which meter ?????

[Kool Beans]

Happy Easter to every one! My question is this, if you only had enough money for one meter to use in the field; which Fluke meter would you choose ? I know there are several Fluke meters that we could use, but for the sake of expediency, I am only going to use 3 choices: Fluke 902, Fluke 116 or Fluke 179 ?

[y7turbo]

Happy Easter to every one! My question is this, if you only had enough money for one meter to use in the field; which Fluke meter would you choose ? I know there are several Fluke meters that we could use, but for the sake of expediency, I am only going to use 3 choices: Fluke 902, Fluke 116 or Fluke 179 ?

i would use the 179 and buy the amp clamp that you could plug into it.

but if you only had money for the meter then i would go for the 902. im not the biggest fan of it but at least its a clamp meter with temp, and microamps.

[bdivell]

fluke 902 is the ultimate hvac meter

[BobbyBJr]

Of those three, I'd have to choose the 902 also. I really like mine.

[davidr]

i would use the 179 and buy the amp clamp that you could plug into it.



This is the main setup I use so I'm kinda partial to it.

[y7turbo]

fluke 902 is the ultimate hvac meter

not really. nice entry level all around meter yes, ultimate meter no.

[y7turbo]

This is the main setup I use so I'm kinda partial to it.

i was leaning towards doing that setup this year.

[davidr]

You won't regret it y7, I've been using the 179 with a i200 clamp for close to 6 years now.

If they crap out I will replace them with the same thing.

[beachtech]

feildpiece HS36 is my weapon of choice. it comes with the amp clamp :) and temp probe :) buy a fluke, pay for a name.







OH you disagree, i knew you would.

[davidr]

Lol..........To each his own.

Ford vs Chevy

Goodman vs Any other equipment

Personally never been a fan of using one meter for all the readings that need to be taken.

[Kool Beans]

I guess most people that use Fluke would choose the 902.

[beachtech]

Lol..........To each his own.

Ford vs Chevy

Goodman vs Any other equipment

Personally never been a fan of using one meter for all the readings that need to be taken.

actually the 902 has the potential to do everything. but i think fluke is holding back, because of what your thinking about a meter that does it all :)

[davidr]

For a meter to "do it all" that I want it would probably have to be 24" square by 12" thick.

Too many readings to have to fit on one screen. :D

[btcstudenthvacr]

Fieldpiece HS-36,true rms, remote amp clamp is nice. The cycle time of readings could be a little quicker on readings to catch LRA then again only a couple of $$$$ Flukes would catch it but all in all I'm happy.

Even have my instructor switched his thinking... just because the availability of so many add ons that fluke will never offer. 2cnts.

[beachtech]

Fieldpiece HS-36,true rms, remote amp clamp is nice. The cycle time of readings could be a little quicker on readings to catch LRA then again only a couple of $$$$ Flukes would catch it but all in all I'm happy.

Even have my instructor switched his thinking... just because the availability of so many add ons that fluke will never offer. 2cnts.

i am not a big fan of all the add-ons to this meter. i have quit a few of them and am overall unsatisfied with the add on "heads" i am slowly but surely buying a separate meter for everything that i need, manometer, anemometer and so on :)

[btcstudenthvacr]

[QUOTE=beachtech;1813420]i am not a big fan of all the add-ons to this meter. i have quit a few of them and am overall unsatisfied with the add on "heads" i am slowly but surely buying a separate meter for everything that i need, manometer, anemometer and so on

Question for yeah, so for a starting tech does the Fieldpiece heads do an average job or do you think it would of been better to piece it all out in the first place? Are you keeping them for a back up?My instructor seems to think highly of their combustion analyzer with digital reader. Which brands do you recommend? Sorry if I'm thread jacking... but wondering what to get next. Leaning towards my own scale, recovery,and Vac pump for the A/C season coming.

[davidr]

My instructor seems to think highly of their combustion analyzer with digital reader. Which brands do you recommend?


BTC, the combustion analyzer attachment for fieldpiece is a very poor choice for combustion testing.

It is an aspirator bulb design and can only give a one time snap shot of the equipments operation.

You might want to consider a combustion analyzer that gives a complete view of what is going on.
A combustion analyzer capable of continuous sampling like a TSI of Bacharach are the only ones I would recommend.

[icehouse]

The Fluke HVAC/R Kit comes with 116 Multimeter and 322 Clamp-on can not beat it.

Fieldpiece LT17A and SC-77 another good combination.

UEI DL289 and DM393 not bad

Coming soon Extechs new clamp-on with IR Thermometer

I guess that is why wife says I am nuts:)

[captinsano]

I prefer to have many meters,one for everyday service work 902 is what I use.Ihave a 179 much higer ohm scale I use it or an amprobe analog megger for motor winding problems the 179 for say 10k thermisters.Th e other reason if you are having a bad day and you old standby is giving you goofy readings you have something else to verify it with.

[hvacrmedic]

Fieldpiece HS-36,true rms, remote amp clamp is nice. The cycle time of readings could be a little quicker on readings to catch LRA then again only a couple of $$$$ Flukes would catch it but all in all I'm happy.

Even have my instructor switched his thinking... just because the availability of so many add ons that fluke will never offer. 2cnts.

I compared the HS-36 to the Fluke 902. The field piece had every scale and range that I need. The 902 did not. The HS-36 also has an integral magnetic hanger, and the temperature can be field calibrated. (Look at the accuracy range listed for your temperature clamp. I have one that gives plus or minus 3 degrees accuracy) The Fieldpiece amp clamp connects to the leads, so you can easily read your display regardless of the angle of the wire that you're checking amps on.

I don't intend to buy any additional heads for this meter. That feature wasn't what sold me on it. So far I'm quite satisfied with my decision. I've used the Fluke before. Very unhandy for use as a multimeter. Not very handy for amp reading either, jaws too big. I liked my old Extech version of it much better, it wasn't quite as big and had several more scales on it, including true watts and phase angle. It would also read amps and volts simulatanously. If not for the better ease of use of the HS-36 I would probably have ordered another one of the Extechs.