meters left in the cold?

[boyle78]

Just a quick thought. With the cold weather upon some of us, what do those of you do with your meters at night or during the weekend? I usually leave mine in the work van (it's a pretty safe area) or take my tools home for the weekend but still leave 'em in my truck. I might think there would be some issue of condensation after a cold night, heading into a warm building, and taking a reading on a live circuit....might be bad....what do some of you think?

 

[mdshunk]

Never had an issue with it. A little hard on the batteries, but that's about it. I don't leave expensive stuff in the truck to get cold, however. Just the day-to-day stuff.

 

[480sparky]

Some screens on digital sets may not work very well after being in the cold. Even after they warm back up.

 

[chris kennedy]

With the cold weather upon some of us, what do those of you do with your meters at night or during the weekend?

I moved all my test equipment to Florida years ago. So my issue is to make sure neither my help nor myself leave them in the direct sun.

 

[iwire]

My company laptop quit on me, I brought it to the company IT guy and he found a broken memory chip.

He told me it was because I was using the laptop in the cold without it warming up to room temp first. He said I should not let it get cold. I am pretty sure he has no idea that my van is my office and the truck does not run all day.

One of my buddies solved the problem by leaving his lap top running in sleep mode in the bag.

 

[wallyworld]

My company laptop quit on me, I brought it to the company IT guy and he found a broken memory chip.

He told me it was because I was using the laptop in the cold without it warming up to room temp first. He said I should not let it get cold. I am pretty sure he has no idea that my van is my office and the truck does not run all day.

One of my buddies solved the problem by leaving his lap top running in sleep mode in the bag.

My laptop stays in my truck all the time and I'm north of you. Never had an issue, if I know I'm going to use it I take it out of the case and stick on the front seat to warm up before I get to the site.

 

[ultramegabob]

I leave my meter in the front with me, that way it has a chance to warm up as I drive around. I have never had a meter ruined by the cold, but I have had screens go bad from sitting in the direct sunlight.

 

[iwire]

My laptop stays in my truck all the time and I'm north of you. Never had an issue,

I don't doubt it a bit, I think our IT guy is full of it. But they log our repairs so I kind of have to make an effort to follow the IT guys advice.

 

[480sparky]

..... I think our IT guy is full of it......

It could have been simple thermal shock. Take a microchip, and cool it to, say 0? or so. Turn it on, and the computer starts to generate a lot of heat in a small space. Withing seconds, it could be 100 or so. In the very small world of miniaturization these days, it would be akin to throwing boiling water on your iced-up windshield.

 

[iwire]

It could have been simple thermal shock. Take a microchip, and cool it to, say 0? or so. Turn it on, and the computer starts to generate a lot of heat in a small space.

I understand the concept.

I am just not sure I am buying it, the cold has really not moved in yet, I would be surprised if the laptop had gotten below 35 F yet.

Also the laptop was only about a month old, I think it was more likely a defective chip. But as I said I will try to change how I use it, I really like that they provide a laptop for me and do not want to have it keep costing them money. :smile:

 

[480sparky]

I understand the concept.

I am just not sure I am buying it, the cold has really not moved in yet, I would be surprised if the laptop had gotten below 35 F yet.

Also the laptop was only about a month old, I think it was more likely a defective chip. But as I said I will try to change how I use it, I really like that they provide a laptop for me and do not want to have it keep costing them money. :smile:

I didn't know it was a recent event....

 

[iwire]

As far as meters and the cold, I have never had any issue as long as they were not exposed to moisture.

I had a pickup with a cross box in the bed and my meter in there needed to go back to fluke for repair.

 

[480sparky]

As far as meters and the cold, I have never had any issue as long as they were not exposed to moisture.

I had a pickup with a cross box in the bed and my meter in there needed to go back to fluke for repair.

It would be worth mentioning that when you do bring a meter in from the cold into a warm room, be sure to leave it in the case to warm up. Moisture in the warm room could condense on it while it's still cold, so leaving in the case will reduce that possibility.:wink:

 

[iwire]

Condensation

 

[roger]

I leave my meters in the truck winter,spring, summer, and fall.

Roger

 

[mdshunk]

I leave my meters in the truck winter,spring, summer, and fall.

I fixed the link.

 

[roger]

I fixed the link.

Well, I didn't try to post a link but, I was thinking about JT when I posted.

Roger

 

[quogueelectric]

My fluke 77 that I got used in 82 finally died in my truck It replaced my beckman tech 310. I think the monster in my lake ate it and when he tasted how stale it was he spit it out. I bought a cheap radioshack dvm for 20 bucks to read control/fa resistance. My fluke t5-600 is inseparable from me. I wear it to bed. I hate that it has a limited resistance range.

 

[frenchelectrican]

I don't useally have much issue with them but from time to time digtail screen get funky that about it.

However I have two test meters that I used everyday that will sit inside my truck cab near the heater port to keep it warm so i can able read it real quick.

Merci,Marc

 

[Billy_Bob]

In the past hot weather has fried a multimeter and a stud finder, so now most of my electronic testing devices are in a separate tool box which I bring inside the garage which does not get as cold/hot as outside.

Then I've had problems with cold weather and batteries not working. Lithium batteries work best, but cost a small fortune.