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I thought my Fluke 117 was all I needed until a 40 year tech showed me his $25 meter
I used to think anyone showing up to a call with a cheap meter was asking for trouble. A guy named Rick who has been fixing appliances in Denver for 40 years pulled out a basic $25 unit on a dryer job I was helping with. He tested the thermal fuse and the heating element and found the open circuit in under 2 minutes while my fancy meter was still in the bag. I asked him why he does not use something better and he just said the meter only tells you what you ask it. That was 6 months ago and I have kept a cheap backup in my van since. Now I am wondering how many of you carry a second meter just for quick checks on a call.
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spencer_hayes711mo ago
Man, my buddy who does HVAC has a story like this. He watched a guy troubleshoot a no-cool call with a $30 meter from Harbor Freight and had it pinned down to a bad capacitor before my buddy even got his leads plugged in. The old guy told him the same kind of thing, that the meter is only as good as the questions you ask it. My buddy still runs his nice one for the real work but keeps a cheap one in the truck for exactly what you're talking about.
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