Recommeded decent quality multimeter in the UK? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: electroniclearner820327
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 06, 2025, 09:11:33 am
content: I posted before about the sub £10 multimeter almost falling apart in my hands under normal use. Specifically the wires just seeming to melt like butter for no apparent reason. I reattached those myself and they have not caused problems since but a worse issue making it close to unusable is the readout screen will not show the numbers properly. It is the classic thing when a digital display gets wet and some of the numbers only show partially but it has been dry for months now and it doesn't correct itself and seems to be stuck like that.I can usually just about figure out what the numbers read after some time but it is far from convenient.As such I am wondering what would be a decent quality replacement to get. I have also been interested in having a current reader that could do up to perhaps 200a continuous. Would that be enough if I want to play around with linking 72ah starter battery and 105ah leisure battery and check the current between them? That is the largest current I could envision I would want. Would lower be ok for that as the current flowing between the two would not be at a constant high and might be much lower?It matters because the price of amp reading capacity goes up sharply in proportion to the maximum continuous current it can read so don't want to overspend on a rating that was going to be relevant.Is it better to get a dedicated current reader and dedicated multimeter rather than jack of all trades master of none?

author: SteveThackery
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 06, 2025, 10:25:17 am
content: This is a frequently asked question and you will get a lot of replies. 😄However, I strongly recommend you consider the Brymen range sold by our host:https://eevblog.store/collections/allIt's Dave Jones, so you know you can trust them. The precise model is something you can discuss here in this thread.

author: tunk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 06, 2025, 10:40:10 am
content: Budget, and apart from high current, what will you be using it for?For high currents, a clamp meter that can measure DC current.For your current meter, if it uses a zebra strip, try to clean it.

author: SteveThackery
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 06, 2025, 10:54:39 am
content: Quote from: tunk on July 06, 2025, 10:40:10 amA newbie might not know this term: a zebra strip fits between the LCD display and the printed circuit board. It carries the control signals for switching on and off the individual segments in the display. It is called a "zebra" strip because it is stripey. It is usually held in place by friction, it being "trapped" between the LCD and PCB.It is worth removing it for cleaning if you can. Carefully clean the top and bottom faces with alcohol, and the contact pads on the PCB likewise. It isn't usually necessary to clean the contact area on the LCD, but if you do, then one wipe with a tiny piece of cotton wool with just a drop of alcohol on it should suffice.Make sure the zebra strip is correctly positioned when you put it back. You want the top and bottom faces flat against the LCD and PCB, and it should be positioned such that all the contact strips on the PCB are covered by it.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 06, 2025, 11:02:08 am
content: Quote from: electroniclearner820327 on July 06, 2025, 09:11:33 amYou would do everyone, including yourself, a favor by discontinuing the flowery, creative language (“melt like butter”, when in that thread, it later becomes clear that no melting occurred at all) and instead use clear, unambiguous technical language. (For example, “the wires repeatedly broke off where they connected to the probe tip”, if that’s what happened.)Quote from: electroniclearner820327 on July 06, 2025, 09:11:33 amThat’s a “classic thing”? Most of us aren’t in the habit of drowning our electronics. If you work in wet environments, then you should get a waterproof meter (IP67 or similar).Quote from: electroniclearner820327 on July 06, 2025, 09:11:33 amA device to measure current is called anammeter.Quote from: electroniclearner820327 on July 06, 2025, 09:11:33 amWhere did you get the 200A number from? (Also, A for amps is always capitalized, like most, but not all, electrical units of measurement. This matters because lowercase mean different things.) The 72Ah and 105Ah numbers from the batteries are capacity (amps x hours), and tell you nothing about the maximum current they can produce or accept. A typical car battery has under 100Ah capacity, but can deliver many hundreds of amps of current.Quote from: electroniclearner820327 on July 06, 2025, 09:11:33 amHuh, what? Are you asking “can I use a meter that can’t measure as high, since it won't be high for long?” Aside from the various assumptions made there, which may not be true, if you measure something beyond a meter’s range, it can’t measure it, and/or may be damaged. Even if you’re using a clamp meter (which won’t be damaged by overcurrent since it’s electrically isolated), if the meter goes to 200A and your actual current flow is 600A, it’ll just show “OL” (over limit, or something else to that effect) and you won’t know anything other than “too much for this meter”.Quote from: electroniclearner820327 on July 06, 2025, 09:11:33 amClamp meters are used for almost all current measurements above a few amps. (Even if most multimeters do up to 10A, it’s more common for anything above maybe 3-5 amps to be measured with a clamp meter instead.)The cost of clamp meters does not vary significantly by current range.

