Author Topic: If Brymen BM869s is cheaper and as good, why people would still buy Fluke?  (Read 194964 times)

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Offline Fungus

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So absolutely every currently produced meter, including FLUKE, Keysight, Gossen....

Not even Fluke builds 'em like they used to.  :popcorn:

http://www.fluke.com/fluke/inen/digital-multimeters/fluke-27.htm?pid=56055

Quote
"The Fluke 27 combines accurate digital and analog measurement capability with extreme ruggedness and durability. They have cases twice as thick as any other DMM we build. They are totally sealed, waterproof to 3 feet (one meter) of water for one hour, tough enough to withstand contaminants, chemicals, accidental drops and severe electrical overloads.

Designed to meet military specification of MIL-STD-28800 for Style A, Class 2 instruments, the Fluke 27 performs under the extremes of heat, cold, humidity, shock, electromagnetic interference, vibration and downright abuse.

Rugged safety features include extensive overload protection, high energy fuses, fused 10A range, and non-metallic cases and tilt bail. All voltage inputs recover or fail safe under power line surge tests for major feeders. This includes simulated lightning and load switching transient pulses up to 8 kV"

"Simulated lightning"  :D
 

Offline Electro Detective

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"features include extensive overload protection, high energy fuses, fused 10A range, and non-metallic cases and tilt bail. All voltage inputs recover or fail safe under power line surge tests for major feeders. This includes simulated lightning and load switching transient pulses up to 8 kV."

yes yes, that's all good and may convince  :clap: the buying department to order 600 of them sight unseen :-DMM :-DMM :-DMM :-DMM :-DMM :-DMM

But will a Fluke 27 meet it's specs at the Joe Smith Proof Lab?   :popcorn:


Skeptical frugal techs would appreciate seeing it deliver the goods in an independent testing environment,
before they hand over their bag of saved coins and birthday/Christmas cash to buy one.

No one needs a big dollar meter that flakes out after some extreme carpet surfing, before going out into a lightning storm to check the RV truck battery  ;D
« Last Edit: June 03, 2017, 12:17:30 am by Electro Detective »
 

Offline Fungus

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Quote from: fungus
Fluke 27... tough enough to withstand severe electrical overloads.


will a Fluke 27 meet it's specs at the Joe Smith Proof Lab?   :popcorn:

It would be a good one to test, but ... that's up to joe.

He can be a bit ornery.  :popcorn:

« Last Edit: June 03, 2017, 10:10:10 pm by Fungus »
 

Offline Electro Detective

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If the electrical survival specs are similar to an 87V,
and no immediate plan on going swimming with the 87V
or dropping it from 6 meters on to concrete inside an expl0sive environment,

then there is no point in buying a 27, 28-11
or sillycone stuffed EX series (the recalled mega dollar Uni-T lookalikes, lol) 

 

Offline Fungus

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If the electrical survival specs are similar to an 87V,
then there is no point in buying a 27, 28-11

The key is in the weasel words: "All voltage inputs recover or fail safe"

The Fluke 87 chose to 'fail safe' in Joe's tests, ie. it broke. It's not among the top meters in his tests despite the high CAT rating printed on the front.

(which doesn't make it less safe than the others, just maybe not as robust)
 

Offline tooki

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If the electrical survival specs are similar to an 87V,
and no immediate plan on going swimming with the 87V
or dropping it from 6 meters on to concrete inside an expl0sive environment,

then there is no point in buying a 27, 28-11
or sillycone stuffed EX series (the recalled mega dollar Uni-T lookalikes, lol)
Was the 87V ex recalled?? I thought it was just discontinued.
 

Offline Fungus

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Was the 87V ex recalled?? I thought it was just discontinued.

No recalls on the 87V

http://en-us.fluke.com/customer-service/safety-notices/?tab=archive

 

Offline 2N3055

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He probably meant 28 II Ex..
 
