Use for free HF meters

[3rdbuttondown]

one in the kitchen 'junk drawer' in case I want to see if that AA battery is any good

I need one for my Mother's house. She thinks batteries never go bad and never throws them out.

Can't count the number of times I've gone over to her place and replaced bad batteries with bad batteries.

Anybody know where I can get a current coupon?

 

[Rakoprtr]

I need one for my Mother's house. She thinks batteries never go bad and never throws them out.



Can't count the number of times I've gone over to her place and replaced bad batteries with bad batteries.



Anybody know where I can get a current coupon?

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[Danglerb]

Do HF ever sell those meters (and if so how much), or are they strictly a free with coupon deal?

A few years back a guy at a plant in Columbia Mo, (can't remember if it was Dana, 3M, or Gates) blew his hands AND face off with one of these meters. Meters have to be approved before they are brought in now.

HF sells about a dozen different meters with varying levels of quality, the top ones are pretty nice and very similar to some other brands that are well accepted. The cheap ones are usually about $3 on sale, better ones $20 to about $35.

Think for a moment what could make a meter explode like that. There is nothing inside the case to explode, its a bare circuit board, and the test leads have no great capacity to carry current. Google doesn't seem to have heard about it.

 

[ddawg16]

i use them for inner trash bag weights.

Target practice with your favorite firearm ?

I would fire my techs if they had one of these as part of their work tools.

Substitute Baseball? Only good for one hit though.

I'm willing to bet that non of you have actually used one of them. I bought my son one.....at $3.99....great value. I compared it to my Fluke 179 and it was within 2%.

I know it's nit picky but a volt meter isn't a battery tester.

Well....if one knew how to test a battery.....any voltmeter would work.

 

[tedsters]

i have 4 of them you can't beat the price 3 are unopened they make a nice gift also so far the one i have been using works great

 

[John316]

I picked up a few of these when they first became a free -no purchase required item a while back. These things may be ok for voltage, but every one I had fails miserable when taking resistance readings. I am in electronics and use a meter & scope everyday, so I am not contused on this .

 

[bwringer]

Over on the vintage motorcycle forums, it's astonishing how many people wonder why their bike won't start, ask for help, yet don't have a multimeter. (And then want to argue about what's happening, even though they have no data other than "the headlight seems kinda dim".)

Anyway, I and a few others have given away and mailed several of these meters to clueless n00bs. I've also given away several to family and friends.

They work fine, although the battery is usually short-lived. If it's a family member, I'll spring for a new Dollar Store battery...

 

[skruft]

I also have mine in the kitchen junk drawer. It works well enough.

 

[rharman]

My local pawn shop has one for sale for $10 LOL

Do HF ever sell those meters (and if so how much), or are they strictly a free with coupon deal?

Retail value $9.99 according to the coupon

 

[spacedoutbob]

I have used a HF meter, piece of junk. Nowhere close to my Fluke 23, Fluke 88 or Snap On Vantage. You buy junk, you get junk.

Bob

 

[Cyclones6]

Its FREE. Im gonna pick one up sunday and see how it compares to something better. HF seems to be largely hit or miss, but its FREE.

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[pedrodagr8]

HF sells about a dozen different meters with varying levels of quality, the top ones are pretty nice and very similar to some other brands that are well accepted. The cheap ones are usually about $3 on sale, better ones $20 to about $35.

Think for a moment what could make a meter explode like that. There is nothing inside the case to explode, its a bare circuit board, and the test leads have no great capacity to carry current. Google doesn't seem to have heard about it.

The test leads have NO problem carrying high instantaneous current, melting apart in the process. This assumes high current and not high voltage (you can still carry a lot of power at low current high voltage). Explosions CAN happen, basically, the fuse blows. The vaporized metal from the blown fuse actually allows an arc to be established within the fuse. Arcs once established don't take nearly as much voltage to maintain (which is why inductive loads are dangerous). At this point the meter is entirely unprotected in most cheap ones, this allows the high energy charge to vaporize traces, parts of the board, resistors etc. All of these hot expanding gases have to go somewhere, it's not at all uncommon for a meter to blow itself apart. Also, if its better than low budget, it will have some MOVs which CAN blow as well. This is why most higher end meters have blast shields integrated into the case design. If something WERE to go catastrophically wrong it stays contained inside the case.

Here is a video from EEVBlog where they test some multimeters at higher voltages

The actual multimeter testing starts at 5:15. See the meter at 6:15 which blows up. That meter is WAY more robust than these HF ones.

 

[Outlawmws]

I know it's nit picky but a volt meter isn't a battery tester.