author: electroniclearner820327
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 06, 2025, 11:07:34 am
content: Quote from: tunk on July 06, 2025, 10:40:10 amWell other than the current mentioned I would just want to have a multimeter for the usual everyday tasks and for me that is low voltage/amp circuits for home appliances in my van. So apart from that current requirement it would just be rudimentary functionality.I have just foundthis clamp meter. It looks like it just does the current though right? Due to my current requirements it seems better to get the two devices separately yes? because the multimeter and current meters in one don't seem to go up to that high current that I have seen so far and I imagine if one did both it would be a higher end product.As for budget I don't want super expensive but don't want super cheap, like the cheap and nasty multimeter I mentioned in the OP.The clamp meter I linked seems to be a well regarded company right? and while costing a few quid, that is about the max I would be happy to pay for an item I would not use that often. I am not set specifically on that one but it seems to tick the boxes and just happens to be stocked in an online shop which I wanted to buy other parts from. If that seems like a decent make/model for what I want please confirm and if not also let me know.For multimeter I can just get a more budget one, but not tacky, right due to my rudimentary functionality requirements for that? So recommendations for good quality budget multimeters in that regard?What I mean is I would want to spend the lionshare for the high current reading capability of the ammeter and then spend a much more modest amount for a modest, but sturdy basic multimeter.I am so new I don't even know exactly if that is sound judgement but it seems so for what I want and let me know if it sounds right or corrections given my use case.QuoteIndeed, as tunk wrote, I don't know what this is but if it meant I could continue using the existing multimeter that could make things simpler and just fix that myself and focus on buying an ammeter as I have found the existing multimeter is fine functionality wise, if it works, except for it being rather flimsy but no cause to throw the baby out with the bathwater if I could restore it to proper functionality. I am all for DIYing before looking to replace.

author: electroniclearner820327
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 06, 2025, 11:38:34 am
content: Quote from: tooki on July 06, 2025, 11:02:08 amNoted.QuoteI didn't mean it is classic in this context. I have not used multimeters regularly or at all that I recall until a couple of years ago. I just meant I am familiar with lcd displays going like that from other devices like watches in the past when they got wet.QuoteOk it is my misunderstanding and I do remember now you reminded me it is not the case. As per my other previous thread where I discussed linking the leisure battery and starter battery in parallel, only in case of emergency get outs if one or other depleted totally, what amperage should I rate the ammeter at in this case, considering what you write about the starter possibly delivering much more? This is only an edge case though so little point buying an ammeter rated just for that but it would be good to know if practical and use it to see what was flowing in that case.Although that assumption I made of adding up the starter and leisure ah is wrong, it is also true that the starter wouldn't dump its peak Amps to the leisure battery in the case that they were put in parallel would it? due to the fact that it would only deliver what the source was requesting right? and the leisure battery would not request such currents as it doesn't work like that. So, given that I think that is the highest thing I would be wanting to use the ammeter for, what ratingshouldI be aiming for with the ammeter? I don't know how to figure that out and would like an answer to that to know to guide my purchase.For more normal operation the current would be for like my dc-dc charger which is rated at 60A.QuoteAs above.QuoteI see. That does clear things up in one respect then.QuoteYes, I was beginning to notice this as I just did some research of different ones and their respective prices in more depth.

author: Doctorandus_P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 06, 2025, 11:55:03 am
content: The Brymen DMM's are pretty good quality for a reasonable price. I did buy two Aneng 8009 meters once, when these were all the craze, sometimes they worked, but other times readings were off by 5% or so. Then I fiddled with the rotary knob and the readings were OK again. So these are unreliable, and they ended up in some corner where they are gathering dust. And that is when I bought my BM869s It's by far the best meter I have. I was doubting for a while between the Brymen and the 121GW, because I like it's extra features, from low burden voltage, data logging, and high LED test voltage, but in the end reliability and long term drift were more important factors for me then the extra "gadget factor" things. I probably would have bought the 121GW if it's official firmware was open sourced, but that was not so. I'm quite happy with my BM869s, but this is about the top of the Brymen meters and quite expensive (EUR180). For a simple daily workhorse meter, you can get the BM235 or BM257s These cost around GBP80, which is about half of my big Brymen.https://telonic.co.uk/product-category/manufactures/brymen/Clamp meters have their own application. They are handy because you don't have to interrupt a cable for measuring. Quite a lot of clamp meters can only measure AC current but some can also measure DC current. I bought the Uni-T UT210E myself. It has a resolution of 0.1mA, and this sensitivity makes it susceptible tho the earth magnetic field, so you have to zero the meter, and then not rotate it when doing a measurement. Clamp meters tend to be a bit less accurate then normal DMM's. The clamp that goes around the wire has some leakage, and this is not a constant, so you get slight deviations. (There are "earth leakage" clamp meters, very accurate, but extremely expensive) I bought my UT210E for around EUR 35, but it's become a bit more expensive now. It's a nice small meter. My biggest wish is that it would be a bit sturdier mechanically. It's "good enough" for normal use, but it may get damaged in "accidents" relatively easily. Both the way the clamp works, and the rotary button are a little bit on the weak side. Putting this meter in a hard case instead of the cloth pouch may be worthwhile if you want to drag it around in your toolbox.For current measurement of high currents, you can also buy some shunt resistors, such as 100 mOhm or 10 mOhm or even 1 mOhm. Then you can measure the voltage over these resistors with your DMM without having to interrupt the current each time you want to do something else with your DMM. The round numbers make an easy conversion from voltage to current.

