I was checking voltage readings on my pellet stove and the Harbor Freight meter was reading 142volts. Oh my!! Check outlets in the house, addition and shop and all outlets read high. This was Sunday so I waited until today to contact an electrician. Rechecked voltage before calling and now the meter is reading 170+ volts. Called electrical provider and they sent out their tech. They check the voltage, and it was at 118 volts. I rechecked with a better meter and got the same 118 volts. I apologize to the tech and tossed the cheap Harbor freight into the trash. I have used these meters a lot of times but, at low voltage. Anybody else seen the same issue or was this just a fluke.
Error from Harbor Freight Cheap Meter
- Thread starter Bhart
- Start date
It most certainly was not a Fluke, and therein lies the problem!
Sorry, I couldn't resist the joke after you teed it up. If you're talking about the $7 rectangular HF DMM, those are the worst. I've seen them lie on several occasions.
If you're looking for a cheap meter, I'd recommend something from Extech. I've had several, and they haven't let me down. Flukes are great, but they're way overpriced for the casual user.
I was going to mention the fluke reference as wellIt most certainly was not a Fluke, and therein lies the problem!
If you're talking about the $7 rectangular HF DMM, those are the worst. I've seen them lie on several occasions.
If you're looking for a cheap meter, I'd recommend something from Extech. I've had several, and they haven't let me down. Flukes are great, but they're way overpriced for the casual user.
. I have a Klein Tools CL380 which has been great over the past several years. Looks like it's now the CL390, available from Amazon for $79.
Just to fill out the conversation...I have several of the red cheap ones and they are nearly always fine. I have a few of the $20 Craftsman kind. I have one of the $30 Amazon more features one. They all drop when I break them, and they all don't give me any reading at all when I lose them or leave them behind somewhere...like sunglasses they all have their place - high quality and "good enough". Rather than alter your equipment, I would add to your process before calling in an outside repairman...compare two meters, whether cheap or pricey
I had a streetlight installed on our power pole to light up the back side of the house. My next-door neighbor who is a licensed electrician first volunteered to install a dusk to dawn light for me but had issues with the power panel as it did not have a circuit breaker in it. When the electrical company installed the light, they also added a neutral wire to the panel or that is what they told me. That's why I kind of was in panic mod knowing that they were recently in that panel.
Time for a Haiku.
oh no not that smell
time to aim for road shoulder
electrical smoke
those Harbor Fright tools
kinda sorta good enough
except when they’re not
Klein and Fluke hardware
reliably expensive
the math is brutal
GMC health plan
keep odometer spinning
avoid deep fried wire
oh no not that smell
time to aim for road shoulder
electrical smoke
those Harbor Fright tools
kinda sorta good enough
except when they’re not
Klein and Fluke hardware
reliably expensive
the math is brutal
GMC health plan
keep odometer spinning
avoid deep fried wire
IIRC even my Fluke reads incorrectly when the battery is almost dead, did you try a fresh battery?
It might come up in their flyer sometime soon, I'll attach it here in case there's something you can use:
