First class. I bought the simplest needle meter from Halfords about a million years ago to help me fit youth bling to my old cars - Goodmans cassette deck, air horns, driving lamps, etc. It served me well into adulthood to check domestic bulb and fuse ‘continuity’ (I didn’t know this was the correct term until now), until it suffered a battery leak and went to the big terminal in the sky. I replaced it with a B&Q digital meter similar to yours and have always found it complicated and a little overkill for such simple checks - I can never remember the correct settings to use! Thank you for your tutorial, I find your thorough approach to explaining things without unnecessary waffle spot on - it all seems so simple now 👌
This is an excellent tutorial and very useful for those running repairs and projects around the caravan. Nice to hear you using the term 'current' instead of 'amperage' as well. Nicely balanced warning regarding mains voltage too.I have two expensive Fluke testers in my workshop but I have a "China's Finest" one in the caravan, which cost, including postage from China.....£2.97!
Thank you for making it very clear. I wouldnt have any hesitation in using one on batteries and solar panels. Very good advice to steer clear of mains electrics too.
Great video and it was nice to see you gave a warning about playing around with the mains, most people don't realize, it only takes 50mA to cause cardiac arrest.
Seal of approval from a electronics engineer/electrical contractor. To add, digital meters are preferred these days as they are less intrusive than analogue meters, i.e. they don't draw current, allegedly. Mains voltage (230v) is referred to as LOW voltage, and 12v is Extra Low Voltage, this is often misquoted in literature. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong but fairy certain low voltage range goes as high as 399v. Thanks again for a well thought out vid.
Indeed, I have worked in power stations where the term "low voltage" has a rather different meaning : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_voltage Don't be misled, it means up 1000v. But 50v, classed as "extra low" is the general limit for touching safely. Digital meters do draw current, and do offer some resistance on their current settings, but less than analogue. However that scarcely matters for caravan jobs and is only important when doing electronics, especially digital electronics. For rough and ready jobs I prefer an analogue meter as it can be read from further away (note at @1:34 "I hope you can see ... " LoL!) and they have damping; ie I find digital meter readings jump around a lot of the time and so can be hard to read.
Good information in the main for those unfamiliar with multi-meters. One slight error in the video is when checking a battery voltage after taking it straight off charge you have to apply some sort of load for a short time to stabilise the voltage I.E remove the surface charge or ghost voltage left by the charger. It is not possible for your 12v battery to store 13.3v fully charged is 12.76 (6 cells x 2.12v per cell) without removing the surface charge you can have no idea what the actual stabilised voltage of the battery is.
Hi Colin, You are right, see my video on winter care for batteries - i cover the float voltage issue in there. this video is purely about multimeters and their use, not what the voltage actually means. If i was to cover every caveat this video would be about an hour long lol. Thanks for the comment - you didn't spot the other deliberate mistake did you ? Let me know if you did. Take care Dan
Mmm not sure, analogue meter runs a needle across a scale not a metre to be rather nit picky! was there anything else? Or have you just duped me into re-watching the video LOL.
@@TheTrudgians Thanks for the knowledge & how to use this multi-meter. Nice and simple to understand. I need all the information you provide because I'm so interested to buy a caravan or motorhome.
Great video Dan. I was expecting you to tell people why they shouldn't put the meter across the battery when it's set to read current, but you didn't. The answer for people that don't know is that the meter will attempt to drain the battery almost instantly and the better scenario is that the fuse blows in the meter, the worse scenario is the meter and leads melt in your hands. As Dan said, be sure you know what you are doing.
Excellent video as usual Dan , informative without being too techy. Took me back to my tech college days !- wouldn’t want to cart an AVO 8 around any more tho lol ! I have a small digital meter I carry in my van toolbox - invaluable when I let my car hook up lead drag on the road all the way to my first site and break almost every one of the 13 cables !
Hi Dan just want to compliment you on an excellent video. well put together, spot on. and hope that it helps out a lot of people with the basics of testing, not just for in caravan.
Continuity check is great but sometimes it should be used with the resistance function. You can still get continuity but the resistance value might be too high
Hi Dan...Just checked my van over, no power to the Truma pump that sits in the water but outside of the van. Tried two pumps old and a new one I carry as a spare. Fuse ok, power ok. after 2 hours faffing around getting nowhere. thought I would check the fitting on the van where I plugged it in. Two pins. a little emery cloth to give a clean, fiddly yes. however that's all it was. What do you recommend to clean these with? Some sort of spray? Maybe you could do vid, Vlog. Might just help someone on day 👍
Great video. I have no 12v supply in the caravan, no idea why? Multimeter should arrive today and hopefully I'll be able to figure out what's wrong. Thanks 😊
Not sure I like the use of a IEC plug and socket @5:04 to connect the solar panel. That is normally a mains connector, and while perfectly safe in this case it can be misleading as to what in the cable. A nearby IEC could be mains but someone think it is for another solar panel.
