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Need help choosing a multimeter

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Rotorhead84

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I've survived most of my time as a DIY'er using the cheap-o walmart specials. You know the type, the small square hard plastic digital meters that do basic functions. A few years ago I bought some red thing from Sears (not a craftsman) for like $25 and it has served me well. Again, just used for basic stuff.

I'm "gifting" my current sears meter to the family business because my old man can't seem to ever turn off a multimeter so the walmart special ones we keep there are always dead when I need to use them. My current sears meter has an auto off.

I don't need anything fancy. I was a generator mechanic in the military and while I liked the flukes we were supplied, I don't have any need for something that is several hundred dollars.

Work I do with the meter:

Continuity checks - I need it to beep
Check DC voltage while working on cars/trucks/helicopters 12v/24v
Check automotive fuses
Check resistance across a relay coil (automotive)
Check for presence of AC voltage when working on home electrical projects ( installing lights, outlets, ceiling fans, etc)
Test battery voltage


As you can see I'm not much of a power user.

Features I want: Auto shut off, a hold feature (to take a reading when you can't see the meter and review it later) and I need the continuity to beep.


Thoughts suggestions? While searching the forums and amazon I see that fluke makes a very basic meter. The 101 and 107 for not too much money. They're chinese but anything I'm going to pick up I suspect will be. Are those any good? Also do I need true RMS? I don't really work on circuits.

I would much prefer a USA unit but its not a deal breaker. I plan on buying fluke leads so the quality of included leads matters little.
 
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theoldwizard1

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IMHO, Fluke meters (which are great) are not worth the cost for your average DIYer.

The UNI-T UT204 is nice because it has a DC/AC amp clamp built in. Also a capacitance and frequency meter.
 
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Jamie V

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I've had my fluke meter for 20 years now and it still works good. I just bought a new on with a clamp on amp probe. I wanted to be able to check amp draw on AC and DC on things like electric fans on my cars.
 
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njric71

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This is the one I have: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000KIMHRQ/?tag=atomicindus08-20

It might be a little overkill for what you're looking for, but the price is reasonable and it does contain the features you've listed as must haves; hold, auto off, continuity beep plus a bunch of other bells and whistles you may find handy to have.

Not sure how much youtube you watch but AVE did a review of the Chinese Fluke where he took it apart and found that it really is made fairly well.
I'm not sure if it's got all the features you're looking for but it might be a good option if it does.

Another one I've heard good things about is the bluepoint DMSC683A Apparently it is part of a kit of tools provided by some automotive trade schools so there are usually a bunch of them available barely used in the ~$50-$60 range. It's got it's limitations for advanced automotive work, but may fit the bill perfectly for what you're looking for.

When I looked into whether or not I really needed true RMS I determined that I didn't. It seems to mostly come into play with finding really precise measurements of AC voltage in kind of odd ball situations. For checking AC voltage in your house I don't think it's likely to become and issue not having true RMS. Here's a discussion that gets into some or the nitty-gritty of when true RMS might matter: http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/general/fluke-true-rms-why-does-matter-223183/
 
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Mr_B

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UT203 do most what you want and has auto off after 15 minutes . should cost less than 35 bucks but be easy use and accurate enough for your use.
UT204A and UT210E another 2 good low cost meters .
 
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Jazzman442

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I am an engineer in the electronics industry. I have a Fluke ( yes they are the best ) is 30 years old and it supper accurate. I also have several other meters from the Free ones at Harbor Freight to several 30 to 50 dollar ones. I use the HF one around water or sand or I dont care if it dies type of measuring. I use the Fluke when I need accuracy. For the DYI person the free bee on is great. I even have several analog meters that I still love for average testing.

You will never go wrong with a Fluke
 
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oldtools

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Brymen give you all the Fluke feature, accuracy, and quality for alot less money.
 
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joseywales

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If there's a Radio Shake near you, they have been clearing out nearly everything and I have an Extech EX400 meter that was $20. Not sure it has all the features you're looking for, but they make others and seem decent, even at their retail price.
 
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Rotorhead84

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joseywales said:
If there's a Radio Shake near you, they have been clearing out nearly everything and I have an Extech EX400 meter that was $20. Not sure it has all the features you're looking for, but they make others and seem decent, even at their retail price.
Click to expand...

I think our local radio shack has been closed for a while.


Thanks all for the replies. Keep them coming. Checking out everything you post!
 
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txvwnut

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Fluke 88V should cover all what you want if you want to drop the coin for one. I've got two and they've done all for me what I've needed.
 
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bushmechanic

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txvwnut said:
Fluke 88V should cover all what you want if you want to drop the coin for one. I've got two and they've done all for me what I've needed.
Click to expand...

It certainly will, but might be beyond his price range. That said, it's some of the best damned money I've ever spent. They're entirely worth it, and live up to their outstanding reputation.

OP: If you can afford one, and it's not going to put you out of something you really need to buy, the 88V is one hell of a "lifetime" investment. It is, however, a fair bit of luxury if you're not doing really tricky work all the time.

If not, Power Probe offers a multimeter. It's not meant to be anything more than a companion for their rapid-diagnostic tools, and is priced accordingly; but it doesn't ****.

This will do everything you want, with a feature-set normally reserved for units costing three times as much. Watch the video on the product page:

https://www.powerprobe.com/digital-multimeter/

Here's the price:

https://www.amazon.com/Power-Probe-CATIV-Digital-Multimeter/dp/B00NPY02KG
 
OP
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Rotorhead84

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I can afford a fluke like the 88v. But I dont want to. Buying a fluke to do what I need is akin to buying an M1 abrams tank to shoot beer cans at 5 yards.

