more to get what I want.

1. Does it do what I need?

2. Is the user interface simple enough to operate that I won't need to spend a day figuring it out?

3. Is it robust enough to work outdoors in the rain/snow at the roadside

4. I don't want any frustration/dead batteries/knotted test leads/unreadable screens in direct sunlight

Fluke designs meet all these criteria for me (I don't know about the newer Chinese made versions), the fact you can buy nice used USA built Flukes for little money is just a bonus to me, why wouldn't you buy one?

 

[AdAstra]

The Brymen BM037 is a great clamp / backup general meter that is a step up from the Uni-T ones.

 

[richfinn]

The Brymen BM037 is a great clamp / backup general meter that is a step up from the Uni-T ones.

I'm watching the eev blog comparison right now

 

[theoldwizard1]

It doesn't really come down to price with me when buying diagnostic tools, I will pay a bit more to get what I want.
.
.
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Fluke designs meet all these criteria for me (I don't know about the newer Chinese made versions), the fact you can buy nice used USA built Flukes for little money is just a bonus to me, why wouldn't you buy one?

Not sure where you shop, but I don't see many USED Fluke meters. The ones I do see, look to be beat to death. I would question their accuracy.

 

[Snapped-off]

Agreed, but in that case I could buy two back up Brymens and have double redundancy and still have less money ******* in it.

Those massive data centers that store huge amounts of data still do it on a standard 3.5” hard drive. Well, actually on hundreds of thousands of them, because no single huge hard drive is close to being as reliable (or cost effective) as the array of small ones. They replace lots of failed hard drives every day, but no data is lost.

Based on this logic, I’d suggest that redundancy and backups are probably ultimately more cost effective than just trying to buy the best you can find of one thing.

I have some experience with middle-of-nowhere type applications and you are absolutely right that you simply cannot have your repair ability fail when so much is at stake. But simply spending more on a single point of failure may not have the ROI that redundancy does.

We're using lots of SSD's these days. 2.5" SATA and m.2 NVME. More so than the HDD's.

 

[richfinn]

Not sure where you shop, but I don't see many USED Fluke meters. The ones I do see, look to be beat to death. I would question their accuracy.

eBay UK

Lots of used Fluke bargains pop up, I just set up a search and it notifies me automatically.

I find people often buy expensive tools like Fluke but then never actually use them as they aren't prepared to go through any kind of learning curve

Skinflints like me can then buy them at 50% and less (often like new in the original packaging) but you have to be sure the batteries haven't leaked

If you buy a Scopemeter budget for a replacement rechargeable battery

I've had one of my old Fluke 78s for almost 30 years and it still works perfect, I like my old 112 compact model a little better as I don't need the automotive functionality as much nowadays (dwell/RPM etc.) and it has a backlight.

Main thing for me is that I really like the dial/pictograms on Fluke meters, very intuitive and familiar across the board

 

[Citation]

I love Fluke meters but only if you get the 17x or better meters. I don't like the 11x meters. Someone else mentioned the Matco 251. I almost agree. However, on ebay you can get the nicer Matco 257 for a few bucks more. Under $100 used in good shape is common.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/226721451659 (link for reference, no association with seller and no promise the seller is honest etc).

I had the Greenlee version of the 251, (Dad has it now). I currently have the bigger Greenlee DM820. I don't think Matco sells a version of the larger meter. All are Brymen and as others have noted, Brymen is really good. If it had Fluke's touch hold feature I would have no trouble preferring one over even a Fluke 87V. Any of the Brymen based meters are going to be good units.

I also agree with the suggestion to get a UniT 210e clamp meter. I also have one and it's a great, low cost clamp meter. If you need a traditional multimeter, a traditional form factor meter is nicer to use. However, I do like the UniT as a second meter and because its a nice DC clamp meter.

If I were looking I would search ebay for either the Matco 257 (the 251 doesn't do thermocouples) or the Greenlee 210, 510 or 820 meters and I would get a new UniT 210e since they are cheap. I would also consider looking at additional leads/clamps etc.

 

[tiredoldironworker]

I am now a bit leery of Klein meters after a brand new ad/dc clamp meter was wildly inaccurate compared to a Fluke.

