Accurate, cheap, digital voltmeter?

[pbs357]

Hi all,

Anyone know of a reliable, cheap digital voltmeter? I've gone "guilt free lumens" and would like to keep an eye on the charging voltages of my cells. Also, would like to be able to monitor exactly how much my stored lithiums have in them. Thanks! :thumbsup:

 

[karlthev]

Well, I've got a Fluke 179 (which I just HAD to have!:shrug but I find I'm much more often reaching for my RadioShack (Cat 22-810) for 90% of what I do---not too much technical but, works for me!


Karl

 

[UnknownVT]

Anyone know of a reliable, cheap digital voltmeter? I've gone "guilt free lumens" and would like to keep an eye on the charging voltages of my cells. Also, would like to be able to monitor exactly how much my stored lithiums have in them. Thanks! :thumbsup:

Please take a look at this thread -

Digital MultiMeter for $5....

It's even cheaper if you have a Harbor Freight nearby - their DMM is currently $2.99.......

These DMM are very accurate - but one word of note is that their leads/probes may be variable when attempting to measure "Flash Amps" -
please see this Post #20 (link)

 

[Mr Happy]

This is cheapest if there is a store near you. All meters however cheap have sufficient basic accuracy for reading cell voltages. When you pay more money it's not really increased accuracy you are paying for but better robustness, safety, protection, features and accessories. You would not be wise to use the meter I have linked to above as a professional electrician, and you would be cautious about using it on live power circuits.

 

[Lite_me]

Well, compared to $2.99 - $5.00, this ain't cheap but feel it's pretty nice. My local WalMart has these for around $25. They carry the 3320 (Red) one. I like it's features.
http://www.iequus.com/products.php?category_id=1_60

 

[Lynx_Arc]

I recently stumbled onto a digital battery checker at a local tool place for $5
it has a switch on the side that puts 3 different loads (resistors) inline to check things and can measure up to at least 9v as it has pictures of 9v batteries on it and in the instructions too. it measures in format 0.00v which is great to see 2 decimal point measures on batteries. It also has an on/off switch on front.

mine is the BT21 but in yellow trim instead of green.
http://www.e-sun.cn/china-manufacturer/Battery_Tester.html

 

[Lynx_Arc]

Oh another note I have another stand alone tester I will probably throw away. It has a bar graph scale instead of numbers and looks sort of like a red bug and is soooo inaccurate it is a joke. It is off by 0.2v on the scales.
I used to use a DMM to check batteries but find the new digital checker is so much more easier and quicker to use with no dangling leads to bother with.

 

[kavvika]

And to think I just paid $10 for this on Black Friday, when I could've had that HF Multimeter for only $3! I think I know where I'm going tomorrow after class, since it couldn't hurt to have another.

 

[pbs357]

Man I wish there was a Harbor Freight nearby! You guys get so much cool stuff! I ended up grabbing the Radio Shack one, and it works pretty good. I like that it has a flip-lid/case top, but it uses some funky little 12v alkaline r23 I think. At least I was able to get some progold and deoxit while I was there. Thanks for the recommendations!

 

[Norm]

Isn't "Accurate, cheap, digital voltmeter?" an oxymoron?

 

[cat]

I recently stumbled onto a digital battery checker at a local tool place for $5
it has a switch on the side that puts 3 different loads (resistors) inline to check things and can measure up to at least 9v as it has pictures of 9v batteries on it and in the instructions too. it measures in format 0.00v which is great to see 2 decimal point measures on batteries. It also has an on/off switch on front.

mine is the BT21 but in yellow trim instead of green.
http://www.e-sun.cn/china-manufacturer/Battery_Tester.html

That looks good, but how do you know how accurate it is?
It is nice not to have to bother with test leads and switching to the right range every time.
I'll see if I can buy one online somewhere.

 

[cat]

All meters however cheap have sufficient basic accuracy for reading cell voltages. When you pay more money it's not really increased accuracy you are paying for but better robustness, safety, protection, features and accessories.

If that's the case, my BC-6 is charging my batteries to 4.7V :green:

but I'm not paying $$$ for a Fluke just to check battery voltages. I'm into enough already. For that money I could buy enough CR123's for an M6 for years.

 

[cat]

http://www.e-sun.cn/china-manufacturer/Battery_Tester.html

They make more than 60 different multimeters!

 

[worldedit]

Id go for a Voltcraft. Their little ones are not that expensive and you get a quality tool. That one for examble:
http://cgi.ebay.de/Voltcraft-Digita...yZ126405QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
But i dont know if Voltcraft sells in USA.

 

[cat]

Voltcraft...looks better than the typical cheap ones,...you say they're ok. Thanks for the link. Maybe I should get one, instead of trying to find something about 1/4 the price of a Fluke.

 

[UnknownVT]

This is cheapest if there is a store near you. All meters however cheap have sufficient basic accuracy for reading cell voltages. When you pay more money it's not really increased accuracy you are paying for but better robustness, safety, protection, features and accessories.

Mr. Happy is very knowledgeable on stuff like this.

So if there isn't a Harbor Freight nearby -
then do a search on "Digital Multimeter" on Froogle.com -
I just did it - and what looks essentially like the Harbor Freight and my cheapo DMM - is listed as low as $1.49 of course shipping is $4.81 - but that's still only $6.30 total.