I just need a good quality bb gun.
 
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toplessHO

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look into used Flukes
alot of work sites wont let you use older ones due to changes in OSHA standards
so some nice used ones come up for sale.
 
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Infinia

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You liked the Sears one why not get another one? Look at their closing sales since you missed out on Radio Shack.

If I was spending money id avoid anything under $50 otherwise yer getting a gussy-fied HF ie non auto-range/RMS etc. The century series Flukes are not many features for twice the price, so youre paying for the name and better quality control. Remember Klein or Greenlee are decent names, sold supported in the USA.
I think it's worth an half hour watching
.
 
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bwringer

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theoldwizard1 said:
IMHO, Fluke meters (which are great) are not worth the cost for your average DIYer.

The UNI-T UT204 is nice because it has a DC/AC amp clamp built in. Also a capacitance and frequency meter.
Click to expand...


Yep. By all means get a Fluke if you're rolling in cash and you really want one, but it's not necessary.


That Uni-T is a very nice choice -- an amp clamp that can read DC is EXTREMELY handy for vehicle work, but VERY hard to find for some reason.
 
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Infinia

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Tallpilot said:
This is what I upgraded too when I got rid of my cheap DMM. I would recommend it for what you require. Anything actually better would be at least $50 more.
Click to expand...

1st practical tip
Unless your uber careful driving the selector switch, avoid any meter with just 3 input jacks, unless you like buying and changing burned out fuses. The baby fluke solves this by deleting the low current altogether. not nice
 
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PhysicsDude

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I use a Klein MM600 at work. Its a damn nice meter for the price, I use it almost every day on construction sites and it both works well and is constructed very well.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B018CLOSTC/?tag=atomicindus08-20

I use the magnetic attachment. Once you buy one you'll never know how you survived without it. Just find a piece of metal and hang the meter off it so you don't have to do the awkward hold your meter and hold your probes dance while trying to get a reading.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01B7RBXZ0/?tag=atomicindus08-20
 
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ovrrdrive

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Almost all of the generics and el cheapo meters will serve 99% of what most of us are doing 100% of the time. None of them stand out in my opinion, look through them until you find one with auto off and buy it. The only meters I will actually give a recommendation to are Fluke's... '

Ok meters are under $25, better meters are around $75-100, then the flukes go up from there. If you're looking for better, it's only another $25-50 to go to the best. That's not a huge deal to most people.
 
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VinceG

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MAC tools has one with a AMP clamp on sale its decent and has a lot of features My wife and kids got me it for Fathers day this year. . I wanted one with Duty cycle to replace my more basic Extec one. it is comparable to a fluke 88 in features. It does have a feature that keeps you from plugging in the probes in the wrong place. I use my meter at least twice a week and like it so far. macmeter.JPG
 
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franzdom

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I bought a Fluke 87V used right here (5 years ago) for an amazing price but I don't use it for 1% of what it can do. What I do love about it is the quality of the leads and whatever you do it will be better in the long run if it can handle standard high quality leads. You can buy extras and they also take accessories like insulated alligator clips and others.
 
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Citation

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It doesn't take much to fill the OP's wish list except the freeze hold feature (Fluke calls it touch hold). Few meters have that feature which is too bad as it's great. Since that feature was listed I would suggest a used Fluke. Sadly the low end Fluke meters don't have this feature. So I would suggest either a used Fluke 73-3 or the old tank of a meter, the 25, 27, 8025 meters. Absolute tanks. The 17x or 83/85/87/88 meters also have that feature but they typically cost more used.
 
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theoldwizard1

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IMHO, the most important thing for a DMM is that it has a rubber boot. Less likely to self destruct WHEN you drop it !
 
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Tallpilot

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Infinia said:
1st practical tip
Unless your uber careful driving the selector switch, avoid any meter with just 3 input jacks, unless you like buying and changing burned out fuses. The baby fluke solves this by deleting the low current altogether. not nice
Click to expand...

Very true. The Greenlee I linked has a 400ma fuse and a 10amp fuse. Which is nice; most of the cheap meters have a 200ma fuse and no fuse at all on the high side but I guess burning up a $10 meter is about the same cost as a fuse.
 
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Hi-Fi

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There are quite a few military surplus Fluke 27FM on ebay. The military dumped a bunch several years back and they were going cheap on ebay. Now they are selling for $70 and up, but it's a very good meter. My $0.02, take it or leave it.
 
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2gslse

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I know you dont think a fluke is what you need but I upgraded to one a lot of years ago and dont regret it one bit. It will last many many years and may have features that you cant live without once you use them. I have a fluke 233 (I think thats the #) it has a removable display that I use all the time when troubleshooting a circuit on automotive things and 120v stuff at home. I dont want to trust my life to a meter that may or may not be working correctly. Buy once cry once 😀
 
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Brownsfan

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Klein mm2000. I bought it in 2012 to replace my fluke that broke. It's was only supposed to get me buy until I order a fluke or buy at a store. Needed it in a pinch that day Home Depot was the only store near me. That was 5 years ago and I never replaced it. It's been great. I also bought the cl2000 AC/DC clamp meter. They are now discontinued but can still be bought pretty cheap.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/KLEIN-TOOLS...5b5bef&pid=100677&rk=1&rkt=11&sd=302348197653
 
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