 

[AJHD]

I am now a bit leery of Klein meters after a brand new ad/dc clamp meter was wildly inaccurate compared to a Fluke.

Are they your meters?
What models?
What were you measuring?
What variables could impact the measurements (such as using different leads)?
How "wildly inaccurate" were these results?

 

[tiredoldironworker]

Yes.
CL390.
24 volt scissor lift battery bank.
Brand new Klein leads,
Meter kept jumping from about 1 volt to 18 volts. Fluke read 25.2 consistently.
Is that enough GD info for you? Are you a Klein fanatic or something?

 

[Callelle]

Is that enough GD info for you? Are you a Klein fanatic or something?

Who hurt you?

 

[tiredoldironworker]

I'm just telling the truth about an incredibly inaccurate meter. What does it matter to you?

 

[AJHD]

Yes.
CL390.
24 volt scissor lift battery bank.
Brand new Klein leads,
Meter kept jumping from about 1 volt to 18 volts. Fluke read 25.2 consistently.
Is that enough GD info for you? Are you a Klein fanatic or something?

Easy tough guy, I wasn't picking a fight.
I was genuinely interested in the details.

Some people have different definitions of "wildy inaccurate". But yes, there definitely is something wrong with that Klein meter with those results... To state the obvious.

For the record; I don't own any Klein meters, only Fluke. I'm a mechanic, not an electrician, so I don't really own or use Klein tools. In fact, I don't have a single Klein anything in my box.

 

[tiredoldironworker]

Yes, I'm sorry about coming off as an *sshole about the Klein meter but I thought it was a good deal for the sub $100 price. I also have several Flukes and they have never been "wildly inaccurate". Moral to the story, only buy Klein meters brand new from reputable sellers so they can be returned when they are "wildly inaccurate".

 

[Rinspeed]

I bet we have at least 15 Flukes at the shop. Even used they can be a little pricey but the damn things almost never go out of service.

 

[cgrutt]

I still have my Fluke 77 (IIRC) that I bought when I started technical school around 1986. Still running strong nearly 40 years later. I just bought a pair of *GASP* Klein probes for it last week. I broke one of the Fluke probes a few months ago and taped it back together with a spring from a pen haha. Actually works fine but I think the spring added a little resistance to the Ohm readings. I've been wanting a Fluke 88 (?) Automotive multimeter for a few years now but haven't pulled the trigger yet.

Sounds like OP got an amazing deal on a quality meter nothing wrong with that.

 

[tiredoldironworker]

Military surplus Fluke 27/FM's are our go-to meters. Built like tanks and true RMS. Some of ours were deployed in the Viet Nam war and are still rocking and within calibration! After fifty years! We have a couple of 88 automotives but haven't needed to check point dwell or RPMs in decades.

 

[scooby074]

87v. A classic for a reason

 

[swsman]

Quite a few mobile repair techs use these.
I have a clamp Klein that does AC/DC.
Will likely add this one as well.

https://www.amazon.com/INNOVA-3320-Auto-Ranging-Digital-Multimeter/dp/B000EVYGZA?tag=atomicindus08-20

Make/buy quality leads. Always have a back up set.

One of the first things I do when using meter is set it to Ohms and test it for accuracy by connecting leads together (.1 to .2 is ok, anything else and it is likely bad leads).

 

[tool_scrounge]

Military surplus Fluke 27/FM's are our go-to meters. Built like tanks and true RMS. Some of ours were deployed in the Viet Nam war and are still rocking and within calibration! After fifty years! We have a couple of 88 automotives but haven't needed to check point dwell or RPMs in decades.

I have several of the Fluke 27/fm meters. True RMS AC measurements and built like a tank. I really like the min/max function. About $50 on EBay. All the ones I have checked on the calibrator were in spec.

 

[tiredoldironworker]

We buy almost everyone we can find, They are that good!

 

[KnurledNut]

If I was doing primarily heavy equipment, I’d highly consider a Fluke 233. It has the detachable display.

