Looking for a reasonable priced clamp on ammeter

[The Artilleryman]

As the title says, looking for a basic digital display, nothing expensive, just for MH work.

Normaly use Fluke for mains work, but this will only be used during my LiFePO4 upgrade.

Anybody recommendations for what they use.

 

[the1andonly]

Uni-t
Ut 210E dc clamp meter
Lives in pocket on outhouse door.

 

[68c]

Make sure the DC current range is suitable some are only AC.

 

[bigtwin]

View attachment 699843
Uni-t
Ut 210E dc clamp meter

This one is good.

Make sure the DC current range is suitable some are only AC.

Indeed. The Uni-T one above does dc current.

Ian

 

[the1andonly]

The only down (trivial?) Side is when on A have to switch from AC Range to DC. Though I have read that you can flash new software to start on DC. Not bothered myself. Richard n Ann Lenny HB swear by them.

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[headlight]

Another vote for the UNI-T.
Had mine for about 5 years.

 

[tonka]

As well as the Uni T mentioned above have a look at the CPC website, a few listed, I had one from there but can't remember the make/model and to lazy to go in van and look
Cost was around £40.

 

[Gromett]

View attachment 699843
Uni-t
Ut 210E dc clamp meter
Lives in pocket on outhouse door.

I was just looking at these and think they look ok for the home gamer.

There is two models that I can see. The Uni-t Ut 210E and Uni-t Ut 210D that handle DC.
One does 100A and the other does 200A.
At 12v (nominal) this is 1200W and 2400W.
So if you intend to use this to test out an inverter be aware of the capabilities.

The A, B and C models don't handle DC current at all.
This is from the amazon page.

 

[autorouter]

You may be interested to know, there are two different technologies used in clamp probes: Current Transformer (CT) loop and Hall Effect (HE) semiconductor probe. The CT clamp only works with AC, and is cheaper than a HE clamp, which works with both AC and DC. Since most electricians work only with AC, CT clamp meters are more common, and cheaper too - but no good for DC.

The other thing is, it is easier to measure high current than low current. Any DC meter will measure down to one or two amps, but not many will measure small currents reliably. That is useful for tracing small leakage currents. The UT210E has a '2A' range which can measure small currents well.

 

[Bubba]

View attachment 699843
Uni-t
Ut 210E dc clamp meter
Lives in pocket on outhouse door.

I use the same. Can't fault it. Just as good and accurate as my fluke.

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[The Artilleryman]

Decision made, UT 210E ordered.

Thanks very much for the help.