author: tunk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 06, 2025, 12:05:20 pm
content: You can get UNI-T clamp meters for less than half than that of the Sealey.UNI-T is generally reasonable quality - the Sealey may be some unknown quality rebrand.Zebra strip:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elastomeric_connector

author: Aldo22
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 06, 2025, 02:26:33 pm
content: Quote from: Doctorandus_P on July 06, 2025, 11:55:03 amYou seem to love to bring up this episode, which you and onlyyouhave supposedly experienced, at every possible opportunity.I have 4 Zotek DMMs and a few much cheaper and older ones, and what you describe has never happened to me.https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/aneng-an8008-continuity-dysfunction/msg5900374/#msg5900374https://www.eevblog.com/forum/metrology/two-multimeters-two-different-voltages-now-what/msg5626891/#msg5626891https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/replace-broken-multimeter/msg5424689/#msg5424689https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/own-a-budget-multimeter-can-you-trust-it-these-might-help/msg5318257/#msg5318257etc. etc.I hope these wonderful little $20 devices don't appear in your dreams...

author: electroniclearner820327
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 06, 2025, 04:33:55 pm
content: Quote from: tunk on July 06, 2025, 12:05:20 pmThanks.I thought Sealey is a trusted brand not some badged cheap stuff? I am not familiar with the company at all but that is the initial impression I got from reviews.Can you confirm what the max amperage I would want for the parallel battery case I discuss above?Just a quick look and I saw that my regular online electronics store I used a few times come up for Uni-T in the results so that is a plus.I am seeing aUni-T meterfor half the price but also half the DC max current. The question is what the maximum is I want for the specified use case.EDIT: Oh I seethis modelgoes right up to 600A! Plenty of wiggle room there eh? Only £61 too. Will that suit my purposes? Lots of models, I am not sure how to choose aside from looking at maximum DC current. Oh but I have to check if that is 600A continuous right?

author: tunk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 06, 2025, 04:52:25 pm
content: The 600A model does not measure DC current.

author: electroniclearner820327
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 06, 2025, 05:15:44 pm
content: Quote from: tunk on July 06, 2025, 04:52:25 pmIf you click on specification on that page it lists:Quote

author: Aldo22
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 06, 2025, 05:43:28 pm
content: Quote from: electroniclearner820327 on July 06, 2025, 05:15:44 pmI believe this only applies to models C and D, not to A and B.

author: electroniclearner820327
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 07, 2025, 10:58:42 am
content: Still no one has answered my question about what the maximum expected current would be putting the batteries in parallel.

author: electroniclearner820327
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 07, 2025, 11:04:49 am
content: Quote from: Aldo22 on July 06, 2025, 05:43:28 pmWhere are you getting that information because I see it on another site which also lists the B version at 600A DC current?Here.

author: tunk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 07, 2025, 11:39:30 am
content: Only UT216C and UT216D measures DC current:https://meters.uni-trend.com/product/ut216-series/If the batteries have the same voltage, no current will flow.If they're not, the current will depend on the internalresistance of the batteries, resistance of the cables andthe voltage difference. I don't think that's recommended.

