Who makes a good ammeter? One you clamp on a wire(ac voltage) and it reads the amps? My HF one is ok but it varies depending on where the wire is located between the clamps.
Fluke? Anyone else?
Fluke? Anyone else?
Klein, Triplett, Amprobe. Fluke makes them in all price ranges.Who makes a good ammeter? One you clamp on a wire(ac voltage) and it reads the amps? My HF one is ok but it varies depending on where the wire is located between the clamps.
Fluke? Anyone else?
I agree that you need a reasonable value for money! I usually buy on Amazon, test and draw conclusions!Fluke clamp-ons were what we used in the Navy, and also what the company I work for now uses. There’s certainly other good ones, but as always you get what you pay for. There’s no “good” $20 ammeter.
Can you confirm how small a value the 325 will read in DC?I have a Fluke 325 and its really accurate. Bought it for DC current accuracy. Cheaper ones will do fine for AC but not DC or small DC currents.
I validated my extech with a wired in series fluke meter. They were both reading the same. You need to make sure a clamp is designed for the right range. My mA dc extech is very accurate assuming you can get a good zero. That’s the biggest issue with dc clamp meters in tight spaces.I had an Ex-Tech clamp amp meter and below 20-30 amps AC it was almost useless. The low end DC readings weren’t good either. I ended up with a high end Fluke. You can also get an AC/DC amp clamp attachment from Fluke that also works well. I have a 10A AC clamp from AMEC I use for checking loads on small 480 and 120v equipment. Accurate and not real pricy.
I think as low as 10mA. I've used it to detect parasitic draw in one car with success. It's very accurate. Friend has one of the cheaper brands and it was reading wild and all over. For AC, his was pretty accurate for the price but for DC kind of useless. Can't recall the brand but he bought it at HW store.Can you confirm how small a value the 325 will read in DC?
It depends upon local magnetic fields. And where you zero it for dc, and how consistently you zero it.Out of curiosity, What % of reading variation did you see when moving the wire and what current were you measuring?
I just bought a Fluke 325, after messing around with a cheap Sperry from Menards for several years. The Sperry was fine for rough checks of DC current. I didn't expect much and never really trusted it. The other source of variation is making sure the jaws are together properly before zeroing and while measuring. The Fluke seems to have better fitting jaws. Just like torque wrenches, there is no such thing as super accuracy when trying to measure down in the mA range with a clamp designed for 400A. The 325 will measure down to 0.010 Adc at +/- 2% +/- 5 digits which is fine for my use. How accurate do you need it to be is the big question. If you're consistently down in the mA range and want accuracy, wire in a series ammeter, precision shunt, or get a clamp designed for accuracy at low currents. You'll notice they have much smaller jaws and cost more.
Just for ref. my Fluke 177 DVM will measure DC current down to +/- 1% + 3 digits
I'll have to mess around with the 325 and see how much variation I get from moving the wire around in the clamp, real world applications may prevent having it centered in the jaws.