Precision Measurements with Fluke Multimeters
Look in the toolbox of any electrician and chances are you’ll see a Fluke multimeter. This brand has an excellent reputation and they’ve been in business for over 50 years. The problem you might have is that there are many different Fluke multimeters and it can be hard to decide which one is right for your kind of job. Let’s look at these five and see which one will be the perfect fit for you.
Fluke 114 Electrical TRMS Multimeter
The Fluke 114 is called the “Electrician’s Multimeter.” Like all the others in this review, it has True RMS. This means it will give an accurate reading of AC voltage even when the user is working with environments full of interference from power supplies, motors, controller boards, and so forth.
Another handy function is what Fluke calls “Autovolt.” This means the multimeter automatically senses if it is measuring AC or DC voltage without the user selecting one or the other. The 114 can also test for resistance and continuity. It does NOT measure current, frequency, capacitance, or test diodes, so it is not ideal for people working on electronics.
The 114 also has a feature called low impedance, or “LoZ.” LoZ makes the 114 able to determine if a circuit is actually live instead of only appearing to be because of ghost voltage. Some multimeters would read a wire as energized because the multimeter itself completes the circuit, or because a neighboring wire is carrying a current. The LoZ function ignores ghost voltage and is safer than using a solenoid tester.
As for the display, each one of these Fluke multimeters including the 114 has a 6000-count readout and a white backlight. They can each show an analog bar graph of the data. There is a data hold button to keep the last reading on the screen, as well as a min/max/average function to record fluctuations.
More features of the Fluke 114 multimeter
- Weighs 1.21 pounds or 550 grams
- Operating temperature is -10 to 50 degrees C, or 14 to 122 degrees F
- Rated CAT III, 600V
- Minimum resolution is 0.1mV
- Auto power off
- Tilt stand
- Estimated battery life is 400 hours without using the backlight
- Comes with a holster, 9-volt battery, test leads, and a manual
- Fluke offers a 3-year warranty
Fluke 115 Compact True-RMS Digital Multimeter
The 115 is called the “Field Service Technician’s Multimeter.” Like the other four, it has True RMS for accurate AC voltage readings even with interference from motors or control boards. It does NOT have LoZ, or low impedance, like the 114. It also does NOT have Autovolt, or automatic selection of AC or DC voltage. But it can measure a lot more things than the 114 can.
Here’s the list of what the 115 can test for: AC and DC voltage and current (up to 10 amperes), continuity, resistance, capacitance, and frequency. It can also test diodes. With all these functions the 115 would be useful for electronics enthusiasts and not just field service technicians.
Like the other four multimeters, the 115 has a 6000-count readout and a white backlight. It can show an analog bar graph of the reading. There is a data hold button to keep the reading on the screen, as well as a min/max/average function to record fluctuations.
More features of the Fluke 115 multimeter
- Comes with holster, 4mm silicone test leads, 9V battery, and manual
- Rated CAT III, 600V
- True RMS
- Minimum resolution 0.1mV
- Operating temperature is -10 to 50 degrees C, or 14 to 122 degrees F
- Weighs 1.21 pounds or 550 grams
- Battery life about 400 hours without using the backlight
- Auto power off
- Fluke offers a 3-year warranty
Fluke 116 HVAC Multimeter with Temperature and Microamps
The 116 is the “HVAC multimeter.” It is unique in this selection of five multimeters because it is the only one that can measure microamps. That’s handy if you need to test flame sensors. The 116 is also the only one besides the 179 that can measure temperature (up to 400 degrees Celsius or 752 degrees F). It comes with an external test probe for that.
Since it measures only microamperes, the maximum current it can handle is 600µA. But it can measure resistance, continuity, frequency, capacitance, and test diodes. It has LoZ, or low impedance, so it can ignore ghost voltages from neighboring wires or energized circuits.
The 116 also has a 6000-count readout and a white backlight. It can display an analog bar graph of the data. There is a hold button to keep the latest reading on the screen, as well as a min/max/average function to record fluctuations.
More features of the Fluke 116 multimeter
- Rated for CAT III, 600V
- True RMS
- Operating temperature is -10 to 50 degrees C, or 14 to 122 degrees F
- Weighs 1.21 pounds or 550 grams
- Auto power off
- Comes with 80BK test probe to measure temperature, holster, 4mm silicone test leads, battery, and manual
- Fluke offers a 3-year warranty
Fluke 117 Electricians True RMS Multimeter
The 117 is called the “Electrician’s multimeter,” just like the 114. It has True RMS for accurate AC readings even with interference from things like power supplies and motors. It also has a unique feature among these four multimeters: Volt-Alert, or no-contact voltage detection without the use of the test leads. An LED at the top of the display glows red if the multimeter senses AC voltage. This is a great help to user safety and it helps speed up work.
