Using A Multimeter: For The Average Homeowner
Вставка
- Опубліковано 16 вер 2024
- Today we look at a multimeter, go over basic functions, safe practices and why you need one.
Here’s a link to a very good but inexpensive meter:
(Amazon affiliate link, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you)
www.amazon.com...
I've listened to several multimeter videos. Yours is the best I've found for amateurs--by far. Nice work and thank you.
Thank you so much! I really appreciate your feedback and thanks for watching! If you ever have a question on how to use a function please feel free to reach out.
A good non contact voltage tester is worthwhile to have because it can detect live wires in some situations where the DMM will not be able to, such as a circuit where the neutral and ground wires are open circuit. If you're up on a ladder in that situation with no confirmed ground references available, the DMM would not show the presence of 120V on the hot line, while the NCV tester would alert on it.
Also, the NCV tester can tell you if a wall switch is live before starting to unscrew it to gain access for your DMM test leads. Having both on hand is best, as it doesn't have to be an either or option.
The key is getting a good NCV tester, as a poorly designed one that's unreliable isn't useful. Kline and Tacklife are ones I've got that have worked very well. It can easily discriminate between the hot and neutral side in a lamp cord, as the sensitivity setting was properly designed. Bad testers may sound off on everything, which makes them pretty much useless.
You make a great point and I agree 💯. The sticking point, just like you said, is to get a quality one. I’ve always had good luck with the Klein. Thanks for watching 😊
I totally agree. Checking for presents of voltage is key to check for a break in a wire without having to cut the wire or appliances large or small.
You help me thanks so much 👊🏾
Oh good, I’m so glad. That’s what it’s all about, helping people and helping them save $. Thanks for watching!
In terms of safety at 10:11, I was taught to always pull the red (hot) out first, before pulling the neutral (black). Pulling the neutral out first now leaves the ability to be shocked if you accidentally touch the neutral. "The red goes in LAST and comes out FIRST from the receptacle." Can you confirm?
As for the receptacle tester 08:55, I highly recommend to put a couple drops of super glue at the base of the ground prong. I had an incident a few years ago when I was testing a receptacle, I plugged it into the receptacle, the ground prong would go/retract into the unit. Then when I pull it out of the receptacle, the prong would come back out. Of course, this caused to show open ground which was not true.
Hey CM, you make some valid points. Most modern digital multimeters today have exceedingly high resistance when on voltage measurement mode which makes them safe to test on live circuits where, when testing across an “open” you wouldn’t want current to flow. I guess it’s possible in some cheaply made knockoff brand to not have proper manufacturing specs. But most meters would be safe even if you accidentally touched the black lead with the red lead in the socket still. Although, things do go wrong and break so you are right. Best practice would be to pull the hot lead out first. As far as the second point, I have never personally had that happen but don’t doubt that it did happen to you. Truthfully I would probably just toss it (as much as I like to fix things and not throw them out) because something failed inside that holds that prong in place and if it damaged other parts I wouldn’t trust it. Sorry, this is so long lol. But I guess the super glue would work. I just want to be sure of my test equipment. Thanks so much for watching and contributing!
Thanks, great. I would also check neutral and ground to make sure to get no voltage.
Yes you are correct! That’s a good check to ensure you don’t have an issue on either the neutral or ground. Thanks for watching!
Great explanation, thx for the video!
Thank you! If you ever have a question please feel free to reach out. Thanks for watching!
the ideal plug in tester showed me half my house was wired backwards .
Wow that’s a scary find! Best $20 you ever spent right 👍 Thanks so much for watching!
@@dadfixdit i bought the tester to troubleshoot a non working GFCI and found more than i wanted .. HA !
This multimeter looks a lot different than the ones I see at Harbor Freight.
Lol yes it is, but they all do mostly the same thing 😉
The things that make the difference to the user are the quality of the test leads, the better meters come with silicone jacketed ones that are very pliable and low resistance.
Better meters have regulation on the batteries that allow accurate measurements down to the point where the display is no longer visible, while the inexpensive meters go completely off in accuracy once the batteries are low. If you ever see the low battery indicator come on with the cheap meters, don't continue using it, as it won't be reading correctly.
Cheap meters also tend to go off on accuracy when not used regularly, because their rotating dial contacts get oxidized with disuse and that plays a part in their measurement accuracy. Otherwise in terms of measurement accuracy the cheap ones are perfectly fine for homeowner use, as long as it can be periodically checked against a known quantity.
On the opposite end of the cost spectrum, my Fluke 88 was charred and melted in a fire years ago, and it's still perfectly in spec, amazingly enough. Looks like Frankenstein, but operationally still like new.
I sent an inquiry to Fluke to see if replacement cases were available, but they never even responded. Customer service is an afterthought if the product is designed well enough to never need it, I suppose 😉.
The Kaiweets 208D is a meter that brings a current clamp option to the table and I've found to be a good value in terms of the quality to cost ratio. The current clamp allows safe measurements of the actual draw of appliances that can't be done easily with the Fluke. Only thing it can't do is taking small sub mA measurements, but it can still read down to milliamps in DC and AC, with decent accuracy.
@@hwingerrr5680 Yeah, I wasn't looking for a thesis here, and my point was that most off the shelf meters will be missing a lot of options that this one has.
A battery that is not supplying current to a load cannot be tested accurately with a voltmeter; the voltmeter is not a load.
I agree and disagree. It’s true, a voltmeter isn’t a load meter but you can get a general idea of the state of charge of a battery from its voltage. An alkaline battery at 1V isn’t going to work for you. That’s the point I was trying to make. Sure there will always be a better way to test a battery. Thanks for watching!
The better way to test uses a small load, like a 400 ohm resistor. Testing lithium coin cells is where the load is particularly necessary, as they'll seemingly read fine at 3V with no load but will drop way down with a load on it when they're spent. The cheap next to freebie meters at harbor freight actually has a battery test mode that incorporates a resistor load to do this, which the megabuck Flukes don't. 🙃
On index 3:20 that multimeter you are bragging is worth 889$ to 1281$... who would want to buy that when you use it once in a blue moon.
Definitely wouldn’t recommend buying it unless you are someone who will use it every day. Just like Snap-on tools are for mechanics who use them every day. I posted a
“Last minute gift idea” short that has a Klein electrical test kit which includes a digital multimeter, receptacle tester and a non-contact voltage tester for $49. Thats what I would recommend. I just happen to have the meter in the video but I wouldn’t recommend it for the average homeowner. Thanks for watching!