[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Multimeters (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 5/5/2012 2:00:21 PM EDT
| What's the best, easiest to use digital multimeter for around $50.00 or less? Just for general troubleshooting; no high tech work. Mastech? Fluke? |
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i bought this little guy from HD when i had to swap out a breaker fuse last month.
worked great, lots of little modes, and cheap. http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-25ecodZ5yc1v/R-202571334/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=multimeter&storeId=10051 |
| If you're looking for one that positively has to be under $50, you'll probably have trouble finding a Fluke in that range. The radio shack DMM's are decent, so long as you don't beat the hell out of them. I love the Fluke, but there are meters of all different sorts sitting around my lab, and they all perform just fine. |
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While Fluke is great for someone who uses it for a living, it's probably overkill for a DIYer. Any name brand tester or DMM should serve you well, Craftsmen comes to mind for something inexpensive.
Just be sure it has a CAT rating of III or IV. NEVER use one of those unrated pieces of shit like the Harbor Freight $7 meter. The last thing you need is the meter blowing up in your hand. |
| You wont find a Fluke for what you're wanting to pay. I've got an Ideal DMM at work that is pretty damn neat. It will probably cost you about $80, but it's more than you'll ever need at home. It has auto-ranging, temp probe, frequency count, audible continuity, etc, etc. |
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Remember, current kills you. Voltage doesn't kill you. It just hurts you.  We recently had a thread on this very subject.... http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/1318279_It_s_not_the_volts_that_kill_you__it_s_the_amps.html |
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I have used a fluke 332 every day ,for the last 6 years.It has a amp clamp built in so you can check amp draws on motors and other things besides having ac and dc voltage.
I just checked and it's a little more then you want to spend but for less then $90.00 it should be the last meter you will ever need. I don't know what you want to use the meter for ,but it's a great option.http://www.amazon.com/Fluke-Corporation-322-Clamp-Meter/dp/B00012Z0ZM |
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Harbor Freight has $5 DVM for free if you have the coupon They work and free I've got one also. It does work, just has a cheap feel to it. Quoted:
While Fluke is great for someone who uses it for a living, it's probably overkill for a DIYer. Any name brand tester or DMM should serve you well, Craftsmen comes to mind for something inexpensive. Just be sure it has a CAT rating of III or IV. NEVER use one of those unrated pieces of shit like the Harbor Freight $7 meter. The last thing you need is the meter blowing up in your hand. |
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I have used a fluke 332 every day ,for the last 6 years.It has a amp clamp built in so you can check amp draws on motors and other things besides having ac and dc voltage. I just checked and it's a little more then you want to spend but for less then $90.00 it should be the last meter you will ever need. I don't know what you want to use the meter for ,but it's a great option.http://www.amazon.com/Fluke-Corporation-322-Clamp-Meter/dp/B00012Z0ZM Quoted:
If you can spend a little more, the Fluke T5-600 is a nice meter. They run about $75-$90 Both of these are great options for voltage testers/amp probes. But they don't have the functionality of a digital multi-meter. When Bale2011 tells us exactly what he is looking to do, then we can give him the best answer. |
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Harbor Freight has $5 DVM for free if you have the coupon They work and free I've got one also. It does work, just has a cheap feel to it. Quoted:
While Fluke is great for someone who uses it for a living, it's probably overkill for a DIYer. Any name brand tester or DMM should serve you well, Craftsmen comes to mind for something inexpensive. Just be sure it has a CAT rating of III or IV. NEVER use one of those unrated pieces of shit like the Harbor Freight $7 meter. The last thing you need is the meter blowing up in your hand. Never used it to measure amperes, never will. It does have a neat little BJT N/P channel tester though!
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Bale2011? What are you looking to do, exactly? That makes a difference. An amp clamp with voltage and continuity might be best, depending on your needs. Just DIY. I was using an old (at least 40 yrs) analog Triplett today to test an element on a hot water heater and I thought to myself "it's time for an upgrade". I still have the original 1.5v battery made by Union Carbide, lol. |
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Bale2011? What are you looking to do, exactly? That makes a difference. An amp clamp with voltage and continuity might be best, depending on your needs. Just DIY. I was using an old (at least 40 yrs) analog Triplett today to test an element on a hot water heater and I thought to myself "it's time for an upgrade". I still have the original 1.5v battery made by Union Carbide, lol. That's a nice meter you've already got! Dad still has a couple of Tripletts and Simpsons from his electrician days. |
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I have used a fluke 332 every day ,for the last 6 years.It has a amp clamp built in so you can check amp draws on motors and other things besides having ac and dc voltage. I just checked and it's a little more then you want to spend but for less then $90.00 it should be the last meter you will ever need. I don't know what you want to use the meter for ,but it's a great option.http://www.amazon.com/Fluke-Corporation-322-Clamp-Meter/dp/B00012Z0ZM Quoted:
If you can spend a little more, the Fluke T5-600 is a nice meter. They run about $75-$90 Both of these are great options for voltage testers/amp probes. But they don't have the functionality of a digital multi-meter. When Bale2011 tells us exactly what he is looking to do, then we can give him the best answer. He said nothing high tech. The t5 will do Current, Voltage, and resistance. Plus you get an open jaw current clamp. I keep one in my bag as a beater meter and love it. I doubt he is going to be testing diodes (it will do that if you know what you are doing) or measureing capacitance. |
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I realy like this guys Videos. I am not subscribed to many people on Youtube, but this guy always cranks out great content. |
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Quoted:
While Fluke is great for someone who uses it for a living, it's probably overkill for a DIYer. Any name brand tester or DMM should serve you well, Craftsmen comes to mind for something inexpensive. Just be sure it has a CAT rating of III or IV. NEVER use one of those unrated pieces of shit like the Harbor Freight $7 meter. The last thing you need is the meter blowing up in your hand. Had a Wave Tech die in the middle of a job. Damn near got me killed!  Display read 0.00 volts on a live circuit. No more cheap shit meters (it wasn't that cheap). And for the doubters, it was the meter not the leads.
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This arfcom, no gun less than a colt ar will suffice, but if you pay more for tools than harbor freight you're an idiot. Harbor Freight sucks, but there is a middle ground, it's not always necessary to buy top notch items. For example, if the OP was looking to buy a socket set for around the house, would you recommend a nice $50 Craftsmen set? Or tell him that he needs a $500 Snap On set? That's my view on it. If he could find a Fluke in his price range, great. If not, there are plenty of other meters for that price that will work well for him. |
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Fluke is a must if you're going to work with power and may face real line transients.
Amprobe sucks. Don't get lured in by lots of features and a reasonable price. Garbage. The Harbor Freight meters are fine for troubleshooting 5V or 12V and checking fuses, but I wouldn't use it to dead-check a panel. They're free for a reason. If you need a cheap meter for general purpose use, go with Extech. |