test leads

[brightspark]

just bought a set for my mega meter 18 quid and another cheaper set local 11 quid . also just sent of for a set from china £1.95 in del be interesting to see what quality is and shows how much proffit dealers are making from it for just handing it over

 

[brewdexta]

Very interesting, I somehow managed to chop one of my testers's leads in half today when wiring up the kid's toylander, its got a temporary solder and heat shrink repair. 18 quid was more than I paid for the tester. I do have a very ancient Fluke mega but it needs some tlc as the battery clips knackered and it takes weird leads and I'm lead one short of a full tester (so somebody told me )

 

[mike 109444]

Do either the £18 or £11 ones have "made in china" on the packet ? or old stock ROC

 

[Robotstar5]

..also just sent of for a set from china £1.95 in del be interesting to see what quality is and shows how much proffit dealers are making from it for just handing it over

I'm sure they'll be to GS38

 

[brightspark]

Do either the £18 or £11 ones have "made in china" on the packet ? or old stock ROC

only made by amprobe on the 11 quid ones no mention of where there from

 

[mike 109444]

I'm sure they'll be to GS38

Is that a Chinese post code. Maybe it's the same place they print the CE mark stickers.....

 

[brightspark]

Is that a Chinese post code. Maybe it's the same place they print the CE mark stickers.....

thats china export though

 

[BrokenBiker]

I have a few sets bought for less than 2 quid, some last well, others don't. I find main problem is the steel probe comes loos in the holder and pushes back in

 

[brightspark]

just bought a couple of sets of amprobe leads under a tenner there quite decent still waiting for cheapos

 

[BrokenBiker]

I bought a set at a boot sale, no markings on them but have lasted well. Not bad for 20p

 

[Robotstar5]

I tend to stick with the branded makes, Avo, Fluke etc., as I find the leads more flexible and hard wearing than the unbranded ones.
Just bought some Metrel leads for my MFT, will have to see how long they last.

 

[BrokenBiker]

I have a sett of fluke with the croc clips, various probes and so on, use them for daily fault finding and testing. use the cheaper ones with my cheaper meter for automotive stuff where I am likely to drop the meter of rest the leads on a hot bit of engine etc

 

[Robotstar5]

I've found the rubber "shells" available for decent meters are a life saver

 

[BrokenBiker]

I've found the rubber "shells" available for decent meters are a life saver

ironically my cheapo 18 quid meter from wickes has a hard plastic shell with a rubber inner pad, my fluke however has no protection at all

 

[Robotstar5]

ironically my cheapo 18 quid meter from wickes has a hard plastic shell with a rubber inner pad, my fluke however has no protection at all

2 of my Flukes have a hard rubber "body" as standard, the other has a removable "shell".

 

[normspanners]

I was looking at one of these they sell on amazon for about £20 anybody tried one ?
maybe ok for diy?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301048275017?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2648&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

[brightspark]

I was looking at one of these they sell on amazon for about £20 anybody tried one ?
maybe ok for diy?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301048275017?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2648&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

should be fine and if your not sure buy one o thesehttp://www.niceicdirect.com/epages/NICShop.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/NICShop/Products/4373&gclid=CNHr1dTt6MACFQcHwwodWzwAGA if it needs to be that acurate price as much as much as the meter i use one of these it checks voltage multimeters rcd testers earthloop and meggas

 

[BrokenBiker]

on a job today, guy had tried to install his own bathroom light, made a bit of a job of it, trimmed wires back for no reason at all and nearly set his house on fire as he was working live with no idea what he was doing. reckons he tripped mcb about 15 times before his missus demanded he ring someone

i was testing for voltage and this happened. as far as i can tell, the connection inside the probe is merely a bit of steel butted up against a pad to form the connection. this must have come a bit loose and caused an arc. big blue flash, breaker tripped and i ended up with this probe. surprisingly it still works fine, although i used a different pair to finish the job

cheap Chinese £2 probes for you

 

[Robotstar5]

Now you know why GS38 recommends 2mm tips

 

[BrokenBiker]

Now you know why GS38 recommends 2mm tips

the tip size was irrelevant, it was the connection inside the probe that caused the issue. I hadn't shorted anything with the probe to cause this, was simply testing on some choc blocks and it blew the probe