[99cents]

As a meter manufacturer, Klein makes pretty good pliers.

Buy a T5-600. I bet half the guys on this site use it as their daily meter. It’s Low Z, which is important.

I have a Fluke 325 and it stays in the bag unless I need to measure current, which is rare. My daily meter is a $60 Ideal which gives me Low Z volts, continuity, NCVT and a flashlight. It’s a trooper.

 

[99cents]

I see nothing about lowZ in the specs. Also vastly less functionality than the cl800, and you’ll have to sell me on why a fork isn’t worse than a clamp

A fork IS worse than a clamp. You can’t use it as a carabiner.

I thought the T5 was low Z. Someone smarter than me will know.

I had a Klown meter and it took a long time for the display to settle down. I gave it away to somebody. I hope he didn’t die.

 

[99cents]

My experience with Ideal is good. This is my daily meter with Low Z volts, continuity beeper, NCVT and flashlight. It’s also backlit. No amps. 60 loonies. I love a meter I can abuse and don’t have to treat like it’s a Rolex.

Looking at Fluke pricing, it looks like they have jumped in price since I bought my 325. It’s now $500. That’s insane.

 

[99cents]

I like smaller meters like that for the one that you carry around with you all the time.

Fluke makes an adorable little meter that I would love to have but from everything I have read it’s a piece of trash. It seems more like Chinese junk that Fluke put their brand name on.

The only thing I don’t like about this little meter is that it times out quickly and you have to push the button again for the backlighting or flashlight.

You night be talking about the Fluke 302. It isn’t True RMS but that doesn’t matter for a daily driver.

 

[99cents]

Well basically in terms of doing everything, the cl800 seems to check all my boxes…only worry to me is it’s not specifically a meter brand. But people I know who have it are pleased with it

You have already convinced yourself to buy it so buy it. Klein owns half of UEI so they’re not complete idiots when it comes to meters.

My experience with Klein is that the display kept bouncing around and it had a cheap feel to it. Maybe they’re okay. Your money, not mine.

For the record, I rarely test current. I rarely test resistance either (in actual ohms).

 

[99cents]

Thinking about it, if my current (haha) Klein multimeter only lacks the amp clamp, I could get away with a t5 or t6 as a daily driver and if I ever need to measure something it can’t, I have a backup.

Most of us have a daily knock around meter and then something more sophisticated when we need it. Forks aren’t all that bad. Clamps can be awkward when you’re working on a panel that was wired by a guy with a cable tie obsession.

 

[99cents]

I had a few Klein clamp on that I bought when I didn't have my main tools with me....and ended up using as a backup meters....functionally they work good but they aren't durable they break way too easy.

I like the Fluke 325...its a true RMS, its good if you work on motor drives and general commercial electric.
The one I have is about 10 years old and Its has a few battle scares from being bounced around but still works. they make a 323 and 324 that are a bit cheaper but are not true RMS.

The Fluke t5 series and T6 are good too you can really beat the hell out of them. I have a T5-1000 that I bought in 1999 that still works great.

325 is a good meter. As I recall, the 323 and 324 aren’t backlit, not sure though. With Fluke, you really have to pay attention to the features chart.

 

[99cents]

I’m not just buying for now, I’m also buying for my future. There have been occasions where I needed the amp clamp and Farads, but to be honest nowadays it’s mostly voltage and continuity. If the fluke 323 had loZ I’d get it but the lack of that seems stupid to me

I think Fluke uses Low Z as a marketing gimmick to make you buy more meter than you need. If my $60 Ideal is Low Z, it isn’t expensive magic. My Ideal is more accurate than my 325. I have compared them side by side.

 

[99cents]

Really, to me, LoZ is only really useful if you have a meter that can do it or not. If you get one voltage in 'normal' mode and a significantly lower voltage in LoZ, then that should indicate that there is a weak (compromised) connection somewhere. If the feed is clean then you should get the same voltage in both modes. LoZ kind of shows you what the device sees when a load hits the wire (I say 'kind of' because the load applied by the meter is unlikely to match the device). It would actually be cool to just have a button to press for LoZ so that it can be used as a momentary function.

Ghost voltage is a thing.

 

[99cents]

So what I’m getting is LoZ is a function I want. Fluke is good in some ways but sneaky the way they make you collect them all. Probably my best bet is the cl800 so far but that isn’t the most rugged or accurate meter

Problem solved. All this for 186 loonies. I love the display on the bottom. Flashlight and NCVT too. Low Z. I would buy this in a heartbeat.

A

 

[99cents]

I bought that little Ideal meter when I left my Fluke behind and wanted something inexpensive to get me through the day. Now I use it all the time.

 

[99cents]

It doesn’t have LoZ, but honestly, I’ve never run into ghost voltage that I couldn’t tell was ghost voltage and there are other ways to test it too if you really aren’t sure, so I decided I didn’t really care about that feature.

Fair enough. I use my clamp meter for current so it almost never gets used. I store it in a special padded case, otherwise known as a beer cooler, along with other prized possessions like my Bluetooth speaker.

You can see ghosts??