Brand new Brymen BM235 - Wrong fuse? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: wwwill
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 22, 2023, 12:48:53 pm
content: Hello everyone,I have a question that might be stupid, but for my piece of mind, I need to ask.I recently bought a Brymen BM235 from Welectron in Germany.I received it today (very fast delivery for free in France by DHL by the way) and when I opened it to put the batteries in, I noticed that the fuses are not the same as the ones I have seen in the teardowns and Youtube reviews I have seen.They are from ASTM instead of Bussmann.Is it normal?Are they of equivalent quality?Is it a way from Welectron to lower the price of the DMM? The box is also unbranded full white, at least for the Edition+ that includes the pouch.Thank you for you inputs.

author: NoisyBoy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 22, 2023, 01:50:34 pm
content: Brymen never specified the brand of fuse in its products, so they are free to install the suppliers of their choice as long as it meets the stated specification. There is no reason why dealers has to compensate the consumer, especially when they did not install the fuse in the first place. Personally, I would not worry about it and just enjoy the meter.

author: wwwill
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 22, 2023, 02:09:16 pm
content: Quote from: NoisyBoy on September 22, 2023, 01:50:34 pmI was not asking to be compensated, I am just genuinely curious to know if having a different brand has any impact on the quality of the fuse itself.I am also curious to know if that is because Brymen changed supplier or if it is because my meter is co-branded Welectron and that is a way for them to lower the price by a few euros. After all, I paid 94 euros for the DMM, the better leads, the official case and the shipping to France.The funny thing is that the official retailer in Taiwan where I live is selling the base model, no case for 4000 twd = 117 euro excluding shipping.So weird to buy a DMM during my holidays, but at least I tried to buy it locally first...

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 22, 2023, 02:28:36 pm
content: I thought it was normal for Brymen to come with ASTM fuses. The replacement fuses that Dave sells on the EEVBlog store are ASTM just like the ones in your meter.As for the differences, the ASTM actually have a higher interrupt rating (50kA) and that is certified by the TUV. I don't see any mention of TUV in the Bussmann datasheet, perhaps that has something to do with it. I would assume the ASTM fuses cost less, but I don't know that for a fact. Other than interrupt ratings, the ratings seem similar, including clearing time. I wouldn't worry either way.https://astml.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/HV110.xxA_DMI_RevG20190227.pdfhttps://www.eaton.com/content/dam/eaton/products/electrical-circuit-protection/fuses/data-sheets/bus-ele-ds-1047-dmm-b.pdf

author: mwb1100
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 22, 2023, 06:42:55 pm
content: FWIW I bought my BM235 from Welectron in March 2023 and it has a Bussman 11A fuse and a Siba 400mA fuse.Welectron is one of the best vendors I have bought from, period. Not just for test gear. I'd be very surprised if they were specifying fuses. Surely the ASTM fuses aren'tthatmuch cheaper than Bussman?.I wouldn't worry at all about the ASTM fuse.