Basic Electricity For Homeowners - Page 15

franknmiss · July 25, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worth1

Is Fluke worth the price?
My old fluke alomost died and I fixed it again today but it is cracked and looking for a new one.
My old one is a 29 they dont make anymore and it cost 200 bucks many years ago.
Something broke loose on the inside the other day and bent all of the pickups on it and it went crazy.
Today I managed to get everything back in order and by darn it works.

Looking at some if the other brands on line they are way less money but I am skeptical of them.
I have always depended on Fluke meters.
When mine went wacko the other day my boss just handed me his to use with no questions asked.
He knows I will take care of it.
Now mine is fixed I can give his back tomorrow.

Worth

I have a Fluke Model 87 I love because I needed a 4 digit display and some other features it had. Had it since 1997 - had to send it back for repair once. Fluke is the best but pricey for sure.
Frank

Worth1 · August 4, 2017

checked two pawn shops out yesterday for meters.
One had nothing but China junk.
The other had an outdated fluke 73 III for 40 dollars.
Also saw two LS Starrett Levels for a good price but I dont need one that fancy.
There must have been hundreds of junk battery operated drills and flat screen TV's.
The 73 is tempting for the price as a construction job meter.
I have used them before and it is a well taken care of meter like it has almost never been used.

Worth1 · August 4, 2017

Gave myself 24 hours to think about it if the meter and level are still there I will do some bartering and get them both.
There is also a wire toner I might get as a package deal.
I never pay the asking price.
Worth

franknmiss · August 4, 2017

The Model 73 is a great meter - when I worked in a manufacturing plant all of our electricians had two meters - A Fluke Model 73 and a Simpson 260.

Worth1 · August 4, 2017

Seems the price was marked for a later date and their asking price was way higher I have never seen that before.
But on the meter the level and the toner they were wanting almost new price or over half what new was.
I will not pay more than around 30% of new.
The toner was 5 bucks off what I can get a Greenlee for new.
They wouldn't go down enough so I walked out.
Pawn shops are for suckers unless you know what your are doing.
I will keep going back once a week and continue to bug them.
That is how I bought all of my Starrett micrometers and dial indicators for almost nothing compared to new some I bugged for 6 months and the guy got tired of me coming in.

Worth1 · August 5, 2017

Every time I go into these pawn shops I feel like I need to take a shower to get the slime off of me.

Worth

Worth1 · August 5, 2017

I just went to the fluke store and bought the meter I want.
Here it is.
I opted for it instead of the electricians meter because I can use it for a thermometer.
There are actually two meters one is also a clamp on amp tester plus meter.
Not bad for the price.

https://www.fluke-direct.com/product...hvac_combo_kit

Worth

dmforcier · August 5, 2017

Yah, I think it's the 323 or it's near relative that I've got. The 116 looks dandy! Quite intrigued by the averaging function.

But price? When they want $108 for three test leads and a pouch, you gotta wonder about the mark-up on the rest of it...

Worth1 · August 5, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmforcier

Yah, I think it's the 323 or it's near relative that I've got. The 116 looks dandy! Quite intrigued by the averaging function.

But price? When they want $108 for three test leads and a pouch, you gotta wonder about the mark-up on the rest of it...

I used to have to use the averaging function on flame detectors before and after I cleaned the lenses.
If they were still below 1.9 volts we had to replace them.
What it does is allow you to get an average with voltage that fluctuates a lot like the old UV flame detectors do.

Worth1 · August 9, 2017

Okay I never got any result back from the people I ordered the meter from just a confirmation number.
No tracking number or anything.
I checked my bank account this morning and no withdrawal for the product.
I called and low and behold first ring a lady answered the phone.
The product was pulled from the shelf and was scheduled to be shipped.
Not your normal way of doing things in a I want it now world but I can live with it.

'

Worth1 · August 10, 2017

Meter shipped yesterday USPS and was supposed to show up tomorrow.
No it came in my mail box today one whole day early.
I am not happy with this as I wasn't expecting it a day early.
I didn't have time to clean the house or even get my hair or nails done before it showed up.

I watched a YouTube video this morning on the 323 clamp meter.
I replied one word, (idiot) on it.
He was complaining about the cheap leads they sent and how they wouldn't go in all the way and fell out.
He wasn't pushing them in.
The guy is an idiot.

Does he even really need a meter if he cant figure this out.
My air compressor draws 2 amps I never knew before.
Worth

Worth1 · August 13, 2017

Here is the deal with the new meter that dawned on me the other day.
It is special and for a reason.
It measures micro amps.
You have to measuer micro amps to test flame detectors in furnaces, not all meters do this.
I have never had a meter that measured micro amps before.
One micro amp is one millionth of an amp,the micro symbol looks like this µ.
A milliamp is one thousandth of an amp.

dmforcier · August 14, 2017

Micro-amps? With inductive jaws? That's pretty impressive.

