Products > Test Equipment

Is this a real or fake Fluke multimeter?

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bdunham7:

--- Quote from: themadhippy on July 05, 2023, 02:57:56 pm ---If your going near mains id trust the flukes cat rating much more than an equivalent priced wonhunglo device

--- End quote ---

True, but I'd worry more about the probes than the meter.  Even with the D830 crapster you're far more likely to have a probing accident than you are to experience a meter failure due to transients.  And Klein is not in the UNI-T/Aneng/Kaiweets class--they're legit.

bdunham7:

--- Quote from: Pcmaker on July 05, 2023, 02:18:05 pm ---I'll also be using it to check fuses and contactors, troubleshooting control boxes, but I'll be using it for checking batteries and outlets, most of the time

--- End quote ---

If you need everything to be in one device, then look at the Klein DMM I mentioned above.  And make sure you aren't working in any 3-phase panels or anything like that.

If you are probing building wiring in anything other than the outside face of wall sockets, you really should have shielded leads. These are insulated down to the very tip to avoid the accidents that can happen with the longer bare probes.  The leads included with the Klein MM325 have these shields.  Edit:  To be clear, the Fluke 101 kits also include these shields.  You can't use the shields when probing a US wall socket fromthe front, so my objections to this practice stand.  Here's a picture to illustrate this:



If you do decide on a DMM and you're willing to heed my advice to buy a DMM that actually does both things properly, this kit has the Klein DMM I mentioned above as well as a version of the receptacle tester, all for only $5 more.  That way you can do it both ways and compare.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Klein-Tools-Test-Kit-with-Multimeter-Non-Contact-Volt-Tester-Receptacle-Tester-69149P/318617418

bdunham7:

--- Quote from: Fungus on July 05, 2023, 06:55:27 am ---I'll know after I've looked at three or four of them.

PS: A "battery tester" won't be any better because it doesn't know the load or the cutoff voltage of those devices - you'll have to measure three or four of them to figure it out just the same as a multimeter.

--- End quote ---

Read this short thread:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/battery-voltage-reduces-the-longer-it-is-being-mm-voltage-tested/msg4930432/#msg4930432

He's getting an OCV of 1.38V on a "very, very dead" AA Duracell.  The same cell measured virtually zero on the actual battery test range of one of his meters.  The point of the thread was that even a 1M vs 10M load was enough to draw the cell voltage down, even though that would involve less than 1µA of current. 

I have two AA Duracells sitting on my desk that I removed from something.  They register as 'low' but not 'dead' on my analog battery tester and I get 3.6mA with the Harbor Freight D830, which is just below the minimum of 4.0mA for a pass.  So the cells are low, almost dead but probably still good enough to operate many devices.  They'll put out over 700mA into a short circuit.  They'll likely still operate a urinal flusher.  Both of them measure 1.25V open circuit. 

I don't use OCV to test alkaline cells, so I don't know how common this issue is.  The OP might have to make some observations about how a particular level reading correlates with loss of function in the flushers. The Amprobe device I recommended uses a 4R load with a cutoff of 1.0V for "good" and 0.9V for "dead".  The one I have uses a 25R load and 1.15V for "good" and 1.0V for "dead".  Might they disagree on a marginal case?  Maybe, but they probably both would make the right call the vast majority of the time.  OCV, on the other hand, clearly fails us in the above example.

BrokenYugo:
I'd sooner teach someone to bounce test a AA than expect them to use a DMM and the usual probes. It's just awkward, same with probing a NEMA 5-15R with ordinary probes, it isn't easy and what you see is mostly useless information anyway, a plug in tester is sufficient.

I keep a small toolkit just for handyman level residential electrical work, the only test gear is a non contact probe and a plug in 3 neon tester, I need to know if power is present and on which wire(s), finer detail is generally the power company's responsibility.

BeBuLamar:
Well I use the DMM to check battery all the time. If I get 1.38V I would toss it.
As for checking the outlet if I do it all the time I would take a pair of test leads and wire them in a plug. But since I don't do that all the time I just use the test probes as is. I don't see any problem with that. I much prefer that than a plug with the light or a non contact device.

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