Clamp meters and a DC amp indicator.

[toolaholic]

Hi all, I wanted a clamp meter to test alternator current output on my vehicles. Mistakenly bought this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AQKIEXY/?tag=atomicindus08-20 . It was $77 with tax. My local sears hardware is going out of business. Reason it was a mistake is that I needed D/C. No problem. I only have a old craftsman multi meter. So the fluke will come in handy. Then I ordered this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B3HZWHU/?tag=atomicindus08-20 . Paid $17.95 w/ free shipping on ebay. Anyone use these? Then I figured screw it and went back to sears and bought what I should of bought in the 1st place: http://www.sears.com/craftsman-digital-clamp-on-ammeter/p-03482369000P It was $38.15 on clearanvce at the local sears hardware going out of business sale/sears outlet coming soon inventory reduction. I bought it cause there is no multi meter in my car diaster bag. My thoughts are fluke looks well made but only displays to the tenths not hundredths. Kd current indicator is USA and is analog. The KD will be fun to play with. The craftsman looks ok. Good enough for car tool bag.

 

[toolaholic]

now i have 3 multimeters. My orignal craftsman and my 2 new clamp meters.

 

[Mark in Indiana]

I really don't know about the quality of Sears meters these days. I have a 25 year old
C-Man DMM with temperature probe that I use for HVAC-R troubleshooting. Having had bad luck with cheaper meters, I gladly pay the extra money & stick with Fluke & Amprobe. I have 3 different models of Amprobes. One is the ACDC-400 which is great for troubleshooting battery forklifts & automotive charging systems.

 

[toolaholic]

My old craftsman multi meter is model 82025. I really liked this one: http://www.sears.com/craftsman-professional-true-rms-ac-dc-clamp-ammeter/p-03473756000P but my sears hardware didnt have it. I would have bought it if they did escpially at 40% off. 109.99 still a little pricey escpially when I scored the fluke for $77.

 

[bwringer]

It's strangely difficult to find a DC clamp meter for anything close to a reasonable price.

I had the same quest and reached the same conclusion as you -- I bought the Craftsman since it was the only DC clamp meter I could find that wasn't ****-crampingly expensive.
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-digi...00010000100600&aff=Y&PID=6147012&AID=11042411

I use it quite a bit for motorcycle work, and it's worked very well so far and held up fine. As far as I can tell (reading a known load at a known voltage), it's spot-on, but for most DC amperage needs extreme precision isn't a factor anyway.

 

[toolaholic]

It's strangely difficult to find a DC clamp meter for anything close to a reasonable price.

I had the same quest and reached the same conclusion as you -- I bought the Craftsman since it was the only DC clamp meter I could find that wasn't ****-crampingly expensive.
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-digi...00010000100600&aff=Y&PID=6147012&AID=11042411

I use it quite a bit for motorcycle work, and it's worked very well so far and held up fine. As far as I can tell (reading a known load at a known voltage), it's spot-on, but for most DC amperage needs extreme precision isn't a factor anyway.

Thats the one I scarfed up for 40% off. I tried it on my yaris and dakota R/t pick up. Seems to work fine!

 

[theoldwizard1]

Don't trust ANY clamp meter down below 1/10 of an amp (100 ma) !

Both of these claim to measure down to 1 ma, but I would not trust them !

ESI 687 80 Amps DC/AC Low Current Probe/DMM - Amazon $111

GTC CM100 1 mA to 100 Amps AC/DC Low Current Clamp Meter - Amazon $144



ACCURATELY measuring current is a bit tricky. Clamp meters are good to "get you in the ball park", which is important. Hooking up a 10A meter to a 50A circuit could be ugly ! If you want accuracy, you will have to "open" the circuit and insert the meter/shunt in between.

 

[cheechi]

I have done a lot of jobs in various shops, automotive, fab, aero, research, worked with contractors, hvac, electricians, and never seen someone use a sears meter professionally. I have seen Innova, Fluke, Radio Shack, and so on. Even plenty of HF and no names.

Based on that I would recommend pretty much any meter over sears.

 

[kmp]

go to aeswave.com

 

[bcradio]

Don't trust ANY clamp meter down below 1/10 of an amp (100 ma) !

Pretty much this for most non specialized clamp meters

 

[firebox40dash5]

I really don't know about the quality of Sears meters these days.

They seem to be mostly Extech rebrands. Maybe not the bestest, but my EX520 and 120A AC/DC clamp work fine. Sometimes Sears does have better prices on theirs, though.

I wouldn't use a clamp for precision either, but that's not what it's for. Good luck running 50+ amps through a meter in the circuit. My clamp has helped me diagnose a few alternators that hadn't fully failed, as well as using it to check various motors.

 

[toolaholic]

They seem to be mostly Extech rebrands. Maybe not the bestest, but my EX520 and 120A AC/DC clamp work fine. Sometimes Sears does have better prices on theirs, though.

I wouldn't use a clamp for precision either, but that's not what it's for. Good luck running 50+ amps through a meter in the circuit. My clamp has helped me diagnose a few alternators that hadn't fully failed, as well as using it to check various motors.

Yeah I want to9 use mine to diagnose alternators! Plus I cant wait to try KD 2423 alternator current meter.

 

[Tawn]

Thats a great price on a Craftsman 82369 - If I could have found one that cheap a couple of weeks ago, I would have bought it.

Ended up spending more on a Fluke 325.

 

[Ainsley]

I bought this one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0017WRH7O
Over a year ago and it works well for large currents. I was doing a lot of automotive lighting installs and it was key for keeping an eye on current.
Used it a few times to check alternators as well.
You can't expect it to be accurate, but I would trust it to an amp or two.

 

[bonneyman]

It's strangely difficult to find a DC clamp meter for anything close to a reasonable price.

I had the same quest and reached the same conclusion as you -- I bought the Craftsman since it was the only DC clamp meter I could find that wasn't ****-crampingly expensive.
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-digi...00010000100600&aff=Y&PID=6147012&AID=11042411

I use it quite a bit for motorcycle work, and it's worked very well so far and held up fine. As far as I can tell (reading a known load at a known voltage), it's spot-on, but for most DC amperage needs extreme precision isn't a factor anyway.

Agreed. DC volts is easy - getting a meter top measure DC amps is hard.

Even the ole Amprobe "beetle meters" don't measure DC amps. Darn!

 

[bonneyman]

Just came across this one, OP. Just like one of the clamp meters I have except it also does DC amps.

$185 is a bit pricey for me, though.

http://www.esitest.com/685.html

 

[toolaholic]

Just came across this one, OP. Just like one of the clamp meters I have except it also does DC amps.

$185 is a bit pricey for me, though.

http://www.esitest.com/685.html

That is a nice unit.