Multimeter recommendation?

Gdetrailer wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:

MFL wrote:
JMO...there are several definitions of cost, cheap throw away, lower priced, middle priced, and expensive. I usually try to buy the best product (expensive), with the features I need, for the lowest price.

Jerry

YEP and I bet most of your tools are still in service from years past.

I have a Fluke that is US Made. I have no idea how to use many of it's functions but hey they are there if needed. Same model the Commercial Electricians used on my jobs years ago.

I have used Flukes at work, they are no better than any other meter (even cheap HF) if you have not or never had them calibrated to a known standard. At work, all devices like meters, torque wrenches and such were required by the QA department to be tested and calibrated every yr.

Not all meters can be calibrated or will be able to hold a calibration to specs, that is where Fluke comes in and are able to be calibrated and do a good job holding that calibration.

But for HOME or even general electrician or mechanic use, a Fluke is not needed at all. You are not manufacturing to tight tolerances and general electrical work does not need pin point accuracy. Now if you were trying to troubleshoot an amplifier circuit where .1V can mean difference of working or not, than perhaps a Fluke or a bit better quality than HF would be a better choice.

For RV and auto use calibration to a known standard is not needed and pretty much any cheap meter that can give a consistent reading will suffice.

I have a nice 35yr old RadioShack auto range DVM which works fine and a bunch of cheapo give away HF DVMs laying around.. Those cheap HF DVMs are plenty accurate for 12V and 120V/240V work and I have not noticed any of those being inaccurate with each other (they all agree with each other).

$5-$6 HF meters are fine for the use the OP will be using it for.

One big advantage of the fluke 73 or similar or the Tek TX series of DMM's is that they extremely robust. I've dropped the TX3 from 25ft onto concrete, several times, no damage. Flukes I have are similar.

And they are really hard to damage with an incorrect hookup. Hook the MA range up across a 12V trailer battery and all that the 300+A short circuit current will do is a popped fuse, unlike some others that even a fuse won't protect.

And the leads are designed for some UL spec's that makes it highly unlikely to ever expose you to line voltage.
Both are tested and calibrated in production with NIST traceable equipment, so out of the box you know they are well calibrated, but as mentioned for precision work they need periodic test. But I'd say the likely hold cal better than el chepo's.

I could go on more, as I was involved in the design of some of these meters, they are industrial grade, targeted at industrial users. Kinda like snap on vs. harbor freight. Each serves a specific market well.

I will say they are more accurate than what the vast majority of users for RV or home applications will ever need. Products from Klein tools and similar are more than accurate enough, robust enough and much lower cost.

so, for an occasional user that only needs a few functions for qualitative measurements, the Fluke and old Tek TX meters are probably overkill, depends on what is important to you.