What are the recommended tools for testing electricity?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
thelazyl

thelazyl

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 9, 2018
Posts
600
Location
Molalla, Oregon
I am an RV newbie and very much a novice when it comes to electrical systems.  I am building my RV toolkit and would like to know which kind of "electricity tester" do you recommend?  I can envision one to cover the system of fuses, wires, and appliances for 12v and then the same for 110.  I have not yet searched through YouTube to learn HOW to use the tester thing. 

I have a 2003 Fleetwood DP.

Thanks in advance for your tips.  This site is great for helping a new guy learn.
 
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Fluke-Digital-600-Volt-Multimeter/999970838

This is the one that I use...Maybe a bit overkill but it's a solid piece of equipment.
 
2 wet fingers... ;D


Actually, I agree with a good digital meter. As Gizmo100 posted, Fluke is a good meter, but an overkill if you have to ask what is needed. I say this because the Fluke has many more features and offers much better accuracy than a novice is likely to take advantage of. I recommend buying a DVM in the $20-$30 range plus something like this to make 120 volt testing a little easier. Better yet, this would be a great starter kit.
 
I admire the recommendations given but seriously all you will probably need is the freeby that harbor Freight has.  It is a basic volt, ohm meter that measures Ac and DC volts and resistance.  All you should ever need in the RV world.  The accuracy of the other meters is great but you don't need it.

I'm a retired Electrical engineer and it is what I carried in the MH for general use.  I am also a Ham radio nut so had the more accurate meters for that hobby but never or seldom ever used one the "good" ones for RV work. 
Just my thoughts on the subject,
 
The freebie one from Harbor Freight, along with a circuit tester like this, https://www.harborfreight.com/circuit-tester-30779.html, will be all you need.
 
I am a retired union electrician and this is what I use:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FCIMFS/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It contains a great multi meter, a 110 plug checker and the best of all is the non-contact voltage tester.
 
Molaker said:
2 wet fingers... ;D


Actually, I agree with a good digital meter. As Gizmo100 posted, Fluke is a good meter, but an overkill if you have to ask what is needed. I say this because the Fluke has many more features and offers much better accuracy than a novice is likely to take advantage of. I recommend buying a DVM in the $20-$30 range plus something like this to make 120 volt testing a little easier. Better yet, this would be a great starter kit.
Click to expand...
Don't be hating on my Fluke Molaker ;D

I admit it is overkill...It was part of my work tools for running diagnostics and repairing medical equipment. So I needed the accuracy and durability. I think I linked the wrong one though mine (117) also has auto detect for AC/DC as well as voltage. Not a big deal but makes life a little easier.
That said..
You can find a lot of good choices listed right here (The Freebie can always work to get started)
 
Thank you all.  I just ordered the one referenced on Amazon.  It is one of my stocking stuffers from Santa. 
 
Add a good 12 volt test light to your stocking stuffers. They're very handy for  troubleshooting 12 volt problems.
 
+ 1 more for a 12 volt test light.  The Harbor Freight $3.99 light recommended by SpencerPJ is great.  90% of the time when you're testing a 12 volt circuit all you're really interested in is whether the place you're testing has voltage or not, and the light instantly confirms this. 

Plus the light puts a load on the circuit you're testing.  It's possible for a 12 volt circuit with a bad connection to let enough voltage through to let a meter read 12 volts (the meter doesn't load the circuit you're testing) but as soon as you draw a little current the bad connection chokes it off.  The light bulb tester shows this by either lighting dimly or not at all.

If your RV uses 30 amps, get a 30 amp to 15 amp adapter so you can use the 3 light tester in the Amazon kit to test a 30 amp outlet before you plug your RV into it..

The third item in the kit is an AC proximity detector.  Hold it adjacent to an AC socket or wire and it will beep if there is voltage on it.  Great for avoiding unexpected shocks when doing electrical work because you thought you turned off the power but really didn't.
 
Personally I don't care for those $4 (or free with coupon) Harbor freight meters, I just don't trust them, and worse yet they are not an intrinsically safe design, meaning if you do something stupid, they are perfectly willing to blow up in your hands.  I also feel Fluke meters are overkill for most RV'ers, though I do also own a Fluke 117 which is my go to meter for most RV stuff, along with an 87 V, 337A, and a 1507.  If you are shocked by the price of the 115 or 117, you don't even want to look at the price for an 87 V or 1507.

