Klein MM700 Multimeter Mini Review

[HiltiWpg]

Good Day!
I wanted to share my experience with the Klein MM700 CatIV 600V/ CatIII 1000V Multimeter. I am an electrician and I have a soft spot for multimeters. I have owned way too many of them!
I picked up the Klein MM700 for $140 Canadian including Shipping. The price was too temping to pass up.
Included in the packaging was the following:
- MM700 Multimeter
- K-type thermocouple
- Thermocouple adaptor
- Test Leads
- Probe covers
- Alligator Clips
- Soft case
- 2x AAA batteries
Right away, the meter feels great in the hand. The over-molding is very grippy and reminiscent of a Fluke. The meter isn't very heavy either. One great feature I liked is that the fuses are located in the battery compartment. I am not a fan of tearing apart a meter to change a fuse. The kickstand allows for a great viewing angle and is integrated into the battery cover.
Once I got this meter powered up, the next feature I really liked was the selector switch. Nice firm clicks lock the dial in place. Feels very premium, almost as nice as the Flukes.
The leads are what you would expect with an inexpensive meter. Soft, but not a premium silicon lead.
The display is very nice. Simple and easy enough to read. The viewing angles aren't great though. From below to centre, perfect legibility, but when looking down from the top, it's harder to see. With the backlight on, it's almost impossible to read from the top-down.
The speed of the reading is pretty good too, considering the cost, accuracy is also good.
It is a true RMS meter and offers Lo-Z which is a must if you need to weed-out ghost voltages. I did a side-by-side comparison with my Fluke 17B+. While the Fluke is faster and more accurate, the Klein did a great job.
It would have been nice to see 3 decimal places for low voltage, but it is an inexpensive meter.
The MM700 Tough Meter also claims to be IP42. This should protect it from dirt and water drops.
Overall, this meter is pretty damn impressive when you consider its price point. If you need a well built meter that is accurate and budget friendly, don't hesitate to pick up the Klein MM700!


The Good:
Inexpensive
Tactile Selector Dial
IP42
Accurate
Very grippy, feels good in hand
True RMS
Lo-Z
Easy to change fuses


The Bad:
Cheap test leads
Limited viewing angles
Backlight decreases viewing angles


Hope you like my Mini-review!

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[Kato]

Klein makes some nice meters, I have a CL800 clamp meter and love it to death. Love it way more than the Fluke stuff we have at work.

[BMack37]

I like that the fuses are in the battery compartment. I'm not a fan of the dial's off position in the middle. Those leads look like the cheap ones you get from China on eBay...but the leads with that 17B+ don't come with the meter, that should be noted. The 17B+ comes with the TL75, I presume what you have there is the TL175(Could be the TL224).

[Logan]

Klein makes some great stuff 

[HiltiWpg]

I like that the fuses are in the battery compartment. I'm not a fan of the dial's off position in the middle. Those leads look like the cheap ones you get from China on eBay...but the leads with that 17B+ don't come with the meter, that should be noted. The 17B+ comes with the TL75, I presume what you have there is the TL175(Could be the TL224).

Oh yeah, the leads with the 17 were the basic silicon TL75. I use the Twistguard TL175's as my daily leads w/ alligators.

Not a fan of the modular leads!

The dial in the middle isn't that bad, they separated the functions well enough that you shouldn't need to flip around much.

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[HiltiWpg]

I think the fairest comparison would be between the MM700 and the Milwaukee 2217-20. I was never a fan of the Milwaukee though. The kickstand was wonky and I found it to be inaccurate. The selector dial was annoying too, too easy to overshoot your selection. It didn't have that nice snap and lock dial. The magnet was all terrible, it made the meter bulky and awkward.

I should have noted that the Klein has a nice accessory shoe for the magnetic strap.

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[BMack37]

2 hours ago, HiltiWpg said:

Oh yeah, the leads with the 17 were the basic silicon TL75. I use the Twistguard TL175's as my daily leads w/ alligators.

Not a fan of the modular leads!

The dial in the middle isn't that bad, they separated the functions well enough that you shouldn't need to flip around much.

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I don't like it in the middle because you can't just turn all the way to the left to turn it off.

 

I like the modular setup, but with how much I use my DMM and the various accessories, it's just quicker. I have the TL175s too but it's annoying having to screw on the banana adapter then attaching the clip/adapter. It can also be annoying to have a probe adding weight and stiffness to a clip.

 

I have the Milwaukee 2216-20 DMM(at least for the moment, waiting for a response on Craigslist), it's dead on accurate but the continuity beeper is too slow(like with my Klein CL700 clamp meter). I found the Klein clamp meter to be less accurate when the frequency goes up, not a problem for an Electrician but over 120 Hz it starts drifting.  

 

Is the hold function a freeze on the screen or does it beep and hold when it gets a stable reading?

[tpamatmat]

Great review! I would reach for my wallet but I already have the MM200. It is definitely a more basic multimeter but suits my needs perfectly. My only gripe is that it didn't come with alligator leads, kind of a must for residential work. Also, I'm with BMack on this one...really like that off is all the way to the left. Turn it till it stops without having to look.

