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Re: [volt-nuts] A Fluke 732A: Return it or keep it?

CS
Charles Steinmetz
Sat, Mar 8, 2014 5:54 AM

Michael wrote:

The battery is big concern to me. When I called Fluke, one of the
rep said it should be shipped to them "hot" Because 732A's battery
life is very limited, it should be shipped using Morning Service. I
was going to call FedEx if they have 12 hours service. And I belive
most cal lab require the 732A to be delivered "hot." The manual says so.

No matter what you do, short of hand-delivering it if you live close
enough, the internal battery does not have enough charge to reliably
ship it, even overnight.  You will need to build or buy a shipping
container that has an auxiliary battery.  Fluke sells external
battery packs for $375, or you can make your own.

Once I purchase one more 732A, I will experiment how close it come
back to before turn-off value.

I have done that experiment a few times.  Mine have always come back
within one or two tenths of a ppm.  But there is always the chance
that one won't, so the practice is strongly discouraged once the unit
is all sorted and calibrated.

Best regards,

Charles

Michael wrote: >The battery is big concern to me. When I called Fluke, one of the >rep said it should be shipped to them "hot" Because 732A's battery >life is very limited, it should be shipped using Morning Service. I >was going to call FedEx if they have 12 hours service. And I belive >most cal lab require the 732A to be delivered "hot." The manual says so. No matter what you do, short of hand-delivering it if you live close enough, the internal battery does not have enough charge to reliably ship it, even overnight. You will need to build or buy a shipping container that has an auxiliary battery. Fluke sells external battery packs for $375, or you can make your own. >Once I purchase one more 732A, I will experiment how close it come >back to before turn-off value. I have done that experiment a few times. Mine have always come back within one or two tenths of a ppm. But there is always the chance that one won't, so the practice is strongly discouraged once the unit is all sorted and calibrated. Best regards, Charles
DD
Dr. David Kirkby
Sat, Mar 8, 2014 9:35 AM

On 8 Mar 2014 05:57, "Charles Steinmetz" csteinmetz@yandex.com wrote:

Michael wrote:

The battery is big concern to me. When I called Fluke, one of the rep

said it should be shipped to them "hot" Because 732A's battery life is very
limited, it should be shipped using Morning Service. I was going to call
FedEx if they have 12 hours service. And I belive most cal lab require the
732A to be delivered "hot." The manual says so.

No matter what you do, short of hand-delivering it if you live close

enough, the internal battery does not have enough charge to reliably ship
it, even overnight.  You will need to build or buy a shipping container
that has an auxiliary battery.  Fluke sells external battery packs for
$375, or you can make your own.

Be careful about shipping issues on high energy batteries. Depending on the
capacity, they may need to be declared as dangerous goods. I recently
needed to ship a Lithium Ion battery about the size of a laptop battery.
The courier I normally use (Interparcel, who subcontract to UPS, Fedex or
whoever one chooses), wont handle batteries. Going directly to Fedex,
without having a contract, cost a fortune, although they would carry the
battery.

The fact a battery is external to the equipment makes it even more tricky
to ship, since I guess there is more chance of a short developing in such a
case.

Dave

On 8 Mar 2014 05:57, "Charles Steinmetz" <csteinmetz@yandex.com> wrote: > > Michael wrote: > >> The battery is big concern to me. When I called Fluke, one of the rep said it should be shipped to them "hot" Because 732A's battery life is very limited, it should be shipped using Morning Service. I was going to call FedEx if they have 12 hours service. And I belive most cal lab require the 732A to be delivered "hot." The manual says so. > > > No matter what you do, short of hand-delivering it if you live close enough, the internal battery does not have enough charge to reliably ship it, even overnight. You will need to build or buy a shipping container that has an auxiliary battery. Fluke sells external battery packs for $375, or you can make your own. Be careful about shipping issues on high energy batteries. Depending on the capacity, they may need to be declared as dangerous goods. I recently needed to ship a Lithium Ion battery about the size of a laptop battery. The courier I normally use (Interparcel, who subcontract to UPS, Fedex or whoever one chooses), wont handle batteries. Going directly to Fedex, without having a contract, cost a fortune, although they would carry the battery. The fact a battery is external to the equipment makes it even more tricky to ship, since I guess there is more chance of a short developing in such a case. Dave