Comparing my old Fluke meter to the cheap one the shop bought, night and day

Pulled the trigger on the budget multimeter because the boss said we needed a backup, but after chasing a phantom short on a Frigidaire dryer for 45 minutes in Sacramento, I grabbed my 15 year old Fluke from the van and found it in 20 seconds flat. The cheap one reads steady on a live circuit but drifts like crazy when the load kicks in, which is exactly the kind of thing that eats your whole afternoon. Anyone else keep a personal meter even when the shop provides tools, or am I just a hoarder with a stubborn streak?

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oliviapatel17d ago

Yeah I used to be all about whatever meter was in the truck, figured they all did the same thing so why spend my own money. But then I borrowed a buddy's old Fluke for a weekend job and holy crap, the difference in how stable the reading stays during a load change is just night and day. Now I've got my own in the bag and the shop one only comes out if someone else grabs mine first. I don't care if it makes me look picky, wasting an hour on a bad read is worse than looking like a tool snob. You're not a hoarder, you're just smart about your time.