Choosing a modern multi-meter

[d2reid]

[USER="2234"] Plus LoZ

I love it when I learn something new to me, what the heck is LoZ?

[USER="2234"] I can not believe that there are a multitude of makers out there so I think they are "basically" all the same.

Brian

All the same? i guess I am a bigot. I tend to think Klein and Fluke make good products. The Made in China products lead me to post political stuff that is not allowed here, whoops, I think I just made a political implication. Dang it, I hope I don't get banned.

400 vs 600 amps? I only have a 50amp rV, why would I need anything more?

[howson]

d2reid -- no ban, just a beating. (Just kidding)

To your "why any more than 50 amps" question--that's only considering the current on the 120vAC circuits. What about the DC?

Those of us with inverters, and specifically the Victron, can pull 250 amps of 12vDC on a regular basis from a battery bank and surge much higher for short periods. The inverter's DC circuit is protected by a 400A fuse.

Do you "need" a meter that measures 600A? I doubt it. I have a tiny $10 analog in my Goldwing's tool bag that works for the majority of minor checks I need to do with a meter. Don't get me wrong--the fancy ones with all the wiz-bang features are great and they have their place in my regular toolbox. (I think I've got four different meters all with different capabilities.)

Howard

[Scott'n'Wendy]

Most RV troubleshooting can be done without current measurement and just a cheap meter. However, more capable (expensive) meters can make your troubleshooting easier. Quality wise you cannot beat Fluke.
I use something like this:
https://www.fluke.com/en-us/product/...s/fluke-375-fc
The exact one I have is not offered anymore.
For some non-contact AC voltage sensing, I use one of these:
https://www.fluke.com/en-us/product/...s/fluke-1ac-ii
For ac I use it more than a meter on the trailer because I rarely need a measurement, usually you only need to know if ac power is present, not if it is 112v or 123v.
I agree with your meter preferences, I stick with Fluke, I have a 73, a 375 clamp, and an 87.

IMO, the 375 will be good ........if you want to spend that much.

[Jkwilson]

I love it when I learn something new to me, what the heck is LoZ?

Shorthand for low impedance. Modern meters are generally high impedance meaning very little effect on the circuit being measured. But they draw so little current from the circuit that a voltage induced on an unconnected wire may be enough to register on the meter. LoZ capable meters have a mode where there is an extra load applied across the input to eliminate such “false” readings.

[d2reid]

IMO, the 375 will be good ........if you want to spend that much.

Yeehaw that is pricey. Not wanting to spend quite that much. But what really caught my attention was "Transmits measurements to your smartphone via Fluke Connect® so you can view them at a safer distance". It gave me an instant mental image of myself dressed in a lab coat with frizzy hair doing a mad scientist experiment involving lots of electricity.

The link you sent had a manual link on it, so I actually read a manual. I had some misconceptions about how the clamps work and what they can do. However, one feature that the 375 had was the "Inrush" measurement. I think that measures the amount of start up pull a motor has. A really good thing to know when playing with RV A/C units.

Shorthand for low impedance. Modern meters are generally high impedance meaning very little effect on the circuit being measured. But they draw so little current from the circuit that a voltage induced on an unconnected wire may be enough to register on the meter. LoZ capable meters have a mode where there is an extra load applied across the input to eliminate such “false” readings.

Thank you. I think I am more of a horseshoe and hand grenade electrician, Close is good enough.

[Jlawles2]

"Transmits measurements to your smartphone via Fluke Connect® so you can view them at a safer distance".

OK, let me askthey question. Ar eye afraid the meter is going to blow up, because you still have to have the leads in you hand (probably the closest thing to harms way. Also, depending on the lag between the meter an the phone, it could be a bad thing.

[Scott'n'Wendy]

Jlawles2 The reason is arc flash. A common use for that meter in industry is to take a 'load' reading for when a motor is running. To do that, in some starters you have to have the door open. But the starter enclosure is engineered to contain the arc flash when/if it happens with the door shut. So if you are standing there looking at your meter and the contactor faults and blows up...you are exposed.
You are not concerned about the meter going kapow, mainly the power components in a cabinet.

[Scott'n'Wendy]

d2reid
Agreed that it is really too expensive for the average RV'r to keep in a tool box, but you mentioned fluke and thought maybe you had some money burnin' a hole in you pocket..lol
I only have those Fluke meters because I'm an electrician.

[d2reid]

Scott'n'Wendy I love good tools. I have some from my first tool purchase 50 years ago. I am a retired RV'er, not an electrician, not a technician, not a mechanic, just some old guy that tinkers around until he breaks it so good he has to hire a professional to come fix it.

So you'all tell me if I have this wrong.

I have kind of zeroed in on the Klein 390. I was somewhat disappointed to find it was made in China. But the reviews tell me it holds up ok for the usage I intend.

Here is what I think it will do.

I can hold it next to some wires and tell if they are hot.
I can put the clamps around a wire and it will tell me how many V's there are.
I can put the clamps around a wire and it will tell me what amps are going through it, both AC and DC.
I can plug the thermocoupler in and it will give me temperature.(Checking heating/AC ducts).

What I would like it to do, but don't think it can, is to put the clamps over my 50amp power cord and tell me how many amps and volts there are.

I think the only thing I can't do with my little pocket digital multi-meter is read amps, the whole purpose for the upgrade. .

[Scott'n'Wendy]

It won't give you amps flowing in your trailer cord. You need to be encircling one conductor. Your cable has 4. But if you can get to where the cable is terminated, you could read the amperage there.
About the only thing I've ever used a dc clamp-on for in an RV is for measuring individual brake currents, and it looks like it can accomplish that for you.

[gbkims]

[USER="4775"]Here is what I think it will do.

I can put the clamps around a wire and it will tell me how many V's there are.

My read of the manual makes me think:

Yes the NCV tells if wire is hot with 40VAC or more.

The jaws clamped around a single wire only tells Amps. Still requires test leads to measure Voltage.

I've owned/used several Flukes when I worked, the 375 FC would have been sweet to use around starters and MCCs.

[Scott'n'Wendy]

d2reid Don't laugh, but I think the analogue meters are faster and possibly more reliable (most measure voltage with no battery). Used one similar to this https://simpsonelectric.com/products.../260-8-260-8p/ that my BIL found on a roof top for years. The roll top box it was in https://simpson260.com/accessories/c...pson_00248.htm was missing the roller, but everything still worked. They are quite expensive still today. We used that thing for everything.

The other analogue meter we used a lot was the https://www.triplett.com/collections...log-multimeter again simple meter, fast response, and easy to use even if the battery was dead (many many times battery was dead).

Never under estimate the power of an old meter if in the right hands.

I missed this post earlier...and you are right. I'm not laughing....There are still situations where the old analog meter is the best meter. I keep an old analog for those times, but I have to admit, it does not come out of the case very often.

[Jlawles2]

Just looking on the fluke site for something else. Did not know this thing was out there. https://www.fluke.com/en-us/product/...8-fc#specs-tab measure voltage through the clamp.