author: Aldo22
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 07, 2025, 11:46:05 am
content: Quote from: electroniclearner820327 on July 07, 2025, 11:04:49 amBecause the box with the accuracy is empty.It is the same with the temperature, empty = does not have that feature.Or the bar graph. Empty = does not have it.With the C and D versions it is not empty.At least that's how I read it.Other shops do not list DC current:https://www.tme.eu/ch/en/details/ut216a/meters-and-ac-clamp-probes/uni-t/

author: electroniclearner820327
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 07, 2025, 11:46:55 am
content: Quote from: tunk on July 07, 2025, 11:39:30 amYes I just spoke to someone on their customer services, in between the AI answers, and they confirmed it was an error and out of stock of any anyway.Can you tell me what maximum I want to get to cover the possibility of the two batteries linked in parallel with one in a deep discharge state? As someone told me I was wrong to add up the amp hours of each they did not instead tell me what I should be looking for to get the maximum possible current.

author: SteveThackery
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 07, 2025, 01:01:18 pm
content: Quote from: tunk on July 07, 2025, 11:39:30 amMy car has two batteries and they are connected in parallel to start the engine. So it probably is OK.

author: tunk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 07, 2025, 02:39:17 pm
content: Quote from: SteveThackery on July 07, 2025, 01:01:18 pmThat's fine. But the OP says:"... I want to get to cover the possibility of the two batteries linked in parallel with one in a deep discharge state."

author: tunk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 07, 2025, 02:59:15 pm
content: Quote from: electroniclearner820327 on July 07, 2025, 11:46:55 amI guess this is a simplification (and I'm certainly no expert):From a web search, the internal resistance of a good lead acid battery is 5mOhm (or less).If you guess that it draws 100A, a web search suggests to use AWG4 which has 0.25Ohmper 1000 feet. If you in total uses 2 feet, then it's 0.5mOhm. If the batteries are 10.0V and12.5V, from Ohm's law: 2.5/0.0105 = 240AEdit: This is in the beginners section and in you first post you say ".. to play around ..".I don't think 240+A is something to play around with.

author: SteveThackery
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 07, 2025, 04:42:02 pm
content: Quote from: tunk on July 07, 2025, 02:39:17 pmThe handbook for my car says it is designed to start after sitting unused for six months. It goes on to say that the ancillaries battery will be flat before then. So I don't know what counts as" deep discharge", but one of the batteries will be "flat" and the other fully charged minus 6 months of self discharge.This is no different from jump starting a car from another one. Catastrophic currents don't flow through the jump leads. I'm still of the view that lead acid batteries can be connected in parallel regardless of their state of charge, with nothing bad happening.

author: electroniclearner820327
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 07, 2025, 06:53:54 pm
content: Quote from: tunk on July 07, 2025, 02:59:15 pmIs 10v the example of deep discharge? My leisure battery I managed to drain to almost 0v once or twice last winter.That was through to a misplaced assumption though, that I explain below so would be less likely to happen now I am aware of it, but just covering bases in case some oversight caused it to happen again.QuoteLol that is taking my sentence out of context. Play around was the wrong phrase I suppose.I would not be playing around. It is only to use if there is an emergency and stranded without being able to start the engine, or use essential habitation appliances like charge for internet to communicate with the world, I would want to link them together.To tell you the situation, I live off-grid and I wanted to have a get out if one of them discharged abruptly without having another means to bring it back again. For example, I can charge the leisure battery with the starter using the dc-dc charger which uses the alternator, and I could also theoretically use the solar panels to send power to the depleted started via the leisure battery.So I would link them together but I guess in this situation I will not be concerned about doing ammeter readings and just want to get enough power into either one in order to bring it back to life again to restore base functionality again to let it charge with its respective charging method, either alternator or solar panel.I had it happen a couple of times last winter where the leisure battery went to near 0V and that meant I couldn't even get solar power in, what little there was at the time, because, little did I know at the time, that the solar charge controller has to get power from the battery. Up until then I had assumed that it could just get power from the panels to keep itself powered and charge the battery in the process. It was really frustrating to see solar power there coming from the panels, when using a multimeter at the terminals, but not able to use it because the battery was flat.Now, if it depleted all the way not even the dc-dc charger would work because that too relies on the leisure battery having some charge to function.So in this scenario I had the thought to bypass the dc-dc charger, linking them directly, just long enough to bring the leisure battery back to a state where it would wake up the connected devices.Vice versa, if the alternator fails and otherwise stuck somewhere, if there is solar coming in then the leisure battery could send power to keep the starter battery in some charge to enable driving, perhaps in several stops and starts, until able to get to the destination.Those are the type of rare scenarios I would want to use it. Just an if all else fails type of thing.

