Digital callipers.

[REN]

Am I just unlucky or am I buying to cheap.
I will soon be in the market to have to buy my third set of digital callipers. I’ve spent between 20 and 30 pounds at different times. I’ve had the last set for about 2 years.. looked after them and returned to their cases after use. On both set they will not hold the readings. Have eliminated battery connection problems, new batteries etc. They just give wrong or different readings. In short I just dont Trust them.
Do I need to spend more money or just buy cheap and don’t expect longevity?

 

[Bale]

Do I need to spend more money or just buy cheap and don’t expect longevity?

I think you have just answered your own question there.

Pete

 

[REN]

Can anyone recommend a good make/source for a reliable pair.

 

[HappyHacker]

I have two cheapish digital callipers, every time I come to use them the battery is flat, more recently on the one most easily found a new battery and cleaning the contacts did not work. I also have a dial calliper which is accurate and always works, can't remember the make and I cannot find it at the moment hence trying to get the digitals to work. I have had to resort to a vernier calliper.

 

[clogs]

My go to callipers are genuine Mitutoyo......
but for visitors to the shop, oh can I just borrow !!!!
they get a set of Lidil's own......not my best stuff......lol....
they work very well, bat life is not so bad but cheap bats are everywhere.....
would I buy another set of Lidil's, most def....and they have an excellent warranty 3 years??
prov u keep the rec...but at £12 why bother...

 

[Inspector]

Mitutoyo. Used them for over 2 dozen years daily in aerospace. Batteries last for a long time and they are reliable and accurate. Occasionally we would get other brands or machinists would have their own and we would calibrate them. I dislike Starrett and their "coin" batteries, Aisian cheapies and copies of the Mitutoyos were junk as you are finding. Had a Tesa but it didn't hold up but that could have been the clowns using it. You probably don't need the coolant proof ones nor the ones with SPC output, just the standard ones. Bite the bullet once and they will outlast you as long as you don't drop them.

Pete

 

[robgul]

I gave up with digital calipers because of battery life and "slippage" - gone back to the good old sliding model (but it is an expensive top quality item) - I also have a dial caliper although the throat is only about 18mm.

 

[Gordon Tarling]

Yes, I've found that the cheaper ones either don't last, or that they just feel nasty if they do last. However, last week, I bought a pair of these - a good brand name and at a very good price, too. It's early days to assess longevity, but they feel good in the hand and operate smoothly, so I'm hopeful.

G.

 

[Gerry]

On both set they will not hold the readings.

Would you please explain what do you mean by this?
I used to calibrate hundreds of cheap digital calipers evey year and the only issues was physical damage caused by heavy handed operators on the shop floor. This was in automotive chassis manufacture so a demanding environment.

Gerry

 

[city17]

I have one from Banggood that's stainless steel and works well. Feels really robust and solid. Was about €20 or so. Only had it for a few months though, so can't say how it will do in 2 years. Does seem it's sold out now, but there might be a similar one out there: Banggood calipers

But if you want a guarantee that it's going to last years and years, you'll probably be best off with a Mitutoyo as suggested above.

 

[MintSauce]

These:
https://woodworkersworkshop.co.uk/c...ers/products/igaging-ez-cal-digital-caliper-6
Purchased last month and I’ve found them to be excellent. I like that they use a standard coin battery and come with a spare in the box.

 

[REN]

Would you please explain what do you mean by this?
I used to calibrate hundreds of cheap digital calipers evey year and the only issues was physical damage caused by heavy handed operators on the shop floor. This was in automotive chassis manufacture so a demanding environment.

Gerry

Hi Gerry,
Problem . Set to zero, measure drill,gap etc. Put them down without switching off ,when picked up again reading would fade ( like poor battery, which isn’t as many new batteries tried) or reading would change. Also both models used to run down batteries far to quickly.

 

[Spectric]

Another case of you get what you pay for, Mitutoyo have been around a long time and are to calipers what hoover is to vacuums. Have used their calipers and other digital measurement devices for many years, absolutely a great product but watch out for the fakes, there are a lot out there.

 

[TRITON]

I suppose it really depends on what you want them for. Precision metal working, aerospace industry etc then I would think you'd be spending a fair whack. But if its wood or general duty and to the nearest 1/2mm or thereabouts, then you cant do better than a dial caliper. Not as expensive as high end digital, but not as cheap as an aldi/ebay mass produced cheapie. But still very accurate.

 

[Alpha-Dave]

I just updated my review of the iGaging callipers here:

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/threads/igaging-digital-caliper-pass-around.126559/post-1413367
Summary: very happy!

 

[bp122]

As others have said, mitutoyo are just plain awesome. A used one on ebay sets you back just under £40, but oh so worth it.

 

[Hornbeam]

These:
https://woodworkersworkshop.co.uk/c...ers/products/igaging-ez-cal-digital-caliper-6
Purchased last month and I’ve found them to be excellent. I like that they use a standard coin battery and come with a spare in the box.

I have had them for 2 years and no issues. Very good and good value for money

 

[Gerry]

Hi Gerry,
Problem . Set to zero, measure drill,gap etc. Put them down without switching off ,when picked up again reading would fade ( like poor battery, which isn’t as many new batteries tried) or reading would change. Also both models used to run down batteries far to quickly.

Usually that is caused by dirty battery connectors.

Gerry

 

[MikeJhn]

I don't know about others on here, but after use I take the battery out and put it in one of the purpose made holes in the foam padding of the box, so far only used three batteries in just over nine years.

 

[pops92]

My mitutoyo set I have for 20 years and are still as good as when first bought £80 back then. When I get an error message its either battery dislodged or a wipe down on the runners. Battery life is Brilliant never was on the cheap on I had.