Fluke 28ii low quality plastics

[vlelectroniclab]

Good morning,

I'm very disappointed with Fluke. I bought a 28ii in 2019 for a cool €900, and now the plastic battery holder is broken.
I'm wondering if this is normal for a multimeter of this price range? Has this happened to anyone?
The good thing is that they say it has a lifetime warranty, but it might not work in Italy.
I'm attaching a photo. Do you know if they sell it as a replacement?
I forgot, since I'm working outdoors with the sun hitting the multimeter, over time the keys on one side have crumbled!!!
Really shoddy, not even a Chinese multimeter can make it this bad.
Thanks everyone.

[mendip_discovery]

What did you do to the poor thing?

Sunlight won't be good for anything, I guess getting left on the dash of the car in the sun won't help either. Being an outdoor worker I suspect you have been rather rough with it.

Don't diss the Chinese kit...you did look at where the Fluke 28ii was made.

Fluke will sell you the part as your local main dealer. Maybe talk to a Fluke rep to complain about your lovingly cared for meter that seems to have been one made on a Friday.

[vlelectroniclab]

Hi,
Thank you so much for your reply.
mendip_discovery I've used my Fluke very precisely, it still has the film on the display and can be sold as new. I've only replaced the batteries once and tightened the screws to a torque. Regarding the sun, it's been exposed to quite a bit, but I've been exposed to it too. Tomorrow I'll post some photos so you can see how it looks after years of use.
Regards

[coppercone2]

more then likely alkaline battery corrosion deteriorated the plastic. It seems to have an effect similar to alcohol on acrylic, where it cracks up in some parts that might be under higher strain when exposed.

[vlelectroniclab]

no, the batteries had no acid, the contacts and plastics in contact with the batteries are intact

[BillyO]

So, without any impact at all, those posts just broke of their own accord?

Did you loan it to anyone?

[vlelectroniclab]

Yes, I found them broken. I've always used it, never lent it. The only problem is that it got a lot of sun.

[coppercone2]

I THINK that it might not matter, i.e. if it leaked before, and someone cleaned it, say 2 years ago, that it gets primed to break, but I am not sure.

[vlelectroniclab]

If I had bought it used then it might be, but unfortunately for me I bought it new and only used it.

[coppercone2]

yea that is why I get sick from handheld equipment purchases, it always seem to be a crack fixing extravaganza

[BillyO]

Yes, I found them broken. I've always used it, never lent it. The only problem is that it got a lot of sun.

If it got enough sun to cause the completely covered plastic on the back to break down, I doubt Fluke would consider it normal wear.  I could be wrong.

[BillyO]

yea that is why I get sick from handheld equipment purchases, it always seem to be a crack fixing extravaganza

I guess I should tell my 43 year old Fluke 8060A to get cracking!   

[Skander]

Hi,
Thank you so much for your reply.
mendip_discovery I've used my Fluke very precisely, it still has the film on the display and can be sold as new. I've only replaced the batteries once and tightened the screws to a torque. Regarding the sun, it's been exposed to quite a bit, but I've been exposed to it too. Tomorrow I'll post some photos so you can see how it looks after years of use.
Regards

I have no reason to doubt you. Unfortunately, I do not think this would be fixed under warranty (or at the very least they'd try not to)...
Get in touch with them and keep pushing, let us know how it goes.

PS: Fluke isn't infallible, they use the same materials as everyone else, and like every company they cost optimize like everyone else. Their prices are very inflated and imo your company should be getting you their gear. It's sort of like Lenovo with the ThinkPad pricing. Makes sense for businesses and at scale, not so much for individuals at MSRP.

[J-R]

Maybe the screws were tightened too tight.

[vlelectroniclab]

Good evening,
I'm attaching photos of the multimeter.
 Let me know if, after almost five years of use on earthmoving equipment, it doesn't seem to be in excellent condition! Anyway, I found an online retailer selling the cover for about €15.
Since Fluke doesn't care about my problems, I decided to buy it.
However, I'm aiming to replace my 28ii and 289 with Gossen Metrawatt, Benning, or Chauvin Arnaux. Which brand do you prefer?
The 28ii is IP67, but if the cover breaks and I don't notice, the certification is useless!

