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PSA: Spent $180 on a cheap multimeter and it gave false readings that cost me a compressor
Bought a no-name meter off Amazon to save cash on a fridge repair in Phoenix last month, read 120V on a run cap that was actually dead, and fried a $400 compressor before I caught it has anyone else had cheap tools bite them in the ass with bad data?
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spencer78223d ago
Man @keith900 nailed it, that "buy cheap, pay twice" thing is no joke. I grabbed a $15 multi meter off a flea market table once, told me a 240V line was dead so I went in bare handed. Got zapped pretty good, luckily just a bruise and a bad scare but it couldve been way worse. Now I only buy stuff from brands I know, learned my lesson the hard way too.
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jenny4723d ago
My uncle bought that same $15 meter and it last him ten years no problem. He's an electrician too, uses it every day for basic checks. I think it's more about knowing what you're buying than the price. A cheap meter from a real hardware store is different from one off a blanket at a flea market. And honestly, sometimes you overpay for a brand name that's just rebadged junk. You could have just as easily grabbed a bad Fluke from a bad batch right?
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keith90023d ago
Yep, that's the old "saving money on tools costs you double" trick. I bought a $20 clamp meter once that swore a 9V battery was putting out 48 volts. Trusted it, spent an hour chasing a ghost in an HVAC unit before I grabbed my Fluke and realized the cheap thing was just lying to me for fun. That's a rough lesson man, $400 for a compressor plus the meter cost is a brutal way to learn that some things just need to be made by people who know what they're doing.
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