Can we talk about how much I hated using those cheap multimeters?

I picked up a $15 meter from a hardware store in Philly last fall just to test continuity on a dryer thermal fuse, and it gave me a false reading that had me chasing a dead short for 45 minutes. Swapped to a Fluke I borrowed from a buddy and found the real issue in 2 minutes flat. Do you guys actually trust those bargain meters for anything serious or am I just paranoid?

3 comments

3 Comments

holly_reed5513d ago

OH man I had a $10 special give me a bogus voltage reading that almost made me throw it out a window!

milarodriguez13d ago

And that's exactly the kind of thing that makes you question everything you thought you knew about wiring. I've had cheap testers show me 12 volts on a completely dead battery, then next time they'll show 0 volts on a live one. It's like they have a mind of their own, and not in a good way. The worst part is when you're chasing a ghost issue and the tool itself is what's lying to you. After enough of those moments I just bit the bullet and got a midrange Fluke, never looked back. Sometimes the extra money is just for peace of mind, you know?

emmaclark12d ago

Is it really that big of a deal though, or just a minor annoyance? I've had an old $10 meter from Harbor Freight for years and it's never steered me wrong on basic car or household stuff, but I also know its limits. @holly_reed55 probably has a good story about chucking one, but for simple continuity checks a cheap meter is fine if you don't fully trust it for critical work.