On Sun, Sep 2, 2012, at 11:37 AM, John Ferrell wrote:

> As I see the photo evidence, Stupid laid a tool on top of a power=20
> terminal board and managed to generate magic smoke.
> There is no tool problem here. Stupid is as Stupid does! While you are=20
> certifying the meter give him a shot at the hammer & screwdriver! I bet=20
> they will do the same thing!
> Access to power connections must be controlled to keep Stupid from=20
> getting us all killed...

I disagree completely. That multimeter is category rated for 750 VAC and
it should not fail violently below that. Also you are reading more into
the report than it contains. But even if the electrician did have it on
top of a "terminal board", as long as it was below 500 volts it is still
within rating.

And since you are not convinced by an investigation by Brookhaven
National Lab, I have seen one of the current generation (red) meter fail
instantly when connected to 240 VAC.=20

I can also tell you how to blow one at 120VAC when set on the 200VAC
scale. Plug it into an outlet of a plain outlet strip (not a surge
suppressor). Plug your bench grinder or air compressor into the same
outlet strip and turn it on. Switch the outlet strip off. If it doesn't
blow the first time, try it a few more times. Those meters are junk and
are unsafe connected to mains power.

They are fine for working on low voltage. But for anything potentially
deadly, use a quality meter.

And if you are still not convinced, take a Harbor Freight meter into
direct sunlight. Notice it doesn't autozero anymore? Their stuff reeks
and that multimeter should not have a 200 or 1000 volt range. Take it
apart and look inside to convince yourself your life is worth more than
$4.99.

BTW, the fuses inside are also not rated for the application.

I have a few of their multimeters but I would never use them on AC. I've
taken too many chances already in my life and I learned from them. Don't
urge people to trust dangerous test equipment. The only stupid thing
that electrician did was trust Harbor Freight. If he'd used a quality
multimeter, nothing bad would have happened.

Best regards,

Bob

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