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Thread: Electrical testers

  1. #1
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    Electrical testers

    I was just thinking I can not be the only one that like testers a lot .
    What testers do you have ?

    I have 2 sets one pair at work and one pair at home

    At work I have
    Fluke 1507 insolation tester
    Fluke 377 current clamp
    Fluke 87v Ex multi meter

    At home
    Fluke 1654B installation tester
    Fluke 355 current clamp
    Fluke 28ii Ex multimeter
    Fluke 2042 cable finder
    Fluke 707 Ex Instrument tester

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    Gold Member Houses4Rent's Avatar
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    I just have 2 multi meters, but they confuse the hell out of me at best. I thought as an engineer I have basic electrical skills, but the tester tells me things which simply do not make sense or are inconsistent. Are cheap testers (a multi meters under R100) a total waste then and rather dangerous?
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    Yuri its a fluke thing.

    I also have a few Fluke testers. Rather not publish on a public forum.

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    Diamond Member AndyD's Avatar
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    When it comes to testers I have a few Flukes but I'm not a fluke fanatic, I'm a bit of a brand slut TBH, but I do lots and lots of homework on their technical specs before I buy them and purchase on their ability and also peer reviews rather than just the brand name. I have many testers, way too many to list, the last couple I bought are Chauvin Arnoux clamp meters that have an extrordinarily high frequency response band and can be used on the output of VFD's.

    @Houses4rent, Cheap multimeters (<R100.00)are not my cup of tea. Their build quality is usually appauling and their functionality and accuracy too uncertain for my liking, I usually pay at least 3 times that for just a pair of test leads, never mind the entire tester. Rather look for a single, decent brand, second-hand tester for a few hundred bucks rather than buying two new unbranded testers for that price. That said the confusion you're having might also be either you're using the wrong tester for the job you're trying to do or possibly you're not interpreting the result correctly, difficult to say without more info.
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    Gold Member Houses4Rent's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AndyD View Post
    @Houses4rent, Cheap multimeters (<R100.00)are not my cup of tea. Their build quality is usually appalling and their functionality and accuracy too uncertain for my liking, I usually pay at least 3 times that for just a pair of test leads, never mind the entire tester. Rather look for a single, decent brand, second-hand tester for a few hundred bucks rather than buying two new unbranded testers for that price. That said the confusion you're having might also be either you're using the wrong tester for the job you're trying to do or possibly you're not interpreting the result correctly, difficult to say without more info.
    Its just for simple DIY use and should do the job. I claim to understand the difference between AC and DC, Voltage vs Amperes and measuring ranges. I mostly measure Voltages to see whether a connection is live or not, checking batteries Voltage level etc. E.g. if a stick it in a socket I expect to see around 230V AC. I will post an example next time I am confused again. Thanks.
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    My Fluke 77 and HP 28S are treasured tools.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Houses4Rent View Post
    I just have 2 multi meters, but they confuse the hell out of me at best. I thought as an engineer I have basic electrical skills, but the tester tells me things which simply do not make sense or are inconsistent. Are cheap testers (a multi meters under R100) a total waste then and rather dangerous?
    Tell me more about your engineering degree. What did you qualify as?

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    Diamond Member AndyD's Avatar
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    A common problem with digital testers is because of their very high input impedance they tend to display a 'ghost' or 'phantom' voltage even when the circuit is isolated. This is because they're over sensitive and when cables run together there's capacitance between them which allows voltage from one cable to be coupled into another. Better quality testers have a lower impedance test facility that's designed to be able to ignore these coupled voltages which are of no consequence.
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    i bought most of my meters from cash converters. brand new fluke multimeters for R 600.

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    Gold Member Houses4Rent's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by adrianh View Post
    Tell me more about your engineering degree. What did you qualify as?
    literally translated Production Technology. half a MechEnh, half a Bcom
    Think mass production in factories.
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