For 1.5 volt batteries it's fine once you learn the voltage drop curve, and the requirements of whatever you are using the B in. Better actually because a battery tester will often say "good" when the device cant use it (i.e. My little Digicam thinks anything lower than about 1.3 V is dead... other things will grind them below 1V...)

 

[Outlawmws]

The test leads have NO problem carrying high instantaneous current, melting apart in the process. This assumes high current and not high voltage (you can still carry a lot of power at low current high voltage). Explosions CAN happen, basically, the fuse blows. The vaporized metal from the blown fuse actually allows an arc to be established within the fuse. Arcs once established don't take nearly as much voltage to maintain (which is why inductive loads are dangerous). At this point the meter is entirely unprotected in most cheap ones, this allows the high energy charge to vaporize traces, parts of the board, resistors etc. All of these hot expanding gases have to go somewhere, it's not at all uncommon for a meter to blow itself apart. Also, if its better than low budget, it will have some MOVs which CAN blow as well. This is why most higher end meters have blast shields integrated into the case design. If something WERE to go catastrophically wrong it stays contained inside the case.

Here is a video from EEVBlog where they test some multimeters at higher voltages

The actual multimeter testing starts at 5:15. See the meter at 6:15 which blows up. That meter is WAY more robust than these HF ones.

So don't use the damn thing on 480V power panels or gigantic capacitors. This is silly, and any competent electron pusher should know better (edit: than to use something like that in that situation). For up to say 120 House current, it's not an issue, And clearly not an issue with 12V automotive or flashlight batteries.

Whoever blew that one in a plant would probably have found another way to win the Darwin award...

Danger, What is the use you plan for 4 or these on a bench? Inquiring minds and all that...

BTW a quick test for the battery inside that style, (HF or the better ones the Chi-coms copied...) is to set it for AC and check a house plug, if the voltage is abnormally high, the 9V inside is dead or dying... (You do need to know what is "normal" for your area. For me its 121 V...

 

[Danglerb]

I grew up with tube electronics and a 600v bench power supply. I blew up stuff a LOT, nothing in the HF meter is fuel for a boom. I do agree it might be possible to get a fair amount of energy into a meter through the supplied cheapo leads, but then what would not blow up under those circumstances?

*** Buy a decent set of leads for these cheap/free meters. Around $5 on ebay if you shop carefully, or $20 for Fluke leads.

 

[Cyclones6]

Im picking one up just for car stuff. If youre an electrician, work in an industrial setting, or with the electric company you are obviously not gonna be using a free multimeter from HF.

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[whyNick?]

A few years back a guy at a plant in Columbia Mo, (can't remember if it was Dana, 3M, or Gates) blew his hands AND face off with one of these meters. Meters have to be approved before they are brought in now.

True story!

 

[RV77]

I'm willing to bet that non of you have actually used one of them.

Yea your right and I never will.Not my favorite store.

 

[Danglerb]

Danger, What is the use you plan for 4 or these on a bench? Inquiring minds and all that...

Trouble shooting a PC, measuring several voltages at once.
Measuring voltage and current at the same time, maybe while monitoring AC input voltage.

Once you have the setup, say 4 meters running off a wall wart, flip on the power switch and hook up some probes and you have an experiment or test setup ready to run in seconds.

 

[Outlawmws]

True story!

Link to an actual reputable news source? I've seen too many of these internet "rumors" to believe the material in a tiny DVOM has enough mass to "blow a face and both hands off" no matter what was supposedly driving it... Cut up badly? maybe; but that was not what was claimed.

 

[pedrodagr8]

These meters are actually illegal in Europe as they are considered a safety hazard.

A recall notice for one:
http://unsafeproducts.eu/2013/11/08/multimeter-ψηφιακο-πολυμετρο-digital-multimeter/

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[whyNick?]

Link to an actual reputable news source? I've seen too many of these internet "rumors" to believe the material in a tiny DVOM has enough mass to "blow a face and both hands off" no matter what was supposedly driving it... Cut up badly? maybe; but that was not what was claimed.

Sorry Outlaw, my comment sounded sarcastic in my head when I typed it, guess my sarcasm didn't make it into the text .

A multimeter blowing body parts off sounds like hyperbole to me. Now an oscilloscope you've got to watch out for, those things will blow your head clean off if you let 'em.

I have several of the free HF multimeters and so far no missing appendages...

Edit: Sorry, there I go again, I have no reason to think an oscilloscope will blow you up either, just funnin'.

Nick

 

[jacked_72]

These meters are actually illegal in Europe as they are considered a safety hazard.

A recall notice for one:
http://unsafeproducts.eu/2013/11/08/multimeter-ψηφιακο-πολυμετρο-digital-multimeter/

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Those are Hungarian meters that have been recalled. All of my HF meters are good ol' China, so no worries.

