Craftsman Professional True RMS Auto-Ranging Multimeter $39.99

[Tom Slick]

TOM: Regarding the meter being dangerous because it won't read... I always check my settings and leads by reading a live circuit with a known answer to make sure it works before I blindly test a circuit I am questioning. E.g. plug it into a live circuit and make sure it reads 110-120VAC before trusting your life to the result. YOU may have inadvertently set it to DCV or plugged the leads into the wrong socket on the meter besides having the meter fail. Same thing to test ohms before checking an unknown item... with ohms you can check open and shorted with the leads without hardly trying.

It stopped reading AC between checks, IE it works on one hot circuit then stopped before the next a minute later. I actually use a pen style voltage indicator to see if it is live, if it appears dead then I double check with a multimeter.

I've also had cheap meters not sample at a fast enough rate when doing motor controller trouble shooting. I had an cheap Ideal multimeter that was giving completely different readings then my fluke 87. not exactly something a guy tinkering in his garage has issues with though.

at home I have a fluke 112, it's an excellent basic meter. I'd love to have a scope meter.

[jziegler]

You can't beat a Fluke, but for basic homeowner/tinkerer use that is a good meter.

I don't know about that. Fluke makes a great meter, but there are times that a benchtop Agilent (HP) or Keithly can't be beat. Like when you need to measure microvolts. But for general use, Fluke is great, very rugged too. The dB feature on a couple of their older models is nice at times (great when I worked in audio).

The craftsman here looks like a great deal for basic use. Tempting to pick one up (I have great stuff at work, not at home).

Jim

[maxparot]

I've had Simpson, Laffayette, Fluke, B&K Precision and Craftsman meters. Simpson meters were the standard back in the day. Fluke is a workhorse that seem to last twice as long as others but tend to be pricey. The B&K was super accurate but too fragile. The Laffayette was feature loaded for the time but also fragile. I've been very happy with 2 Craftsmen meters each bought on sale for 25% of the price of similar Fluke meters. The first was a Autoranging DMM with thermal probe it lasted 10 years of daily use. It still works but the switch is tempermental. The second is similar but has a computer interface that allows logging and scope functions. I've got a few years use on it but not the constant daily of the other. I would say that the better Craftsman meters are well worth the price when bought on sale. 2 of them won't cost as much as similar Fluke meters but should last as long.

[Hellrazor]

TOM: Regarding the meter being dangerous because it won't read... I always check my settings and leads by reading a live circuit with a known answer to make sure it works before I blindly test a circuit I am questioning. E.g. plug it into a live circuit and make sure it reads 110-120VAC before trusting your life to the result. YOU may have inadvertantly set it to DCV or plugged the leads into the wrong socket on the meter besides having the meter fail. Same thing to test ohms before checking an unknown item... with ohms you can check open and shorted with the leads without hardly trying.

Same here. Making sure your meter is working properly is important. Every once in a while you will run into a situation where you will question if your meter is working right.

All our buildings are cinderblock w/ conduit at work. We had an outlet that shorted out to a soda machine. Hot to ground - 110 neutral to ground - 110 (ok.. weird) hot the neutral - 220. Ok wtf is going on here. Double checked my meter in another outlet on the same line.. Hot to ground - 110 Neutral to ground - 0 Hot to neutral 110. Go back and get the same weird reading on the other outlet. I pulled the panel apart and everything was good there. Our electrician was working on something else and had him stop over and check this out. We spent time tracing wires and all of the other outlets on the 2 circuits were ok. Here the hot on circuit 2 burned off, burned the other neutral off and welded itself to the neutral between the last and second last outlets on both circuits. So we truely had a 110v outlet that was 220v.

[LCHIEN]

You can't beat a Fluke, but for basic homeowner/tinkerer use that is a good meter.

I had a craftsman meter for a several years then all of a sudden it stopped reading AC. that gets really dangerous when you are tracing circuits to circuit breakers that you think you have shut off.

The Fluke model 87 (which I happen to have) has a DCV accuracy of .05%
and ACV accuracy of 1%. It's more or less the work horse of the industry and they've had model 87s for ~20 years now.

On comparable scales, the Sears meter's manual claims 0.5% and 1.5%

Yes the decimal points are correct so you can see the fluke at 5X the cost is a better meter.

But the sears has the IR thermometer and will do for any home use I can think of.


TOM: Regarding the meter being dangerous because it won't read... I always check my settings and leads by reading a live circuit with a known answer to make sure it works before I blindly test a circuit I am questioning. E.g. plug it into a live circuit and make sure it reads 110-120VAC before trusting your life to the result. YOU may have inadvertantly set it to DCV or plugged the leads into the wrong socket on the meter besides having the meter fail. Same thing to test ohms before checking an unknown item... with ohms you can check open and shorted with the leads without hardly trying.

