Looking for a decent 220VAC multimeter

[moreg]

Hello everyone,
Ultimate newbie here,

I have found that most electricians in my area are criminally incompetent (even less knowledgeable than me), which is crazy considering that I'm a total noob when it comes to electricity.
Because of all the dodgy stuff I happened to witness throughout the years, I turned into a safety maniac (housefires and electrocutions I dread).

I would like to purchase a decent multimeter to check the wiring in my house and the voltages, in an effort to try and understand why some stuff is malfunctioning in the house (light bulbs flickering, power washer struggling, breakers behaving weirdly, etc.)

The official voltage here is supposed to be 220VAC, but we use 230V appliances (european standard), which can cause issues when voltages drop, etc.

From my limited understanding, the best (price/value) multimeter I could find is the Chauvin Arnoux 5233, for about US$181.
I couldn't find any digestable info about this multimeter, but you guys probably know how to decipher the spreadsheet :



Is this multimeter decent enough for what I intend to do?
This is the shop I am considering buying from, they should be selling the real stuff (I'm trying to dodge knockoffs) :
https://www.bricoma.ma/controleur-de-terre-numerique-peakmeter-ref-pm2302-15.html

Here's the full listing of multimeters they sell (2 pages), you guys might see some better options there :
https://www.bricoma.ma/electricite/appareillage-de-mesure.html

Thank you very much,
and have a nice day

[Black Phoenix]

Although a DMM would help you measure voltage, check continuities and identify circuits, I would say that an instalation tester would be a better buy, together with a voltage tester/proving unit kit.

Instalations is not only voltage measurement but also insulation testing, earth leakage plus RCBO/RCD testing.

But that above is expensive, even used units.

I would say that insulation meter, as a Fluke 1507 or 1587, would fit mostly 90% of the testing you are gonna do, except RCBO/RCD testing plus earth leakage current.

Also try to see if in your area if there are rental companies of such equipment, since is going to be a seasonal use, so buying one and then selling would be a bad deal in my opinion.

Although still I would say procure a certified electrician. I don't believe that ALL the electricians in your area are that bad.

[Fungus]

I would like to purchase a decent multimeter to check the wiring in my house and the voltages, in an effort to try and understand why some stuff is malfunctioning in the house (light bulbs flickering, power washer struggling, breakers behaving weirdly, etc.)

Will a multimeter help you understand that?

Those are momentary events that are difficult to measure and are likely to be caused by the wires in your house and/or the supply.

Is this multimeter decent enough for what I intend to do?

Yes, but there are much cheaper meters that can do the same job. Is that shop the only place you can buy?

eg. The cheapest 'safe' meter for household mains AC measurement is the Fluke 101. It costs about US$50-US$60 depending on your customs charges.

https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=fluke+101

[bdunham7]

Of what you have listed there, I think the Chauvin Arnoux F201 clamp meter is probably your safest bet to start tackling your problems.  The Peakmeter MS2101 is probably fine as well and a better value.  Clamp meters allow you to measure current safely without interrupting the circuit.  Voltage is still measured with traditional test leads.  Best of luck sorting out your electrical gremlins.

[Gyro]

I would go for a reasonable two pole mains tester.

- They are at least 300V Cat III rated, normally much higher.
- They always give a voltage indication regardless of switch settings, probe socket mistakes, blown fuse, flat battery etc. (always check them on a known live circuit first though).
- They give you visual and audible indication where you can see it whilst probing... It's virtually impossible to read a dangling DMM whilst concentrating on holding the probes.
- Most decent ones have a mains safe continuity test too (with no on-off switch).
- They tend to be cheaper than a safe DMM (the Fluke 101 comes close in price though).

Buy a set of VDE insulated screwdrivers too. You almost certainly have some loose connections.

As soon as you are unsure of anything, call in a good electrician. There must be some.


EDIT: Some suggestions are the FLuke T90 (perfectly adequate) - T110 - T130 - T150 (the higher models have LCD voltage readout as well as always active LED indicators). There are other brands though, Martindale, Kewtech etc. I'm not sure what is available in Morocco.

[AVGresponding]

I'd agree a two-probe tester is probably more suitable than a DMM for this. If your budget stretches to a Fluke T5-600 or T5-1000, you get a basic clamp meter as well as the usual two-probe functions. No idea what local prices are like for you, but should be around $120-150 with any luck.

[moreg]

Thank you very much guys, much appreciated !

