Klein Tools Digital Multi Meters

[RI Chevy]

Does anyone here have any insight on any of the Klein Tools DMM's?
I was looking at the base model MM100. It received pretty good ratings from a few places.
I was also looking at the Auto Ranging Multimeter, the MM500, which also received some pretty good ratings.

Doers anyone have any experiences with these?
Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[cerbie]

I haven't used one, but it's clearly a cheap Chinese meter with Klein branding. Probably good for the price, which is low.

 

[NoNotAgain]

I'm not sure who is making the meters for Klein. Klein is the number one company for electrical hand tools. I've got the full set of the 1000 volt protected tools.

I have a few of their voltage pens and one clamp meter. They appear well made.

I prefer the Fluke multimeters. My preference is the 87 III over the 87 V due to the III not having auto ranging. Auto ranging is a pain in the butt.

 

[HKJ]

Auto ranging is a pain in the butt.

Not really, most of the time it works fine and the few time it has problems you can disable it with a button press and manually select range.

 

[NoNotAgain]

Not really, most of the time it works fine and the few time it has problems you can disable it with a button press and manually select range.

I used to use Fluke bench top meters with auto ranging for work on a daily basis. Probably not to the extent that you do with your battery testing. The first thing that got turned off was auto ranging due to having to constantly having to verify the range you were in.

All of my test equipment had auto ranging turned off for simplicity sake. Any data displayed within the lowest 15 percent of scale or the upper most 80 percent was discarded and measured in the next higher or lower range used.

Like I stated before, I've got the Fluke 87 III and the 87 V. I like the operation of the 87 III much better due to the lack of auto range.

 

[HKJ]

I used to use Fluke bench top meters with auto ranging for work on a daily basis. Probably not to the extent that you do with your battery testing. The first thing that got turned off was auto ranging due to having to constantly having to verify the range you were in.

All of my test equipment had auto ranging turned off for simplicity sake. Any data displayed within the lowest 15 percent of scale or the upper most 80 percent was discarded and measured in the next higher or lower range used.

Like I stated before, I've got the Fluke 87 III and the 87 V. I like the operation of the 87 III much better due to the lack of auto range.

We have different preferences I do maybe 99% of my measurement with auto range, but for the last 1% I really like manual range. That is valid for both bench meters and hand held meters. On my Fluke 8846A bench meters it is very easy to see the range, it shows V or mV and moves the point around.

 

[RI Chevy]

I ended up buying the Klein MM1000. http://www.kleintools.com/catalog/multimeters/electricians-multimeter

It seems to be very sturdy and high quality for the price-point. May not be a fluke, but then again, I can't afford that kind of quality either.

Has both Auto range and Manual range. With the manual range, I can get up to thousandth's testing a battery. I like it so far.

 

[Billy Ram]

Don't spend too much money on these DMMs. They are accurate enough to be usefull but cost doesn't seem to make a difference. I'm around DMMs every day and have checked quite a few with names like Greenlee , Ideal that cost over $100 that can be .5 v off at some point. The $30 meters are just as good.
Billy

 

[IonicBond]

I don't have any experience with the Klein mm's, but these guys at the eevblog surely do - pics and all:

http://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/klein-tools-mm2000-multi-meter-review/

Heh, people think we're crazy for loving flashlights and batteries - you should see the guys that collect multimeters!

That being said, the one I use for my um, "daily carry" multimeter is probably the smallest cutest Fluke known on earth - the Fluke 101. Nope, not up to 87v standards, but now that I have it with me, I use it a LOT.

 

[HKJ]

Don't spend too much money on these DMMs. They are accurate enough to be usefull but cost doesn't seem to make a difference. I'm around DMMs every day and have checked quite a few with names like Greenlee , Ideal that cost over $100 that can be .5 v off at some point. The $30 meters are just as good.
Billy

On a good day in sunny weather with a new battery in the meter almost any DMM is fairly precise, but for reliability under any conditions I would not trust the cheap DMM's (Give me a Fluke).

 

[SemiMan]

On a good day in sunny weather with a new battery in the meter almost any DMM is fairly precise, but for reliability under any conditions I would not trust the cheap DMM's (Give me a Fluke).

This is one big reason to go autoranging on cheap meters. The biggest failure point is the rotary/range switches.

Semiman

 

[RI Chevy]

Thanks for the responses.
IconicBond-Good find.
That was a very detailed review. The DMM looked like it was pretty accurate ahowing the bench test of 2.498. It matched the Fluke.
I like my MM1000 and it is much better than what I was using.
I realize that this is not Fluke quality, but the Klein does seem to be built well. And fairly accurate.

 

[HKJ]

Mjlorton has just visited Fluke where they show the difference between a cheap DMM and a good one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEoazQ1zuUM (From 6:00 and one minute forward).

This is, of course, not a problem when only using the DMM for batteries and other low voltage stuff. Just remember that when measuring on mains voltage there can be spikes well above what they show in the video!

 

[5S8Zh5]

^ fireworks!

 

[Billy Ram]

On a good day in sunny weather with a new battery in the meter almost any DMM is fairly precise, but for reliability under any conditions I would not trust the cheap DMM's (Give me a Fluke).

I rely on my Fluke meters and have them calibrated when required. The cheaper meters are useful around the house when you don't need the accuracy. + or - .5v won't make much difference checking for 120 vac or a 12v car battery.
Billy

 

[FlashKat]

I use Harbor Freight for quick checks, and they work fine. Fluke is only as good as good as they are maintained and working.

 

[Andrew LB]

I haven't used one, but it's clearly a cheap Chinese meter with Klein branding. Probably good for the price, which is low.

Incorrect. The PCB clearly says "Finest" which is a Korean manufacturer.

I'm looking at replacing my old Meterman XL15 with a decent True RMS meter and may look at the Klein MM2000. I can't afford fluke since their cheapest True RMS meter is the 117 i believe and that thing goes for $200 MSRP. I think i've seen it for $160.