Good multi-meter recommendations?
 

Anyone recommend a good Multi-meter for home mechanic use? I have looked at Fluke but I am overwhelmed by the number of choices, and they are costly. I'd like to stay under $150 if possible, maybe $200 tops if features warrant it.

Clamp /jaw meters seem to be more costly, are they worth it?

Recommendations? Thanks in advance.

Edit -- Haha...MULTI-meter....Not MULIT-Meter. Party in the back....

I would highly recommend Clamp-on, make sure it is for DC amps, many clamp-ons only read AC.

Frankly, I wouldn't spend on a fluke for general dc testing. Sears and Harbor Freight have decent mid-range DC-clamps.

I also reach for the $2 continuity tester and 12v probe. Most of the time they are sufficient/easier to use.

I don't know much about MM's but what do expensive ones do that a $15 one cant?

I have this one.
Sears.com

Digital.
And has audio beeping for the connectivity setting.

I have several Flukes. My favorite is the Fluke 75.

I also have a Harbor Freight meter I bought for $4.99 on sale. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it. I would not feel comfortable using at work (I work with 600 VAC) but for 220VAC and lower it is fine.

For home use save some money, buy the cheap HF one.

When the meter costs $4.99 I wouldn't worry about a clamp on meter. If you wreck it measuring current buy another one...

For that matter, I very rarely measure current. My clamp on meter is pretty dusty.

There is a coupon for the Harbor Freight meter for free with another purchase. Each fuse for the current scale in a Fluke costs 2 X as much as the Harbor Freight meter.

For a quick look current meter I ordered one of these from Amazon but haven't gotten it yet. A look at the Uni-T UT210E - Page 1 ($38.99)

I have a similar Craftsman MM I keep in the workshop/garage and several of the freebie HF MMs that I keep in the glove compartment of the pickup and in the house for testing batteries. Yet to ever have the need for anything more than these.

Like anything else...................................... you get what you pay for. If you have a need for actually measuring voltages or current you should buy a Fluke, period. Their basic / lowest price model is enough for most people, even pro's like me.

I once spent an entire day searching for what I thought was a draw on a 740 as the reading was 10Ma over max spec. Even after zero'ing the meter few times (Snap-On btw) the reading remained. Turned out the meter was out of spec by just about that amount. I couldn't bill for the time, and what money I lost on the job could have bought 2 Fluke meters.

Enough said.....................................

Fluke. Get a true RMS meter. I use mine on a daily basis, and have for ten+ years

I use a Fluke 179 daily at work. I couldn't purchase anything but Fluke. An Amprobe or Ideal will do the job if you're just measuring general voltages.

+1 for Fluke. I have had mine for over 20 years.

i have a $50 one from SEARS. it works fine.

BUT..i want a FLUKE simply for that max/min thing. you can use it to test the health of a car battery. load test.

It really depends on what you plan to test and if your livelihood depends on it or not. I test electronics nearly every day in my job and this one is my latest and most favored meter:
Amazon.com: Klein Tools CL2000 AC/DC True RMS Clamp Meter: Home Improvement

I have owner a dozen different meters over the years including some older Flukes and they were fine meters. My meters are in field service duty and they get dropped, rained on, carried off by dogs and all sorts of other abuses. This one suits my needs very well. I test AC/DC to 400V, continuity, capacitance, AC/DC current to 60A, and lots of low voltage circuits. I very much appreciate the clamp function.

Watch Craigslist/Kijiji for a decent meter.
I have had a couple of Flukes and a Beckman. The Flukes were much more robust.

My Fluke True RMS meter from the late 1980's died. I didn't want to spend $200+

I bought this model from Frys.

FRYS.com*|*Triplett

It has everything my Fluke did, but was only $89. It has worked quite well for the past several years.

I have an old Simpson that I've been using forever.

I have a Simpson 260 that I've owned since 1976. Still does everything perfectly!

Thanks guys. I have a $20 Craftsman I've had for years. It works for continuity but sucks for any numerical measurement. I guess I should just sucks it up and buy a Fluke meter. Sounds like it will be the last one I ever need.

I had a circuit that I was trying to measure the precise impedance. A floor heater for a tile floor. The circuit kept throwing the ground fault breaker. I was lazy and grabbed a cheap analog Radio Shack meter that my dad had at his house and it showed everything as within tolerance. I scratched my head and used an analog meter that his neighbor had. It measured almost no resistance. OK, crap, I drove back to my place and while home called a buddy of mine that is more knowledgeable on electrical circuits. I grabbed my 25 year old digital Fluke and met my buddy with his meter. It was a better digital meter but just a home owner level meter. It read yet a third value and still within tolerance. I hooked up my Fluke and bingo, it showed too much impedance and the ground fault was doing the job as designed. No major surprise but that was not what we wanted to find out.

