10 Comments
author

I’ll do an article next week on a DC clamp ammeter that reads down to 1mA of current.

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That would be awesome! Thank you for the time and consideration of a reply. I am a do it yourselfer. That combined with electricity, well you are helping keep me safe as I learn.

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I am looking for a dc clamp meter that will also read dc amps low enough to identify parasitic draws killing vehicle batteries. I need a new meter anyway and am learning a lot from you.

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Mike, I have the 21550T, per your recommendation. When using the clamp meter for DC current, with nothing in the jaws, the meter reads zero amps, as expected but when set to read AC current, the meter reads approximately 2.3 amps, again with no wire in the jaws.

Is this normal or is my meter defective?

If normal, do I need to use the REL setting to get an accurate reading?

Thank you.

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Slightly OT, but I found a 12 volt battery monitor that uses the Hall effect technology instead of a shunt. Allows me to connect the monitor wires directly to the 12 volt positive wire going to the fuse panel so I don’t have to run long wires to the inside of my trailer for easy reading from the coach.

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author

What’s the brand and model? I should cover it in a future article…

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It’s a DROK battery monitor, 1-200 amp, with Hall effect sensor $31.99-$36.99 on Amazon.

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author

Thx…

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Will this one read low enough for my needs ?

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author

It reads as low as 10mA using the clamp ammeter. Good for battery parasitic leakage tests, but not low enough for GFCI leakage testing,

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