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Multimeter and Battery Monitor Tests

MisterSandals

MisterSandals

Participation Medalist
Joined
Nov 5, 2019
Messages
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Location
Silicon Valley
My new DMM with clamp function from Amazon ($39) just arrived. It was recommended as a decent unit by a trusted member here, and it was a glaring hole in my toolbox.

My first thought was to check it against my other 2 DMM's as a sanity check. It didn't go well. So i tested everything that measures volts on the same battery to see how they stacked up.

Simple LiFePO4 battery voltage test results (in no particular order):
Sorry for the formatting, it looks like i have columns until it is saved.

Tenergy 5 -in- 1: 13.25v cheapie cell monitor
Victron BMV 712 13.23 brand new, hooked up 2 days ago, voltage from app
EZ DM 311 13.19 my 20 y/o "really nice DMM"
AstroAI 13.16 my cheap DMM that gets the most use
HoldPeak Clamp 13.10 just arrived, i needed a DC clamp meter
BattGo ISDT 8S 13.24 Awesome cell charger and monitor
BattGo T8 13.23 Fairly inexpensive cell monitor
Victron 100/30 13.23 My workhorse, voltage from app (awesome app)

I am STRONGLY leaning towards believing the Victron's (by far the most expensive units). The BattGo 8S
right up there around $100 too. I am convinced that 13.23 is the "real" voltage and will calibrate against these.

I need to calibrate my newest tool, the HoldPeak clamp, it is fairly disappointing right out of the box.

My AstroAI cheapie looks like it needs some calibration too. This is eye opening, i used this a LOT lately.

I'll check back in with how the calibrations go. If anybody has any tips, I am interested in hearing them.
 
Does he unit have an ohms function? Measure the ohms of resistance in the leads.
Make sure it doesn’t auto range, you want ohms. Not Kohms, not Mohms
 
I have found cheap meters have CRAPPY leads.
A good set of leads makes a difference when measuring mV...
 
Supervstech said:
Does he unit have an ohms function? Measure the ohms of resistance in the leads.
Make sure it doesn’t auto range, you want ohms. Not Kohms, not Mohms
Click to expand...
Ugggg. So a first ohm test seemed to eventually settle from .1 ohm to 0.0 ohm in about 15 seconds. Moving the probes while still making firm contact, the resistance would jump up to 4 ohms and take up to 30 seconds to settle back to 0.0. Hmm, bad sign?

I tried the continuity test (beep) when i found it going thru the settings. It sounded like the worst crackly radio you've every heard. And then never made a sound again.
Went back to test ohm of probes again and it only displays 0.L which is of course means "over range". Its dead Jim.

I was wondering about the bluetooth feature. Seemed gimmicky. Was easy to download the app from QR code displayed in the single page manual (more on that later).
Talk about unintuitive. Its got a gauge, a start, stop and reset button.

How do i connect to the DMM? Absolutely nothing regarding this. Turns out is just automatically connects yet shows no indication its connected. It took quite a while before i figured out it was connected, all by itself. But it seems to connect reliably though i have no real indications.

So what does a start button do? Well, it pegs the meter to the + side. What the hell is that? It does this even without a probe in it. ???

0E97FEA6-D33D-4AC7-AD58-312B0B0B9058.png
Stop button? Seems to turn the Start button green again and disable the Stop button. Meter still pegged.
Reset button moves needle back to the 0 position. It works!

NOT impressed! This is going back (Amazon Prime!).
I usually get a replacement of the same model when i get a lemon to give them a second chance. But this is just a piece of crap at every turn.

The manual, while actually written in real english, with a couple tidbits of where to plug in the probes for different functions, is mostly inadequate. But the reality of expecting it to be Chinglish and completely meaningless and misleading, i guess it was about all you could do with a single sheet of paper. I'll give the single sheet of paper (2 sides) manual a passing grade.

So what started out as an exercise to calibrate my new "tool", turned into a complete circus disaster.
 
Wow, what a rotten result...

What brand and model is it?

I got mine dc clamp meter off amazon, and it has been a great tool.
 
Supervstech said:
What brand and model is it?
Click to expand...
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PSM9BWC
Not only did it fall flat on its face at every turn, the auto ranging was super wonky. Even after selecting a range with a few button presses, it would re-autoselect at random times.

So hoping to find one with manual range select. Shopping on Amazon right now.
After spending a day on this when i had things i was waiting to do with this, price is becoming much less of an issue.

Supervstech said:
I got mine dc clamp meter off amazon, and it has been a great tool.
Click to expand...
Link please!
 
ghostwriter66 said:
KAIWEETS Digital Clamp Meter T-RMS 6000 Counts, Multimeter Voltage Tester Auto-ranging,
Click to expand...
But it does not measure DC current with the clamp. Seems DC current and the Max/Min functionality are a tough combination to find. Love everything else though.

Maybe I'm just not seeing the KAIWEETS that does this?
 
MisterSandals said:
But it does not measure DC current with the clamp. Seems DC current and the Max/Min functionality are a tough combination to find. Love everything else though.

Maybe I'm just not seeing the KAIWEETS that does this?
Click to expand...

SOOO actually it does -- for the ones made after 2018 ... In fact I used it today several times to check some SCC's ..... Even the new manual on page 26 shows the DC amps resolution is 0.01, and the accuracy is ±(2.5%+5)... the ones before 2019 ONLY had AC
 
Dzl said:
@ghostwriter66 in the past I remember you mentioning you had a good impression of the HT206D, the meter you linked to is the HT206B. Maybe this explains why the listing shows AC only.

It appears the HT206D is available on aliexpress from a half dozen or so different 'brands'
Click to expand...

@MBR ... https://www.amazon.com/KKmoon-Resis...child=1&keywords=HT206D&qid=1589290191&sr=8-6 .. so this is the one that does AC/DC amps ... its my favourite (throwaway) meter ... looks like though it about a month long delivery .. good price though at 30.99 ... if you don't mind the wait I would order it ...
 
MisterSandals said:
Ordered, though i am not sure i am that patient... july 1 to july 23

But thanks for the link, i REALLY prefer Amazon over Aliexpress.
Click to expand...

Its a fantastic little meter .. i am really surprised how often i catch myself grabbing that one heading out the door then the more expensive ones the company furnishes (like fluke) ... but having DC Amperage is huge for us when we are checking solar and wind turbines ... you can narrow down problems extremely fast - much faster then with a standard DVM
 
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