Amprobe Recommendations?

[H80N]

Originally Posted by cramd

One word..............quality.
They are not cheap, but they are good.
.

I agree...

same reason I spend the extra for Miller Welders... (or Nikon Cameras )

I know they will work first time EVERY time...

now... this year... next year...and many years to come...

for me.. that peace if mind is worth the extra freight..

[Scotts]

I think we are all in agreement, i'll throw my thoughts in as well.

I can not see if an electrical circuit is live or not looking at it. It looks the same on or off if there is no light or something associated with it. Like the position of a breaker or disconnect handle. Even those can and do go bad and fool you. Therefore I trust my life with the quality of my equipment. Electrical test equipment in this case. You decide your level of comfort with your equipment.

Even then the back of a hand goes first.

Scott

[H80N]

Originally Posted by Scotts

Even then the back of a hand goes first.

Scott

Excellent advice....!!!

much better to slap yourself with a backhand from involuntary contraction

than a deathgrip and electrocution from an unexpected hot circuit...

[Samcord]

An ammeter won't tell you a circuit is live, only if current is flowing.

[Scotts]

Originally Posted by Samcord

An ammeter won't tell you a circuit is live, only if current is flowing.

Very true, Thanks for the input.

Scott

[terry lingle]

Fluke also and get a non contact voltage detector as well then use it.
as a life time electrical guy I have never taken a chance on whether a wire is live. Before I work on anything I want to know what the voltage and current limits are.

[akabull]

Fluke is the inly way to go. I recommend a Fluke 337. I have had mine for 3+ years. I own several other fluke meters are well, but since purchasing the 337 I haven't really touched the others....

Always assume a circuit is live. Always work on a circuit as if it is live and you will live to talk about it.

Meters, voltage detectors, disconnects, etc all can and do fail (as someone else here already mentioned)

[GWIZ]

Looks like there is a recall for some of the FLUKE 337.
http://www.fluke.com/fluke/usen/Supp...trck=33xrecall

[GWIZ]

Originally Posted by Wolfram

Thanks for the replies so far. Doing some research as we speak.

Right now, I'm considering either of two different Amprobe (owned by Fluke) models:

ACDC-100
or
ACDC-100 TRMS

Apparently the first one is an "averaging" ammeter and the second one is "true RMS" that uses "mean root square" or some such thing...the guy at Fluke said that it'll measure "what you've actually got" in case the wave form isn't a sine wave.



I asked him which he would get if he were me (just knowledgeable enough to be dangerous) and he said the TRMS version.

Do you folks agree/disagree?

Thanks again.

I haven't kept up with all the new bells and whistles on the newer meters, you will have to read the manuals.
===
Some things to consider.

I'm not a big fan of large clamp jaws, they will not get into a tight spot.

You are asking about peak hold, definitely a nice feature and a must have.
But in your case you will more then likely need one with a delay or a timed update sample, that is if there is one on the market.
when you first start the arc you are likely to draw well over 200 amps for a few milliseconds a peak hold meter will likely hold/display the high surge amps and not the welding amps after the surge.

The Data hold will lock the display but you will have to push the button while you are welding.


TRMS is a good idea.
Old AC meters are calibrated at a fixed 60 cycles (the line frequency).

Newer electronics chop up the 60 cycle frequency into some other frequency other-than 60 cycles, non TRMS meters may not display an accurate reading.

Example:
60 cycles (60 times a second), AC is the standard house current.
Say you have a desk lamp,
you start turning/cycling the power switch On and Off continuously nonstop.
the cycling of the switch alters the frequency at a rate of speed you cycle On/Off..

Modern electronics do the same, inverter welders..., switching the power at different speeds and random....., meters may not display a correct reading.
True RMS meters operate in a broader frequency range then the fixed 60 cycles giving a more accurate reading on modern electronics.

[Samcord]

Here is something really cool - the AEMC 407. 1000 point recording capability, with wireless PC interface for $450. You can set it record every second, to every 10 minutes. I've not seen one, just read about it on Amazon.

You might be able to do something similar with a wireless fluke and a PC. I don't see any Flukes with onboard recording. Not trying to say bad things about Fluke. I love Fluke equipment. Just saying you can get more features for less money. All depends on your needs.