Fluke 116 vs Fluke 117: Which Is Better for Electricians?

Specs side by side

Specs checked against manufacturer documentation and official Amazon listings. Fluke 117 is hands-on tested by OhmSavvy; the Fluke 116 assessment is desk research. How we research.

Key differences

• →The 117 has VoltAlert, a sensor in the top of the case that flags a live AC conductor without contact. Fluke's 116 page and datasheet list no non-contact detection for the 116.
• →The 117 reads current on 6.000 A and 10.00 A ranges through its A jack. The 116 has no amp or milliamp range at all; its only current range is 600.0 µA.
• →The 116 reads microamps to 0.1 µA, which is what furnace flame-rod checks need. The 117's finest current step is 1 mA, ten thousand times coarser.
• →The 116 reads Type K temperature from -40 to 400 °C and ships with an 80BK probe. The 117 has no temperature function.
• →Both have AutoVolt with a roughly 3 kΩ LoZ input for ghost voltage, both are True RMS and CAT III 600V, and both share the same case, display, battery and 3-year warranty.

The short version

These two sit side by side in Fluke's 110 Series and look almost identical in a tool bag. The difference is in the dial and the input jacks: Fluke built the 117 around building wiring and the 116 around gas heating equipment. The 117 carries our Hands-on Tested badge; for the 116 we rely on Fluke's product page, its datasheet and the 110 Series manual. If you are weighing the 117 against the model without the electrician extras instead, our Fluke 115 vs Fluke 117 page covers that pair.

Fluke 116 vs 117 spec by spec

On voltage, resistance, capacitance and frequency, Fluke publishes the same accuracy lines for both meters. The rows that change are all about current, temperature and non-contact sensing.

Put those two charts together and the meters barely overlap. The 116's current input tops out at 0.0006 A, which is below the 117's smallest displayed step of 0.001 A. One reads tiny control-circuit currents, the other reads loads.

What each current input can see

The diagram below puts both current ranges on one logarithmic axis and marks three currents an electrician meets. A flame rod sits a few microamps from zero, inside the 116's window and invisible to the 117. A 4–20 mA process loop sits in the gap between them: it overloads the 116, and on the 117 a 12 mA reading shows as 0.012 A with ±(1.0% + 3) DC accuracy, roughly ±3 mA, too coarse to calibrate a transmitter. A loaded 15 A branch circuit sits past the 117's 10.00 A continuous limit.

The practical lesson is that neither meter is the right amp tool for most electrical work. Branch-circuit and motor currents belong to a clamp meter, and loop currents to a meter with a real milliamp range; our 4–20 mA loop testing guide lists those. The 117's amp ranges still earn their place for small loads, such as a bathroom fan, a doorbell transformer or a low-voltage lighting run. The 116 cannot take those readings at all.

The electrician's day with each meter

Picture a service call for a dead kitchen circuit. With the 117, you sweep the receptacles with VoltAlert to find the last live box, switch to AutoVolt to see whether the 40-odd volts on the dead leg is coupling or a loose neutral, prove dead with the leads, then check continuity on the pigtails. The 116 does every step except the first: AutoVolt and LoZ are on its dial too, so ghost voltage fools neither meter. Without VoltAlert, the 116 owner touches leads to each box or pulls a pen tester from a pocket.

Next comes a lighting retrofit where you want to confirm a fixture draws what its label says. The 117 reads it in series on the 6.000 A range. The 116 can't, so you clamp it with a second tool. Then a rooftop unit won't fire. Here the 116 pulls ahead: it reads the flame-rod microamps and the supply-air temperature with the included probe, where the 117 can only confirm 24 V at the gas valve.

Count the rows. On wiring work, the 117 wins two and ties the rest. On heating equipment, the 116 wins two and the 117 wins none. That split is the whole decision for a mixed contractor: whichever kind of call fills more of your week decides the meter on your belt, and the other job gets a second tool. For an all-electrical shortlist, see the best multimeter for electricians; for the heating side, the best multimeter for HVAC technicians.

Why VoltAlert matters more than it sounds

VoltAlert is a capacitive sensor at the top of the 117. Fluke gives it two sensitivities: Lo for flush receptacles, power strips and cords, and Hi for recessed sockets and bare conductors from 24 V. Its value for an electrician isn't precision; it is speed and habit. You check every box you open before your hands go in, without unholstering the leads. On the 116 that check needs a separate non-contact tester, and a second tool is one more thing to leave in the truck.

Where the 116 earns a place in an electrician's bag

Electricians who also service residential heating, or who work in facilities where boilers and air handlers are part of the job, run into the two readings only the 116 can take. A gas furnace that lights and then shuts down within seconds often points to a weak flame signal, and the only way to see it is a microamp reading in series with the flame rod. Our guide to measuring microamps walks through the hookup. Temperature checks on supply air or a pipe are the other job, and the 116 ships with the 80BK probe to do them.

What you give up is the A jack. The only current range Fluke lists for the 116 is the 600.0 µA one, so every amp reading on that kit goes to a clamp. Many HVAC technicians carry exactly that pair. An electrician who reads small loads in series most weeks will miss the 117's 10 A range more than they gain from microamps. If you want temperature without losing amps, the Fluke 117 vs Fluke 179 page covers a Fluke that has both.

Fluke 116 vs 117 for HVAC work

Swap the electrician for an HVAC technician and the scorecard changes, though less than you might expect. Both meters share several readings HVAC calls depend on: run-capacitor microfarads (1 nF to 9,999 µF at ±(1.9% + 2) on each), 24 V control voltage with a LoZ position for idle thermostat conductors, and pilot thermocouple millivolts on the same 600.0 mV DC range. What splits them is the season. A heating call leans on the 116's microamps and Type K input; the 117 answers with VoltAlert at the condenser disconnect and a 6.000 A range that reads heat-anticipator and other small control currents in series.

Cooling work is a draw: each meter misses one reading the other takes. Heating work tips to the 116, because a furnace that lights and drops out can't be diagnosed without a microamp range, while the anticipator check the 117 wins applies only to older mechanical thermostats. An HVAC technician with gas furnaces on the route should carry the 116 plus a clamp; one working on heat pumps and mini-splits loses little with the 117 and gains a non-contact check before opening a condenser panel. The heating-side detail, including the flame-rod hookup and temperature tolerances, is on our Fluke 116 vs Fluke 115 for HVAC page rather than repeated here.

Fluke 116 vs Fluke 117: which should you buy?

Read our Fluke 117 review for the owner-tested view of the electrician's model, or the best multimeters roundup for meters outside the 110 Series.

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