Marine Electronics Forum - Digital multimeter recommendation needed

Hi all,

Looking for a good general purpose digital multimeter that will satisfy everything I need on the boat, and perhaps a bit around the house as well. Want a good quality unit, so no Harbor Freight or equiv. But also don't think I need (or want to spend up for) the Fluke $600 gold plated special. Looking for the thing that will serve me well for the next 20 years (knock wood).

So, what are a few suggestions?

Thanks all -

Go to Lowes or Home Depot and spend about $50 on a Greenlee or Ideal. That's all you need. Well, except maybe for a clamp on ammeter, but that's optional for most people.

Hi all,

Looking for a good general purpose digital multimeter that will satisfy everything I need on the boat, and perhaps a bit around the house as well. Want a good quality unit, so no Harbor Freight or equiv. But also don't think I need (or want to spend up for) the Fluke $600 gold plated special. Looking for the thing that will serve me well for the next 20 years (knock wood).

So, what are a few suggestions?

Thanks all -

I received the Circuit Specialists "best low-cost DMM (http://www.web-tronics.com/csims8264.html)" free ($28 to buy it normally) when I bought a SMD re-work station, it's now my go-to for projects on the boat/car/etc. Really nice meter for the price. It's sold on Amazon as a couple other brands as well.

The DMM works great and has a lot of handy functions, and the lighted backlight has come in handy many times now.

Don't be tempted by the cheap Harbor Freight "Digital Meters". They give high precision inaccurate readings. You will know to two decimal places what the voltage isn't.

Been using a UEI for many years. Nothing beats a Fluke, but was 1/4 the price and does the job.

Don't be tempted by the cheap Harbor Freight "Digital Meters". They give high precision inaccurate readings. You will know to two decimal places what the voltage isn't.

For 12VDC work, measuring 240ohm senders, 120VAC and all the other work you'd do on the boat, those $2.99 HF meters would serve just about anyone well. I think for a $30 investment though, you can get one that's precise enough for future work, and does everything you need on the boat and then some. :)

There are few occasions for a boat owner to be thrown off by the fact his meter reads 12.04 volts when it's actually 12.01. The only thing I think people could potentially get tripped up by are not having a true RMS meter when measuring current.

I have one of these and it works great.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_03482369000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

Having a clamp-on DC ammeter in addition to the regular functions is great and VERY handy. I am an electrical engineer and have had many different multimeters, both at work and home, for years and this does the job as well as the Flukes. As a prior poster said, you don't really need .01% accuracy for most jobs. Don't be put off by the Sears label.

I have one of these and it works great.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_03482369000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

Having a clamp-on DC ammeter in addition to the regular functions is great and VERY handy. I am an electrical engineer and have had many different multimeters, both at work and home, for years and this does the job as well as the Flukes. As a prior poster said, you don't really need .01% accuracy for most jobs. Don't be put off by the Sears label.


That's a nice looking meter, and the price is reasonable.

You can get a Fluke 113 or 114 for under $100 if you shop around.

I bought this one a little over three years ago and it works great. It replaced my Fluke that was dropped off of a ladder and broken.

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=391-111

Before buying that Triplett, you might want to read some reviews of it:
http://www.amazon.com/Triplett-9045-Multimeter-Temperature-Capacitance/dp/B001ULFROW

There are multimeters and then there are multimeters and even then there are multimeters that you can use around a marine environment.

Buy the Fluke, protect the battery compartment with Corrosion Block and remove the battery if its sitting for extended periods of time.

I bet I've bought 4 cheap multimeters that were killed by corrosion before biting the bullet and getting a fluke.

Before buying that Triplett, you might want to read some reviews of it:
http://www.amazon.com/Triplett-9045-Multimeter-Temperature-Capacitance/dp/B001ULFROW

No offense, but if I bought everything I owned based on reviews I probably wouldn't own anything.

i was a tech always used fluke and sware by them greenlee is decent but the fluke is one of dem things buy it once, take care of it and it will be accurate and just work.

Thanks for all the suggestions so far.

Curious about the clamp-on ammeter suggestion - will I ever use this on a boat, does it read as low as 12v, or is this only for the house?

Thanks & keep the suggestions coming, especially for a clamp Fluke, or for one in the next range up from the 113-114.

Yeah...I'm a Fluke guy also...my model 77 is more than 15 years old...still going strong.

But, agree that Greenlee from Home Depot will do it also.

[also have a 25+ year old Simpson analog meter that is still being made today and is useful]

I've had a Fluke for 25 years now,can't beat em!

Hi all,

Looking for a good general purpose digital multimeter that will satisfy everything I need on the boat, and perhaps a bit around the house as well. Want a good quality unit, so no Harbor Freight or equiv. But also don't think I need (or want to spend up for) the Fluke $600 gold plated special. Looking for the thing that will serve me well for the next 20 years (knock wood).

So, what are a few suggestions?

Thanks all -

Yellow GE from Walmart $16 and is awesome!. Does everything I need.

Hi all,

Looking for a good general purpose digital multimeter that will satisfy everything I need on the boat, and perhaps a bit around the house as well. Want a good quality unit, so no Harbor Freight or equiv. But also don't think I need (or want to spend up for) the Fluke $600 gold plated special. Looking for the thing that will serve me well for the next 20 years (knock wood).

So, what are a few suggestions?

Thanks all -

The yellow one you see a lot is a GE from Walmart $16 and is awesome!. Does everything I need.

Uh, yellow is just a color.

All Flukes are Yellow or a Yellow bump case.

Buy it once, buy Fluke.

Corrosion Block the battery case is a GREAT idea too. Thanks!

I bought the craftsman clamp on mentioned above just for the clamp on DC ammeter feature, and as a back up volt meter to my Fluke, but I liked it so much that it is all I use

Uh, yellow is just a color.

All Flukes are Yellow or a Yellow bump case.

Buy it once, buy Fluke.

Corrosion Block the battery case is a GREAT idea too. Thanks!

Just don't buy it on the Internet unless it's a Fluke distributor, or you have no warranty. Or from a local store that isn't an authorized dealer. Or loose your proof or purchase. Etc.

I have expensive multimeters (Fluke), mid priced (Fluke and others) and several cheap ones, and I use the high end models from Fluke at work.

For general home and boat use, most multimeters including $10 units will do the job. It's better to have a cheap one where you need it or an expensive one some other place. My own Fluke meters are older meters from when Fluke was in a class by itself. The last few years I've bought 5-6 cheap ones so I always have one available when needed. I have one in each of the boats, one in each of the cars, one at the cabin, one at my mothers house and 3-4 at home.

I'm also looking for a basic meter to be used on the boat. For the most part, I will use it (I think...) to check voltage. I am looking at the lower end of the spectrum since I don't want a lot of bells and whistles. I just want something on the boat that I won't care if it gets broken.

I found this cheap meter on EBAY for about $9.

http://ttbb.biz/ADS-PIC/40000000/40008380/40008380.jpg

I've also seen this one for about $25. Is it important to have an auto ranging meter if it will mostly be used for 12v work?

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41NE%2Bu7DmJL.jpg



I know that with many things, you do get what you pay for. However, I don't think that I need a precision instrument (like a Fluke) for basic troubleshooting. Now, if I were working on circuit boards (or even understood electronic basics...), I could probably be persuaded to spend more money.

The more I read, the more confused I get. I've also read about a Greenlee DM-60. I'm actually leaning toward the $9 cheapie meter in my previous post.