Multimeter Leads Recommendation?

[Scooterman]

Hi, I need a new set for my fluke. I would like a set with probes, crocodile clips, etc. But don't know what to buy, it's difficult telling quality from eBay listings

[Burgerman]

Does it say fluke on them? If so OK.

[Scooterman]

No, they all seem to be generic cheapy things

[Burgerman]

Well there you have it.

Search fluke test leads. Or agilent or other quality branded meter.

[Scooterman]

I might get a set of these on Monday, but could also faith some that grip by themselves

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Fluke-TL ... ect=mobile

[Burgerman]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Meter-Alliga ... SwNFFa-pS6

[Scooterman]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Meter-Alligator-Crocodile-Clip-clamp-test-lead-probe-for-tester-such-fluke-etc/273214235658?hash=item3f9cd6640a:g:l9IAAOSwNFFa-pS6

Ooh they're good, thank you I never knew you could buy those separately. I will get some of them along with the fluke probes, my existing leads are non-fluke and awful.

[Burgerman]

There are non fluke leads that are good, but you cant tell by looking on ebay. Some cheap complete kits with changable ends.

[Scooterman]

Yes I have seen them kits, but as you say it so hard to tell from a photo. I think I'll stick with buying Fluke.

[shirley_hkg]

Probe's tip would better be sharp enough for JST
connector etc. We need it.

[LROBBINS]

I hadn't found probes sharp enough for JST-XH connectors (didn't look very hard) so took an old pair of very cheap leads, cut off the probes and soldered the wires to a pair of Ellen's long, plastic headed sewing pins. Covered most of the length of the pins with heat shrink. These are used only for very low tension so I don't care much about the quality. I also have numerous connectors, male and female, XH, USB, XT30, XT60, and Anderson with stub leads soldered on that I made up as the need arose that I can use with alligator or hook probes to connect to most anything I'm using.

[ex-Gooserider]

Depends on what you are measuring, but unless you are after ultra high precision, there is not a huge difference in measuring ability between the cheapies and the fancy Fluke and similar brand name leads - other than the PRICE...

Modern meters have very high input impedance, and therefore use only minute amounts of power when making voltage and resistance measurements, which means there isn't much difference in capacity between the cheapies and the fancy units....

If measuring current, it is likely that NONE of the standard leads are going to be real good, as all tend to use light gauge wire in order to get the best flexibility.... I would get banana plugs and make my own leads w/ heavy gauge wire if measuring current...

The fancier / better leads will have slightly heavier gauge wire in them, but probably only by one or two sizes at most.... More significantly the fancier leads will often have molded on ends, which are nicer until one dies, and are then not easily repaired....

Having several sets with different ends is useful - mix and match depending on what you are measuring.... An advantage of the cheap leads is that you can buy a bunch, chop the probes off the ends and solder on whatever other ends you like.... I have sets w/ regular probes, ultra thin points, component clips and alligators on the ends...

The biggest 'gotcha' that I've found is in the leads that have 'safety' banana plugs - some are longer than others, and some meters have the actual contacts farther into the meter than others - so a short plug in a deep socket might not actually connect, which is a slightly odd issue to troubleshoot...

ex-Gooserider

[Burgerman]

And the cheapies tend to use crap materials, and may be stamped 600V and 1000V and will blow your hand off instead if you get a spike on the mains or measure a real voltage thats anywhere near that rating. I saw a cheapy set ark very loudly when working on my supposedly 440V 3 phase kilns years ago. I wouldnt have wanted to be holding those... And my 10 year old fluke leads are as good as new!

But they are still overpriced. But I think worth it. You have to decide. The real problem is you cannot examine the eBay ones. Some cheap ones may be good. Some not. The prices seem to be too cheap, or too expensive with nothing in the middle...

[Scooterman]

For tracing faults inside large electrical panels I used to like this style of tester as you didn’t have to worry about finding somewhere to balance/or hang your meter on. Plus they were easier to store in overalls pocket.
The number of times my multimeter had crash landed from a height. Flukes are very robust

https://www.screwfix.com/p/fluke-t90-vo ... ster/7027j

[Burgerman]

If its a fluke you can get a magnetic and/or a hanging strap. And this is where quality long test leads are useful.

INFO https://www.fluke.com/en-us/product/acc ... fluke-tpak

[Burgerman]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/Fluke-TPAK-Too ... 6012075323

If it fits your meter you need this... I use the magnetic one all the time. And its easy to swap ends as its a velcro strap. Right now, its hung (stuck on) on my fridge with a current sensor monitoring and logging (graphing) over 6 days. I am interested in how much extra power the often used ice maker uses. So 3 days ice maker on. then 3 days off...