I forgot, if you look at the Autohold button, it's broken; it hasn't taken any hits. If you look carefully, the relay button is also damaged, and if I try to touch it, a piece of rubber comes off.
Sorry if I speak poorly, but I use a translator.
Best regards

[Skander]

Good evening,
I'm attaching photos of the multimeter.
 Let me know if, after almost five years of use on earthmoving equipment, it doesn't seem to be in excellent condition! Anyway, I found an online retailer selling the cover for about €15.
Since Fluke doesn't care about my problems, I decided to buy it.
However, I'm aiming to replace my 28ii and 289 with Gossen Metrawatt, Benning, or Chauvin Arnaux. Which brand do you prefer?
The 28ii is IP67, but if the cover breaks and I don't notice, the certification is useless!

I forgot, if you look at the Autohold button, it's broken; it hasn't taken any hits. If you look carefully, the relay button is also damaged, and if I try to touch it, a piece of rubber comes off.
Sorry if I speak poorly, but I use a translator.
Best regards

I'm guessing the button plastics are deteriorating from UV/sun exposure. I don't think it's worth it to replace the meter if it is still functional, especially since you're replacing the broken cover.

Do remember not to over-tighten the screws when you replace it, just enough to be hand tight.

[tooki]

I doubt the quality of the plastics is low -- if they were bad, these problems would be widespread.

Instead, I actually suspect it suffered some physical impact that you didn't know about.

[Wim_L]

Sunlight is brutal on plastics in general.

I also have some experience with a battery leak in the 28II. Mixed bag. But I can tell you a battery leak in the 28II is going to be worse than typical. When alkaline batteries leak, a wet paste containing potassium hydroxide comes out. This is very corrosive alkaline material that can cause chemical burns. You almost never get to see it, because it dries out, and by the time you discover it it's usually dry and has reacted with atmospheric CO2 to form potassium carbonate, which isn't as nasty.

The problem is the 28II is a well-sealed device. So that highly corrosive paste is not going to dry out, but is really going to chew up the contacts and plastic. When I discovered mine had leaked, it was bad enough that I could dislodge pieces of plastic holding the contacts in place using just a light touch with tweezers (do not use your fingers - remember, corrosive to skin, you'd regret that).

The good news is that it was on its back when it leaked, so the stuff pooled in the rectangular battery compartment. It seriously damaged the plastic and contacts there, but it did not creep up to the main circuit board. Fluke did not want to deal with me directly as I'm not a company owner, but I found a local dealer that offered repairs and got them to send it in. Replacement of metal contacts and battery cover, and it's good to go again.

Now, some might think it would be better to just not use alkaline batteries and use something else instead. NiMH or Lithium primary batteries perhaps. Be cautious. Fluke explicitly recommends alkaline batteries only, though they don't explain why. But I suspect it may have to do with the tendency of certain other battery chemistries to vent gas in some situations. Usually that's not a disaster (though it does damage the batteries), but a fully sealed meter like the 28II might not handle that well. Perhaps the cautious option could be to use alkaline batteries that come with a no-leak warranty for the equipment they're used in, if such batteries are available in your area.

[Ugur]

From what I can see in the pictures, there has not been any battery leakage.
I am very experienced in this matter, and there is no such manufacturing defect in this product. This damage could be caused by physical stress, such as overtightening the screws. Maybe there is another reason, but all the screw holes would not break on their own. It does not make sense.
Since this device has a holster, sunlight can not reach the battery cover anyway.
Alkaline batteries are generally recommended because they are safer and have a working voltage of 1.5V.
Rechargeable batteries are usually 1.2V.

[BeBuLamar]

I had a 287 that had broken battery holder. Fluke fixed it under warranty the first time. The second time they didn't but sell me a replacement holder.

[Wim_L]

From what I can see in the pictures, there has not been any battery leakage.
I am very experienced in this matter, and there is no such manufacturing defect in this product. This damage could be caused by physical stress, such as overtightening the screws. Maybe there is another reason, but all the screw holes would not break on their own. It does not make sense.
Since this device has a holster, sunlight can not reach the battery cover anyway.
Alkaline batteries are generally recommended because they are safer and have a working voltage of 1.5V.
Rechargeable batteries are usually 1.2V.

Indeed. An alkaline battery leak would have caused obvious visible damage (I'll attach a picture of the one case I've seen, where some of the plastic crumbled away), and it would have been mostly on the battery holder/cover. Due to the way the 28II is built and the location of gaskets, it would be hard for a leak to reach those screw holes.

For the screws, Fluke's cal manual specifies a torque of 6 in-lbs (0.68 Nm) for the fuse access door and the battery door to properly squeeze the gasket and maintain the IP rating. That's not an enormous amount of force.