Best multimeter for my price range?

[BlueApple]

I'm using a $20 cheapo multimeter at the moment, and I'd like to get something better.  Around $100-150 is my budget.

At the moment I'm looking at these:
- Fluke 107
- Fluke 110 (From Lowe's)
- Amprobe AM-530
- EEVblog BM235

Which one would you recommend? Do you have any other suggestions?

Thanks! 

[Martin72]

Hi,

In general and as always it depends on your needs...
Without this, I would have a look at this one:

https://www.welectron.com/Brymen-BM857s-Multimeter_1

[J-R]

Based on your previous posts, I might assume you are looking for this for electronics use?
What DMM do you currently have and what features are lacking?

Some notes:
- Fluke 107 can't do DC mV, can't do mA at all, not good for electronics.
- Fluke 110 can do some mV but no current whatsoever, also not good.
- Amprobe AM-530 has a lot more features but is only 4,000 count, which is really bottom of the barrel.
- BM-235 is slightly interesting for the price point, but is still only 6,000 count.  My other main gripes for electronics bench use would be it's small and tippy and has no interface options.  The Welectron-branded one is available for about $85 US delivered if you still go that route.  https://www.welectron.com/Brymen-BM235-Multimeter_1

The BM857s makes good sense, but I personally would get the BM867s with the secondary display for the same price: https://www.welectron.com/Brymen-BM867s-Multimeter_1
These are both 50,000 count and feature-packed.  You're looking at about $140 delivered for just the DMM.  Or you could splurge and get the + edition, then add fuses, 2 sets of clips, USB interface, magnet, all-in for $214.48 delivered.

Be aware that you'll basically only have a 1 year warranty on the imported Brymens, and return shipping may not be worth the hassle at these price points.

[bdunham7]

Which one would you recommend? Do you have any other suggestions?

The lower-end Flukes are good meters, but they all have features redacted so that they can make a dozen 'task specific' meters--each missing different things that you might actually want.  The Amprobe and the BM235 are more full-featured, but I'm not sure who makes that Amprobe and its origin is listed as China, so that is a serious question mark for me.  The BM235 has better features, things like Lo-Z/Auto and Lo-Pass that actually come in handy.  The EEVBlog and Edition+ versions apparently have a much better test lead.  I haven't compared them myself, but the silicone version is reputedly very nice.  The EEVBlog version is available on Amazon if you are in a hurry, otherwise you can take advantage of the very strong dollar and shop on Welectron.

[Fungus]

If you have a "budget" then forget about Fluke.

What do you use your $20 meter for? What do you hope to gain?

[nctnico]

If you want to measure mains / deadly voltages then get an A-brand like Fluke, Hioki, Keysight, etc to make sure the meter is safe to use. Otherwise anything goes

[Fungus]

If you want to measure mains / deadly voltages then get an A-brand like Fluke, Hioki, Keysight, etc

No Brymens?

[BlueApple]

My main use is electronics, although I do some times measure high voltage stuff. I want something with a fairly high frequency and capacitance range. (Just found out the 110 doesn't even do capacitance.)
The BM867s looks like a great choice, I'll look into it.

[J-R]

For circuits capable of making high voltages, how about a high-voltage probe?  There are some of the Fluke 80K-6 probes on ebay right now for under $50.  There are also older Fluke DMM kits with two high voltage probes included, such as the Fluke 27.

[BlueApple]

For circuits capable of making high voltages, how about a high-voltage probe?  There are some of the Fluke 80K-6 probes on ebay right now for under $50.  There are also older Fluke DMM kits with two high voltage probes included, such as the Fluke 27.

How do those work?

[nctnico]

If you want to measure mains / deadly voltages then get an A-brand like Fluke, Hioki, Keysight, etc

No Brymens?

Who is your family going to sue after you get fried to a crisp? How much does a 'brand' care about their reputation?

[mwb1100]

- EEVblog BM235

The BM235 is a good value for the money and I believe they are in the low end of the price range for meters that have been designed and built with safety in mind. That kind of build might not be as important if you only do electronics, but if it's ever going to touch mains you should have it.

I think Brymen meters are generally a good value.  If the BM235 does what you want, it would be a good buy.  The eevblog variant is $140 on Amazon (prime shipping), about $120 (shipped to the USA) from Dave, also about $120 from welectron.com (also shipped to the USA).  I think those are the only vendors other then ebay resellers that offer the eevblog version.

If you want to save a few dollars, welectron.com also offers the standard BM235 for about $100 shipped to the US.  I think that the only differences between the standard and eevblog BM235 are:

  - eevblog ships with very nice silicon probes, standard has PVC probes  (you can add the silicon probes for about $10)
  - eevblog has the blue casing, standard has a red casing

There are a lot of different Brymen models that are in the $100-150 range, so it might be worth checking several.  For example, some Brymens have a bar graph, but many don't (the BM235 doesn't).  Most (I think) have a 30 second timeout on the backlight - which drives me crazy, but some have backlight timeouts in the 10-15 minute range (BM235 has a long timeout).  Unfortunately, datasheets generally only mention whether or not there is a backlight at all.  To find out how long it stays on you usually have to grovel around in the manual.