 

[pedrodagr8]

Those are Hungarian meters that have been recalled. All of my HF meters are good ol' China, so no worries.

If you believe that was made in Hungary I've got a bridge to sell you. Plus Hungary is the reporting country not the country of origin. These 830 meters are made in enormous numbers China.

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[oldtools]

If you believe that was made in Hungary I've got a bridge to sell you. Plus Hungary is the reporting country not the country of origin. These 830 meters are made in enormous numbers China.

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On the recall info on the right, it say

"Country of origin: Germany"

Didn't know Germany make **** too.

 

[nicksnothereman]

If the best multimeter you can afford is a harbor freight then...well at least you got something.

That's how it is. If otherwise you wouldn't own one, well at least now you own one. People have been using these "centech" deals for years and they haven't been recalled or sued into recall so I guess they're okay for general duty. I also use one, I have a better one though not good by even my own standards.

 

[monomach]

If you believe that was made in Hungary I've got a bridge to sell you. Plus Hungary is the reporting country not the country of origin. These 830 meters are made in enormous numbers China.

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That's not the same multimeter. Note the on/off switch missing from the front. Also note the COO of...Germany.

 

[gte718p]

Sorry Outlaw, my comment sounded sarcastic in my head when I typed it, guess my sarcasm didn't make it into the text .

A multimeter blowing body parts off sounds like hyperbole to me. Now an oscilloscope you've got to watch out for, those things will blow your head clean off if you let 'em.

I have several of the free HF multimeters and so far no missing appendages...


Nick

It is possible, but you have to do something incredibly stupid. At higher voltages things tend to form plasmas as they vaporize. The process is explosive especially in confined spaces. I've never heard of it happening on 440 you would find in a normal factory. We use 4160 volts on the ship. It has happened in that system. Power generators and transmitting systems go up to 100 kv and have to be extremely careful of it. People who work on these kind of systems have a very high level of respect for it. The safety requirements to work on high voltage systems is pretty extreme.

If someone stuck a HF meter or even your standard fluke into a high voltage system he deserved to lose a hand. It's equivalent to playing human frogger on a 12 lane interstate and excusing it saying you were wearing a reflective vest. The result is not unexpected except by the stupid.

 

[Kracin]

It is possible, but you have to do something incredibly stupid. At higher voltages things tend to form plasmas as they vaporize. The process is explosive especially in confined spaces. I've never heard of it happening on 440 you would find in a normal factory. We use 4160 volts on the ship. It has happened in that system. Power generators and transmitting systems go up to 100 kv and have to be extremely careful of it. People who work on these kind of systems have a very high level of respect for it. The safety requirements to work on high voltage systems is pretty extreme.

If someone stuck a HF meter or even your standard fluke into a high voltage system he deserved to lose a hand. It's equivalent to playing human frogger on a 12 lane interstate and excusing it saying you were wearing a reflective vest. The result is not unexpected except by the stupid.

last video i saw from a power station didn't have someone lose an appendage, but their life. electricity is not something to be taken lightly when dealing with anything that can be possibly life threatening. unfortunately, just like heavy machinery, some people have to lose something in order to understand this concept.

 

[bwringer]

I'll make sure to tell people that they need to don an explosive ordinance disposal suit before probing their dead motorcycle battery with a HF meter.

Good gravy, they're already scared half shitless of anything with wires...

 

[cheechi]

Let's all agree to use these on at most 240v if you use them at all, and if you are concerned then you personally should buy and use a nicer one.

For free, you can say you get what you pay for. They aren't bad meters, accurate for volts close for ohms, which is what most homeowners are going to use them for anyway. For most of us here, if it was your main meter I wouldn't look down on you but I'd hope you at least had another as a backup. I keep one around for a 'dont want to blow up a good meter' test tool.

 

[Loscaldazar]

Let me know when they start blowing up at 12volts... until I'm not worried. Especially for free. Much cheaper than putting a fluke in each car I have!

 

[oldtools]

Everything has limits. You wouldn't use a homeowner Fluke on a 20,000 volts line. You wouldn't drive a Chevy Cavalier over 200 mph (even though a Ferrari can). You wouldn't drive a Ferrari over 300 mph either. Everybody know these HF meters are for home owner use. No professional would be dumb enough to probe a high voltage transformer with HF meter (hope not).

 

[logixjock]

Deleted

 

[oldtools]

Outlaw,

I should have used better terminology. It was an arc flash event. It's not the shrapnel that gets you, its the plasma explosion.

To elaborate on my original post, I was not there for the event, I just heard about it second hand from the master electrician we used for our bigger projects in the automotive plant at my last job.

I actually spent a bit of time googling around looking for a link to the story from one of the local news providers without much success, but upon reflection, I'm pretty sure it was Gates.