Just got my first van these videos are fantastic - can you help? Bought a portable 120w solar panel which has crocodile clips - my van has a standard 12v input for solar power - do you know if I can get a cable to connect to my panel for this and if so will it work or do I need anything more ta
Great video. Cheap analogue meters are best chucked out ;-) Most digital meters will work well in a caravan/motorhome environment. But give me my centre reading AVO Mk8 for electronic work :-) Agree on the safety warning if you are not sure get help.
Hi, sorry to add my question here but I wasn't sure how to get in touch (I'm not great with technology). I was just wondering if you had a video about caravan tyres and PSI and any gadgets/tyre pumps that you may have used. Many thanks.
@@TheTrudgians Hopefully problem is solved. My caravan is a 2010 Luner Quasar, and despite there being a permanent 240v hook up supply, if the master switch on the 12v system is switched off then the battery charger ceases to charge. This situation doesn't seem logical to me. Anyway, thanks for your help.
Hi maybe a daft question but if you have a cover on your caravan how would you secure the solar panel when in storage to stop the wind whipping it away. I have just bought a very small solar panel to keep the battery topped up, but cant use it because of the caravan cover.
First class. I bought the simplest needle meter from Halfords about a million years ago to help me fit youth bling to my old cars - Goodmans cassette deck, air horns, driving lamps, etc. It served me well into adulthood to check domestic bulb and fuse ‘continuity’ (I didn’t know this was the correct term until now), until it suffered a battery leak and went to the big terminal in the sky. I replaced it with a B&Q digital meter similar to yours and have always found it complicated and a little overkill for such simple checks - I can never remember the correct settings to use! Thank you for your tutorial, I find your thorough approach to explaining things without unnecessary waffle spot on - it all seems so simple now 👌
Excellent. People on forums often give advice which involves using a meter but they never explain what you need to do. Well done.
Very useful video, good info, well presented, and no pointless music, well done!
This is an excellent tutorial and very useful for those running repairs and projects around the caravan. Nice to hear you using the term 'current' instead of 'amperage' as well. Nicely balanced warning regarding mains voltage too.I have two expensive Fluke testers in my workshop but I have a "China's Finest" one in the caravan, which cost, including postage from China.....£2.97!
Thank you for making it very clear. I wouldnt have any hesitation in using one on batteries and solar panels. Very good advice to steer clear of mains electrics too.
a very good tutorial video Dan, as a gas engineer I use a multi meter a lot and you have provided a great intro to the multi meter.
Great video and it was nice to see you gave a warning about playing around with the mains, most people don't realize, it only takes 50mA to cause cardiac arrest.
Seal of approval from a electronics engineer/electrical contractor. To add, digital meters are preferred these days as they are less intrusive than analogue meters, i.e. they don't draw current, allegedly. Mains voltage (230v) is referred to as LOW voltage, and 12v is Extra Low Voltage, this is often misquoted in literature. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong but fairy certain low voltage range goes as high as 399v. Thanks again for a well thought out vid.
Indeed, I have worked in power stations where the term "low voltage" has a rather different meaning :
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_voltage
Don't be misled, it means up 1000v. But 50v, classed as "extra low" is the general limit for touching safely.
Digital meters do draw current, and do offer some resistance on their current settings, but less than analogue. However that scarcely matters for caravan jobs and is only important when doing electronics, especially digital electronics. For rough and ready jobs I prefer an analogue meter as it can be read from further away (note at @1:34 "I hope you can see ... " LoL!) and they have damping; ie I find digital meter readings jump around a lot of the time and so can be hard to read.
You are correct. Low voltage is 230 volts and above. Extra low is 12 volts etc.
Good information in the main for those unfamiliar with multi-meters. One slight error in the video is when checking a battery voltage after taking it straight off charge you have to apply some sort of load for a short time to stabilise the voltage I.E remove the surface charge or ghost voltage left by the charger. It is not possible for your 12v battery to store 13.3v fully charged is 12.76 (6 cells x 2.12v per cell) without removing the surface charge you can have no idea what the actual stabilised voltage of the battery is.
Hi Colin, You are right, see my video on winter care for batteries - i cover the float voltage issue in there. this video is purely about multimeters and their use, not what the voltage actually means.
If i was to cover every caveat this video would be about an hour long lol.
Thanks for the comment - you didn't spot the other deliberate mistake did you ? Let me know if you did.