author: electroniclearner820327
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 07, 2025, 06:54:44 pm
content: Quote from: SteveThackery on July 07, 2025, 04:42:02 pmWell they aren't both lead acid. One is lead acid and one is lifepo4. As in my post above, probably silly to think about using an ammeter in this case so I can instead just think about what normal scenarios I would be using it for. As such I think that the highest current would be below 100A for general use. The 60A dc-dc charger is probably the highest. Not to say other higher scenarios might come up but that is all I could think of for the current setup that I would want to monitor.Oh, well, now I think about it, there are all the battery lead connections which maybe I would want to have a look at what was going through. I know the maximum discharge rate of the leisure battery is 100A so I would be ok with a DC current rating of 100A maximum ammeter then? No harm in getting higher but that would be the maximum my system would likely be flowing in any connection right, if not considering the starter/leisure parallel scenario?

author: electroniclearner820327
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 08, 2025, 04:31:56 pm
content: So will a 100A ammeter be sufficient for most things for my van considering my leisure battery has a maximum discharge rate of 100A and leaving out the previous edge case mentioned of linking the starter and leisure batteries in parallel?

author: electroniclearner820327
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 08, 2025, 04:53:43 pm
content: Quote from: SteveThackery on July 06, 2025, 10:25:17 amThis?. That is the only clamp meter I see on the listings and it doesn't seem to be called Brymen.PS I don't know who Dave Jones is. I just found this forum when looking for electronics forums. I guess he is the maker of the eevblog.EDIT:This Uni-T meterlooks like it is good bang for the buck at only £30 at the time of review and would measure DC up to 100A. Would it be a good bet? From the looks of it the only difference between D and E is that the D does 200A current while E 100A is that right? Might as well get the D as only a couple of pounds more.

author: mariush
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 08, 2025, 05:16:09 pm
content: In case you're not aware, TME.EU stocks Uni-T meters and it's reasonably cheapClampmeters :https://www.tme.eu/gb/katalog/meters-and-clamp-probes_112618/?productListOrderBy=1000014multimeters :https://www.tme.eu/gb/katalog/digital-multimeters_112609/The UT210E is around 43 pounds plus shipping :https://www.tme.eu/gb/details/ut210e/meters-and-ac-dc-clamp-probes/uni-t/There's cheaper models but they only measure AC current.There's also Brymen BM035 and BM037 at 67 and 80 pounds which claim to go up to 600A :https://www.tme.eu/gb/details/bm035/meters-and-ac-dc-clamp-probes/brymen/andhttps://www.tme.eu/gb/details/bm037/meters-and-ac-dc-clamp-probes/brymen/

author: Aldo22
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 08, 2025, 05:26:51 pm
content: Quote from: electroniclearner820327 on July 08, 2025, 04:53:43 pmOnly for AC current. Both have 100A max. for DC current.E is imo better, because it can measure 1mA in the 2A range.D has a 20A range min. and is therefore less sensitive.Owon CM2100B has bluetooth:https://www.owon.com.hk/products_cm2100_series_smart_ac%7Cdc__clamp_meter

author: electroniclearner820327
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 08, 2025, 05:42:06 pm
content: Quote from: mariush on July 08, 2025, 05:16:09 pmWhy would I order something from the EU that is in abundance on our UK shores already? That is wasteful.Quote from: Aldo22 on July 08, 2025, 05:26:51 pmThanks for letting me know. It is easy to get tripped up with these particulars, for me at least.The E looks like a good choice then and I see it has been well battle tested on this forum forover a decade.Ah, as per the last line, that does seem to be a drawback as looking around it doesn't seem to be sold many places now. What would be a present day equivalent for similar price point with decent DC current capability?

author: mariush
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 08, 2025, 09:03:49 pm
content: Quote from: electroniclearner820327 on July 08, 2025, 05:42:06 pmI don't know if it's available in UK stores, you didn't post any links to a store from UK. You only posted a review that says it cost 30 pounds at the time of the article publication. Or maybe you posted a link several posts before that I didn't see?Tme.eu is a distributor of electronic components like Digikey, Mouser, Farnell/Newark, RS Components etc and will be easier to return or warranty the meter if you're really unlucky to have issues with it.... at least it would be better than buying from eBay.I was just trying to be helpful and give you better options than ebay or asian stores that may take weeks to ship.

author: electroniclearner820327
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 09, 2025, 09:00:12 am
content: Any similar priced DC clamp meters which will charge by usb? I have been trying to replace disposable battery devices with none-battery counterparts.An initial search broughtthisas the first result.A quick look and it claims 100A DC.The Uni-T does seem tried and true on this forum though so maybe better to stick with that for that reason.As an alternative workaround to the disposable battery issue, would it be pretty easy to make a rechargeable battery charger that I could wire to the DC fuse block? Hmm perhaps there are USB cable rechargers which would be ideal.Indeed there are