Recommend a DC current clamp meter

Sears has one that many people have recommended but I think it costs about $70 or so.

EDIT: I checked the Sears site and the cost is $78.

You can't get what you want. I've never seen any DC clamp meter for that low of a price. They are simply more expensive to build.
I have two, an Amprobe and an Ideal. I prefer the Amprobe but they both work. Fluke is certainly top of the line when it comes to meters but they are more money.
Congratulations on reading the fine print. I've seen people before buy any old clamp meter and then wonder why it doesn't work on DC.
I'm in the solar energy business so I probably use the DC function more than the AC.

Not a stand alone meter, but I have this Tenma add on clamp probe- outputs voltage to a DMM.

I think I paid 60 or 70 at Sears.. Sears had 2 or 3, I got the least expensive.

Very nice meter. Does a bunch of stuff, AC/DC amps (Clamp on or inline) VOLTS, Frequency, Capacitance, Resistance, Temperature and as I recall a couple other things. NOt where I can easily grab it just now.

I bought a UNI-T UT204 400A RMS DC clamp-on from ebay for $50 (brand new). It's already surpassed my old POS Craftsman clamp-on that worked for a whopping 6 months.

Dang, now I know why I wasn't having luck finding an inexpensive DC amp meter! Thanks for the replies. My charging/discharging current is something I'm interested in knowing but it's not necessary, so I'm not sure if I'll increase my price range. I already know that my solar array will put in ~15 A under ideal conditions, but I was most interested in the draw of various 12V items, idle/parasitic draws, and the inverter. I've got a Kill-A-Watt to tell me what the AC current draws are, but I'm curious about what that translates to in DC amps when run by the inverter as well the idle draw of the inverters. Is the rule of thumb that DC amps = AC amps x 10?

For that application, I would buy a cheap Chinese/eBay panel mount/shunt meter.

ewarnerusa wrote:

SNIP
Is the rule of thumb that DC amps = AC amps x 10?

Close. It is watts/12.6 and watts = ac amps times 120 volts.
The result is close enough to 10 X ac amps for government work

I think for your usage you might want to take a look at the Elenco ST3030 I've used mine a lot and for the dollar spent I think it will serve you well. Do a search online and I think you will find them in a $45 to $55 range. A friend of mine bought one about 3 or 4 months back for $39.

Hi Ed

You should easily find a good enough clamp on DC reading meter for < $50.00
Try MCM Electronics - I find their prices are good but the shipping costs are way high, however they do have $5.00 shipping every month or so - The Tenma line of equipment is OK quality not a Fluke but works fine for a weekend warrior