Last week it was monitoring 450V ish solar DC voltage over 7 days... Hanging on its velcro strap.

I do the same in each room with a temp sensor for a week to correctly get the thermostat valves set to 65 degrees f, bedrooms and 68 in living room, hallway, kitchen, bathroom... Basically takes all winter! With door shut and keep adjusting. Meter hangs anywhere I can reach it on a wall away from a radiator. A cupboard door handle etc. But I am OCD and want it all set right.

[ex-Gooserider]

And the cheapies tend to use crap materials, and may be stamped 600V and 1000V and will blow your hand off instead if you get a spike on the mains or measure a real voltage thats anywhere near that rating. I saw a cheapy set ark very loudly when working on my supposedly 440V 3 phase kilns years ago. I wouldnt have wanted to be holding those... And my 10 year old fluke leads are as good as new!

But they are still overpriced. But I think worth it. You have to decide. The real problem is you cannot examine the eBay ones. Some cheap ones may be good. Some not. The prices seem to be too cheap, or too expensive with nothing in the middle...

Agreed if doing high voltage work, or needing to earn a living then the fancier probes are easier to justify... I look at most tools that way - in the mechanics world, you can get Snap-On wrenches and such for exorbitant prices - and their quality is fantastic, much better than anything from the normal stores - but the price difference is enough that I'll put up with my low-cost HF wrench set that costs a tenth of the price, and get LOTS of on the difference...

Fluke meters are terrific quality, but 95% of the stuff I need to measure, amounts to 'does it have voltage?' or 'is it conducting?' - I want to know if I'm getting power to the light-bulb, I don't have any need to know the voltage to 4 figures.... For that the $10 China Cheapy HF meter does everything the $300 Fluke does, and I don't care if I drop it, run over it with the chair, or otherwise destroy it....

I can also make a bunch of different lead sets out of low cost banannas and whatever ends seem best suited to the task or chop up the cheap leads that came with the cheap meter....

So there are reasonable arguments on either side...

ex-Gooserider

[Burgerman]

I have a cheap meter too for every time my nephews or carer or freind that does not have a meter because they dont need one, actually needs one...

Then the dropped, run over ones dont matter! So for working on cars say where danger is all but non existent, and accuracy doesent matter then the cheap one is OK. But they are inadeqate for measuring say lithium voltages. Where you dont need just 3 decimal places, (mV) accuracy on the display but actual CALIBRATION accuracy too. The state of charge can be measured on lithium. IF you have a known chart. But you need both accurate temperature (with probe on my fluke) and accurate calibration. I never saw a cheap eBay meter that did accurate repeatable voltages. They vary a lot!

But you might think high voltage safety isnt important. This last week alone I have been testing and fixing a cheap ebay solar grid tie inverter. Its got 200 to 600V on its solar DC input, and 240V ac on the output... And I have seen high voltage spikes on the 240 before. Likewise I was trying to figure out what failed on a power supply a month ago. It involves measuring and looking at its AC side while plugged in in various places. But if faulty you might see a sudden pulse of AC on the low voltage side. For e.g I saw DC. But I saw it wasnt JUST DC. My 'fancy' fluke shows a AC component too. And a dc pulse that has a high, low, and average voltages. The cheap meter just showed 30V ish DC. So its hard to see how a cheapy explode in your hand type 10 dollar meter is safe, or adequate even on these basic output tests and the test leads on those are included in that 10 dollars!

[ex-Gooserider]

Agreed for the use cases you mention, a fancier higher precision meter is a must... But other than measuring my cell voltages, (and isn't that what the PL8 is for?) a cheapo does everything needed for chair work...

I have a fancier meter (granted it doesn't have a calibration cert) but almost never use it... I also have access to several digital scopes or a very high precision digital bench meter in the Asylum electronics shop if needed, but they seldom are...

ex-Gooserider

[Scooterman]

I ordered these in the end https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 3540095319. I don’t know if they’re genuine fluke, They say they are But I wouldn’t be surprised if there are a cheap clone. They’ll hopefully do for what I need

Although I’m not keen on the long bare metal point. But I might slip a piece of cable insulation or heat shrink over most of the metal.

[ex-Gooserider]

They look genuine, and should do the job...

Insulating the tips is not at all unusual, depends on what you are working on...

ex-Gooserider

[terry2]

The people who named it Fluke. Had no idea what it means in the UK