 

That said, best electrical testing device in my bag...the non-contact voltage sensor. Could not live without it.

[HiltiWpg]

 
  
 
Is the hold function a freeze on the screen or does it beep and hold when it gets a stable reading?

Just a screen hold.


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[BMack37]

24 minutes ago, HiltiWpg said:

 

Just a screen hold.


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I hate that. It works fine on a clamp meter if the button is where your thumb naturally goes but on a DMM it rarely works that way. Fluke's current entry level is the same. I've become really fond of the old USA made Flukes because a lot of them have the feature and they're cheap/bulletproof. Though you have to check the continuity beeper because a lot of them are slow.

 

I sort of want to try Greenlee's meters because I read soo much good about Brymen and they're rather reasonably priced.

[HiltiWpg]

Yeah, I got the used to using min-max as an alternative. At least it gives you upper and lower, but small spikes can ruin your day.

I don't think I have ever used a Brymen.

I have used lots of Extech rebrands and they were all pretty average. That said, I haven't used one recently, or a high end model for that matter.

The DM830a looks like a nice well rounded meter.

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[HiltiWpg]

http://www.cem-instruments.com/en/Product/index/id/686

Sure seems very close to the Klein!

http://www.cem-instruments.com/en/Product/detail/id/686/pid/768/pids/1332

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[BMack37]

CEM makes some if not all Extech meters too.

[NicolasRamos]

CEM makes some if not all Extech meters too.

Apparently southwire as well.

Also...[emoji102]

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[BMack37]

3 hours ago, NicolasRamos said:

Apparently southwire as well.

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Yes sir, CEM does it for a lot of brands. I don't have a list but if you see or hear a new brand with not cheap but reasonable priced meters, you have a pretty good chance it's CEM. 

[CoraDias]

Hi...i am a new user here. As per my observation leads look like the cheap ones you get from China on eBay,but the leads with that 17B+ don't come with the meter, that should be noted. The 17B+ comes with the TL75, I presume what you have there is the TL175.

 

turnkey pcb

[BMack37]

Interesting, a new Spammer than just repeats a previous post as if it were their own. Wonder what the point of that is?

[Mycrossover]

I have a Tektronix TX3, later, rebranded and renumbered as a Fluke when they bought the company. It was meant to compete with the 87. I love that meter. Recently I picked up some $.99 leads on ebay, straight from China, for some other cheap meters . They are pvc but they are virtually identical to what came with the Tektronix. Very nicely made. I suspect most leads are made there, regardless of brand. There seems to be a range of quality for ebay Chinese test leads. I saw silicone ones pretty cheap, too.

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[BMack37]

10 hours ago, Mycrossover said:

I have a Tektronix TX3, later, rebranded and renumbered as a Fluke when they bought the company. It was meant to compete with the 87. I love that meter. Recently I picked up some $.99 leads on ebay, straight from China, for some other cheap meters . They are pvc but they are virtually identical to what came with the Tektronix. Very nicely made. I suspect most leads are made there, regardless of brand. There seems to be a range of quality for ebay Chinese test leads. I saw silicone ones pretty cheap, too.

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The best non-modular leads I've tried are from Taiwan, made by Brymen. Coincidentally, you can only get them from Hong Kong (on eBay). They're better than Flukes. Once you go silicone, you don't go back. Fluke has silicone and PVC leads, the PVC leads aren't anything special. I used to use Chinese leads but I'd have to buy them 3 to 5 at a time, they're what the Boss said he used "No need to buy name brand leads" ...until I got some when I bought a used meter. Those already used leads are still being used years later. I HIGHLY recommend trying some higher end leads, it's worth it in the long run...since buying higher end leads I have yet to replace a set. Tips stay sharper longer, no broken tips, or loss of continuity. The length on the TL224s is also great, it's annoying to use shorter leads after using those.

 

Of course if you're talking about super cheap meters that aren't used a lot, it really doesn't matter. If you're going to use them more than once a month, spring for these:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Brymen-Silicone-Gold-Plated-Test-Leads-Probes-for-Multimeters-CAT-IV-1000V/171162377470

[rachel]

So full disclosure, I am new to multimeters. I just bought a condo and started buying a few tools and my sister bought me a mm700 as a gift. Here is my perhaps very silly question.

 

So i was watching a video on how to check the fuses without taking them out. Pretty much goes like this... I turn my dial to  omeaga/sound setting. have the red lead in the +V(omega) the black in the black plug. If I insert my red probe into the 10A plug it beeps a continuous beep and the screen shows a 0.1 when I insert the probe into the mA/yA plug nothing happens the screen stays at OL.

 

I took out the fuses to test for continuity and both beep continuous (telling me the fuses are okay?)

 

Is there something wrong with my multimeter?

 

Thank you all! 

 

Rachel,

 

[Antonio]

Hi

 

I notice the MM6000 (discontinued) was assembled in USA from Korean parts whereas the MM700 that succeeded it does not mention country or origin or assembly.  I really want to avoid Chinese made (no problem with Korea or Taiwan or Japan of course) but does anyone know where the MM700 is made (still Korean)?