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Hello,
I will be taking current and voltage readings at the battery terminals, the battery strings, the charger terminals and the PV strings. For that, I think I need a multimeter. The question is: what brand of a self-contained meter can I buy online, especially on Amazon? I’m in the US.
Victron seems to sell only Energy Meters which, I suppose, are limited. Moreover, a GX device is required.
Fideri
@Fideri You can buy many brands but you can never go wrong with Fluke, they are expensive yes, but they last for years and years!
Other brands which are good, are majortech and Brymen, they are often cheaper but for what you are doing this will be perfect. Some of them even have data logging. I personally own a BM869 and its fantastic. But the meter I use in the field is my Fluke 179. They both are super accurate.
Get a good multimeter, you don't want one which either tells lies for blows your hand off because the fuses are not rated correctly. The quality of the leads are also just as important.
I use Fluke, Gossen and Agilent (Keysight), but these are pricy unless you can get a deal for a second hand one on auction (like I have done).
Lower priced ones that I'd trust would be Extech or Brymen. These are also good rugged units.
Extech EX330 is a workhorse as is Brymen BM235.
If I was desparete, then I'd get a Uni-T or an Amprobe, accurate enough for solar / battery measurements.
I can confirm what @EwaldErasmus "You can buy many brands but you can never go wrong with Fluke, they are expensive yes, but they last for years and years! " mentioned. I still use a Fluke multimeters which I bought more than 12 years ago.
DayAndNight
Thanks for all your suggestions. Thanks to your comments, I had zeroed on the pricey Fluke 179. Then I noticed the version sold by Amazon is rated for only 20A. My charger has a capacity of 100A, which my battery is ok with. I thought the Fluke 179 may not work well for this reason. After additional googling, I’m now leaning towards the Fluke “Clamp Meter” 325. It is rated for 400A and 600V DC. Am I missing something?
Fideri
A clamp-on meter is absolutely ideal, but also very expensive, but if you are willing to spend the extra money you can never go wrong with the 325. You can get some cheaper major tech clamp on's as well which for all intensive purposes will work, and because you are looking at a clamp on it will be safer, and fewer things can go wrong.
You also get external clamp-on sensors by a company called KYORITSU, which work very well. but granted for higher current I still have a Fluke 305, but that only measures AC current.
On a side note, Clamp-on meters normally have smaller displays which makes it not as ideal for everyday work, hence why I actually never use my 305, even though its always in my fluke bag with my 179 and a KEW 8115 clamp sensor by KYORITSU. for my it is far more convenient to use my 179 and the 8115, also allows me to be further away from the test leads. Remember that when using an 8115 or any clamp-on sensor with a multimeter, it gives you a voltage reading instead of current reading.
You can actually buy the clamp accessory for the 179 to give you 400A DC or 1000A AC.
In the end, I have ordered for a Fluke 325. Thanks all for the recommendations. I have also learnt that some brands or models have accessories you can buy to read current, temperature, etc.
Fideri
