What's a good choice when buying a Multimeter?

[Flatheadyoungin]

i get what you meant.....i try to keep one of my meters just for "geek" work because the one i keep in my garage gets a bit dirty.....the other one is in the basement for household electronics, cleaner work, etc....

Geek work > bench or electronics type work. No disrespect intended.

 

[mikim]

didn't read all the posts so if this has been mentioned....I like an analog meter for checking wiring --- when you're looking for something that happens ie: only when the motor is running ....shaking the wiring to simulate vibration etc....an analog will respond to a loose connection faster than a digital. I had a simpson that I loved -- and lost in a flood. I also have a digital - but miss my Simpson.

 

[Soundguy]

If you trust the UL label on a cheap China meter then I got some Milk and Dog food to sell you.

Your argument is a strawman... you can always check the validity of a UL tag registration.

In any case, The only china meter i have ever seen / used did NOT have a UL tag on it... it was a 3.99$ special I grabbed to use once for a side of the road trailer wiring repair in a rainstorm.. after that it got tossed into the tool box...

the OP doesn't want to spend alot of money... to check a 12v batter and a wall socket he needs a 25$ autoranger.. not 100+ plus industrial or precision meter. You can also get cheap analogs from radioshack ( WITH UL TAG ) for 9-14$.. probably work fine.. but the analog model has limited ohms scale...

I'd personally steer clear of the chinese 3.99$ specials for anything other than a use and throw away option..

Soundguy

 

[Soundguy]

Yep.. at least 80% of the responders completely missed that point in the original message...

soundguy

I guess most of you recommending Flukes missed this part of the original post:

There are many models to choose from, but I don't want to spend more money than I have to.

There is absolutley no need for a casual user to purchase a Fluke meter. For the average person occasionally chasing 12 volts on a car or tractor or measuring AC line voltage, it is a waste of money.

 

[DavidPerry]

Whatever brand you choose, try to get one that can use the Fluke style test leads. These are readily available for lots of tasks, including amp clamp and temperature probe.

 

[jddotson]

I understood the point immediately but that doesn't limit my response. I imagine there are some bargains out there on used stuff so why not consider a high end tool at bargain prices if you find them?

 

[sunspot]

I picked up a used Fluke on the worlds longest yard sale for $50. It works great. I also use an old analog Tripplite(?) at times.

 

[Scooby074]

I understood the point immediately but that doesn't limit my response. I imagine there are some bargains out there on used stuff so why not consider a high end tool at bargain prices if you find them?

There are definitely bargains out there that can be found. A quick look on ebay found several quality meters art well under $100. $100 isnt really alot of money. Why buy a potentially hazardous cheap meter for nearly the same price? Dont make sense to me.

And soundguy, the fact that Chinese quality control isnt worth a snit, "UL" label or not is very valid in this argument. If you want to essentially trust your life to a crappy chinese meter then so be it. I wont. This is my last post on the subject.

 

[Soundguy]

There are definitely bargains out there that can be found. A quick look on ebay found several quality meters art well under $100. $100 isnt really alot of money. Why buy a potentially hazardous cheap meter for nearly the same price? Dont make sense to me.

And soundguy, the fact that Chinese quality control isnt worth a snit, "UL" label or not is very valid in this argument. If you want to essentially trust your life to a crappy chinese meter then so be it. I wont. This is my last post on the subject.

I'm glad it's your last post on this subject.. you keep ignoring printed text in my messages.... so far i havn't reccomended using a chinese meter! I'm saying hit a middle of the road unit and look for a ul tag.

And your fuzzy math skills? potentially hazardous cheap meter at 100$ ?

100$ gets you into a decent quality new consumer grade meter...

An idiot and a garden rake are a potentially hazardous combination... a decent run of the mill consumer grade meter with a ul tag and good leads is on the reasonable side of safety.. at least as far as you can get knowing thet you will be around electricity. ( risk is probably up there with someone taking a decongestant and getting that temporary high heart rate and slightly increased cardiac event risk... ! )

soundguy

 

[SnowRidge]

I know a lot of guys that have been hurt because they or someone they were working with made stupid mistakes, but I don't think I can recall anyone I ever worked with being hurt by any kind of defective or failed test equipment, UL rated or not.

You run more of a risk by turning on a cheesy Chinese table lamp than you do by using one of their multimeters.