My Clamp meter conundrum - Quality Clamp meter to match the cheap Uni-T 210E

[urantia]

It all started when I bought an expensive Fluke 374 Clamp meter a few years back for Solar/Battery work. It was a high quality solidly build well performing clamp meter! but it was no good for measuring smaller voltages with a resolution of .1V (Ie measuring LFP battery cells to see how much balance they are out from each other). 

So that got me searching for a clamp meter with higher count/higher resolution voltage readings which lead me to the Uni-T 210 E with hacked firmware to extend its capabilities. to 6000 counts so I could read battery cell voltages with much higher precision (eg 3.554V vs the fluke 3.6V).

Excellent! job done I can rest easy now, except no im unable to rest easy. The quality of this UNI-T clamp meter is terrible. And gets worse with age, ie it turns off anytime you open the clamp meter, the accuracy is questionable even though it has extra digits of resolution. The quality in the hand feels cheap (which it is). Try out the Jaycar clamp meter, another cheap and nasty unit that has become useless at measuring current.

And so now I have opened up a can of worms trying to find both a quality Clamp meter with at least the capabilities and display resolution of the cheap Uni-T. But seems there are not so many options. I could just carry 2 multimeters (The fluke clamp meter, and a Bryman for voltage readings/everything else), but I really don't see why there is nothing that matches the Uni-T in features but of decent quality so i only need to carry the one meter.

So far only the Hioki CM4375 seems to match the criteria. But hopefully some of you out there can suggest some other worthy clamp meters?


PS I have a Fluke 374 and also a Flir CM46 available for a good price as they don't suit my use case above!

[boggis the cat]

You could see if the CEM DT-339 would work for you, as a cheaper option:
https://www.cem-instruments.in/pdf/DT-339.pdf

[J-R]

Check out the UEi DL3x9 series (4,000 count) or the DL5x9 series (6,000 count).  But not the DL569.
https://www.ueitest.com/ECommerce/category/products/clamp-meters/meters#p-1

I have the DL599 and overall it's a pretty sweet machine, despite some minor annoyances such as the slightly awkward carrying case and yellow! COM jack.  I just tested it with an input signal of 3.45600V and it read 3.455V.  So pretty good there, at least on my unit.  Side note, it won't auto-range to mV, you have to manually select that range.

[BeBuLamar]

I never use the clamp meter to measure voltage. I have a couple of the 374 and have used the 374, 375, 376 and they are good but I always find that the resolution of 0.1A isn't good enough for me at times. Even Fluke cheaper clamp like the 325 has better resolution in the current measurement.

[Kleinstein]

If reading small voltages is the main problem with the Fluke meter, just get a cheap second meter for voltage readings.

[urantia]

boggis the cat: Thanks it looks good on paper, although I wonder if the quality and accuracy are good enough, an older version reviewed by mjorton(spelling) showed some issues. I will do more research on this meter, the 80A limit is also a concern, but the price is good.

J-R: Also looks good on paper, and your reference measurement shows good accuracy and resolution. How is the current measurement? decently accurate? Ill have to do some research/reading as also never heard of this brand. But good to find some options other than the cheap uni-T that might do the job.

BeBuLamar: Yeah, the 374 seems not suitable for low voltage/low current stuff. Ill check out the 325 but from memory also had basic voltage resolution. I cant deny the quality of the fluke meter and rock solid measurements tho.
 
Kleinstein: "I could just carry 2 multimeters (The fluke clamp meter, and a Bryman for voltage readings/everything else), but I really don't see why there is nothing that matches the Uni-T in features but of decent quality so I only need to carry the one meter."

It's frustrating, as i already carry 2 meters now as the Uni-T has become too unreliable and sketchy.

[J-R]

Another permutation worth mentioning is having a handheld DMM along with a current clamp/loop that connects to the COM & V input jacks.  These current clamps are typically much smaller than an actual clamp meter.  Some examples might be the Fluke Y8100 and 80i series, PDI CA-60, AEMC SL2xx series, plus many others and their various rebrands.  This option would probably work the best if you need to measure voltage more often than current.  A suitable carrying case is also critical to having this work well.

[urantia]

Thats not a bad idea actually J-R, I didn't think of that option, It's not as good as an all in one meter that does just about everything, but willing to settle for the next best option which beats carrying two bulky meters. I'll have a look at those models mentioned and see what else is out there with a current measurement attachment.

[J-R]

As a manufacturer, I would probably place UEi just below Brymen for accuracy and build quality, although 6,000 counts is relatively easy for DMM's in this class to accomplish.  I will run some tests and report back.

[BeBuLamar]

As I said I am disappointed the the 374 has low resolution on the current but I don't care for the voltage measurement as I never use a clamp meter to measure voltage.

[J-R]

Ran the DL599 through its paces:
DCV it is basically perfection everywhere (not hard for 6,000 count, though).
ACV it was about 2V out @ 400V.
DCA was excellent, 0.05A off @ 10A, 3A off @ 200A.
ACA was also excellent, it agreed with my Extech 380801 Power Analyzer.  I also tested the higher range with a 10X multiplier adapter.
Capacitance and resistance were spot on using DMMCheckPlus values.
Continuity is excellent, extremely fast.
Meter is generally fast-feeling.
Low battery indicator kicks in around 1.1V per cell which is OK for rechargeables.

