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Clamp Meter

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Old 11-28-2004, 07:26 PM
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Ok for xmas looks like I might be asking for a clamp meter as long as the price is right.

I have been looking at Fluke, Greenlee, Craftsman, Tpi etc.

Does anyone have any insight or a site with reviews on diff models on how accurate they are?

Greenlee seems like a good price, but craftsman has some real cheap Clamp on AC/DC True RMS meters on ebay.

any insight?
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Old 11-28-2004, 08:22 PM
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one word, one word only

FLUKE

Seriously, if you're going to get a good, true RMS clamp on, get a fluke, no question, no qualifications, no BS. GET THE FLUKE and get the best one you can. if you want information go to a store like graybar, guillevin,westburn-ruddy, or nelco. (look under electrical suppliers in the yellow pages) and take a look at what they have. fluke is the best out there, period.

90% of electricians and electrical workers use fluke, not only because they're the best, but because they're reliable as hell.

I have a Greenlee DMM, next on my list is a good fluke clamp on.

Fluke, settle for no less.

*end rant*

[ November 28, 2004, 09:23 PM: Message edited by: Sassmaster ]
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Old 11-28-2004, 08:27 PM
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lol thanks for the response

Im not conerned to much about reliability (if your talking about the meter taking abuse from working in the work enviroment) because I take good care of all my stuff, and i wouldn't really be exposing it to harsh conditions as well.

I wanted to know if the cheaper nes were still accurate to a fluke etc?

Im in graybar all the time and see the Greenlee's on the wall. Maybe I should ask next time.

Any other online sites to check out for the product?
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Old 11-28-2004, 08:31 PM
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if you want a really cheap one princess auto has some clamp meters for like $60...true they aren't that great...can't do DC amperage just AC but still thats ok for audio applications and considering they are a whole lot cheaper than anything else out there...I don't know what you are looking for but if its cheap then this is a good one to get
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Old 11-28-2004, 08:34 PM
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greenlee has their catologue online, and fluke does as well.

Fluke's page

Greenlee's page.

Is anything going to be as good as the fluke meters? not likely, but for a car application, the greenlee would work fine. but, personal choice, and as a recomendation, nothing less than fluke.
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Old 11-28-2004, 08:59 PM
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I wont need AC, if anything I would need DC for measuring current draw in the car
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Old 11-28-2004, 09:11 PM
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Can you get a DC clamp meter? I thought they only worked on AC?
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Old 11-28-2004, 09:30 PM
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DC and AC. I just got a barely used Fluke 336 off of ebay for roughly $200can (reatil is $425 iirc) Mesures 0-600A AC and DC, 0-600V AC and DC, and has a resistance setting also. Sturdy unit!

Their lower models can be had for quite a bit less since they're either only AC or only DC and also lower Max levels. Depending what you want to do wih it, you could always get a Digital multimeter and get an external clamp which hooks up to your DMM and then will give you a current reading in AC or DC depending on the model.

[ November 28, 2004, 10:34 PM: Message edited by: dbEric ]
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Old 11-28-2004, 09:35 PM
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they had a TPI model add on for any DMM out there it just ended for $12 us in ebay
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Old 11-29-2004, 09:54 AM
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Originally posted by dbEric:
DC and AC. I just got a barely used Fluke 336 off of ebay for roughly $200can (reatil is $425 iirc) Mesures 0-600A AC and DC, 0-600V AC and DC, and has a resistance setting also. Sturdy unit!
Wow. I did not know that. I thought a clamp meter would only read AC amperage. Hmm I may have to go out and get a new toy now. [img]smile.gif[/img] Just in time for x-mas!
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