Fluke 113 vs Fluke 179: Which Multimeter Offers More Useful Features?

Specs side by side

Specs checked against manufacturer documentation and official Amazon listings. Desk research, not bench testing. How we research.

Key differences

• →Volts: the 113 can only read voltage through VCHEK, a roughly 3 kΩ input that drains ghost voltage. The 179 has ordinary high-impedance volts to 1000 V and Fluke lists no LoZ mode for it.
• →Current: the 179 reads 0.01 mA steps up to 10 A. The 113 has two jacks and no current function of any kind.
• →Temperature and frequency: the 179 reads −40 °C to 400 °C with the included 80BK probe and frequency to 100 kHz. The 113 has neither, and Fluke states no frequency spec for it.
• →Resistance: the 179 reaches 50 MΩ against the 113's 60 kΩ, though on the kilohm ranges both carry the same ±(0.9% + 1) accuracy.
• →Identical or nearly so: both are rated CAT IV 600V by Fluke, both use 6,000-count backlit displays and a 9 V battery, and they weigh 404 g and 420 g.
• →Warranty: Fluke gives the 179 a lifetime warranty; it states no term for a new 113.

Counting features vs counting the ones you use

A feature only earns its keep if it answers a question you actually ask on the job. So rather than tally dial positions, the map below splits the two meters into three groups: what the 113 alone does, what the pair share, and what the 179 adds. The middle column is larger than most buyers expect, and the left column is a single idea.

Read the right column as a list of jobs. Amps covers motor loads, heater elements and the milliamp draw of a control board. Temperature covers bearings, breaker lugs, supply air and heat sinks. Frequency covers drive output checks and generator setups. High-impedance volts covers anything electronic. If none of those jobs appears in your week, the 179's advantage shrinks to accuracy, range and warranty; if two or more appear, the 113 isn't really a candidate.

The full function list, side by side

Two rows on that list are blank for the 179 only because the Fluke spec lines we work from don't itemize continuity and diode figures for it, not because Fluke says they're absent. We'd rather mark them than guess. Every other cell comes from Fluke's spec tabs or the 113's official Amazon listing.

The 113's single exclusive: a voltmeter that can't be fooled

Pull a conductor off its breaker in a conduit shared with live circuits and a high-impedance meter like the 179 will often show tens of volts on it. That charge is coupled through the insulation and can't drive a load, but on the display it looks real. The 113 presents about 3 kΩ across its leads on VCHEK, which bleeds that coupled charge away so the reading collapses toward zero. Fluke lists no low-impedance mode for the 179, so its owner has to recognize the phantom some other way. Our explainer on voltage on a disconnected circuit covers why it happens.

The second half of VCHEK is what makes it quick. When no voltage is present, the same position turns into a continuity check that beeps below 20 Ω. Confirming that a feeder is dead and then confirming which conductor it is takes one dial setting instead of two.

That same low input is a handicap away from mains wiring. A 3 kΩ load drags down any weak source, and Fluke notes the 113's autorange needs at least 3 V DC before it registers, so thermostat signals, sensor outputs and logic rails are effectively off limits. The Fluke 113 vs Fluke 115 page works through that loading arithmetic, and Fluke 113 vs Fluke 117 looks at a meter that offers LoZ as a switchable option instead of the only way to read volts.

What the tighter accuracy means on real readings

Feature lists hide a quieter difference: how close each meter's voltage reading is guaranteed to be. Applying each published accuracy line to two common readings gives these worst-case bands. On a 6,000-count meter, 120 V sits on the 600.0 V range (one count is 0.1 V) and 24 V sits on the 60.00 V range (one count is 0.01 V).

The working: at 120 V the 113 allows 2.0% (2.4 V) plus 3 counts (0.3 V), so ±2.7 V; the 179 allows 1.0% (1.2 V) plus 3 counts, so ±1.5 V. At 24 V DC the 113 allows 0.48 V plus 0.03 V, about ±0.51 V; the 179 allows 0.09% (about 0.02 V) plus 2 counts (0.02 V), about ±0.04 V. For a live-or-dead decision, ±2.7 V on a 120 V circuit is irrelevant. For a voltage-drop calculation on a long branch circuit, or checking a 24 V control transformer against its nameplate, the 179's band is roughly a tenth as wide.

Resistance is the exception where the two match. On the 6 kΩ and 60 kΩ ranges both are specified at ±(0.9% + 1), so a thermistor or coil that fits inside 60 kΩ reads with equal confidence on either. Capacitance leans to the 179 at ±(1.2% + 2) against the 113's ±(1.9% + 2); on a 45 µF run capacitor the percentage part alone works out to about ±0.5 µF versus ±0.9 µF, a gap that rarely changes a pass-or-replace call.

Weight, battery and ratings: closer than the feature lists suggest

It's easy to assume the bigger feature set comes with a heavier, thirstier meter. The published numbers say otherwise. Fluke lists 404 g for the 113 and 420 g for the 179, a 16 g gap you won't feel on a belt. Both run on one 9 V battery; the 113 is rated about 300 hours and the 179 about 200 hours, so the simpler meter goes roughly half as long again between battery swaps.

The safety ratings also overlap. Fluke rates both meters CAT IV 600V, which covers service drops and the line side of a meter base. The 179 adds CAT III 1000V, useful on higher-voltage DC or industrial equipment inside a building, and the 113 doesn't go past 600 V at all. Where the 179 pulls clearly ahead off the spec sheet is the warranty: lifetime, against no published term for a new 113.

Which should you buy?

For the ladder below the 179, the Fluke 175 vs Fluke 179 comparison shows what each rung adds. If you want the 179's breadth plus a LoZ position, the Fluke 289 vs Fluke 179 page covers a logging meter with both, and the best multimeter for electricians guide lists the wider field.

Conflicting published specs to know about

Both meters carry at least one disagreement between sources. For the 113, Fluke's spec tab and the terminal markings give CAT IV 600V, while one Amazon bullet says CAT III 600V and CAT IV 300V; we follow Fluke. Its True RMS claim appears in the Amazon title and on the meter's front label but only in a footnote on Fluke's spec tab, and Fluke lists a 3-year term only for the reconditioned unit.

For the 179, Fluke's comparison table names µA as a function and gives 9,999 µF and a 400 °F temperature ceiling, while its detailed spec table gives 0.01 mA as the finest current step, 10,000 µF and 400 °C. We use the spec table, which means the 179 is not a flame-sensor meter; the Fluke 177 vs Fluke 179 page lays those rows out, and our microamp meter guide lists meters that do read a few microamps.

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