The way the story came up was we had our outside master electrician in to discuss a bid to move 1000 amps of 480vac to the other side of the plant in preparation to install a new line to weld up dashes for the new Chrysler minivan. That day, we also had a tech in from St. Louis doing the annual QS9000 calibrations, which included all the meters the maintenance techs used. The calibration tech had just delivered them back to the maintenance office right before Tony got there to discuss his bid. While talking to Tony, I was taking the meters out and checking the calibration stickers, and when I pulled out Keith's Cen-Tech meter he said, "I'm surprised you still let those into your plant". Turns out he had been in the Gates plant a couple of weeks earlier to do some work and had to submit his meters for inspection before he could bring them in. They're explanation was the story I related to the board.

As I recall, it was a new, inexperienced tech in a 480vac distribution panel. I don't remember the actual year the accident happened, (it may not even have come up in the discussion), so that hampered my Google search considerably.

So... I was not there when the accident happened, and couldn't find a link to the story, but I have absolutely have NO reason to doubt Tony's story. I was high school friends with the former plant engineer at Gates, but sadly, he died in a pool accident a few years ago, and I no longer have any personal contacts there.

Will every Cen-Tech meter explode in a ball of plasma? Obviously not. Would I personally use one for anything over 50v? Probably not.

I'm not trying to bash Harbor Freight tool users here. As I type this, I'm looking at a box of stuff from Harbor Freight the Fed-Ex driver dropped off just an hour ago, (the driver was actually dressed up in a Santa suit!), just trying to relate some information I had about the subject tool.

Is he trying to measure voltage or current? I don't think any meter can measure 1000 amps. Digital meter (even cheap one) tend to have very high impedance (unlike analog meter), so very little current flow when measuring voltage. There is very little digital meters out there that can measure current directly of over 20 amps for a significant amount of time. I have measured 120 VAC with the HF meter. Any meter trying to measure directly 1000 amps of current will explode.

 

[Outlawmws]

I understand, but every time these cheap DVOM come up, someone brings up some horror story of a Darwin Awards event, and concludes (wrongly IMO) that they should not be used for ANYTHING, which is ridiculous. Nothing on a car or truck, or in the average home is going to turn these into a plasma event. Can you destroy one with the wrong setting and connecting to say 120v? Sure. Plasma? I don't think so...

I routinely test these cheep DVOMS across 120 VAC to check their battery, as if I get an anomalous reading of say 130- 160 VAC the 9 V battery is dead.

Would I use one on my tube amps? Hell no! Those can range upwards of 600 V so the good Fluke or one of the analog Simpsons, or even my old Knight gets used. And no I don't use the 40 YO test leads on those old guys... But the average home no longer has any Tube powered devices, and we are fast approving the time when even CRT's with their HV will be a thing of the past. Heck even I don't have but one CRT TV left (Small one in the MBR) plus a couple of oscilloscopes. I got rid of all of them, if only for power consumption...

I've never understood the need to brand a tool as "dangerous" if used properly; a warning to not use it in high voltage apps is warranted, telling people to throw them in the trash and spend hundreds on professional DVOM for testing a cars lighting or checking a battery is silly, unless they are doing a lot more than just simple checks, where the high end tool had features needed.

On the other end of the "safety first" spectrum is the people that encourage the use of PVC pipe for compressed air, when that use does have a rotten track record, and is easily Googled for both events where it caused accidents that led to injuries, and there is plenty of direction from both the manufacturers AND OSHA not to use PVC...

 

[logixjock]

Deleted

 

[ddawg16]

Did you know that a snap on wrench will cause a battery to explode?


Lay that sucker across the terminals and see what happens.

As with any tool, use it improperly and your most likely not going to like the results.

 

[logixjock]

OK guys, sorry I posted. I'll go back to lurker mode...

 

[Danglerb]

One of the first projects I built was a Heathkit meter, and one of the first things I did with it was measure the voltage at a wall outlet. Classic noob mistake, I did not switch the meter to ACV prior to poking the probes in the wall socket, and it blew either in the current or resistance range as I turned the switch. Smoke was released and the inside a mess.

Guy I knew was a battery wholesaler and bid on contracts to replace the 48v battery systems at phone companies. One of their guys crowbarred a buss with a wrench that poofed, nothing much left of the wrench, but I think he kept his hand with nasty burns.

HF meters have very thin, very crappy leads. If you replace the leads with a good 10amp rated set, then "maybe" the meter just got a bit more dangerous.

Did some looking, a bit shocked to see all of the HF meters have a 700acv and 1000dcv range, but seems like only the pricey $12 and up meters have a CATII rating and its only 600v.