Cheap Electrical Tools = False Economy

Feb 6, 1998
11,759
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
Many years ago I bought a "cheap" AC/DC clamp meter that was advertised as being able to measure in-rush current. At the time the price of this meter was $149.00 which compared to my Fluke was a real budget price.

For a few months the meter worked okay, matched farily closely to my Fluke's, but I quickly found out that Mastech mislead me. Despite all the literature claiming it did in-rush the unit did DID NOT measure DC in-rush only AC. For what I bought it for it was a failure.

After a few months of use the case began to creak, jaws would not open or close properly, the flashlight died and the meter would never zero. It had also drifted out of calibration and some of the LCD number were hit or miss unless you pressed the screen to read it.. I resigned it to my "nav desk" on the boat as a general use, not very accurate boat tool.

A few weeks ago I was supposed to deliver a boat from Halifax to Portland but a cancelled launch date threw hook into it and I could not make the reschedule. I loaned the promised tools and safety gear to the owner including my Mastech MS-2108 AC/DC clamp meter.

After he got back to Portland he gave my meter and equipment back. I inspected it and everything was perfectly fine, just as I had loaned it out. It then spent two days in my car before I took it back to my own boat.

When I took the Mastech MS-2108 out of its bag, to put the test leads back in, it was all melted!

Just two days in my car, here in Maine, and the meter was RUINED!!

Also in my car were three Fluke meters that were sharing the same tool bag as the Mastech. I also had about 2000+ heat shrink crimp terminals, the cheap plastic divider bins the terminals are in and hundreds of other small tools, terminals etc... In my center console was a cheap plastic Solo cup.

BTW I use my Fluke meters day in, day out & beat the living piss out of them and they still work flawlessly and remain accurate. My Mastech had only light and easy uses before it went to crap, but physical melting was the final icing on the cake.

NONE OF THE OTHER STUFF IN MY CAR, INCLUDING THE SOLO CUP, MELTED.

While at first this tool seemed like a value over the long haul it was a joke. Cheap tools are often a FALSE ECONOMY.... This tool is RUINED, DESTROYED, JUNK yet a 2¢ Solo cup survived this heat, heck even my CD's are fine.

The melting offender...




Yes a 2¢ Solo cup survived the heat in my car but the Mastech MS2108 melted like a birthday candle...



Really not worth the cardboard box they shipped it in IMHO...
;)
 
Oct 17, 2011
2,809
Ericson 29 Southport..
I can dig it. I have a Fluke 88 that was given to me by a friend that works for the John Fluke company that I use infrequently because it's a little fancy for my uses. The 27 I keep on the boat, and my trusty 73 goes where I go. That 73 is I know at least thirty years old, and has been drug through the mud and the blood ever since. When I first considered it on a Matco tool truck, the tool man actually threw it across the concrete parking lot and it still worked. Knowing my old Simpson analog meter would take nowhere near that manner of abuse, I bought it on the spot. I've never used the Simpson since that day. Bulletproof meters. Go Fluke.
 
Feb 6, 1998
11,759
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
I know you can buy "cheap-er" meters that certainly work. After this debacle I would strongly urge buying them from companies with a real reputation such as Craftsman, Blue Sea, Klein, Greenlee, Ideal, Extech, Sperry or even Milwaukee and let them be the judge of their Chinese manufacturer.

I am not immune to taking gambles on cheap-er tools but I am also not shy of calling them out as to the performance realities when they are not a good value......