Which Multi Meter to buy
Which Multi Meter to buy
(OP)
I am wanting to purchase a hand held multimeter(or meters)to use in an injection molding facility. Our machines and facility use every type of electrical and electronic circuit it seems, our machines have analog, digital and the normal AC votage ciruits in them, a few have frequency drives in them as well, and there have been times when we need to measure very accurate DC Voltage that our standard multi meter would not do the job. We have also had the need to measure AC Amperage upto 400 A as well as DC mA very accurately. I am just looking for suggestions since I am not as educated as well as I would like to be. My goal - when the service tech on the phone says "tell me what ????? measures" I can say "OK" instead of "I don't have an instrument that measures that"





RE: Which Multi Meter to buy
RE: Which Multi Meter to buy
Fluke is a good mfg. there are also several others. You may even find that you need to purchase several different models for different applications: a stand type (e.g. Fluke 87), a clamp-on type, or even some of the newer scope-type meters or ones with analog outputs, etc.
see http://www.fluke.com/us.asp
RE: Which Multi Meter to buy
http://www.reliabilitydirect.com/multimeters/EXT-400.ht...
For a variety of other multimeters, you may look at:
http://www.reliabilitydirect.com/multimeters/multimeter...
Have a safe and happy holiday season.
RE: Which Multi Meter to buy
RE: Which Multi Meter to buy
HP's instrument division split off and was renamed Agilent Technologies.
Keithley Instruments make some fine bench instruments which will meet your more demanding accuracy requirements. The Model 2000 meter is as accurate as you could reasonably need outside of a standards lab.
Fluke make a number of hand-held process calibrators which are very good at the DC mA level, but don't have a very extended range.
I think you should consider a good general-purpose meter such as one of the Fluke 80 series, and invest a bit more in a decent bench instrument for the demanding jobs when you need the accuracy.
The high current measurements can be accomplished with high accuracy using a Rogowski coil based probe. LEM-HEME market one in Europe. They are limited to AC only, but have excellent bandwidth and phase response.
It is worth considering purchasing a second-user bench instrument. In the UK, there are a number of dealers who bulk-buy instruments from government facilities, and sell on at a fraction of the list price. It is possible to pick up some real bargains.
RE: Which Multi Meter to buy
If the equipment will be used at line voltages, an important consideration is the meter’s installation/overvoltage category, referenced in UL Standard 61010B-1
RE: Which Multi Meter to buy
RE: Which Multi Meter to buy
So check the specs and get the best. You don't want to be holding an instrument at the time it fails.
RE: Which Multi Meter to buy
I know purists will jump on it perhaps,
But if outright durability and close to indestructability are desired you can use the Fluke 27.
It was designed for the Armed Forces. It is water proof and can be dropped into a bucket of water, it has full "O" ring sealing.
I have two, each is over 15 years old.
They get wet frequently because they are carried around and go into water spray areas.
Have burnt the leads off them too many times to remember.
They are almost indesctructable.
Fluke 27s are not rms, some think that fatal, we do not. In the vast number of repair and diagnostic situations they are most appropriate. If better is required we go get the Fluke 87.
If you really want to live nice, throw away the lead sets that come with the units and buy the best lead set you can afford with all the clips and jaws, and all the other nice stuff to make work safer and easier.
PUMPDESIGNER
RE: Which Multi Meter to buy
Great endorsement for "Fluke" equipment.It is true ,Fluke
makes very reliable equipment,but so do a lot of other
manufacturers.HIOKI,HEMI,HP and probably a lot of others.
As for the meter test "Drop in the water bucket".I would be very concerned about using a meter that was dropped in a bucket unless one is measuring 6 or 12 volts.Any test on systems >65 volts could have disastrous consequences.
The seal don't last forever.
GusD
RE: Which Multi Meter to buy
RE: Which Multi Meter to buy
RE: Which Multi Meter to buy
For the DC milliamp measurements, I would use the
Fluke 179 hooked up in series with the circuit.
As for any amperage measurement over 1 amp AC or DC, the Amprobe AC/DC 610 works great.
I use this combination on a daily basis and find it works
quite well and is a portable set up.
What ever you decide, PABLO 02 is absolutely correct,
You get what you pay for!
Regards,
Afterhrs