Help me buy the right FLUKE METER :)

Alright I am looking to get one for my company.

Requirements
Cat III max 1000V
Got to measure True RMS, Frequency (200 Khz max), AC,DC voltage and Current. That is all i could think of we have some thermocouple and would be great if we could measure the temp. and stuff.

I found those Fluke 179 and Fluke 87V looks alright ..

Just looking for some suggestion maybe someone could guide me I dont wanna get some really high tech expensive item nor i wanna get something useless meter either. something portable that will help measuring those parameters we need in a plant. We dont do any hardcore troubleshooting. as of yet

I have been using an 87 for roughly 20+ years, the newer ones are even better. I might consider a 179 or 187/189 if I had to buy a new one.

I'd go with the 179.

Thanks Guys


seems like 179 got everything i need

if you have to check TRIAC-type PLC output cards, think about getting an SV225 Stray Voltage Eliminator to go with your meter ... it's about $75 ... it helps take care of the false readings that result from "leakage current" issues ...

any good vendor in vancouver area ?

I got these prices

Model 87V $527. each
Model 179 $407. each
Model 187 $719. each
Model 189 $742. each

That is slightly higher then in the US but could be due to tariffs/duty.

These are the fluke distributors.
Active Tech Electronics
3695 East 1st Avenue
Vancouver BC, V5M 1C2
PH: (604) 654-1057
Carrier Canada Ltd
155 West 3rd Avenue
Vancouver BC, V5Y 1E8
PH: (604) 876-9278
Refrigerative Supply
132 West 2 Ave
Vancouver BC, V5Y 1C2
PH: (604) 872-7521
Westburne Supply (BC)
68 East 7th Avenue
Vancouver BC, V5T 1M4
PH: (604) 873-8541

Make sure its one you can handle to be stolen. You would not believe how may times we have had meters, label printers, tools stolen from job sites.
Don't know if its a coincidence or not, but every plant we have had stuff stolen, a maintenance was part of a union.

Hmm, I've never had a meter stolen from me. Though, I'm an in-house electrical engineer, so I know and work with the people around me all the time.

As for the union thing, my shop is non-union, and I hear nothing but horror stories about unions, so it wouldn't suprise me if it wasn't coincidence

Just keep it with you, or locked in your vehicle or toolbox. I find Channel-Locks and Allen wrenches to "disappear" much more often than the meters.

Tharon said:

Hmm, I've never had a meter stolen from me. Though, I'm an in-house electrical engineer, so I know and work with the people around me all the time.

As for the union thing, my shop is non-union, and I hear nothing but horror stories about unions, so it wouldn't suprise me if it wasn't coincidence

Just keep it with you, or locked in your vehicle or toolbox. I find Channel-Locks and Allen wrenches to "disappear" much more often than the meters.

Click to expand...

Fact of life for an integrator:

We have been on job sites where Job Boxes have been broken into, tools locked inside control panels, where someone has found the lock box, removed the key and opened the panel, tools left in cars in the parking lot broken into.

My point being, tools and instruments taken to job sites must be condidered as consumable items. I never buy high end laptops, as at some point they will get sprayed, dosed, dumped on or stolen.

Instead of taking a $300 Fluke to a job site, I now take a $69 Canadian Tire special.

Ian

can anyone post links where i can hire security guards

jokin...

haha actually my plant is awesome all are so friendly people . there are gaurds after working hours + we keep everything organized / locked.
..

aaa it is not for personal use actually it will be given to electricans they were trying to measure some frequency by another digital meter and it was showing some strange values. Maybe i should read the manual of that first.

maybe it is Fluke 45.

It was showing 200 Hz value where it should be arround 40hz.

rsdoran said:

I have been using an 87 for roughly 20+ years, the newer ones are even better. I might consider a 179 or 187/189 if I had to buy a new one.

Click to expand...

Also been using a 87 then a 179 and then ,when fed-up tryng to test analog loops, I got a 789 processmeter .Well this thing saved my bacon a couple of times and I am taking it to bed with me .It's a bit more expensive than a 179 but in two months time it paid for itself.

Eric

atifplus said:

aaa it is not for personal use actually it will be given to electricans they were trying to measure some frequency by another digital meter and it was showing some strange values. Maybe i should read the manual of that first.

maybe it is Fluke 45.

It was showing 200 Hz value where it should be arround 40hz.

Click to expand...

It is hard to have one meter for many people to use, things like this end up in someone's toolbox, not actually stolen they just want to know they have ready access.

I assume you were measuring the output from a drive to the motor, that gets a little tricky at times and it is rare a drive's display is wrong, assuming it has a display.

If that is the situation, another option is a handheld tachometer, this can be contact or non contact, or a combination of both. The use of these should not be above any maintenance/electrical personnel but you might have to originally provide the math etc. to convert the RPM to HZ per machine depending on where they take the measurement.

In my experience electrician's usually own their own meters, which model etc. based on their needs per the job. Things like handheld tach's is usually something the maintenance/engineering dept. has in its specialty tools.