# fluke meter recommendations



## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

You really need to round this down by the scales you would be needing, ther eis much variation. Most of the higher end meters can use the amperage adapter but for the price you may want to stay with a clamp meter. A T5 600 does ohms, volts, and amps and is a very basic DMM.


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## heavysparky (Jun 2, 2009)

Fluke 324 for clamp meter

Fluke 117 for regular dmm


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## inetdog (Apr 13, 2016)

Meters with amp clamps generally cannot measure milliamps with the clamp. It is just not sensitive enough unless you use one of the cord adapters that allow you to run 10 or 100 turns of wire through the clamp.
With small wires you can sometimes run two or three turns through.


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## Lone Crapshooter (Nov 8, 2008)

1587 DMM comes with built in megger and 337 for amps .this combination has served me well doing industrial work. 
Instrumentation is the only place you will need milliamps.
Generally milliamps in instrumentation are measured with calibration equipment.


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## Big John (May 23, 2010)

Everyone likes to get big sexy meters, god knows I've got a ton with bells and whistles. But if this is gonna be your level 1 construction troubleshooter and ride around in your toolbox or bag, then for 95% of tests you can get by with voltage and continuity.

I would buy something where if you drop it, get it wet, or it gets lost or stolen you ain't gonna be heartbroken. Fluke 113, T+Pro, T600, 101 or 323. Something like that in the neighborhood of $50-$100.

If this is your level 2 troubleshooter that only comes out of the padded case for unusual or tough jobs, then you start looking at the $300-$400 DMMs that measure everything under the sun.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

Lone Crapshooter said:


> 1587 DMM comes with built in megger and 337 for amps .this combination has served me well doing industrial work.
> Instrumentation is the only place you will need milliamps.
> Generally milliamps in instrumentation are measured with calibration equipment.


You also need milliamps on flame proving controls and such.


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## nrp3 (Jan 24, 2009)

Commercial industrial is a pretty broad range. What features do you really need? Sometimes better to have seperate dmm, clamp, and megger. Is it controls, motors, vfd or something more basic. As stated, we all love to fancy stuff, myself included, but I do most of my day to day with a knopp. The meters only come out when needed.


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## Voltage Hazard (Aug 10, 2009)

Anathera said:


> So my new job requires me to have my own multimeter. I have a greenlee beater to use until I can get a more appropriate one. I've always had ideals at the old job but would like to save up for the fluke, what would you recommend for a fluke meter. My experience has been in residential but the new job does a lot of commercial industrial. The flukes look great but I'm confused about the amp reading, are all of their dmms able to do amps with their ring accesory or just miliamps? I would like to avoid buying two separate units if possible. I've got a knopp wiggy so the lowz feature isn't a must though its a perk


So, are you looking for a clamp meter that can also do mA? Or, are you looking at a DMM, and you are asking if all the Fluke DMM's can use the current clamp adapters that plug into DMM's?

Most of those clamp adapters convert Amps to AC millivolts. So, if you are using that type of adapter, you will need a meter that can do AC mV. There are quite a few meters on the market that cannot do AC mV, but I think any Fluke above the 117 can do that. I don't know about the 113.


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## Lone Crapshooter (Nov 8, 2008)

Never gave HVAC control troubleshooting a thought even 'sthough I have a certificate in industrial and commercial HVAC and taught basic HVAC controls when I was in college. That was back in the late 80's. Never touched a unit after I got my certificate.
Always wanted to work for a Johnson, Honeywell, Trane or Powers. Never could get on with any of them.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

Lone Crapshooter said:


> Never gave HVAC control troubleshooting a thought even 'sthough I have a certificate in industrial and commercial HVAC and taught basic HVAC controls when I was in college. That was back in the late 80's. Never touched a unit after I got my certificate.
> Always wanted to work for a Johnson, Honeywell, Trane or Powers. Never could get on with any of them.


I worked factory service on AAON units for several years and spent time on large York and Trane chiller service contracts.


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## KennyW (Aug 31, 2013)

I got a t+pro recently and I love it so much. No power button no stupid selector knob just connect to what you want to measure. I have a fancy clamp meter that reads harmonics and all sorts of stuff but in regular day to day troubleshooting it's just tedious to use, plus being physically large and also expensive. 

I sometimes wish that it had an amp clamp but then it would need a selector knob so I am happy to leave it out. 90 times out of 100 I just need voltage or continuity.


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## Tonedeaf (Nov 26, 2012)

I like Fluke 320 series 323 324 and 325.

I have the 325 it has a few more options Temp, Frequency etc.

I also have a T5-1000 its a good carry in your pouch meter for every day use.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

I was under the impression that to get a Fluke that could read 4-20ma with the clamp you had to spend big big bucks, is there one that will do it under $500?


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## heavysparky (Jun 2, 2009)

What about an amprobe amp-330. I have the amp-320 seems like a good meter. It does a lot of things and isn't too pricey


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

splatz said:


> I was under the impression that to get a Fluke that could read 4-20ma with the clamp you had to spend big big bucks, is there one that will do it under $500?


They aren't that expensive. I think a 902 clamp meter is less than $250.


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## Anathera (Feb 16, 2016)

At this point I am just researching but I doubt I will need miliamps I just saw that most of the flukes only had miliamps listed and wanted to see if they would read amps with the loop adapter


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