[LCHIEN]

When is the temperature function utilized?

I use my separate hand-held non-contact meter a lot
in the kitchen, I can measure the surface temperature of items, containers holding liquid etc. Measuring water directly is problematic but I measure the outside of the cup/glass/container and the value i get agrees with a stick thermometer in the liquid just fine.
Also check the temperature of refrigerated items and freezer items.
I check the A/c vents to make sure my air conditioning is cooling properly (about 8-10 degrees cooler than the room temperature which I can also measure just pointing at the walls and ceiling) -
looks for insulation leaks checking the temp near doors and moldings and large wall areas. You could probably use it outdoors and measure the roof temperature without climbing up there.
Stick it out the window and measure outside temperature of a shaded object to see the outside temperature.
Measure the temperature of anything you cannot reach.
Open your mouth and take your internal temperature - usually about 92 degrees.

As I said before, I find it pretty handy - you just point the laser doat at the object you want to measure. The acceptance angle of measurement is a cone about 8 degrees. That's probably about an inch or two circle at a foots distance. Or 1-2 foott circle at 12 feet distance.

[LinuxRandal]

My first multimeter for home use, was a Radio shack, pawn shop special. After getting my fathers help (long LONG time ago), tracking down an emissions problem, in a vehicle (TFI selenoid, in the distributer of an 85 escort, just under warranty), I figured automotive would be where I would get the most use. (an unfortunate prediction)
I bought an OTC 3545, and would love to get a labscope. I know I could have bought a Fluke, but heard and read some recommendations for the OTC.

[iceman61]

Fluke here too. But this meter would make an excellent christmas gift for the son, son-in-law, or brother-in-law that likes to borrow your top of the line Fluke meter when you know they don't know how to set the meter between amps, resistance, and voltage in the first place before the hook it up.

Seriously, it would make a great home meter as a gift.

[MBG]

infared thermometers don't read water temps very well, they need flat black solid surfaces to read correctly.

Thanks. I'll be reading the metal surface temp. of a vessel. (from experience with the instruments that cost thousands of dollars the surface reflectiveness or emissivity also affects the temp read).

[Tom Slick]

Great find! Picked one up tonight.

I already have a Craftsman multimeter and it's worked great for the 3-years I have had it. Guess my son will be getting a new used one now.

My other hobby is home brewing and the infrared thermometer will come in handy for checking my mash water, sparge water, wort, and fermenter temperatures.


Mike

infared thermometers don't read water temps very well, they need flat black solid surfaces to read correctly.

[Tom Slick]

You can't beat a Fluke, but for basic homeowner/tinkerer use that is a good meter.

I had a craftsman meter for a several years then all of a sudden it stopped reading AC. that gets really dangerous when you are tracing circuits to circuit breakers that you think you have shut off.

[MBG]

Great find! Picked one up tonight.

I already have a Craftsman multimeter and it's worked great for the 3-years I have had it. Guess my son will be getting a new used one now.

My other hobby is home brewing and the infrared thermometer will come in handy for checking my mash water, sparge water, wort, and fermenter temperatures.


Mike

[Uncle Cracker]

I know. I have a Fluke for my own use. But it makes no sense to advertise your product as professional grade if you are unwilling to warrant it as such. Seems very hypocritical. Maybe they should think about how much they gain doing it another way.

[Hellrazor]

Wait a minute... They call it a "professional" meter, and then tell you there's no warranty if you use it professionally???

That is normal. A lot of equipment is not warranted for professional use. Since this is Sears, is labeled Sears and you expect to use it like a pro... go buy a Fluke. I need to have a meter that I can count on at work and you will not see me using any rebranded meter. Nor will you see me using Greenlee products, the one SOB I had at work would show 220v phantom voltage while working on 208 & 440 3phase.

Long live the Fluke 322

[Uncle Cracker]

I had a Craftsman Professioal meter for a few days short of a year when it just quit. It was not the fuse.

They have a year warranty. Took it back, got total refund, and got a Fluke.

But that warranty was good for me. Just don't say you use it professionally, I did and they said you cannot return it if used professionally. I just went back later different guy and said just for home use....

Wait a minute... They call it a "professional" meter, and then tell you there's no warranty if you use it professionally??? They're gonna hafta explain that one to me... Those are not "professional" volts, amps, ohms and degrees you're measuring... The meter doesn't know the difference.