Multimeter Recommendations

[lago]

Have a gift card to BORG and I am in need of a new multimeter. My old one is going out on me.

I did look at BORG and they had Sperry brand, also Gardner Bender online. Lowes carries Gardner Bender online also, not sure what is available in the store.

Would either of these brands be suitable for ocassional use? I probably use them 3 or 4 times a year but when I need one, I need one that works.

Ken

[Uncle Cracker]

I have a Sperry for back-up use. Seems capable, but I usually have access to my Fluke, which is my "gamer". You most likely won't find one of those in a BORG.

[cwithboat]

The dear old Uncle is right. Check your local CL. Seattle's CL has several for reasonable prices ($80-150), but that may be because the company is located here. A Fluke meter is a life time tool, you can't go wrong if you do a check out of the instrument before buying.

[dkerfoot]

Fluke is definitely the gold standard. I got my Radio Shack 22-174b True RMS Digital Multimeter back around 1990 and have never regretted it. Not quite as rugged as a Fluke, but had more bells and whistles (mostly useful ones!) for the money.

What you need really depends on how you will use it. If you are mostly just going to check for power and/or continuity, you don't need to spend a ton of money.

In a cheaper meter, the thing I would look most closely at is the leads.

1. Will they hold up to being stuffed in a bag or drawer?
2. Will they stay in the meter when you are hanging in some weird position trying to take a one handed measurement?

There is nothing worse than testing a circuit, having the meter read that it is dead, but then having to wonder - is it really dead or is my dern meter just flaking out again?

[RAFlorida]

In MHO, don't spend a lot for a VOM

that you don't need. Yes, FLUKE is the best all around, that why I own one, but then I was an electrician and needed accurate measurment testing equipment. For around the the house, all you need is one that will get you upto at least 260vac, about the same for dc, and good resistance readings up to several Kilohms (1000s). If you're looking for amperage, you'll need a decent amp probe that'll read upto a couple of hundred amps. You can get a good vom from RS or Sears. Then you can vomit. (who knows that one?)

[dbhost]

I've got a, now 17 year old Blue Point (Snap On) Multimeter from back in the days when my paycheck came from getting greasy... It is exactly the same as a comparable model Fluke, but with the Blue Point name silk screened onto the display. You simply can't beat fluke meters for accuracy or durability. Lord knows I have abused mine plenty for a LOT of years...

[Hellrazor]

Another vote for Fluke, I have a 322 at work and at home. But I work with 3phase equipment at work, so I need something I can trust.

On another note, I wouldn't use a greenlee if it was given to me for free. We have 2 of them at work and they just are not right. I've threatened to throw them out on multiple occasions since I don't trust them due to some major phantom voltage issues.

[LCHIEN]

well to answer lago's original question, I looked at HD website and they really have three possible meters:
G-B Analog meter $15
G-B Digital meter $20
G-B Clamp on ammeter/multi-meter $70

the clamp on meter is useful if you work on A/C units or motors or are willing to rip up an extension cord to separate out the individual wires. Otherwise one of the Killawatt units on ebay would be better for measuring appliance current. Further there's no specs on-line so it may lack enough resolution to check batteries, a frequent use. I know the HF equivalent model lacks better than 1V resolution.

If you have to use your HD gift bucks and don't want a clamp on meter then the digital meter is the one to get for $20. Not great but probably OK for those occasional measurements. It will be tougher than the analog meter.
They also have a $100 true-rms meter; true RMS is nice for users who understand, but not much use for people just checking AC around the house. Probably not worth the money for you.

Me, I've got 4 or 5 meters, one of the flukes (model 87) is the one I usually use.

[Tom Slick]

HD used to carry Ideal which was a good meter for basic work.

I use fluke only. I had a craftsman malfunction in a very dangerous manner an decided to only buy "the good stuff" after that.

[sd]

Tom Slick brought up an important point. A poor quality multimeter may be quite dangerous to use. If you're going to use it on line voltage, be sure to get one with a CAT III overvoltage rating, certified by an independent lab such as UL.

[cwithboat]

Caution this posting is full of acronyms and personal references that many will not recognize (check them out on the web):
As an FAE for NSC I worked with the design engineers at Fluke for 20 years. Their dedication to excellence was superb. The competition with LT and AD was a gas. LT brought in Bob Dobkin and we would counter with Pease or before that Fredricksen. The competence and knowledge for analog design at John Fluke exceeded that at many bigger name corporations, I assume it remains the same today. The foundation of excellence in engineering design lies in the capability of producing a product that will last a life time, not a cheap throw-off that will crumble in a few months. Case in point: sitting on my desk is an HP calculator (HP 11C) that I got from an HP engineer in trade for a couple of pressure transducers which he assembled from discarded production line parts. It has lasted for 25 years. I have never replaced the battery. That is the mark of excellence.
Buy American- it lasts. So did Japanese, remember my 50 yr old Sansui receiver.

[Alex Franke]

Mine are from radio snack too -- I think I spent about $40-50 on it. . . .but I've also heard good things about this guy from Sears: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_03482146000P

[LCHIEN]

Caution this posting is full of acronyms and personal references that many will not recognize (check them out on the web):
As an FAE for NSC I worked with the design engineers at Fluke for 20 years. Their dedication to excellence was superb. The competition with LT and AD was a gas. LT brought in Bob Dobkin and we would counter with Pease or before that Fredricksen. The competence and knowledge for analog design at John Fluke exceeded that at many bigger name corporations, I assume it remains the same today. The foundation of excellence in engineering design lies in the capability of producing a product that will last a life time, not a cheap throw-off that will crumble in a few months. Case in point: sitting on my desk is an HP calculator (HP 11C) that I got from an HP engineer in trade for a couple of pressure transducers which he assembled from discarded production line parts. It has lasted for 25 years. I have never replaced the battery. That is the mark of excellence.
Buy American- it lasts. So did Japanese, remember my 50 yr old Sansui receiver.

fae=field applications engineer,
nsc=national semi corp
LT=linear technology
AD=analog devices
HP=hewlett packard (now agilent)
pease = Bob pease

[cwithboat]

fae=field applications engineer,
nsc=national semi corp
LT=linear technology
AD=analog devices
HP=hewlett packard (now agilent)
pease = Bob pease

Fredricksen = Tom Fredricksen, inventor of the first quad amplifiers, quad op amps and quad comparators, Author of "Intuitive Operational Amplifiers" among other books
Bob Dobkin = inventor of the first three-terminal adjustable voltage regulator and the first bipolar low-dropout regulator, co-founder of Linear Technology Corp
Bob Pease = The Czar of Band Gap (who infrequently mentions yours truly in his diatribes) You have to read his stuff.

http://www.national.com/JS/searchDoc...ease&x=16&y=16

[cabinetman]

I wish I could report on this post that I have some fancy shmancy expensive electrical testing equipment, but I don't. The extent of my needs are pretty general. I might need to know if the line is 110V - 220V - 440V, and for that I have one of those cheapo pigtail diode testers from HD that are probably less than $10.00.

For that ultra high scientific research into testing like checking out whether a battery is dead or alive, or just weak, or whether a fuse is up to snuff, or checking an outlet for voltage, I have a cheapo digital Cen-Tech HF multimeter that I got on sale for $3.99. In fact, I have two of them. How 'bout that.

I also have a cheapo analog multimeter, that I can use to check if my cheapo digital multimeter is workin' OK. I might be using them when installing a kitchen, or wall system and moving or installing outlets. As far as whether a line is hot or not, two wet fingers could tell me that.
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