Amprobe AMP-310, Cat III, Digital True RMS HVAC Clamp Meter w/ 1.1811" Clamp on Jaws - 600 VAC/VDC, 600 AC Amps, Measures Voltage, Capacitance EO873_SBN38

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Amprobe Voltmeter MultimeterSize1.2" (30mm)1.4" (36mm)W/ 1.18"W/ 1.1811" .320 4 reviewAmprobe ACD-14-PRO???March 6 This seemed like a feature rich clamp-on ammeter to replace my old analog Amprobe that finally started to give me problems after several decades of use. But I found an issue with it and would caution buyers about purchasing this unit at this time.My work includes doing motor startups with single phase motors so I'm often checking capacitors. I gathered some new capacitors from my stock to check out this function. Unfortunately I could not get this meter to reliably measure them; sometimes it worked fine and was in agreement with my Fluke DMM and sometimes I would get readings that would drift to an open loop (OL) reading. The specs in the manual were confusing to me as they indicated a 200-2500 MFD range which is surely an error; many single phase motors use run capacitors ... MoreThis seemed like a feature rich clamp-on ammeter to replace my old analog Amprobe that finally started to give me problems after several decades of use. But I found an issue with it and would caution buyers about purchasing this unit at this time.My work includes doing motor startups with single phase motors so I'm often checking capacitors. I gathered some new capacitors from my stock to check out this function. Unfortunately I could not get this meter to reliably measure them; sometimes it worked fine and was in agreement with my Fluke DMM and sometimes I would get readings that would drift to an open loop (OL) reading. The specs in the manual were confusing to me as they indicated a 200-2500 MFD range which is surely an error; many single phase motors use run capacitors under 60 MFD. Since this meter is intended for HVAC work it should measure these fine and sometimes did.After further investigation I believe this meter has a defect in it. I found that if I put pressure on the jaws a little bit it it would cause errors in the capacitance readings. However I didn't have to distort it for it to sometimes measure wrong. In service use clamp-on ammeters are often squeezed into tight spots to clip around wires so the case get distorted some in the process. Perhaps this particular unit has solder joint issues or a PCB mounting problem.Based on my previous experience with my old Amprobe and knowing that they are now part of Fluke I am quite frankly surprised I had an issue. I think this maybe a new meter model; its case appears different from their other similar meters . It may have issues that need to be resolved. I did not notice that this "problem" affected the meter during its use for other measurements but I found the capacitance problem right away which made it unsuitable for my use.So I am returning this meter and have found a competing brand meter with identical features that I'm going to try out. It is a more expensive meter