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Offline Electro Detective

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Yes, it's the Fluke 28-11 EX on the recall list

If you, or rich showoff boss has one   :-DMM  check if it's listed in the knackered batch 
serial number range 20960000 to 22489999, and send the Flukker back and get a new one  :-+

www.productsafety.gov.au/recall/fluke-corporation-fluke-28iiex

How can a meter filled with 87V parts and slimed with Green Lantern goo crack so easy?  :-//

Are many RED meters doomed to be cheap or bad luck (like street hookers) regardless of brand or re-badge ?

You may as well check out the other recall duds too, in case you have one wasting space in your test gear stash,
waiting to bite you one day:   :scared:     www.productsafety.gov.au/site-search/fluke

Thankfully I don't own any red meters to check on that recall site, and can prod around freely  :-/O
without the meter being the prime suspect on a blowout  :-BROKE

 ;D

 
« Last Edit: June 05, 2017, 11:39:18 pm by Electro Detective »
 

Offline IslamIslame

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Re: If Brymen BM869s is cheaper and as good, why people would still buy Fluke?
« Reply #384 on: October 14, 2017, 01:11:01 am »
Almost 30 year old Fluke 87s in good shape routinely go for around $150 US! How much is a "good" used Brymen worth? Fluke's are for people who need a meter, Brymen's are for people who want a meter! Nuff said
 

Offline nanofrog

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Re: If Brymen BM869s is cheaper and as good, why people would still buy Fluke?
« Reply #385 on: October 14, 2017, 02:12:32 am »
How much is a "good" used Brymen worth?
They're not common in the US, as they don't sell under their own name (seen them rebranded under both Greenlee and Extech though, with a nice mark-up of course).

That said however, I found a BM857 on eBay in the US that they're asking $220 OBO (here). The asking price is out of whack though, as you can get a new one from TME for ~$157 + shipping (~$20).  :palm:

As it happens, I've a Brymen BM857a that's 17yrs old (listing is NOT mine as I'm keeping it). And it's fully functional and well within spec.  :-+

For disclosure regarding brand loyalty, I own:
  • Fluke 27FM (forgetting to fix the ACV function as it's easier to grab a different meter :-[)
  • GW Instek GDM 8251A
  • Agilent U1252B
  • Uni-T UT139C
  • CenTech DT830 (Harbor Freight freebies; make great panel meters or as a road kit DMM  >:D)

Edit: For disclosure, I got mine as NOS off of eBay for ~$78 shipped a few years ago or so.
« Last Edit: October 14, 2017, 08:11:40 am by nanofrog »
 
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Offline Lightages

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Re: If Brymen BM869s is cheaper and as good, why people would still buy Fluke?
« Reply #386 on: October 14, 2017, 04:09:48 am »
Almost 30 year old Fluke 87s in good shape routinely go for around $150 US! How much is a "good" used Brymen worth? Fluke's are for people who need a meter, Brymen's are for people who want a meter! Nuff said


Fanboi hyperbole....  :bullshit:
 

Offline nanofrog

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Re: If Brymen BM869s is cheaper and as good, why people would still buy Fluke?
« Reply #387 on: October 14, 2017, 06:11:56 am »
Fanboi hyperbole....  :bullshit:
I suspect so, but whatever.  :-// I'll do the best I can to explain matters IME; it's up to the reader to determine if it's relevant to them or not (along with other posts).  :popcorn:

BTW, PM sent as it isn't relevant to the thread IMHO.  ;)
 

Online joeqsmith

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Re: If Brymen BM869s is cheaper and as good, why people would still buy Fluke?
« Reply #388 on: October 14, 2017, 03:48:46 pm »
Almost 30 year old Fluke 87s in good shape routinely go for around $150 US! How much is a "good" used Brymen worth? Fluke's are for people who need a meter, Brymen's are for people who want a meter! Nuff said
A 2-post wonder.  Troll.  Nuff said

Offline BeBuLamar

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When the groundbreaking Fluke 8020A came out in 1977 I bought one. It was tough and reliable but eventually the LCD faded away and intermittently lost some segments. So I moved on. Not sure where my 8020A is now. I doubt that I threw it away. Wonder what would happen if I made a "lifetime" warranty claim.


