Test meter recommendation

[Big_Spark]

As a happy Medium I would say Martindale are well worth consideration...especially as they are owned by Robin.

 

[Handyman]

Sorry to go on about this subject, but what is the point of having fused leads if the meter is auto ranging? Under what circumstances would the fuse(s) blow, if the meter always adjusts itself for the correct range? "The regs" might specify fused leads, but why?

 

[Big_Spark]

The meters may be auto-ranging, but they can be locked onto a range too.

Personally I have NEVER known a fused lead blown in a test meter, but I have known them blown in old board speced Test Lamps.

I did read somewhere why they insisted on fused leads, and the technical explanation made sense then, but I will conceed that with a good quality meter on auto-range the chances of damage are slight.

But then I NEVER use mine on Auto-range either...

 

[ban-all-sheds]

..Anyway - if it's a fake, it's a bl**dy good one.

 

[mildmanneredjanitor]

Have any of you lot tried this supplier???


I use them a lot, and some prices are v low. But some prices are not very good at all.

Anyhoo, it's nice to share!

Click me!

 

[Kimba]

Yup Farnell and pretty good. Although like RS, Rapid, Maplin and so on they can be a bit on the pricey side, as they also sell to Joe Public.

 

[paulh53]

How About a "Rapitest DM25"?
I Bought One For a Tempory Job 4 Years Ago From "Homebase" £35,
And It's Still Going Strong, And Still Costs £35,
It's Been Almost As Busy As Me, And Boy Have I Been Busy )

 

[BR]

as already stated by FWL, the fluke T5 are a great meter for the serious DIY'er and i know my professionals who use them on site in domestic installations. To correct FWL however the T5 is actually a meter. The T3 is the model with range indication. Another handy feature of the T5 is the 'open jaw' current clamp. For the price this is good.

It only has three features, Volts (auto ranging which will also pick up whether you are measuring ac or dc voltage)
Amps
and continuity/resistance. The only fault i could find with it is that the test leads have to be ordered specially if damaged. Fused probes do not come as standard by can be fitted in place of the ones that come with it.

Also the live probe fitting into the head of the meter (it can be removed if you so wish) provides the '3rd hand’, which is very useful on ceiling roses for example.

 

[BR]

Fluke T5 electrical tester 600V and 1000V versions

 

[BR]

as already stated by FWL, the fluke T5 are a great meter for the serious DIY'er and i know many professionals who use them on site in domestic installations. To correct FWL however the T5 is actually a meter. The T3 is the model with range indication. Another handy feature of the T5 is the 'open jaw' current clamp. For the price this is good.

It only has three features, Volts (auto ranging which will also pick up whether you are measuring ac or dc voltage)
Amps
and continuity/resistance. The only fault i could find with it is that the test leads have to be ordered specially if damaged. Fused probes do not come as standard by can be fitted in place of the ones that come with it.

Also the live probe fitting into the head of the meter (it can be removed if you so wish) provides the '3rd hand’, which is very useful on ceiling roses for example.

 

[Big_Spark]

Cheers BR...I did indeed not state the case correctly regarding the T5.

We don't have any, we use T3's for indication and the clamp meters the Guys are issued with are Robin KT284 1000V Clamp/multi-meters

 

[ZenStalinist]

What autoranging means is that the day you forget that you last used it on a resistance setting to check a fuse, or set to 2V DC to check a battery, and then you stick the probes into a ring main socket, it doesn't go
B A N G ! !

Ah... I know mine wasn't autoranging anyway. I myself made that mistake. Still haven't got a new multimeter yet so I shall be watching this threat for recommendations.

I originally bought it for electronic purposes rather than electrical purposes. £12.49 from Maplin. I think it is just a fuse that went bang, although I can't be sure as the screws won't come out. I got what I paid for, what can I say?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Take a look at this: http://www.beha.com/files_d/sets/1333.pdf

Looks ideal for a household starter set - multimeter, voltage indicator and dedicated continuity tester, all in a handy case.

Couldn't find details of the set in English, but all 3 individual instruments are listed.

http://www.beha.com/files_uk/multimeter/93549.pdf

http://www.beha.com/files_uk/voltagetesters/6741.pdf

http://www.beha.com/files_uk/continuitytesters/9023.pdf


Also see another discussion here: //www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=26282

 

[dingbat]

Blimey Ban, you normally get upset when people revive eighteen-month old posts.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

How did that happen?