Used vs New Multimeters

[sign216]

Are used multimeters a bargain, or something to avoid?

I was going to buy a name brand analog mulitmeter, to complement my digital, and to keep in the basement or outside shop, so I'm not running in-out every time I need one. Going to spend $ for a Simpson, Triplett, or Fluke (I'm in the USA), but prices for new ones are a tough. Is a used one from Ebay an option, or just asking for problems?

Joe

 

[danadak]

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They make a lot of variants, so you might take some time looking into them.


Regards, Dana.

 

[sign216]

Danadak,
Thanks for writing. My question is whether getting a used multimeter has an peril. I.e. when they have a limited life, so that a used device is a false savings. I've got a spot of cash (for once) and wanted to get a better name brand. Does a used one save money, or is not worth it?

Also, I'd like to go analog, to complement my digital meter.

 

[ZipZapOuch]

Danadak,
Thanks for writing. My question is whether getting a used multimeter has an peril. I.e. when they have a limited life, so that a used device is a false savings. I've got a spot of cash (for once) and wanted to get a better name brand. Does a used one save money, or is not worth it?

Also, I'd like to go analog, to complement my digital meter.

Used old analog meters are iffy. Some of the carbon resistors inside have drifted so far that they cannot be calibrated any more - especially if stored in hot garages etc.

A fluke digital seems to last forever and be pretty bullet proof (there are one or two bad models that tend to drift or suck up battery in the "standby" state but nothing deadly. I have a Fluke 8025B with a manufacturing date of 1984 and still works great - I bought it used in the late-1990s.

Watch out for dim/cracked LCD and cracked cases (possibly unsafe if using them on dangerous voltages). Some see pretty rough use in factories or thrown around in truck beds but should be reasonably easy to spot with worn off icons, scuffs and dents. Otherwise, you're in pretty good shape.

 

[augustinetez]

If you are short of cash, buying a secondhand multimeter from an unknown source is not a good idea as you do not know it's history or how badly it has been abused by it's previous owner.

If you can get one from somebody you know, that would probably be reasonably OK.

 

[sign216]

ZipZap, yes, I bet some meters were bouncing around a truck bed or had similar fates, and thanks for the info re drifting of the calibration.

Augustinetez,
Thanks for the info. I imagine a company meter, used by employees, might not have been treated so well.

I'll find one in new or near-new condition.
Joe

 

[aliarifat794]

If there is an option for checking before purchase or returning if the product is bad, I think you can buy.

 

[sign216]

aliarifat,
That's a good point. I can check it against my digital mm, and return it if the readings are off.

 

[ZipZapOuch]

aliarifat,
That's a good point. I can check it against my digital mm, and return it if the readings are off.

Why would you want an analog meter?

 

[For The Popcorn]

Why would you want an analog meter?

Analog meters are useful for observing varying levels. More responsive than a bargraph on digital meters.

 

[ZipZapOuch]

Analog meters are useful for observing varying levels. More responsive than a bargraph on digital meters.

It depends which meter.

 

[ZipZapOuch]

Analog meters are useful for observing varying levels. More responsive than a bargraph on digital meters.

Thanks for your opinion but I asked why the OP wanted it, not why you would use one.

 

[For The Popcorn]

It depends which meter.

Is it your nature to argue with everyone about everything?

And what's it to you if somebody wants an analog meter?

 

[sign216]

First off, I have two locations (basement shop and shop out in the yard) so two meters means I'm not running back n forth. My other meter is digital, so analog would complement that.

The analog display is sometimes easier, like reading a clock with hands vs a digital clock. A better example is an engine tachometer. A needle + scale tachometer is so much better than a digital tach. Like night and day. I don't know anyone who prefers a digital tach (unless your car has an automatic transmission).

 

[schmitt trigger]

I own a pair of Fluke DMMs, but also have a TMK analog multimeter.
It once allowed me to find a trimmer pot which had developed a dead spot and could not find with the DMMs.
It also helped to precisely adjust a notch filter.

Analog meters have its useful applications, although I do use the DMMs orders of magnitude more.

TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION: I wouldn’t purchase an used analog meter. Their delicate movement, specifically the high sensitivity ones, are fragile. Who knows if it has been overloaded.

 

[sign216]

Schmitt,
Ah yes. On vintage motorcycles I work on, the throttle is connected to a trimmer pot. They'll get bad sections, and watching an analog needle as you work the throttle is better than a digital.

Thanks for the advice re used analog meters. The charm of an analog scale is the moving needle, but moving parts are also a liability.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Schmitt,
Ah yes. On vintage motorcycles I work on, the throttle is connected to a trimmer pot. They'll get bad sections, and watching an analog needle as you work the throttle is better than a digital.

Thanks for the advice re used analog meters. The charm of an analog scale is the moving needle, but moving parts are also a liability.

I think we have a different understanding of 'vintage', I've never even seen, never mind ridden, a motorbike with an electronic throttle - the throttle normally connects to a Bowden cable which operates the carburettor(s) directly.

 

[sign216]

I think we have a different understanding of 'vintage', I've never even seen, never mind ridden, a motorbike with an electronic throttle - the throttle normally connects to a Bowden cable which operates the carburettor(s) directly.

Nigel,
It's "progress." In order of age it is;
cable to carb
cable to fuel inj butterfly valve
cable to pot trimmer
Latest is "ride by wire" with no cables, just electrons.

So what is antique, or vintage, or merely old?

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Nigel,
It's "progress." In order of age it is;
cable to carb
cable to fuel inj butterfly valve
cable to pot trimmer
Latest is "ride by wire" with no cables, just electrons.

So what is antique, or vintage, or merely old?

Fly by wire is neither of those three nor is fuel injection on motorbikes.

 

[ZipZapOuch]

And what's it to you if somebody wants an analog meter?

What's it to you if I inquire why someone finds an analog meter useful? Thanks for inserting yourself in my question to the OP.