Some negatives:
- right edge of the display where the V indicator is can be hard to see
- auto voltage and current need to see above 5V/5A to work it seems
- ACA accuracy is poor below perhaps 1A (0.5A was 0.33A)
- beeps a lot
- when ranging down in resistance mode, it frequently displays all zeros for a second or two
- NCV function is nearly worthless, seems to have an auto-gain function and also picks up too much surrounding RF.  The older DL489 is amazing in this area, BTW.
- to reach DCV you have to press select twice

[urantia]

Thanks for that info and your efforts with the test data J-R. That ticks all the boxes for me - Good DC voltage resolution, accurate readings and all the main functions of a multimeter so that i don't need to carry 2 meters everywhere I go. The quality in the hand feel I'm sure is above the Uni-T. I'm pretty well sold on a UEI DL599 now. Although doesn't look like they sell them here in Australia, but I should be able to import one from an US store.

[armandine2]

I went for the good(ish) spec clamp meter F205 from Chauvin Arnoux.

Not up to your specs - it has had a quirky? YouTube tester 

[BeBuLamar]

I don't think Fluke meant for their clamp meter to replace a DMM. Take the very expensive Fluke 378 and it has the fancy non contact voltage measurement. But the voltage with probe is only 0.1V resolution and the resistance only up to 60kohms.

[urantia]

armandine2 thanks for sharing, just looked them up and they have good specs on paper too. never heard of this brand at all!
I'm trying to find the quicky YouTube tester now lol

[urantia]

BeBuLamar, agreed. Wouldn't make sense for fluke to cannibalize sales of their dedicated DMM's. Im a niche market if anything wanting in all-in-one unit that's good for everything.

[Neutrion]

I  have to note that if you clean the grease from the switching pad of the ut-210e it probably wont't turn off all the time. Mine had similar problems.

To all who have clamp meters with dc A resolution of that of the ut-210e:
Does the dc scale drift a lot? Not sure how old J-R's meter is.

[urantia]

Is the switching pad the rotary dial contacts and traces on the PCB? Mine seems to turn off just form opening the clamp meter. I will give this a look. But Dave himself pickup on a design flaw with the Uni-T plastic part that the clamp spring pushes against. And sure, enough on mine that plastic is broken. After a while you just get annoyed with flimsy gear and end up as going crazy and mad like me looking for a quality replacement.

[jfiresto]

A few of us have the Benning CM 11 and like it. Its has gotten pricier, however, over the last few years.

[J-R]

Ran some informal DC accuracy/drift tests with the UEi DL599,  Brymen BM037, Amprobe AMP-25, and AMP-330 (made by Brymen):

Turn on, let sit for a few minutes, zero clamps, let sit another few minutes, DL599 and the Amprobes move around a tiny bit between -0.02A to 0.02A, BM037 slowly drifted up the longer I left it, ultimately 0.16A when I stopped the test.

Zero again, then send 5.000A DC through all of them, (AmpTip location and switch position on BM037 & AMP-330, centered in clamp on DL599 and AMP-25), BM037 and DL599 read 4.99A at start of test, AMP-25 was 5.07A, AMP-330 was 4.88A.

About 5 minutes later, DL599 is at 5.00A but I observed it move around a bit, up to 5.04A but then it goes back down and repeats.  Couldn't determine any environmental reasons for this.
BM037 is acting the same as in the previous test and slowly drifts up, was at 5.20A when I stopped this test.  AMP-25 is at 5.11A, AMP-330 is at 4.87A.

Turn off power, AMP-25 is 0.04A, AMP-330 and DL599 basically straight to 0.00A, DL599 then does the +/- 0.02A thing as before, BM037 also repeats and keeps drifting up, gave it a few more minutes and it reached 0.27A before I stopped the test.

Quick test @ 10A:
DL599 - 10.01A
BM037 - 9.99A
AMP-25 - 10.19A
AMP-330 - 9.85A

[Neutrion]

Thanks, but all these only go it seems down to 0,01 A resolution while the UT-210e goes to 0,001 A.

Mine now has a drift (not in time) which increases linearly from zero up to about 0,150-0,200 A in the smallest range.(And in similar proportions in the rest of the amps range.)  So it has this problem immediately I don't have to wait.  Around a few miliamps level it is accurate.
There is a video on Youtube how to compensate exactly this type of problem with a proper calibration.
Not sure whether other brands with high DC resolution also have this.

[Neutrion]

Is the switching pad the rotary dial contacts and traces on the PCB? Mine seems to turn off just form opening the clamp meter. I will give this a look. But Dave himself pickup on a design flaw with the Uni-T plastic part that the clamp spring pushes against. And sure, enough on mine that plastic is broken. After a while you just get annoyed with flimsy gear and end up as going crazy and mad like me looking for a quality replacement.

Yes it is. In my oppinion it is not so easy to brake the clamp. Mine is OK, and doesn't seems to be flimsy.

[Randy222]

General Tools CM700 maybe?

[Kleinstein]

DC clamp meters for small currents are a bit tricky.  There are 2 principle problems: one is that external magentic fields that can have an effect. The other is that there can be remanent magnization in the core, e.g. from high DC current in earlier use, especially if powered off or over range. The may requite some demagnization (e.g. use with a significant AC current that is slowly turned down).

[DaneLaw]

The unit-T 210E is of surprisingly decent build-quality with the price in mind..
My unit is quite old, and had no problems whatsoever with the build-quality.. find it sturdy and rigid.
if you hand out many hundreds of dollars for a low current AC&DC clamp meter, you will hopefully get a better build than a 30-buck AC&DC clamp meter like 210E or will you?

You should purchase an Extech MA63-N    a steal at 410 USD before AU VAT..
https://www.flir.com/products/ma63/?model=MA63-NIST&vertical=condition+monitoring&segment=solutions

Or you can keep it lowkey and jump on the cheaper non-third-party-calibrated MA63 at merely 580 AUS at Amazon.au - and keep the Unit-t 210E/211B vibe going under a big-brand label with a hz added-price to match and then you can talk about a conundrum.
https://www.amazon.com.au/Extech-MA63-True-Clamp-Meter/dp/B01BEVDSV6?th=1