Worth1 · August 14, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmforcier

Micro-amps? With inductive jaws? That's pretty impressive.

No the other meter.
The clamp meter only measures AC amps plus volts and so on.
The 116 will only measure the micro amps AC or DC.
In other words I have no way of measuring DC amps of any amount besides my other meter.
I thought about it and asked myself when was the last time I measured DC amps of any amount at all.
Never or a long long time.
Voltage drop is more important with what I do.
Worth

Worth1 · September 21, 2017

Going to give my co-worker a little lesson in the difference between power limited and non power limited circuits today.
And explain to him why he is lucky he didn't burn up a really expensive intelligent power supply because of it.
I have talked to him about it before but yesterday is a good example to learn from.
Oh yes he connected the black to the red and the red to the black on the S Buss power.
Sucked the whole system down.

Worth

August 5, 2017	#217
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	I just went to the fluke store and bought the meter I want. Here it is. I opted for it instead of the electricians meter because I can use it for a thermometer. There are actually two meters one is also a clamp on amp tester plus meter. Not bad for the price. https://www.fluke-direct.com/product...hvac_combo_kit Worth Last edited by Worth1; August 5, 2017 at 07:24 PM.

August 5, 2017	#218
dmforcier Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 3,825	Yah, I think it's the 323 or it's near relative that I've got. The 116 looks dandy! Quite intrigued by the averaging function. But price? When they want $108 for three test leads and a pouch, you gotta wonder about the mark-up on the rest of it... __________________ Stupidity got us into this mess. Why can't it get us out? - Will Rogers

August 9, 2017	#220
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	Okay I never got any result back from the people I ordered the meter from just a confirmation number. No tracking number or anything. I checked my bank account this morning and no withdrawal for the product. I called and low and behold first ring a lady answered the phone. The product was pulled from the shelf and was scheduled to be shipped. Not your normal way of doing things in a I want it now world but I can live with it.'

August 14, 2017	#223
dmforcier Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 3,825	Micro-amps? With inductive jaws? That's pretty impressive. __________________ Stupidity got us into this mess. Why can't it get us out? - Will Rogers

August 4, 2017	#212
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	checked two pawn shops out yesterday for meters. One had nothing but China junk. The other had an outdated fluke 73 III for 40 dollars. Also saw two LS Starrett Levels for a good price but I dont need one that fancy. There must have been hundreds of junk battery operated drills and flat screen TV's. The 73 is tempting for the price as a construction job meter. I have used them before and it is a well taken care of meter like it has almost never been used.

August 4, 2017	#213
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	Gave myself 24 hours to think about it if the meter and level are still there I will do some bartering and get them both. There is also a wire toner I might get as a package deal. I never pay the asking price. Worth

August 4, 2017	#214
franknmiss Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Columbus, MS Living on the Edge ( Of Zone 7b/8a that is..) Posts: 50	The Model 73 is a great meter - when I worked in a manufacturing plant all of our electricians had two meters - A Fluke Model 73 and a Simpson 260.

August 4, 2017	#215
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	Seems the price was marked for a later date and their asking price was way higher I have never seen that before. But on the meter the level and the toner they were wanting almost new price or over half what new was. I will not pay more than around 30% of new. The toner was 5 bucks off what I can get a Greenlee for new. They wouldn't go down enough so I walked out. Pawn shops are for suckers unless you know what your are doing. I will keep going back once a week and continue to bug them. That is how I bought all of my Starrett micrometers and dial indicators for almost nothing compared to new some I bugged for 6 months and the guy got tired of me coming in.

August 5, 2017	#216
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	Every time I go into these pawn shops I feel like I need to take a shower to get the slime off of me. Worth

August 10, 2017	#221
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	Meter shipped yesterday USPS and was supposed to show up tomorrow. No it came in my mail box today one whole day early. I am not happy with this as I wasn't expecting it a day early. I didn't have time to clean the house or even get my hair or nails done before it showed up. I watched a YouTube video this morning on the 323 clamp meter. I replied one word, (idiot) on it. He was complaining about the cheap leads they sent and how they wouldn't go in all the way and fell out. He wasn't pushing them in. The guy is an idiot. Does he even really need a meter if he cant figure this out. My air compressor draws 2 amps I never knew before. Worth

August 13, 2017	#222
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	Here is the deal with the new meter that dawned on me the other day. It is special and for a reason. It measures micro amps. You have to measuer micro amps to test flame detectors in furnaces, not all meters do this. I have never had a meter that measured micro amps before. One micro amp is one millionth of an amp,the micro symbol looks like this µ. A milliamp is one thousandth of an amp.

September 21, 2017	#225
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	Going to give my co-worker a little lesson in the difference between power limited and non power limited circuits today. And explain to him why he is lucky he didn't burn up a really expensive intelligent power supply because of it. I have talked to him about it before but yesterday is a good example to learn from. Oh yes he connected the black to the red and the red to the black on the S Buss power. Sucked the whole system down. Worth