Fluke 289 for everyday use?

Chris1234 · Mar 30, 2018

Evening, considering buying a Fluke 289.

Is it too big and heavy for general multimeter use?

Interested to hear from people that use one, thanks.

Pete999 · Mar 30, 2018

What are your intentions with regards to a multimeter chris?

Deleted member 105166 · Mar 30, 2018

I recall the OP was working in fault finding on control panels, as opposed to more traditional electrician disciplines, as there are a couple of other recent threads started on the same/similar topics.

For an electrician's everyday meter to grab for quick tasks, I guess most would say the 289 is too large and complex, akin to using Excel when a pocket calculator will give you the same answer in a fraction of the time.

There is a good review of the 289 below which I've linked to (Mods, I hope that is OK to link to, I'm still quite new here so please delete if against the rules)
Annoyed with the Fluke 289 - Page 1 - https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/annoyed-with-the-fluke-289/

netblindpaul · Mar 30, 2018

It's too slow, get an 87V, I only use mine when I need the specific functions or a 2nd meter on a panel.

telectrix · Mar 30, 2018

i'd only buy a Fluke if megger went into administration.

rapparee · Mar 30, 2018

Funny you should mention that

I bought a fluke 287 this week

It is a heavy big thing, I am actually afraid of dropping it, it is good for data logging.

I also have a 115 and a 179. I love the 179

stevethesparks · Apr 1, 2018

The 289 is a fine meter, but not for everyday use. I like the 117 for the toolbag.

Chris1234 · Apr 1, 2018

Pete999 said:
What are your intentions with regards to a multimeter chris?

Mainly fault finding on control panels and some reasonable size machines with various control panels and control rooms.

I like the idea that it shows AC and DC voltage at the same time.

Thanks.

Chris1234 · Apr 1, 2018

TonyMitchell said:
I recall the OP was working in fault finding on control panels, as opposed to more traditional electrician disciplines, as there are a couple of other recent threads started on the same/similar topics.

For an electrician's everyday meter to grab for quick tasks, I guess most would say the 289 is too large and complex, akin to using Excel when a pocket calculator will give you the same answer in a fraction of the time.

There is a good review of the 289 below which I've linked to (Mods, I hope that is OK to link to, I'm still quite new here so please delete if against the rules)
Annoyed with the Fluke 289 - Page 1 - https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/annoyed-with-the-fluke-289/

Interesting, thanks!

Squid · Apr 2, 2018

Might be time to upgrade my 77 then.

Chris1234 · May 13, 2018

Well I bought one in the end and I’ve been using it for a couple of months now.

It’s very good and apart from my Fluke T130 voltage detector, it’s the only meter I use now.

It takes a couple of seconds to ‘boot up’ from some of I reviews I’d read I thought it would be a lot longer!

The ability to show DC and AC voltages saves a lot of time fault finding.

Showing current, max, avg & min readings on the same page is very useful.

Battery life is good considering what it can do.

The first time I used it I had to confirm that an output from a machine was giving out a continuous voltage of between -25 to +25v to prove that a input sensor and the controller were working fine and that the fault of a motor sometimes stopping working, was elsewhere. I just connected the 289 and left it logging for a few hours. Looking at the graph it produced, there was no loss of voltage during the logging. Using the min/max over a period of time with a different meter wouldn’t have worked as it would have shown max as +25 and min as -25.

One problem is that it only takes readings every 0.25 seconds, so if you are measuring something that for example pulses every 1.3 seconds then it can miss the peak and show an irregular peak voltage.