Spent $180 on a good multimeter and it saved me from a fire hazard

I always used those cheap $20 multimeters from Harbor Freight. Figured they were fine for basic checks. But last month I was working on a dryer in a basement in Tucson and the reading was all over the place. Thought it was the element. Turned out my multimeter was just drifting bad. Picked up a Fluke 117 for $180 after a guy on here recommended it. First job I used it on I found a short in a heating element that would've caught fire eventually. Made me realize I was playing with fire using junk tools. Anyone else had a cheap meter give you bad readings and almost cost you?

2 comments

2 Comments

emery_lopez1mo ago

A cheap multimeter drifting like that is wild. I didn't even know they could just lose calibration that bad.

the_matthew1mo ago

Honestly @emery_lopez, "losing calibration that bad" sounds a bit dramatic. These cheap meters are off by a few percent out of the box anyway, so a little drift doesn't change much for general use. Unless you're building a spaceship, it's probably fine.