Multimeters

[Rob Turner]

I suspect nearly all multimeters are made in China these days, no matter what the make.

Most Flukes are made in the USA with some of the lower end meters being made in China.

 

[Hoovie]

I use a fluke 115, but the supplied cables are not GS38 so buyer beware! If you don’t have a good knowledge of electrics don’t go poking around 230Vac would be my advice, although 12/24dc is “safer”, Batteries have the potential to deliver very high currents, and produce arcs and sparks, which don’t go well with gas or fuel vapours.
A good plug in socket tester for £20 can be used to diagnose most 230V faults.
CPC Farnell have a comprehensive range of meters and other electrical components and are a much better bet than buying auction sites.

Good call on the plug-in Tester

I have this one which I leave plugged into a Socket 24/7 - https://amzn.to/3KGS01p - for under £12.
With the display as well as the LED lights it is a great quick reference for when you plug in. (In my own Motorhome it also is a great aid to show when the Inverter is running or on standby).

(it also has an RCD Test function which is quite neat )

 

[Nedge68]

Going back to Bonsaiman’s original question…

https://cpc.farnell.com/tenma/72-7780/digital-multimeter-handheld-3/dp/IN07413?st=multimeters#anchorTechnicalDOCS

this seems to have it all and a temperature probe AC/DC current. Or the UT210 recommended by many Funsters

 

[mofurt]

I'm an electronics type by trade. Fluke on the bench (including a scopemeter), but for most personal stuff I use an ancient Hilka (Argos cheapie, probably 15 years old now) or one that cost me a fiver from CPC four or five years ago. The latter can sit in a bag on my motorbike, be thrown in the boot of the car, fumbled and dropped - I don't care if it breaks - though it's lasting well in the case I bought from Amazon that cost about the same again.

Most of the time it really doesn't matter how many digits the screen has, or even how accurate as long as it's within say 5%. I care if my vehicle battery is 12v, 14v or 9v, or where I stop seeing roughly 12V on a circuit so I know where the bad connection is, or if the continuity beep says a switch is working. At home I don't care that the battery is precisely 12.1V with traceable calibration or it can measure the hFE of a transistor. As long as it takes 4mm banana plugs so I can use a variety of test cables and gives something approximately like the right value on the display it's good enough for fault finding.

I don't have the same attitude to mechanical tools, there it's very good quality every time.

 

[Wabs]

There you go,, I still haven’t got a clue what your all talking about

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[mofurt]

What kind of thing do think you'll want to do with your meter? How confident are you poking around live electrics? What is your skill level, what do you realistically aspire to (want to do all your own repairs, or quick check then call in a pro)?

Basic 12V vehicle voltage checks? (like is my battery charging? This bulb isn't working, is there power to it? Is this fuse blown?)
Learning electronics or more advanced electrics?
Basic mains wiring checks? (Do I have 240 at the vehicle end of my hook up cable?)
Measuring current flows in vehicle electrics (something I very rarely do, and never on high current things)
Measuring current flows in mains electrics (can't say I've ever done that, even when I worked on big lab instruments but some may do it all the time)


It may be better for you to get a basic one with some useful test leads in a good case to keep them all together than an all-singing professional one that costs five times as much and is in a bare holster, for example. Or there may be real value in getting a really good one.

My most used meter is one of these:- https://cpc.farnell.com/duratool/d03047/multimeter-digital/dp/IN07221
My most expensive meter is a Fluke Scopemeter, which will set you back from around £500 for a good used one to £2000 for a new one. The one that cost under a fiver does just about everything I need for quick day to day tests, and fits easily in the bottom of my laptop bag or pannier so it's always with me - which makes it far better than a perfect one that's sat in a drawer miles away.

 

[kevenh]

Good call on the plug-in Tester

I have this one which I leave plugged into a Socket 24/7 - https://amzn.to/3KGS01p - for under £12.
With the display as well as the LED lights it is a great quick reference for when you plug in. (In my own Motorhome it also is a great aid to show when the Inverter is running or on standby).

(it also has an RCD Test function which is quite neat )

And your socket tester is in this site’s top 10
Thanks for the heads up. I can get nearer to a complete test kit

On topic fully, I’d like the Fluke I had from my test engineering days but the UNI-T UT210E mentioned above is what my budget & application dictated.

 

[PDrill]

Even the cheapest have been just fine for my use, but the one thing I miss from my 80's SOAR multimeter is an auto-off function. It's been number of times when the multimeter has been left on and drained the battery :-/

 

[Itsmcb]

This one mentioned in post #36 is unbelievably only £4.20 !! ( Probably plus postage) https://cpc.farnell.com/duratool/d03047/multimeter-digital/dp/IN07221

 

[Hoovie]

This one mentioned in post #36 is unbelievably only £4.20 !! ( Probably plus postage) https://cpc.farnell.com/duratool/d03047/multimeter-digital/dp/IN07221

That is the kind of thing it is worth adding to the basket if buying other kit anyway Every motorhomer should carry a multimeter of some type, even if only used to check fuses.

PS. If the budget doesn't run to £4.20, could go for this instead .... https://cpc.farnell.com/duratool/d03046/multimeter-digital/dp/IN07220?MER=sy-me-pd-mi-alte

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[Nedge68]

CPC is like the middle of Lidl, but online! Spend £17.50 for free P&P

 

[Spriddler]

That is the kind of thing it is worth adding to the basket if buying other kit anyway Every motorhomer should carry a multimeter of some type, even if only used to check fuses.

PS. If the budget doesn't run to £4.20, could go for this instead .... https://cpc.farnell.com/duratool/d03046/multimeter-digital/dp/IN07220?MER=sy-me-pd-mi-alte

I've had one of those cheapy meters in the shed for maybe ten years and another one in the m/h. They do everything I need to fault find plus more than just basic testing for my vehicle restoration hobby. As with so many tools, you need the knowledge not just the kit.

 

[cyberyacht]

Before I bought myself a cheapie multimeter, I had a pea bulb soldered to a couple of wires. If it lit up then stuff was working.

 

[Spriddler]

Before I bought myself a cheapie multimeter, I had a pea bulb soldered to a couple of wires. If it lit up then stuff was working.

I've been using this arrangement for more than 20 years to check circuits and particularly vehicle dynamos and I've even made up a couple for chums.

and one of these to check coil and magneto ignitions

 

[kevenh]

one of these to check coil and magneto ignitions

Not sure if it was misplaced humour or stupidly on both parties, but my dad bypassed your wiring malarkey and told mum to hold a spark plug lead of a mower while he turned over the motor for some troubleshooting.

I think the former as dad was ex-REME and GPO mechanic

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[Gromett]

I suspect nearly all multimeters are made in China these days, no matter what the make.

But it is who is doing the design, setting the specification and is ultimately legally responsible. Kewtech are a British company who design the meters specifically for the UK market meeting UK safety regulations etc. They are very well regarded in the industry in the tier down from Fluke.

Fluke are undoubtedly the best in the industry but not for the reasons most people think. The reasons they are expensive are not the reasons I need to buy a meter for, so Kewtech would be my go to for quality at a reasonable price.

 

[Revolvor]

I suspect nearly all multimeters are made in China these days, no matter what the make.

It's not so much where it's made as how it's designed and made.

IPhones are designed in the West, and made in China, but with proper quality control.

Edit: post crossed with Gromett

 

[WESTY66]

Good call on the plug-in Tester

I have this one which I leave plugged into a Socket 24/7 - https://amzn.to/3KGS01p - for under £12.
With the display as well as the LED lights it is a great quick reference for when you plug in. (In my own Motorhome it also is a great aid to show when the Inverter is running or on standby).

(it also has an RCD Test function which is quite neat )

Are these idiot proof, if so maybe I need one in my van for the rare occasion I hook up

 

[Gromett]

Are these idiot proof, if so maybe I need one in my van for the rare occasion I hook up

No they are not idiot proof. I managed to blow mine up. Still not sure how. I am a qualified (but not practising) electrician.

I was having a tripping problem, I suspect it doesn't like being plugged in when the power is restored if you have certain loads on the circuit. But still not sure why/how it blew. Might even just have been one of those things and not related to what I did or didn't do.

I will be getting another.

 

[autorouter]

Are these idiot proof, if so maybe I need one in my van for the rare occasion I hook up

They are as safe as any other 13A plug. They will have a constant leakage of maybe 5mA, not enough to trip an RCD. I wouldn't leave them plugged in permanently, but that's just a feeling, not a definite reason. Anyway mine has a buzzer in it, which would get annoying very quickly.

Also very useful with a blue plug to 13A socket adapter, for checking the hookup post and hookup cable if there's a problem.

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[Bonsaiman]

Hi all
Thanks for all the advice, think I’ll give Fluke a miss, a bit to expensive and might just try a cheap one as I only really what to see what the hab battery is doing, as it has been playing up a bit lately and it might be time to replace it