The 117 has LoZ, or low impedance, to deal with ghost voltages from neighboring energized circuits. It also has AutoVolt—it automatically selects either DC or AC voltage without the user having to choose. Besides voltage, it measures current (up to 10Amps, or 30 seconds of 20Amps), resistance, capacitance, continuity, frequency, and can test diodes. These additional functions make it much more versatile than the 114.
Like the other multimeters, the 117 has a 6000-count readout. It has a white backlight to help in dimly-lit work areas. It can show an analog bar graph of the data it measures. There is a hold button to keep the last reading on the screen, as well as a min/max/average function to record fluctuations.
More features of the Fluke 117 multimeter
- Rated for CAT III, 600V
- True RMS
- Tilt stand
- Weighs 550 grams or 1.21 pounds
- Auto power off and low battery warning
- Comes with test leads, 9V battery, holster, and manual
- Operating temperature is -10 to 50 degrees C, or 14 to 122 degrees F
- Fluke offers a 3-year warranty
Fluke 179 ESFP True RMS Multimeter with Backlight and Temp
Finally, there is the Fluke 179, called the “Field Service and Light Industrial multimeter.” It is autoranging so it can determine the correct range to measure (like mV or V) without the user having to figure it out first. It has True RMS for accurate AC voltage readings even in environments with lots of interference. It does NOT have AutoVolt (automatic sensing of AC or DC voltage) or LoZ (low impedance) to deal with ghost voltages.
The other measurements besides voltage that the 179 can make are current (up to 10Amps), resistance (up to 50 mega-ohms), frequency (up to 100kHz), capacitance (up to 10,000µF), temperature (up to 400 degrees C or 752 degrees F), continuity, and diode-testing. The maximum voltage it can handle is 1000V, more than any of the other four multimeters.
Other unique features of the 179 are Auto (Touch) Holdand the fact that it can be calibrated without opening the case. Auto Hold, when selected by the user, will automatically keep the reading on the screen until the user takes a new stable reading. (This is different from data hold on the other models because on them the user has to push the button to freeze the data on the screen after the reading is made.)
Like the others, the 179 has a 6000-count readout. It has a white backlight to help in dimly-lit work areas. It can show an analog bar graph of the data it measures. It also has a min/max/average function to record fluctuations. And users who have compared the 179 to some of the other multimeters say that it seems faster, which fits with Fluke’s claim that the 179 is twice as fast.
More features of the Fluke 179 multimeter
- Fluke offers a lifetime warranty on the 179, the longest warranty of these five multimeters in this review
- Weighs less than the other four meters at only 14.8 ounces
- Rated for 0.09% accuracy compared to the others at 0.5%
- Has a dangerous voltage indicator that appears on the screen
- Rated up to 600V CAT IV and 1000V CATIII
- True RMS
- Battery life is less at about 200 hours without using the backlight
- Low battery indicator and auto power off
- Comes with 9V battery, test leads, 80BK temperature probe, overmolded case and holster (which is not removable like on the other multimeters), and manual
Recommendation
The names that Fluke gives to each model, i.e. “The Electrician’s Multimeter,” may help guide you in your initial selection. But read the fine print. There are a number of differences between these meters.
If you want to be able to measure temperature, the 116 and the 179 can both do that. But the 116 cannot measure current above 600µA. Therefore, if you want a meter that can handle microamps, get the 116. It is the only one of these five that can. The 116 is made specifically for HVAC technicians. Keep in mind that it CANNOT measure current above 600 microamps.
If you need to deal with situations where there are ghost voltages, the 115 and 179 do NOT have LoZ, or low impedance. All the other multimeters have LoZ.
If you want to measure current, frequency, capacitance, or run diode tests, do NOT get the 114. It cannot complete these functions.
If AutoVolt (the ability of the meter to sense if it is measuring AC or DC voltage) is important to you get any of these meters EXCEPT the 115. It lacks that feature.
If VoltAlert, the ability to detect voltage without using the leads, is useful to you, the ONLY one that has this feature is the 117.
If you need overvoltage protection up to 1000V, the ONLY one that has this is the 179.
If you’re working in an environment where you need readings as fast as possible, the 179 is the quickest at the measurements it can do when compared to the other multimeters in this review.
Click here to purchase Fluke 114 on Amazon!
Click here to purchase Fluke 115 on Amazon!
Click here to purchase Fluke 116 on Amazon!
Click here to purchase Fluke 117 on Amazon!
Click here to purchase Fluke 179 on Amazon!