Take care
Dan
Mmm not sure, analogue meter runs a needle across a scale not a metre to be rather nit picky!
was there anything else? Or have you just duped me into re-watching the video LOL.
@@TheTrudgians
Thanks for the knowledge & how to use this multi-meter. Nice and simple to understand. I need all the information you provide because I'm so interested to buy a caravan or motorhome.
Brilliant....exactly the info I needed to use my multimeter for the shown tasks...thanks a million
Cheers, needed to see this vid , I now know what’s going on with my solar and batteries!👍🏾
Great video Dan. I was expecting you to tell people why they shouldn't put the meter across the battery when it's set to read current, but you didn't. The answer for people that don't know is that the meter will attempt to drain the battery almost instantly and the better scenario is that the fuse blows in the meter, the worse scenario is the meter and leads melt in your hands. As Dan said, be sure you know what you are doing.
You must be psychic - just bought a multimeter to check the battery and fuses etc. Well done really useful and practical - finger on the pulse!,
Excellent video as usual Dan , informative without being too techy.
Took me back to my tech college days !- wouldn’t want to cart an AVO 8 around any more tho lol !
I have a small digital meter I carry in my van toolbox - invaluable when I let my car hook up lead drag on the road all the way to my first site and break almost every one of the 13 cables !
Hi Dan just want to compliment you on an excellent video. well put together, spot on. and hope that it helps out a lot of people with the basics of testing, not just for in caravan.
Continuity check is great but sometimes it should be used with the resistance function. You can still get continuity but the resistance value might be too high
Hi Dan...Just checked my van over, no power to the Truma pump that sits in the water but outside of the van. Tried two pumps old and a new one I carry as a spare. Fuse ok, power ok. after 2 hours faffing around getting nowhere. thought I would check the fitting on the van where I plugged it in. Two pins. a little emery cloth to give a clean, fiddly yes. however that's all it was. What do you recommend to clean these with? Some sort of spray?
Maybe you could do vid, Vlog. Might just help someone on day 👍
Great video. I have no 12v supply in the caravan, no idea why? Multimeter should arrive today and hopefully I'll be able to figure out what's wrong. Thanks 😊
Terrific video again Dan. Really helpful. Thank you.
Hi dan fantastic video thank you I will invest in a multi meter
Very handy tips
Have a great weekend.
Found this video very useful.thanks Dan
Not sure I like the use of a IEC plug and socket @5:04 to connect the solar panel. That is normally a mains connector, and while perfectly safe in this case it can be misleading as to what in the cable. A nearby IEC could be mains but someone think it is for another solar panel.
Just got my first van these videos are fantastic - can you help? Bought a portable 120w solar panel which has crocodile clips - my van has a standard 12v input for solar power - do you know if I can get a cable to connect to my panel for this and if so will it work or do I need anything more ta
My lights have stopped working in my caravan toilet ,my fuses are fine but how to test lights with a metre
Great video. Cheap analogue meters are best chucked out ;-) Most digital meters will work well in a caravan/motorhome environment. But give me my centre reading AVO Mk8 for electronic work :-) Agree on the safety warning if you are not sure get help.
Hi, sorry to add my question here but I wasn't sure how to get in touch (I'm not great with technology). I was just wondering if you had a video about caravan tyres and PSI and any gadgets/tyre pumps that you may have used. Many thanks.
With the leisure battery disconnected, what voltage reading should I get from the caravan's charging unit?
Hi Alan, with everything disconnected (for about 2 hours) a battery should read above 12.6v less than that it will require a charge.
@@TheTrudgians Hopefully problem is solved. My caravan is a 2010 Luner Quasar, and despite there being a permanent 240v hook up supply, if the master switch on the 12v system is switched off then the battery charger ceases to charge. This situation doesn't seem logical to me. Anyway, thanks for your help.
Nother nice informative vid Dan! Just a quicky! Is it ok to tow with a rusty towball? should I put rusteater on it or leave alone?
That’s a great informative video. Thanks.
the video of testing for continuity on a bulb is not clear as to how to make contact with the side of a bulb!
Thanks dan another great how to film
Brilliant vid. Very informative. Thanks
Great!
Bedankt voor uitleg
Thanks SO much, great info!!
Hi maybe a daft question but if you have a cover on your caravan how would you secure the solar panel when in storage to stop the wind whipping it away. I have just bought a very small solar panel to keep the battery topped up, but cant use it because of the caravan cover.
Thanks for the video. Curious, are you using a vintage lens on your camera? What camera and lens do you use?
Hi, this was all shot on my Canon EOS 80D - with an 18mm - 135mm F3 Lens. Nothing vintage here i'm afraid.
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