HOW TO USE A CLAMP METER?
HOW TO USE A CLAMP METER?
A simple tutorial on how to use a clamp meter.
Definition of clamp meter
An electrical device used to measure the magnitude of AC voltage and current. This type of measuring device is quite different to multi tester because in this device you can measure the current of a certain load without disconnecting it from the source. The clamp meter has a jaws which open to allow clamping around the electrical conductor without the need of physical contact with it by means of test probes insertion.
Below are the suggested procedures on how to use a clamp meter.
Note| For this tutorial I used air-conditioning unit as my medium of measurement. I measured the value for the full load current of a 2 hp, 1-phase air-conditioning unit (A.C.U) using the clamp meter.*
Procedure 1|
Turn on the clamp meter by simply turning the selector to ammeter mode. As described below. Observed that that the display of the ammeter is zero. It implies that the clamp meter is in standby mode.
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitstageimages.com/DQmUBAaXYfcpKQ1mYsdhXjXsxLQaVLmU6u6Agzp8L6K7PQ3/image.png)
Procedure 2|
Press the jaws button to open the jaws of the clamp meter then clamp it to the one hot line of the A.C.U source. As described below.
![](https://steemitstageimages.com/DQmQkJRhDhpWndkqgUpftbq3PTTmCdS3cq9jB1XNghgBZvb/image.png)
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitstageimages.com/DQmY4SZXKFveLdGKvuWjJNuRtNNzwZ7UrYaTuNdauh6FZY8/image.png)
![](https://steemitstageimages.com/DQmZgpricqWVPRPb2pzFz1uGEY2ohmEKfSCJmELbcwkiP6L/image.png)
Based on the above reading of the Clamp Meter the full load current is around 11.6 A.
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Thank you and I hope you find it helpful!
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