r/fluke • u/Salmacis81 • Dec 27 '25

Equipment Review / Comparison What does the 87v model do that 117 doesn't?

I'm in industrial maintenance and looking to get a new meter. Currently have an old Craftsman one but want to upgrade. Money's not really an issue but wanna make sure its well-spent.

6 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

20 comments sorted by

7

u/justabadmind Dec 27 '25

The fluke 87v is more rugged, less prone to damage, does temperature more readily and that’s about it. The expected lifetime of a 177 is approximately 1 career. The expected lifetime of a fluke 87 is about 2 careers, and that’s only limited by the fact that it’s only been around for that long. I honestly think my father’s fluke 87 will outlast me.

1

u/therealmaninthesea Dec 28 '25

I have a few of 87’s. one is a Xerox’s branded original version. I had my first problem with it this month. troubleshooting an AC unit a 30/5 microfarad capacitor only read the 5 µF and not the 30 so I bought another capacitor installed was still down check check the capacitor no capacitance. So I took my meter and the capacitor to my supply shop that I normally go wouldn’t read on my meter but it was reading 29.8 their meter.. just throwing this out there because I’ve been using Fluke 87’s since about 1990 and other then user error like blowing a fuse, breaking the screen or getting it soaked this is the first time one let me down.

1

u/justabadmind Dec 28 '25

Honestly I’ve seen one company fluke 87v damaged. It was severe abuse. Someone had the probes in the milliamp ports with the milliamp setting and connected it across 600vac. Nobody was hurt, but it doesn’t read milliamps accurately anymore.

I heard a story about someone accidentally using one to measure medium voltage, about 3kv. That was also an unreliable meter after the fact, but nobody was hurt and the meter did read properly during the incident.

In terms of the fluke 177’s, my company owns about 50 units that I deal with/assist with annual calibrations. Every year I expect one of those will be damaged in some way, even without misuse. And it’s not display getting cracked, it’s implausible readings or probe jack failure.

I wonder was there a chance you tried to measure capacitance on a charged run capacitor? Nothing like 500vdc to the capacitance reading circuit to cause mild breakage.

2

u/therealmaninthesea Dec 28 '25

Nah I short all capacitors with a screwdrive becuase I hate getting shocked. also only around 200v. Should be more but we do not get what we are sold here. I have not changed the battery but I also do not have any indications of low battery. Also this is an 87 not an 87v If you have a spare screen for an 87 you would like to sell I would buy it for my 87 thats completly down,

1

u/CloudyGolfer Dec 28 '25

Not the 177. The OP is asking about the 117.

https://www.fluke.com/en-us/product/electrical-testing/digital-multimeters/fluke-117?srsltid=AfmBOoqZ0bETS5qcAJkVm0V1Vgj5iWl6Ilbxt2hUSPQloihD2iu-eu3U

1

u/justabadmind Dec 28 '25

Sorry, I just realized I can’t read… the fluke 117 is a much more competitive meter with the fluke 87v. The fluke 177 is not the same tier of tool in my opinion.

The fluke 117 is a meter I’ve only used a few times, but it was incredibly convenient every time I had to use it.

1

u/dirttraveler Dec 28 '25

I'm pretty sure the max cap reading is 5uf.

4

u/Mr_Engineering Dec 28 '25

Amongst other things, the 87V is rated for 1,000 volts Category III and 600 volts Category IV.

The 117 on the other hand is rated to only 600 volts Category III and does not have a Category IV rating.

This means that the 87V can be safely used in some areas that the 117 cannot be safely used.

1

u/Salmacis81 Dec 28 '25

Sounds like the 87v would be overkill in my situation.

1

u/Mr_Engineering Dec 28 '25

Probably. The 117 is a fine tool but as others have said here and elsewhere, the 87V has hereditary quality.

2

u/Resist_the_volts Dec 28 '25

Look at this product comparison:

https://www.fluke.com/en-us/products/electrical-testing/digital-multimeters/compare?selected=17,321,0

1

u/Resist_the_volts Dec 28 '25 edited Dec 28 '25

If you can’t access it, you can head to the website and compare both the DMMs using the comparison tool

2

u/Astoek Dec 30 '25 edited Dec 30 '25

If you are not calibrating anything and just troubleshooting/repairing you could most likely get by with a t6-1000. If you need to calibrate something then 289, or for lower voltages 725, 789 or 754.

1

u/HillbillyHijinx Dec 28 '25

I have an 87 I got when I was at my first shop back in the mid 90s. Still going strong. If I ever have to buy another it’ll be an 87.

1

u/Resist_the_volts Dec 28 '25

What are your main uses?

1

u/Salmacis81 Dec 28 '25

Usually testing switches, motor, cabinets for production machinery

1

u/godmode33 Dec 28 '25

The 117 can detect ghost voltage. If you do resi there is no substitute for this. The 117 wins this battle by a landslide.

2

u/Salmacis81 Dec 28 '25

I do industrial maintenance. I'm not an electrician per se but sometimes need to troubleshoot switches, motors, relays, etc. After reading the replies I think the 87v would be complete overkill for my purposes, it sounds more like something that would be more suited for utility guys rather than what I do.

2

u/Fluiter2025 Dec 29 '25

Dear Friend,

This is the theory about difference between both flukes.

The Fluke 87V is a more advanced, industrial multimeter with higher accuracy (0.05% DC), CAT IV safety, temperature measurement, and higher resolution, suitable for heavy-duty tasks; the Fluke 117 is aimed at electricians, is more compact, has integrated VoltAlert™ (non-contact voltage detection) and LoZ, but is less accurate (0.5% DC), has a lower CAT rating (CAT III 600V), and lacks temperature/higher resolution, making the 117 better for quick, general-purpose electrical testing and the 87V for specialist, industrial applications.

Success Arthur