Bymens are hard to find from US vendors, so check with welectron.com or tme.com in the EU.  Both have reasonable shipping charges to the US.  A nice advantage to buying from overseas is you'll avoid sales tax.  In most cases that'll offset the shipping from the EU.

(note: I'm not affiliated with Brymen, Welectron, or TME other than as a customer)

[J-R]

The manual for the Fluke 80K-6 has a lot of good info: https://assets.fluke.com/manuals/80k6____iseng0600.pdf

[bdunham7]

Bymens are hard to find from US vendors, so check with welectron.com or tme.com in the EU.  Both have reasonable shipping charges to the US.  A nice advantage to buying from overseas is you'll avoid sales tax.  In most cases that'll offset the shipping from the EU.

If you order from Welectron do they take off the VAT as well? 

[bdunham7]

Who is your family going to sue after you get fried to a crisp? How much does a 'brand' care about their reputation?

For industrial three-phase, HVDC solar or some high energy physics experiment that is a valid concern.  For household mains use, at least in the US, not so much. 

[BlueApple]

For industrial three-phase, HVDC solar or some high energy physics experiment that is a valid concern.  For household mains use, at least in the US, not so much.

Yeah, I'm not working with that stuff.

[J-R]

No VAT from Welectron to US addresses.  Also, you could e-mail them for a 5% EEVblog discount code.

Honestly, US household mains is pretty tame (120V RMS to ground). Even the junkiest DMM is really no big deal.

However, the design of the Fluke HV probe provides quite a bit of extra protection to the user.  Less risk to slipping with sweaty hands for example.  You also get a 75M Ohms input impedance.

[unknownparticle]

Brymen 786, 60000 count with bar graph.  142 euro from Welectron, thats about the same in $.

[BlueApple]

Brymen 786, 60000 count with bar graph.  142 euro from Welectron, thats about the same in $.

Would you recommend it over the BM867s?

[Fungus]

If you want to measure mains / deadly voltages then get an A-brand like Fluke, Hioki, Keysight, etc

No Brymens?

Who is your family going to sue after you get fried to a crisp? How much does a 'brand' care about their reputation?

Are you serious? Brymen make meters with a higher CAT rating than any Fluke.

[bdunham7]

No VAT from Welectron to US addresses.  Also, you could e-mail them for a 5% EEVblog discount code.

Hmm.  No VAT, $9 DHL shipping, no US sales tax, 5% discount, monstrously strong US dollar.  That all adds up (or down!) to a pretty good deal really.

However, the design of the Fluke HV probe provides quite a bit of extra protection to the user.  Less risk to slipping with sweaty hands for example.  You also get a 75M Ohms input impedance.

I have one and while it is good for some uses, the two drawbacks are that it is explicitly not rated for mains usage of any type and it can be less accurate than you'd hope for at lower voltages with many meters due to their input impedances in those ranges. 

[mwb1100]

No VAT from Welectron to US addresses.  Also, you could e-mail them for a 5% EEVblog discount code.

Hmm.  No VAT, $9 DHL shipping, no US sales tax, 5% discount, monstrously strong US dollar.  That all adds up (or down!) to a pretty good deal really.

I had forgotten about the 5% discount.

Just as an FYI to the OP since the BM786 is being considered - the 5% discount doesn't apply to that meter for whatever reason (might be an oversight - I don't know).  It does apply to other Brymen meters that I've tried it out on including the eevblog BM235, so it's not that the "special edition" eevblog models are excluded from the discount.

Not that the lack of a discount should stop you from buying the BM786 - it didn't stop me earlier this year.

[BlueApple]

I think I'm going with the Brymen BM867s. It looks really good for the money.

[J-R]

BM78x and BM8xx models are reasonable choices, will come down to what specific features you are looking for.
One negative I see is that the BM857s/BM867s can't measure temperature.  With IR guns being so handy, it may not matter.

I didn't see the point with the BM785/BM786 and BM867s so just got the BM789 and BM869s.  A lot of the purchase price is accessories and shipping.  So it's easy to spend a tiny bit more and get the top model with all the features.

[Fungus]

One negative I see is that the BM857s/BM867s can't measure temperature.  With IR guns being so handy, it may not matter.

Yep. You can get IR cameras really cheap these days and K-type probes are almost useless in comparison.

I didn't see the point with the BM785/BM786 and BM867s.

Less overloading on the dial? Less button presses to cycle through the ranges?

I don't need temperature - I have other dedicated gadgets for that. I have an oscilloscope so the 100kHz TRMS is moot.

Sometimes less is more...