If you make lifetime warranty claim they won't honor it. It's more than 7 years out of production. Besides they don't even warranty a Fluke 287 with a broken metal clip in the battery compartment.
 

Offline BeBuLamar

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To answer the tittle question I found the reason is that I can't buy the Brymen meter. Brymen simply don't sell in the United States.
 

Offline AVGresponding

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To answer the tittle question I found the reason is that I can't buy the Brymen meter. Brymen simply don't sell in the United States.

Brymen are sold under the Greenlee brand in the US, afaik
nuqDaq yuch Dapol?
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Offline rsjsouza

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To answer the tittle question I found the reason is that I can't buy the Brymen meter. Brymen simply don't sell in the United States.
As nanofrog mentioned above, Brymen's OEMs in US are Greenlee and Extech, but you can buy one at https://www.tme.eu or https://www.welectron.com
Vbe - vídeo blog eletrônico http://videos.vbeletronico.com

Oh, the "whys" of the datasheets... The information is there not to be an axiomatic truth, but instead each speck of data must be slowly inhaled while carefully performing a deep search inside oneself to find the true metaphysical sense...
 

Offline Fungus

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Brymen are sold under the Greenlee brand in the US, afaik

Yes, but they're much more expensive and they don't have all the models.

Plus they're a horrible green color.

(IMHO... there's obviously at least one person out there who liked that color)
« Last Edit: May 08, 2021, 02:58:28 pm by Fungus »
 

Offline BeBuLamar

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Looking at the price of the Greenlee and while for $440 is still over $100 less than the Fluke 289 and you can say the BM869s has more functionality than the Fluke but I must say I have to choose the Fluke in this situation.
 

Offline chickenHeadKnob

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Many of us in Canada/US have purchased Brymen  branded (red) from tme.eu without a problem. They ship in as little as 3 days by DHL.
 

Offline Trader

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Looking at the price of the Greenlee and while for $440 is still over $100 less than the Fluke 289 and you can say the BM869s has more functionality than the Fluke but I must say I have to choose the Fluke in this situation.

"Fluke 289 and you can say the BM869s has more functionality than the Fluke" - Please, could you explain what are these extra functions? Thanks
 

Offline BeBuLamar

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Not a whole lot so that I said "You can say" but there is at least a few things I can count.
1. The 500,000 count display instead of 50,000 only on the Fluke.
2. Display the current of 4-20mA in %. At work this is about the only use I have for the current measurement function besides using it as a jumper like I ?said in previous post. Having the current loop displayed in % is useful.
3. Capable of 2 thermocouple inputs (although I don't even use this feature on the Fluke I have separate for that).
5. The Brymen is rated at CAT IV 1000V instead of CAT IV 600V of the Fluke

There are some features you can say the Brymen is more. As I said I would still pick the Fluke. Some said there is no problem ordering from TME but what if it has problem? Do they honor the warranty? And it may be OK to buy for my own use but for work it would be difficult to get an account with TME while we have account with several vendors that sell Fluke. If I buy a Brymen for work and it doesn't work I am likely to get yelled at.
« Last Edit: May 09, 2021, 03:06:55 pm by BeBuLamar »
 

Offline Fungus

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Looking at the price of the Greenlee and while for $440 is still over $100 less than the Fluke 289 and you can say the BM869s has more functionality than the Fluke but I must say I have to choose the Fluke in this situation.

"Fluke 289 and you can say the BM869s has more functionality than the Fluke" - Please, could you explain what are these extra functions? Thanks

The Brymen has some functions that the Fluke doesn't but overall the 289 has way more functionality, eg. It has a graphical display and can draw graphs.

(It also takes time to "boot up" and it chews through batteries like there's no tomorrow)
 

Online joeqsmith

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If you like the Fluke 289, are looking for something low cost and don't need a robust meter, you may want to look at the UNI-T UT181A.   


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