 

[no704]

Nice score. I have a couple Fluke meters, and a couple of the red higher end like $70 HF meters. I’ll usually use the hf ones because I don’t care about them. For 99% of things they do the same as the fluke. That left over 1% requires an o scope.

 

[richfinn]

The Brymen BM037 is a great clamp / backup general meter that is a step up from the Uni-T ones.

Got a nice deal on a Brymen BM037 and thought I would try it out

Peak cranking amps, charging amps (very flat battery), drain test.

Great ranges and 10mA resolution

Thanks for the suggestion

 

[Wrench97]

Got a nice deal on a Brymen BM037 and thought I would try it out

Peak cranking amps, charging amps (very flat battery), drain test.

Great ranges and 10mA resolution

Thanks for the suggestion

As with any wide mouth clamp meter don't rely on results in the mA range.

 

[richfinn]

As with any wide mouth clamp meter don't rely on results in the mA range.

I've compared it to my Fluke 112 Multimeter set to amps and my UNI-T UT210e clamp meter it's close enough for what I need (Mechanic).

I've been testing/comparing this one for a week and so far it's 10mA resolution has been pretty good without much drift.

Generally I'm happy below 60mA for parasitic drain tests.

You might notice this particular Brymen has a little notch feature at the top of the jaws called "amp-tip" to help with accuracy on the lower scale with thin conductors and they claim it has superior resistance to interference/EMC. (this was evident in the EEVblog video).

BRYMEN

www.brymen.com

Quite impressed with it really for under £100 with tax and shipping

 

[Wrench97]

I've compared it to my Fluke 112 Multimeter set to amps and my UNI-T UT210e clamp meter it's close enough for what I need (Mechanic).

I've been testing/comparing this one for a week and so far it's 10mA resolution has been pretty good without much drift.

Generally I'm happy below 60mA for parasitic drain tests.

You might notice this particular Brymen has a little notch feature at the top of the jaws called "amp-tip" to help with accuracy on the lower scale with thin conductors and they claim it has superior resistance to interference/EMC. (this was evident in the EEVblog video).

BRYMEN

www.brymen.com

Quite impressed with it really for under £100 with tax and shipping

My Fluke 325 can differ by 25mA from my Matco non clamp in a mA test.
I had the 325 show 40mA which is ok ish for a draw and the wired meter show 60mA.
Removing the non-OEM gps nanny unit dropped it to 15mA.

 

[AJHD]

The Brymen BM037 is a great clamp / backup general meter that is a step up from the Uni-T ones.

Anyone know if it's available from a USA vendor? It's not on Amazon.

 

[richfinn]

Anyone know if it's available from a USA vendor? It's not on Amazon.

Got mine from these guys in the UK, looks like they will ship overseas for £15 charge

Brymen BM037 Clamp-On Multimeter

Brymen BM037 Clamp-On Multimeter Brymen BM037 clamp-on multimeter, 600V CAT III, 300V CAT IV. Standard acc...

telonic.co.uk

Or look at Greenlee/Beha-Amprobe they may sell rebadged versions

 

[AdAstra]

TME has them and ships to US for low cost and is reliable

Anyone know if it's available from a USA vendor? It's not on Amazon.

 

[Steve from Socal]

One thing notmentioned here? I have a couple of Fluke 87's and they are rated for 1000 volts. I have a coule of 575 volt machines and some of my VFD's can see 600+ volts.

I like that little Brymen clamp for DC, I am going to order one!

 

[richfinn]

One thing notmentioned here? I have a couple of Fluke 87's and they are rated for 1000 volts. I have a coule of 575 volt machines and some of my VFD's can see 600+ volts.

I like that little Brymen clamp for DC, I am going to order one!

This Brymen 869s is 1000v rated and has VFD features, it gets rave reviews (including gold plated silicon test leads) if you ever need a back up

They are all made in Taiwan as opposed to China if that matters to you.

Brymen BM869s Professional Multimeter

Brymen BM869s Professional Multimeter Brymen BM869s True RMS digital multimeter features a 500,000 Count high viability dual display with an impress...

telonic.co.uk

 

[Dakotadadv8]

I have a Klein and Fluke from HD for home and auto.