Which multimeter should I buy for farm use ?

Paddington

Member
Location
Soggy Shropshire
Fed up with cheap Chinese ones from Amazon that only last a year or two, I went for an Avo/Megger DMM. Think it was about £60 I asked them if it was made in China ? It's made in Taiwan and has a three year guarantee . I did look at the cheapest Fluke, but these are now made in China, which put me off.
 

bravheart

Member
Location
scottish borders
A decent probe light with a sharp point is a good start.
After blowing up my Chinese model I got a Draper. Probably still Chinese but it can auto sense the ranges for volts etc. It also has an auto shut off feature which saves hunting for a new battery every time it’s left in the drawer for a month still switched on.:sleep:
 
Pal of mine, who's a bit clued up on these things tells not to put too much trust in meters , He has a home made probe which carries a big headlamp bulb . He tells me that a meter may well show 12 volts , but put the wiring under load and if for instance there's a poor connection , it may well fail , and yes , I can quite see that happening .
 

Dukes Fit

Member
Location
Aberdeenshire
I have a fluke 179 which I use for everything but for day to day stuff for an amateur it's definitely not required.

Spend £20 on a meter, it'll do everything you need it to do. To be honest the things you will use most on 12v/24v systems are volts, current, and resistance.

The £20 meter will do everything just as well as the £200 meter. You're not looking for micro currents or looping voltages
 

itsalwaysme

Member
Location
Cheshire
The cheap ones work ok for basic stuff, checking voltage, continuity etc, It's a good idea to use them on a known source first to check they are working correctly.
One thing which can throw them out is if there internal battery gets low, can give false readings
 

Cowabunga

Member
Location
Ceredigion,Wales
I have a cheap Tacklife version from Amazon. @Cowabunga recommended them on here a while back and can’t really fault it.

Non contact voltage detector comes in very handy at times.
Yes, its an excellent tool. Automatic and auto shut off and so on.
As with all these that work off AA batteries, if like me you don't use it very often and is left idle in its pouch for weeks and sometimes months at a time, make sure you remove the batteries after use in case they leak.
 

manhill

Member
Read up on principals of electrical measurements. These multimeters have very high sensitivity on volts ranges and can fail to show what's happening when current is drawn. An analogue voltmeter draws a bit more current and can be a better indicator in the case of bad high resistance connections. As posted earlier, a filament bulb on test leads can be better.
 

manhill

Member
Read up on principals of electrical measurements. These multimeters have very high sensitivity on volts ranges and can fail to show what's happening when current is drawn. An analogue voltmeter draws a bit more current and can be a better indicator in the case of bad high resistance connections. As posted earlier, a filament bulb on test leads can be better.

nice brass one on eBay (with coiled lead) for under a fiver. I go to this before I think about using a multimeter.
 

Triangle

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Dorset
Id say go with fluke based on if you made a mistake or unexpected voltage in wires or across phases and split phase you know its built yo take it and if its bad mor importantley its built yo contain arc over blast whatever and you survive it eev blog Done lots of taredowns of flukes and others analiseing safety
 
Depends what you are using the multimeter for.

Wary of using a multimeter for amps, none of them are really made for the job. Better to have a seperate current clamp on tester.

I really only use a multimeter to check voltages, continuity and resistance. Ban the amps setting IMHO.

So I'd go for a cheap version, one you can afford to replace and leave around the workshop. Saved fluke money better spent on other things: Live cable tester (Fluke one is cheap), good lights, crocodile clips for the mutlimeter cables, electric fixtures & fittings & fuses, tape, zip cables.
 

TheTallGuy

Member
Location
Cambridgeshire
I have several multimeters around, for general use I tend to use cheap basic meters because accuracy is generally not that important & if it falls under a tractor wheel it is only a tenner. For anything involving higher voltages (>50V) or requiring higher accuracy then I have a Fluke 115 with test leads from a reputable source.
 

fermerboy

Member
Location
Banffshire
No question the Fluke meters are probably the best, but when it falls off a combine on to a concrete floor its no better than a cheapy.
I have had a run of £20-30 Draper meters all die on me with hardly any use and definitely no abuse either. Mine tend to sit about for months and that seems to be the death of them. No more Draper here.

I was in my local dealer and happened to see these on the shelf, its what the workshop used themselves out in the van.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Idyandyans-Backlight-Digital-Multimeter-Voltmeter/dp/B07Y6B3HZG
Only £15, made in China of course but I have to say its done 12v dc, 240ac, 500dc and ac(wind turbine) and never missed a beat. Its no Fluke, but for £15 cant really fault it, back lit screen, big numbers, auto range. Does all I need and seems near enough accuracy wise.
 

TheTallGuy

Member
Location
Cambridgeshire
No question the Fluke meters are probably the best, but when it falls off a combine on to a concrete floor its no better than a cheapy.
I have had a run of £20-30 Draper meters all die on me with hardly any use and definitely no abuse either. Mine tend to sit about for months and that seems to be the death of them. No more Draper here.

I was in my local dealer and happened to see these on the shelf, its what the workshop used themselves out in the van.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Idyandyans-Backlight-Digital-Multimeter-Voltmeter/dp/B07Y6B3HZG
Only £15, made in China of course but I have to say its done 12v dc, 240ac, 500dc and ac(wind turbine) and never missed a beat. Its no Fluke, but for £15 cant really fault it, back lit screen, big numbers, auto range. Does all I need and seems near enough accuracy wise.
The main concern that I have with the cheap units is safety - I have seen the insides of many such units & the design and construction of many of them has been somewhat questionable. Perfectly fine for low voltages, but I am wary of using them on anything over 50V. If dealing with mains voltages and higher then definitely avoid the leads that come with the cheap meters, or cheap lead sets because there's a good chance that they're not up to the appropriate standards.
 

dowcow

Member
Location
Lancashire
Fluke are pro level equipment and is priced to match. If you regularly work with high voltage and your income depends on it then go ahead. For most though, Aneng 8008 is highly recommended for workshop use and by hobby electronics enthusiasts and is far from junk even though it is made in China. Auto-ranging on them is much easier to work with than the cheap multimerters range selection of old. Also it isn't a bad idea to have two multimeters around as sometimes you get an unexpected reading that makes you think your multimeter might be malfunctioning and a double check can confirm it isn't the multimeter.
 

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