There most likely are competent electricians in my area, but I couldn't find one that's freelancing.
They seem to work with companies on large projects, not "routine" stuff.
And we don't have some sort of public database (such as a telephone directory) that would allow us to find a certified competent electrician. It's all "word-of-mouth".

I would definitely prefer to have an electrician do this for me, it's just that I couldn't find one that's trustworthy.

One of the electricians we brought to fix an issue (main RCBO constantly tripping) was supposed to be super qualified : he had done the electrical work of many luxurious houses in the area (tens if not hundreds over the years), with a ton of experience.
Not only did he fail to fix the issue, but he also tried to trick us into thinking he had fixed the issue by replacing the RCBO with a breaker that lacks earth fault detection.
"There's an earth fault that's constantly triggering the RCBO? Let's get rid of the earth fault protection, and tell them I've fixed the problem !"

Another "funny" story with him: I start talking to him about how I want to have whole house surge protection installed (such as this).
His reaction ? "No, you don't need stuff like that! That's super expensive, it involves a huge antenna, only factories use this sort of stuff!"
You guessed it, he didn't even now what whole house surge protection is about, he thought I was asking for a lightning rod.

We brought another "electrician" that's supposed to be competent, he couldn't fix the issue either, right now we're still using the breaker that lacks the earth fault detection.

Anyways, I'm not trying to be negative or judgemental, I'm just frustrated that I have to take this matter in my own hands 

------------------------------------------------------------

To quickly answer some of your questions :

• Chauvin Arnoux is the only "reputable" brand available in my city. In theory, there's one company in another city that sells Fluke stuff, I'll try to reach out to them within the next few days and see if they ship products.
  Is it safe to buy DMM from Aliexpress? No risk of receiving a knockoff?
• As I said earlier, I'm a total noob, I didn't know anything about the existence of two-probe testers 
  One of the reasons I wanted to get a DMM was to be able to identify why stuff is malfunctioning, and check the wiring (more on that later).
  
  For example :
  - I plug my pressure washer (rated at 230V, not full range) into an outlet, yet it fails to work properly. Is it because there are bubbles trapped inside the machine, or because the supplied voltage is too low?
  If I test the voltage with my DMM and find that the supplied voltage is way too low (say 180V instead of 220V), I will know it's probably not a good idea to keep using this plug for anything power intensive
  But if I find that the voltage is 220V, I will not go looking for another plug with better voltage, I'll try getting rid of any potential bubbles
  
  - Recently, one of the kitchen's plugs got ripped out of its place when trying to unplug an appliance. Culprit? The "hooks" that maintain the plug in place are janky, the plug needs to be replaced. I go buy a new plug, shut down the main breaker, and start disassembling the plug.
  What do I find? The "electrician" who ran the wires inside the house left us a beautiful surprise : the earth wire isn't yellow/green, it's black. There's a blue wire, supposedly neutral, and two, not one, yellow wires for what appears to be the phase
  How do I know for sure I'm not risking my life when touching those wires to redo the plug?
  A DMM would help me make sure there's no voltage across any wire, and identify which is which (would I be able to check this sort of stuff with a two-probe tester?)

Anyway, I'll do some research to try and understand how a two-probe tester differs from a DMM, and will look into all of your propositions.

Again, thank you all for your precious help, have a great day !

[AVGresponding]

Yes, you can check this stuff with a two-probe tester. They are basically simplified DMMs with cut-down functionality in order to meet strict safety rules without being super expensive, and have a basic precision (2000 counts or less, or for the T150 and lower, just indicator lights) to simplify the readings as far as possible, since you want to know if you have 220V or 180V, not if you have 220.45V or 179.99V.
Similarly, the resistance readings are limited to continuity range type resistances, so typically 200 or 300 ohms max.

If you're getting nuisance RCD tripping though, you need a decent current clamp or an installation tester, as has been previously mentioned, in order to measure the earth leakage current.

Turning circuits off one at a time is a decent low-tech way of discovering the general source of this type of fault.

[Fungus]

• Is it safe to buy DMM from Aliexpress?

Yes.

No risk of receiving a knockoff?

I never heard of a knockoff for this type of product.

Besides: Aliexpress returns/refunds are as easy as Amazon returns/refunds these days. Just print a label and take it your local Aliexpress dropoff point.

Anyway, I'll do some research to try and understand how a two-probe tester differs from a DMM, and will look into all of your propositions.

Two-probe testers are good, too.

[Fungus]

Turning circuits off one at a time is a decent low-tech way of discovering the general source of this type of fault.[/color][/size][/b]

Normally it would be when a motor turns on, eg. a fridge.

