Recommend a DC current clamp meter
Hello. I want to purchase an inexpensive clamp meter for DC current to do occasional checks on the battery charging/discharging status. I was surfing Amazon and happily putting items in my Wish Li...
Forum Discussion
I'm referring to MicroFarads aka mics or uF in Capacitance. Can now see why you need accurate DC Amps if you're trying to manage current draw boondocking.
Was thinking of troubleshooting an A/C compressor that won't start. DVOM says there's good voltage, but AC Ammeter says Locked Rotor Amps (LRA) from the label on the compressor. At this point, chances are A. Failed Capacitor or B. Stuck Compressor. A meter capable of uF can arbitrate that for you. If compressor didn't start and the capacitor was bad, a moderate, say $30, part cost will probably get it going. Didn't start and capacitor good, strong indicator compressor shot and A/C not worth fixing. I can test capacitors with the uF selection on my Fluke 72, but I've decided to carry spares for the rooftop A/C. Bought the Fan/Herm (for Hermetic, the sealed Compressor side) cap on Amazon. Our Coleman A/C also has a start device and I bought a spare for that from a nice guy on RV.net.
I don't have Kill-A-Watt, but what I was referring to in Frequency was to make sure a genset was doing the right output. Most of the Older gensets WILL have the right Frequency/hZ if the AC Voltage is correct and that makes either/both of those measurements a surrogate for RPM. So maybe "Tachometer" feature should be on that list for 7 items instead of just 6. Anyhow, from what I gather, you need hZ measurement to check an Inverter Genset. I know what a genset does, and what an inverter is, but inverter+genset is above my paygrade.
Was thinking of troubleshooting an A/C compressor that won't start. DVOM says there's good voltage, but AC Ammeter says Locked Rotor Amps (LRA) from the label on the compressor. At this point, chances are A. Failed Capacitor or B. Stuck Compressor. A meter capable of uF can arbitrate that for you. If compressor didn't start and the capacitor was bad, a moderate, say $30, part cost will probably get it going. Didn't start and capacitor good, strong indicator compressor shot and A/C not worth fixing. I can test capacitors with the uF selection on my Fluke 72, but I've decided to carry spares for the rooftop A/C. Bought the Fan/Herm (for Hermetic, the sealed Compressor side) cap on Amazon. Our Coleman A/C also has a start device and I bought a spare for that from a nice guy on RV.net.
I don't have Kill-A-Watt, but what I was referring to in Frequency was to make sure a genset was doing the right output. Most of the Older gensets WILL have the right Frequency/hZ if the AC Voltage is correct and that makes either/both of those measurements a surrogate for RPM. So maybe "Tachometer" feature should be on that list for 7 items instead of just 6. Anyhow, from what I gather, you need hZ measurement to check an Inverter Genset. I know what a genset does, and what an inverter is, but inverter+genset is above my paygrade.
