Cheap Multimeter

I recently relocated and my multimeters are out of state in storage. Any ideas for an inexpensive readily available unit to use on NiMh and Li-Ion cells? Really only need it to accurately measure voltages and not Fluke type accuracy .

Sears has a good range of meters. Often they will go on sale. Decent enough Craftsman labeled meters can be as low as $10-$20.

Geoff

I asked the same question in another thread and I was told about this one a equus 3320.

Harbor Freight sells a cheap but decent DMM for $9.99, and often has sale coupons for $1.99 or $2.49 for this same meter. I have one just for testing battery voltages and another in the car just in case.

The Harbor Freight multimeters are worth the price when on sale for under $5.00 and are fairly accurate. I just dug one out of a drawer where it has been sitting for over a year to check it against a 5 volt precison reference (.02%) and it reads 5.00 or 5.01 volts.

Flying Turtle said:

Sears has a good range of meters. Often they will go on sale. Decent enough Craftsman labeled meters can be as low as $10-$20.

Geoff

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+1, this is where I got all of mine from, no problems so far. Mine where in the $30-$40 range but nevertheless....

+1 for the Harbor Freight cheap multimeter. I've had good luck with it as have amateur radio friends. When the $2 coupon comes up get an extra and throw it in the car, too.

+1 for the Harbor Freight cheap multimeter


i got a few of them, for $1.99ea one time..

they work fine , for small DC stuff.

now i woudlnt go work on a chevy VOLT or a Pirus with it, lol

Flying Turtle said:

Sears has a good range of meters. Often they will go on sale. Decent enough Craftsman labeled meters can be as low as $10-$20.

Geoff

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mrartillery said:

+1, this is where I got all of mine from, no problems so far. Mine where in the $30-$40 range but nevertheless....

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+2 Sears has several multimeters for any budget. I bought mine a couple months ago and they had about 10 different makes and models. :thumbsup:

I've had pretty good luck with the inexpensive meters from Harbor Freight also. They're cheap enough to pick up a few of them at a time and scatter them around, one for the car, one for your toolbox, one for the junk drawer in the kitchen.

pobox1475 said:

I recently relocated and my multimeters are out of state in storage. Any ideas for an inexpensive readily available unit to use on NiMh and Li-Ion cells? Really only need it to accurately measure voltages and not Fluke type accuracy .

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Harborfreight - $1.95 on sale I have two they work great

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result/?category=&q=multimeter

craftsman usualy around $10 to $25

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_03482141000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

Buy an autoranging MM, and calibrate by using a cell of known voltage. if you have a reliable cell that hits its mark consistantly, you could use that as a base. Alternatively, you can use two cheap multimeters to improve accuracy and precision. As far as multi cell setups go, as long as both cells are reading the same (true voltage or not) then they should be safe, and until you unpack your good multimeter, slightly undercharge your cells.

I have a cheap VOM and a Fluke 233A. They read almost the same most of the time (especially in the flashlight battery range). The cheap one came from Home Depot a long time ago. Using the VOM is a good way to match cells and find cells that should be discarded.

I have some expensive DMM's and also the Harbour Freight DMM. Actually 12 of the H/F DMM's.
Everytime I get coupons for "Free with any Purchase" or the $1.99 coupons, I purchase one.

Almost all of them are within .01v of my best DMM which was recently calibrated, so I usually use the Harbour Freight DMM
just to save the wear and tear on my good ones.

Only problem with the Harbour Freight DMM is cheap probes.
The wire usually breaks off inside the probe handle at the probe tip
with a lot of use, so I put 2-part epoxy arround wire and handle where wire comes out of the handles to
keep them from pulling/flexing which causes cable to break off of probe tip after a while.

This is the one I use to check my AAs and AAAs with most often: http://www.sperryinstruments.com/product/dm6400

It measure 2V down to the mV (0.000), has a load battery tester function which is nice to find the relative internal resistance between cells (to see how well they're performing compared to each other), and is accurate to at least 0.5%.

Harbor Freight also runs ads in multiple magazines such as MotorTrend, Guns & Ammo etc. I have seen and used a free coupon located in the magazine for the multimeter. I keep one for every car, truck & RV I own. There is always a free item in the magazine ad but, it varies so you could get the free item & use the 20% coupon for the multimeter.

I'm going to try the Centech next time I get a mailing from HF. I have been using an old analog Triplett that I picked up at a flea market some years ago.
I am mourning the recent loss of my Dad's Shurite battery tester that he bought in the 1960's. it was about 3 inches round and worked great, until it unfortunately came into contact with a high power magnet and went crazy. I loved the thing ,it had an easy to read numerical analog scale with 2 settings for 1.5 volts and 9 volts. The thing cost about $3 back then, but I can't find anything, at any price, that is comparable today

I recently got the auto ranging Equus from Wal-Mart online ($16 delivered). It works pretty good for me. The leads might be too thin for high current accuracy. Note that the in-store price is $10 higher.

Lightfoot98 said:

I have some expensive DMM's and also the Harbour Freight DMM. Actually 12 of the H/F DMM's.
Everytime I get coupons for "Free with any Purchase" or the $1.99 coupons, I purchase one.

Almost all of them are within .01v of my best DMM which was recently calibrated, so I usually use the Harbour Freight DMM
just to save the wear and tear on my good ones.

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I just tested two of mine. Both were similarly accurate.