Voltage tester

I am about to buy a voltage tester.
Does anyone have a suggestion on what to buy or not buy?

Hello Roy. You didnt really specify what purpose you intend to use the meter for****. If you can elaborate on just what you want the meter to do for you, many of us will do our best to steer you in the right direction.

I don’t need anything fancy.
I want to be able to check wires & verify if they are carrying 110 Or 220
Also want to check the voltage output of the alternator on my tractor.

Do you want to be able to distinguish 120 from 240 with a non-contact probe?
This would be a different tool than what you would normally need.

Digital meters have gotten cheap, you should consider one with an A/C current clamp.
I have a really good meter (no longer available) that I bought in 1980 but it did not have the A/C clamp so I have two now. Its nice to have the diode tester on your regular meter if you do much troubleshooting.

I would recommend buying a high quality Category IV rated digital clamp meter. That is the category rating that should be used for testing service rated equipment.

While there is truth to the fact that many meters are more affordable now, the better quality ones will still cost more. There are brands I will NOT recommend, namely Centech and Radio Shack. Also, any “store” labeled brands are certainly suspect.

Fluke, Amprobe, and AEMC are highest on my list. Others in the lower to middle range include Greenlee, Ideal, Fieldpiece, Extech, UEI, Milwaukee, Triplett, and Klein.

Fluke’s website has excellent information, albeit biased toward their offerings, but is well worth a few minutes of time to research.

http://www.fluke.com/

www.professionalequipment.com has a great selection. Stay away from Extech if you can afford a higher price unit like Fluke.

This is what I have.

http://www.extech.com/instruments/product.asp?catid=26&prodid=83

That is a good price for a meter that has the DC current on the clamp instead of just AC current.

At first glance it seems like it, but notice it is only a category III meter and should never be used to measure voltage on service equipment. DC current capability is usually the factor that drives the price up.