I have always preferred the right tool for the job. Over the years that Fluke has seem some hard service and it still works as designed.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^This as well^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Ok guys, What do we think of this Fluke model for all-around non-professional use for me:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004I2ZSLC/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=314V ER65WE80Y&coliid=IU0FS62E542JS

Any Porsche guy worth is salt would have this Fluke kit...

Fluke 88V/A Automotive Multimeter Combo Kit | TEquipment.NET

disregard

This one was popular among the rest of the electricians when I was working as a commercial wireman. The probe diameter can cause difficulty working in tight quarters with some meters and you may not be able to get the probe on smaller pins and sockets etc. This one appears to have replaceable leads (a good thing) and you can purchase thinner leads of you find a need for them.

Wow. That's nice. Price on Amazon is $432 vs over $600 at your link. I agree and had concerns that the clamp might be too big for automotive use in tight spaces on the other model I posted.

Wow, I never knew a multimeter could be $600.
Does it have some insane feature that a $20 could never do?
Or is it just more accurate?

I figure a weekend driveway mechanic mostly does connectivity and voltage tests.
Connectivity to test a break in a wire and voltage to test a switch (is the device getting power)
For these 2, you don't need insane micro accuracy, you can even use analog.

It is easy to give an example of when you need a $600 MM (or even $150)?
Curious where a $15 MM falls short.

i have been an electronics tech for the FAA since 1990. before i did some electrical work cars for a shop. i/we used a test light for the majority of the electrical work. the MM was mainly used for charging issues or to maybe to check a batt, but then we had a batt tester that could put a load on it to test it.

a MM can be misleading. i have been part of several posts here were guys were measuring 12v with their MM but could not figure out why the circuit still did not work. ( like a break light, or turn light).
a MM does not need much if any current to measure 12v. there were bad connections that prevented enough current from turning on a brake light or operating what ever it was they were working, but the MM read 12v.
putting a test light on that circuit would have shown that there was not enough current in the circuit because the TL needs more current than the MM does. look at it like this. if the circuit won light the TL, it wont light a brake light or turn light.

$100 for a MM
$10 for TL

^^ I tend to agree. If you don't really understand what you are looking for, a really good quality meter is no better than a $20 Radio Shack MM. For mostly 12VDC work a test light is fast and cheap, and tells you everything you probably need to know. I see a lotta guys run out and buy a Durametric to diagnose their CEL and quickly get bogged down by TMI. Paralysis by analysis.

With a test light you trace the circuit until you get no light. Why did it stop here? Cause a mouse ate the wires coming through the firewall? Fixed!

Hell... I've never done anything that my free harbor freight multimeter wouldn't do the trick for..... And I've worked on some fairly expensively large electronics.

Honestly my cheap Craftsman meter I've had for years has worked OK for what I have needed it for. I guess since it has crapped out and I need a new one I just figured it might be time to buy a nice one. Maybe for what I need it for a pricey Fluke is a bit much I agree, but then again I do like nice tools.

The HF meters are under $10 and occasionally free with a coupon.... Just saying.


Growing up in the sign biz, gravity usually killed tools faster than anything else. You learn sometimes the cheap tools are good enough.

I have a 16 year old Fluke 16 that I used in HVAC.
I used it as well diagnosing wiring issues on my old SC.

I agree. What the OP stated as his 'need' and where he is headed are not aligned. But it appears he wants to own a very good meter. So be it.

I suspect we have all spent more then necessary on tools at some point in our life.

Hush!

Banish the thought.

Ok, everyone my name is Glen and I am a tool-aholic. I just need a few more tools and then..... I will need just a few more. ;)

I have 3 or 4 MMs in my toolbox. I can only use one at a time. Over the years, when I came across an extra, I scarfed it up. If you want one, lemmeno.

I have been in electronics for years professionally. I use my Fluke 87 and a Simpson 260 at work. Over the years I have acquired a few used Fluke 77s and a Simpson 260 to keep at the house and in the cars. A little overkill, but good deals are hard to pass up. The digital meters are very convenient and easy to use. The analog meters will show change better with the needle if you know how to use them. Sometimes this is handy.

I totally recommend the Fluke meters as well as the 40 year old Simpson. They always work and work well. If you can find one used, go for it. I found my home Simpson 260 at a garage sale for $20.00. I had to take it apart and clean off the corrosion from old leaky batteries. Now I change batteries in all my meters every MLK day when I drain and fill my hot water heater.

I would take a ration of sh&#$$% from coworkers if I had one at work, but for a home garage a Harbor Freight multimeter is probably just fine. You are probably mostly looking for 12vdc, 120 or 220vac, continuity, and occasional resistance readings. None of those are critical enough measurements to justify a high dollar meter.

Question:

Answer:

For my bench work, almost all of my meters are Fluke. The one exception is that I keep a Simpson 260-8 analog meter on the bench also because there are some situations where a digital meter cannot do what the analog can.

My friends dad (RIP) gifted me his heathkit MM and analog O-scope {need to get on cleaning and re-caping those}.

Having said that Fluke here at work (75III) and Beckman at home.