Wasted $150 on a cheap multimeter that almost burned down my van

I bought a no-name multimeter off Amazon for $150 about 3 months ago because I didn't want to drop $400 on a Fluke. Big mistake. Last week I was checking a compressor on a fridge and the leads literally melted on me while I was holding them. Almost started a fire in my work van. The readings had been off for weeks too, I just didn't realize it. Had to redo 5 service calls because my diagnoses were wrong. Anyone else get burned by cheap test gear or am I the only sucker here?

3 comments

3 Comments

miasanchez12d ago

Damn, that's a rough way to learn that lesson. Did you at least get a full refund from Amazon or the seller when you told them the leads melted? I'm just wondering because that's a serious safety issue, not just a bad reading. It makes me think about how those cheap meters skip all the basic safety testing on the internals. I hope you're okay and nothing got too damaged in the van.

aaron88011d ago

Not gonna lie, I think expecting a full refund on a $20 meter is kinda optimistic. Amazon's pretty good about returns but once you mention "melted leads" they might flag it as user error or misuse.

wren23011d ago

Wait hold on, you said the leads melted while you were holding them?? That's legit terrifying man, I would have dropped that thing so fast. I had a no-name meter once that started smoking on a basic wall outlet test, never again. Glad you're okay though, that could've ended way worse with a fire in the van.