Having said that one of the basic kits like the one from Lowes above would be good for most anything an RV'er is likely to need.  Here is likely the same one in a different color for $25.01 on Amazon https://smile.amazon.com/Extech-MN24-KIT-Electrical-Test-Kit/dp/B002T1BGXI/

Another good choice if you want to spend a little more would be a clamp meter kit like this one with a 15 amp plug adapter https://smile.amazon.com/Electrical-Maintenance-Klein-Tools-CL110KIT/dp/B01N4PS4ZF/  The trade off here is it does not meter DC amps in pass through like a better multi-meter can, the upside is you can easily check AC amp draw.
 
A little aside for all you Fluke owners.  I've got a Fluke(87 I think, but I'm not sure)that's got a couple of segments in the display that are showing up dim.  Anyone know where I can get it fixed?  I'd hate to throw this thing away just for a few bad segments in the display.
 
Old_Crow said:
A little aside for all you Fluke owners.  I've got a Fluke(87 I think, but I'm not sure)that's got a couple of segments in the display that are showing up dim.  Anyone know where I can get it fixed?  I'd hate to throw this thing away just for a few bad segments in the display.
Click to expand...

  google "Fluke 87 display replacement" there are several offers along with videos on how to install them. I was going to link one of them here but the prices vary according to the seller.

  Dont throw it away, at least send it to one of us to fix. My 79 ll took a nosedive and isnt worth repair since it is old, out of production and case is busted but yours is worth the fix.
 
Oldgator73 said:
I use the back of my hand.  ;D Anybody know why the back and not the palm?
Click to expand...

Using your hand, if you should get a shock, would automatically close possibly right on the bare wire.
 
Rene T said:
Using your hand, if you should get a shock, would automatically close possibly right on the bare wire.
Click to expand...

Rene is the winner! What does Rene win? Nothing!  :( I worked with an electrician that used a screwdriver to locate what breaker fed a certain circuit. Just short out a switch in the circuit by placing the screwdriver over the hot and neutral to trip the breaker. Don?t try this at home. Could cause serious injury or death.
 
Oldgator73 said:
I use the back of my hand.  ;D Anybody know why the back and not the palm?
Click to expand...

  Reminds me of a story.......I was working a 460/480 chiller live when an apprentice thought it would be a cute trick to scare me. He snuck up behind and dropped a 6 in steel flange at my feet. I jumped and brushed the back of my hand across one of the connections. He was fired on the spot ! glad it was the back of my hand.
 
catblaster said:
  Reminds me of a story.......I was working a 460/480 chiller live when an apprentice thought it would be a cute trick to scare me. He snuck up behind and dropped a 6 in steel flange at my feet. I jumped and brushed the back of my hand across one of the connections. He was fired on the spot ! glad it was the back of my hand.
Click to expand...

That was not funny and glad he was fired. I worked as a Class B operator out of IBEW Local 756, Daytona Beach, FL. My father was a lineman and we worked for the same contractor. We had just set a pole and my dad and another lineman had attached the cross arm and strung the wires and hung the switches and arrestors. My dad came down the pole to start stapling the ground up the pole. He had handed the end to the other lineman so he could attach it to the arrestor. My dad was still stapling (had removed his gloves to handle the staples) when the other lineman thought it would funny to touch the neutral with the ground wire. There?s enough feedback to give you quite a shock. Pissed my dad off. Good thing he was belted in.
 
When I was an apprentice electrician I worked for an appliance store for a while and one day I got sent out on a trouble call with the old journeyman. He was in his 60s. We had to go into an attic that was knob and tube. He wanted to test for power so he licked his fingers and touched the two wires and said "Yep, it is live."

Another time I was working on a strip mall dry cleaners and we were working on the main panel. My journeyman had to change out something in the panel and he would not cut the power because the cleaners were open for business. So he hands me a three foot two by four and instructs me to use it to knock him off the power if he gets hung up. I flat out refused. I told him either he cuts the power or I walk home. He cut the power.
 
Given his skill level and the fundamental simplicity of the individual RV electrical systems, I think a basic VOM (Harbor Fright or similar) and a plug-in outlet tester or all that thelazyl needs.  The meter doesn't need to be precise or all that accurate for basic diagnosis and repair of RV systems.  Don't need a micrometer when cutting with an axe...  ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 993 (members: 26, guests: 967)

Forum statistics

Threads
131,929
Posts
1,387,663
Members
137,677
Latest member
automedicmobile
Back
Top Bottom