How to operate Clamp ?

The principle of

As the name TC or mites Dietze designed to measure AC current in the circuit without breaking it.The basis of the current-measuring instrument on the principle of a simple current transformer.In this case, the primary winding is a cable bus or the measured current, and the role played by secondary grip tongs, which is located inside the second multiturn coil wound on the magnetic core of ferromagnetic material.The alternating current in the wire (the primary coil) mall creates an alternating magnetic field lines which pass through the secondary coil by exciting it emf proportional to the current in the first coil.Thus, by measuring the EMF occurring, you can find the current in the first coil (wire).

design

Current clamp meter, regardless of the manufacturer and the modification of the elements contained in the magnetic cores with a movable clamp-lever switch measuring ranges, the screen output connectors for probe (in this case, pliers can be used as a conventional multimeter) andlock button current measurement (photo below).

Figure 1 - TC S-line DT 266 FT

Most modern current meters also include internal transformer with a diode bridge.In this case, the secondary winding terminals connected via a shunt.Depending on the range of the measured current strength, current probe can be one-handed (for voltages up to 1000 V), and two-handed with additional insulated handles (for voltages from 2 to 10 kV).Clamp devices for the measurement of more than 1 kV, the insulator has a length of at least 38 cm, and the handle -. Not less than 13 cm

Usually on the device indicates the category of security and the maximum measured current.For example:

• CAT III 600 V - this means that the instrument is protected against transient voltage surge within the equipment when used in fixed networks with voltage up to 600 V.
• CATIV 300 V - this means that the instrument is protected against voltage surges inside the equipmentprimary-level power supply voltage up to 300 V. An example of such equipment may be a conventional electric meter.

safety rules when working

clamp meter may only be used indoors or in open spaces in dry weather.To measure the strength of the current is possible as the cables covered with insulation, as well as on the exposed.Before use, a person needs to wear protective gloves, and a foot to put a dielectric base and wear special shoes.

Procedure measurements

As a rule, the use of current clamp does not cause too much difficulty.Before you use the instrument should be paid great attention to safety, as stated earlier.

How to use a clamp meter:

1. Set the desired range on the switch.
2. Press the down button of the magnetic circuit.
3. Grip the single wire in the AC or DC power (if this feature is supported by the device).
4. Locate current clamp perpendicular to the wire.
5. take readings from the display.

Often the difficulty of using current-measuring device is the allocation of a single conductor: when trying to take readings with conventional cable coming out of the socket, the screen should be highlighted zero.This is because the currents of the phase conductor and neutral conductor are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction.Therefore, the magnetic fluxes generated by them cancel each other out.If the current indications are non-zero, it indicates the presence of leakage current in the circuit, the value of which is equal to the resulting value.Therefore, measurements need to find a place where the wires are separated and isolate a single core.As such a place, you can use a switchboard or a place to connect the phase wires to the circuit breaker.However, this is not always possible, which limits the scope of the current clamp.

Visually see how the work clamp meter, you can video instructions below:

useful "trick»

If you want to measure a small value current, you need to make a few turns of wireat the open magnetic circuit and the range switch set to the minimum.After that, remove the evidence and to determine the actual value divided that number by the number of wound turns.

Example of

Here is an example of how to use the clamp meter when measuring the load on the network 220, for example in an apartment.In this case, the switch must be set to AC 200. Next, current clamp encircle insulated conductor and take readings.Thereafter, the current value must be multiplied by the mains voltage of 220 V. For example, if the device shows 5 A, power consumption in the network will be P = U * I = 5 * 220 = 1100 W and 1.1 kW.The resulting value can be used to check the operation of electricity meters.

That's the instruction on how to use the clamp meter.As you can see, nothing complicated.The main thing - to observe safety measures and carefully measured approach.We hope that our tips and visual instruction video is available to explain to you the procedure for action!

It will be interesting to read:

• How to use a multimeter - guide for dummies
• How to check the correct operation of the meter
• List of tools electrician