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Fluke fake multimeter fuse WARNING!
cowboy:
I wanted to call attention to something that many of you already realize, but many other folks are unaware of.
This concerns the Bussmann, Littelfuse and other OEM fuses for Fluke meters.
I will use an an example of the two most common fuses for Fluke meters, the ones used on the Fluke 83, 85, 87 series and many other models.
These fast-acting Bussmann fuses (11A and 0.44A) are about US$34 each at retail, however Fluke has a special pricing on these fuses for Fluke owners of $9.30 and $7.00 respectively through Fluke distributors such as Digikey, Mouser, etc. - This is what the Fluke corporation pays for these fuses direct from Cooper Industries- Bussman, in lots of many 1000's of fuses, they don't mark them up over their wholesale cost in order to encourage people to use the correct fuses for their precious Fluke meter.
When you see these fuses on ebay or other websites for $3.50 or $5 or something like that, these are Chinese COUNTERFEIT Bussmann fuses and could easily endanger your expensive meter at best, or even start a fire and endanger your life at worse. The real genuine ones are not even made in China, they are made in Mexico (and the fakes are also marked Mexico) You think you are going to buy them in lots of one or two cheaper than Fluke buys a tractor trailer truck load for? wake up! It doesn't matter what country the seller is in, or what the fuse looks like, it's fake!
Example auctions:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bussmann-DMM-B-11A-1000V-DMM-11A-Multimeter-Fuse-for-Fluke-87-V-88-V-287-289-179-/261536107575
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fluke-11A-1000V-DMM-11-A-Digital-Multimeter-Fuse-87-V-88-V-287-289-179-US-SELLER-/161104330017
regardless of what the price is, or what the photo looks like, buying fuses on ebay is a bad plan, just like with capacitors, 99%+ of the auctions are of very crafty done fakes. Ebay is better suited to finding that great piece of vintage HP or Keithley or Fluke or Tektronix test equipment, NOT fake fuses and caps!
I am all about living frugal, but this is one place where you want to stick with authorized sources, and a great discount from Fluke, or you could pay dearly!
P90:
I've always thought Fluke fuses are way overpriced, a rippoff actually. I'm almost afraid to measure current on my meters for fear of blowing a $10 fuse... lol
RoGeorge:
Is there any proof they are fake, other then the price difference?
$34 for a fuse! :-DD
Vgkid:
I know fluke did offer a 5 pack of fuses for about $25.
Whales:
For end users: having fake fuses is not the direct issue, it's whether or not they provide the same level of protection.
I don't have any Fluke's or Flukey fuses, but I did notice that cheap and brand name fuses seem to have different innards. I think the sand is there to help quench the fuse faster, but I'm not sure.
Cowboy: could you crack open a fake and a real fuse and show us the differences?
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