Good budget clamp on ammeter?

EDC Gear for Flashlight Carriers
1

I’m looking for a budget clamp on ammeter. Harbor Freight and Amazon have a few around $13 - $15 and I would be happy with the price range provided they were good units. Light home usage. Thanks for any recs.

2

I don’t think $15 clamp meters can do DC current through the clamp, only AC current. DC clamp meters are more expensive due to the extra hardware required for measuring DC current.

I’m also interested in what folks suggest for DC clamp meters!

3

Cheap clamps are AC current only. Cheapest that does DC I know of is the Craftsman 82369 I think, around $50 depending on sales. http://www.sears.com/craftsman-digital-clamp-on-ammeter/p-03482369000P

I like mine and use it for all kinds of stuff on the car etc.

4

I was told that this is a not so bad one http://www.fasttech.com/product/1101500

5

2 reviews from 2013, take with a grain of salt.

A button I don’t see that is critical on the Craftsman is a zero to null the clamp reading.

Craftsman is AAA, FT is 9v.

6

I want one primarily for AC. DC would be nice but not looking to get it for flashlight work. My regular multimeter should be able to handle low current DC work.

7

It’s on there, just labeled “REL” for relative. I think most meters use REL and some use the delta (triangle) symbol as those are a more appropriate description than ZERO.

KuoH

8

In that case, you have a wide range of lost cost models to choose from. However, I wouldn’t discount the advantage of having DC current capability for unanticipated future uses. It’s actually pretty handy to be able to measure parasitic drain on a car without having to disconnect the battery and resetting all the electronics.

A popular brand that hasn’t been mentioned in this thread is Mastech. I believe they normally go for around $30-$40 depending on whether you want DC current capability.

KuoH

9

I forget the brand (not Fluke) but I have a decent multimeter at home. Perhaps they make a CT type connection like you can get different types of leads? What would that be called if it exists? Maybe it does.

10

You mean something like this current transducer ? It probably won’t save you much money compared to the cheap HF clamp meter, but might be more accurate if that’s what you’re after.

KuoH

11

No need for DC, I would just pick up the cheap small HF and get some good CAT III etc leads, none of the cheap meters have decent leads.

Skipping straight to Fluke or Pomona leads works, but decent shows up on ebay with careful reading around $7, bump another few bucks to get some with decent alligator clips.

12

I have a uni-t 204 which is a decent meter. It does AC and DC current. It is true-RMS. Sells for about $50. Two things I don’t like; continuity beeper is not very loud, and update rate is pretty slow.

13

I’m also looking for a clamp meter, mainly for AC current but I need the ability to log data. Does anyone know of a relatively cheap one? Looking at the UNI-T 204 but doesn’t look like it has any logging ability.

14

This doesn’t do logging, but it does do both AC and DC current. I have one and have used it a lot for flashlights :)…

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008MV2AHU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Jim

15

Thanks for that, it did come up with a recommendation for a Mastech MS2115B for me. USB connection but windows only software. I wonder if it will work as a virtual com port or some propriety protocol