Multimeter

[stephenmercedes]

My £10 Lidl multimeter has also been certified for 'mains' use as well... You may not be a fan of the brand, but they wouldn't risk selling something that is unsafe, unlike many cheapos you can get on Ebay.

Multimeter

 

[AntMB]

My £10 Lidl multimeter has also been certified for 'mains' use as well...

I bet it has.

Not sure it'll be the same body who does safety category ratings.

 

[stephenmercedes]

I bet it has.

Not sure it'll be the same body who does safety category ratings.

I'm not knowledgable enough to know the body for safety rating, but the meter is rated Cat 3, 300V, and is TUV certified, which buying German products in the past has always been a sign of quality to me...

 

[190]

For use on mains the only thing that really needs certifying is the person using the meter as that's where most of the hazard lies. The meter itself will have sufficient insulation values if it has a suitable voltage range. Truth is it's rare that anyone needs to measure mains voltage, most will just be trying to determine if it's live.

 

[m80]

For use on mains the only thing that really needs certifying is the person using the meter as that's where most of the hazard lies. The meter itself will have sufficient insulation values if it has a suitable voltage range. Truth is it's rare that anyone needs to measure mains voltage, most will just be trying to determine if it's live.

Also, the capability to handle the current passing through it is where there might be a breakdown in integrity, but it will be internally fused to protect against abuse.
But you can't, realistically, prevent people from using incorrect replacements.

Where these cheaper meters would be suspect is in their ability to measure 1,000 volts. But it's difficult to see a scenario where a hobbyist is going to find a need to do that. Anyone w/o the understanding of 3 phase (415 volts) shouldn't be near it, and anyone with the understanding would know how to respect it.

 

[Stratman]

The scariest voltages Joe Average would have to deal with may be the 500-600V in some valve guitar amplifiers, voltages backed up by some serious current capability.

 

[Ted]

The scariest voltages Joe Average would have to deal with may be the 500-600V in some valve guitar amplifiers, voltages backed up by some serious current capability.

only the ones that go up to eleven...

 

[AntMB]

For use on mains the only thing that really needs certifying is the person using the meter as that's where most of the hazard lies. The meter itself will have sufficient insulation values if it has a suitable voltage range. Truth is it's rare that anyone needs to measure mains voltage, most will just be trying to determine if it's live.

^^
A person who doesn't know or understand what a safety cat rating is, but happy to dish out advice that the safety rating can be ignored.

 

[Stratman]

My Peavey goes to twelve

 

[Deleted member 126251]

Ironic comment considering you'd easily drop that amount on your car should she ever need anything! LOL

Possibly, but it is a different need and purpose. I have a couple of cheap DMMs (1 in garage, 1 in my hobby room) and I don't need anything better as they do everything I need even for my novice electronics endeavours.

However, if you ever want to dispose of yours for a reasonable price........

I had a bad habit of buying "the best I can afford" and not really using it to its best, I now try to make "fit for purpose" purchases.

 

[Deleted member 126251]

I'm not knowledgable enough to know the body for safety rating, but the meter is rated Cat 3, 300V, and is TUV certified, which buying German products in the past has always been a sign of quality to me...

View attachment 89672

IIRC TUV certification only says that teh manufacturers have maintained quality standard they signed upto. I stand to be corrected but I don't believe that TUV certification necessarily makes it a "better" product.

 

[stephenmercedes]

TUV certification only says that teh manufacturers have maintained quality standard they signed upto. I stand to be corrected but I don't believe that TUV certification necessarily makes it a "better" product.

Just like the 'quality' certification of ISO9000. It's really a management system which just guarantees that even if the product is crap, it'll be exactly the same as the other one on the shelf LOL Oh, and my Lidl MM was actually reduced to £7! (packing was a bit iffy!), so no intentions of getting rid

 

[BTB 500]

IIRC TUV certification only says that teh manufacturers have maintained quality standard they signed upto. I stand to be corrected but I don't believe that TUV certification necessarily makes it a "better" product.

No, they do actually test the products

Our certification process

1. Application for the desired certification sought for your product.
2. Thorough examination of a representative selection of your products on basis of required criteria. Tests are carried out either in our test laboratories or directly on your premises, for example in exceptional cases involving very large machines.
3. Issuance of product certificate and your test mark after successful acceptance.
4. Monitoring of your production site at regular intervals to verify products manufactured currently correspond to the tested sample in order to ensure the continued validity of your certificate.

Product certification and certification marks | TÜV Rheinland

 

[Deleted member 126251]

No, they do actually test the products
Product certification and certification marks | TÜV Rheinland

Testing......to confirm that the goods meet the required certification? People think that TUV means a better product which is not true - it only means that it meets a predetermined standard?

 

[AntMB]

TUV is not the same as Safety Category Rating.

 

[BTB 500]

Testing......to confirm that the goods meet the required certification? People think that TUV means a better product which is not true - it only means that it meets a predetermined standard?

You can view the certification details for a product on the TUV website (using the ID code given on the packaging, 1419042732 here). In this case the meter is certified as meeting the following standards:

EN 61010-031:2015
AfPS GS 2014:01
EN 61010-2-033:2012
EN 61010-1:2010

Certificate No. S 50366474 - Certipedia

The GS mark is a specific safety approval (Geprüfte Sicherheit = tested safety). This surely does make it a better choice than an unbranded £10 meter from eBay or Amazon that has no certification whatsoever?

 

[markjay]

Not doubting any product that Lidl sells, but just to say that back in the nineties when we were ordering products from factories in Taiwan and Hong Kong (before China became the world's low-cost manufacturer of choice), they use to ask us what certification we wanted printed on the product........................

 

[markjay]

They also offered to be accommodating with regards the country-of-origin, as in 'Made in <name your country>', in case it helps with customs in your own country..............

 

[Stocious]

Use cheap dvom and actually find old analog meters to be very useful

 

[Stocious]

It’s the quality/durability of the leads is the problem, I’ll buy a fluke someday