Clamp Meter Accuracy in Lower Levels

[Locator]

Hello.

In looking at a couple of clamp meters - the Fluke 374FC and 376FC, I noticed the 376 measures AC and DC current, up to 1000 amps. The 374 measures up to 600 amps. (I would never be measuring anything even as high as 600 amps.)

Would the 374 tend to be more accurate in the lower ranges than the 376FC, due to the 376 having a higher limit?

I prefer to get the 376FC kit, as it comes with the magnetic strap and the IFlex loop, but hope I wouldn’t be handicapped on the low ranges.

Thanks.

[Fungus]

I'm sure there's specifications for both somewhere on the web...

[BeBuLamar]

I picked the 374 because it's cheaper and I don't need to measure more than 600A. The accuracy/resolution below 600A are the same. The resolution for both is only .1A. The 376 can measure frequency and higher resistance which I would use the DMM for. One thing I am dissapointed about them is they don't have good enough resolution when measure low current. If you measure something about a couple of Amps you only have 2 digits. The cheaper 325 has better resolution.

[Phil1977]

Don't forget that there is a physical relation between open clamp area and low current accuracy.

Little clamp areas do not catch so much magnetic stray field. That´s why most clamps with mA-resolution barely fit around an AWG6 wire.

[BeBuLamar]

Also I have the Iflex but I never use it. Besides you can only measure AC current with it.

[Locator]

I picked the 374 because it's cheaper and I don't need to measure more than 600A. The accuracy/resolution below 600A are the same. The resolution for both is only .1A. The 376 can measure frequency and higher resistance which I would use the DMM for. One thing I am dissapointed about them is they don't have good enough resolution when measure low current. If you measure something about a couple of Amps you only have 2 digits. The cheaper 325 has better resolution.

I didn’t realize this. I was testing a 374 and a 325 on a small house fan. The 325 showed 2.89 amps. The 376 showed 2 amps. That’s very disappointing. I would need to do more lower measurements like this, than higher measurements. I wanted the inrush feature, which is why I was looking at the 376. It’s not on the 325. I wanted to check the inrush on some servers and beefy workstations at startup.

Wow, only showing something like 2amp for an around 2.9amp load is going to be a handicap.

[Locator]

Don't forget that there is a physical relation between open clamp area and low current accuracy.

Little clamp areas do not catch so much magnetic stray field. That´s why most clamps with mA-resolution barely fit around an AWG6 wire.

That’s good to know - I didn’t realize that.