[AVGresponding]

Turning circuits off one at a time is a decent low-tech way of discovering the general source of this type of fault.[/color][/size][/b]

Normally it would be when a motor turns on, eg. a fridge.

If it's a current spike, yes. Might be earth leakage from, say, too many cheap SMPS on a circuit, or inrush from LED lights. Without being there and seeing for myself, it's impossible to do more than guess.

[Black Phoenix]

Thank you very much guys, much appreciated !

There most likely are competent electricians in my area, but I couldn't find one that's freelancing.
They seem to work with companies on large projects, not "routine" stuff.
And we don't have some sort of public database (such as a telephone directory) that would allow us to find a certified competent electrician. It's all "word-of-mouth".

I would definitely prefer to have an electrician do this for me, it's just that I couldn't find one that's trustworthy.

One of the electricians we brought to fix an issue (main RCBO constantly tripping) was supposed to be super qualified : he had done the electrical work of many luxurious houses in the area (tens if not hundreds over the years), with a ton of experience.
Not only did he fail to fix the issue, but he also tried to trick us into thinking he had fixed the issue by replacing the RCBO with a breaker that lacks earth fault detection.
"There's an earth fault that's constantly triggering the RCBO? Let's get rid of the earth fault protection, and tell them I've fixed the problem !"

Another "funny" story with him: I start talking to him about how I want to have whole house surge protection installed (such as this).
His reaction ? "No, you don't need stuff like that! That's super expensive, it involves a huge antenna, only factories use this sort of stuff!"
You guessed it, he didn't even now what whole house surge protection is about, he thought I was asking for a lightning rod.

We brought another "electrician" that's supposed to be competent, he couldn't fix the issue either, right now we're still using the breaker that lacks the earth fault detection.

Anyways, I'm not trying to be negative or judgemental, I'm just frustrated that I have to take this matter in my own hands 

------------------------------------------------------------

To quickly answer some of your questions :

• Chauvin Arnoux is the only "reputable" brand available in my city. In theory, there's one company in another city that sells Fluke stuff, I'll try to reach out to them within the next few days and see if they ship products.
  Is it safe to buy DMM from Aliexpress? No risk of receiving a knockoff?
• As I said earlier, I'm a total noob, I didn't know anything about the existence of two-probe testers 
  One of the reasons I wanted to get a DMM was to be able to identify why stuff is malfunctioning, and check the wiring (more on that later).
  
  For example :
  - I plug my pressure washer (rated at 230V, not full range) into an outlet, yet it fails to work properly. Is it because there are bubbles trapped inside the machine, or because the supplied voltage is too low?
  If I test the voltage with my DMM and find that the supplied voltage is way too low (say 180V instead of 220V), I will know it's probably not a good idea to keep using this plug for anything power intensive
  But if I find that the voltage is 220V, I will not go looking for another plug with better voltage, I'll try getting rid of any potential bubbles
  
  - Recently, one of the kitchen's plugs got ripped out of its place when trying to unplug an appliance. Culprit? The "hooks" that maintain the plug in place are janky, the plug needs to be replaced. I go buy a new plug, shut down the main breaker, and start disassembling the plug.
  What do I find? The "electrician" who ran the wires inside the house left us a beautiful surprise : the earth wire isn't yellow/green, it's black. There's a blue wire, supposedly neutral, and two, not one, yellow wires for what appears to be the phase
  How do I know for sure I'm not risking my life when touching those wires to redo the plug?
  A DMM would help me make sure there's no voltage across any wire, and identify which is which (would I be able to check this sort of stuff with a two-probe tester?)

Anyway, I'll do some research to try and understand how a two-probe tester differs from a DMM, and will look into all of your propositions.

Again, thank you all for your precious help, have a great day !

Heck I'm currently 10000KM away from you, since my home country is Portugal and looks that you are in Morocco.

If I was in Portugal I would do the trip to Morocco (easy as going to the south of the country and then catch a ferry) and to the job for you. Your problem looks like the same I had in Shenzhen that was connection in a plug who was tripping the breaker, plus breakers screws not snug tight. I have access to a Instalation tester plus my own DMMs.

[themadhippy]

If you go down the 2 probe tester avoid the ones that use a string of leds to show the voltage,whilst ok as a quick check, for fault finding you want something that shows the actual voltage

There's an earth fault that's constantly triggering the RCBO

For those sort of faults an insulation tester,often called a megger,is almost an essential