I bought the uni-t a year ago because of one of your videos and loved it ever since. I also have the smart shunt and there really close to each other and love both items nice vid mr poz
Those UNI-T meters are awesome. There is also a way to hack them to increase resolution and to make them start in DC mode straight away instead of having to select DC every time you turn it on. Also the firmware can be modified so it turns off after 2 hours instead of a few minutes and the backlight can be set to be on all the time (but that eats battery quicker) Very awesome versatile little devices and it's small enough to fit in my pocket :)
Nice meter test. The amp comparing was very interesting. I would like to add that a man with one clock always knows what time it is.....a man with two clocks is never really sure.
@@DavidPozEnergy Wonder how much that decrease in material decreased the Watt capability of the shunt. Maybe it will get hotter when rushing the max 300A thru it..?
such a useful video. thank you so much for showing all these details. like showing the small uni-t will fit on the 4/0 wire. something i was wondering among other things. cheers.
Good tests and pretty cool you could calibrate the shunt that way. I have a similar shunt, not the same, but also noticed it has a notch cut. I guess that's how they calibrated it at the factory. Your red meter that was more accurate and had the smallest clamp diameter - I bet that's why it was more accurate. I noticed with my clamp meter, if I put a small wire through it like a #6, I get slightly different readings if the wire is positioned directly in the center of the clamp vs up against the side.
shunts can not be calibrated as seen in the video.. The angle the wire to the clamp should be at a right angles to be the most accurate due to magnetic coupling. The smaller the clamp means less magnetic energy is lost in air before the meter can measure it.
Consider sending one of the meter to a accredited ISO 17025 calibration lab. I remember clamp meters runs about $50 for calibration and there are labs all over the country.
I love your setup! VERY clean and organized! Great presentation on clamp meters. Here's something to note, and I've commented about it on other peoples videos that were doing load tests using an inverter. I have that same Reliable inverter as you have there, it's just the 24V version. I also have a good clamp ammeter that reads PEAK INRUSH current. When monitoring a load like a small space heater, if I switch between RMS and peak, there is a big difference in current readings! As much as 15% higher in peak. Reason is that the inverter uses a switching high frequency power supply that draws power in spikes as well as continuous current. It well throw off the readings from your Victron and clamp meters I think. If you scope the voltage at the inverter, you should see lots of "noise" spikes. Use a pure resistive (like wind turbine dump load resisters or the like) load when doing battery drain tests and other load tests. That's my opinion. Thanks!
I've used uni-t model ut203+ clamp meter with ac and dc amp up to 400a and its perfect and accurate for the price also come with extra features for home or auto shop useand i highly recommend it
Absolutely! If you use a low resistance shunt you get a high sensitivity. Shunts are not very accurate fir high current measurements. High currents heat up the shunt and change the resistance. If you want to measure high currents accurately you want to use a fluxgate sensor.
My fav tools for clamp meter now is Fluke 319. Can measure AC & DC up to 1000 Amps. and has an INRUSH feature Thanks David for sharing the video on how to calibrate the shunt resistor.
I learned at least two things here tonight. 1. I will trust my UNI-T 210E more than I did. 2. I'll know how to calibrate my current shunts now. Thanks David!
If you want more accurate readings on low amp with clamp meters you can coil it up so the cable goes 2 times trough the center and you double the reading, then divide in half. I do this as a car mechanic to diagnose parasitic draws if the cables is long enough since at low current they are terrible on the accuracy
Oh and BTW I would reccomend you to ask a electronics tool distributor if they can do a calibration check on the unit-t one and tell how accurate it is. Then you can check the others to a known good. At work we use Wurth every year on all tools.
As an electrician I have expensive meters Greenlee and fluke and the unit T is right with them in accuracy. Great little starter meter in my opinion and it's very compact which is nice too.
I have several multimeters and they are all ok but my go to meter is always my fluke. It isnt a clamp on multimeter but the most accurate and reliable and for testing semiconductors it is by far the winner. I would love to see a Fluke tested as well so maybe you can borrow one as they are not cheap but the best!
Hey David...I liked your trick of trimming your shunt to increase resistance. I have one of those too and will keep it in mind if I need to make adjustments. Thanks!
You can probably remove much of the marker old ink with isopropyl alcohol aka isopropanol (70% is really common as "rubbing alcohol"). It does tend to stain plastic so probably won't all come out.
My meter collection consists of a Fluke 336 and 355 AC/DC clamp meters along with the Uni-T UT210E. Am I a Fluke fanboy? Maybe, but it took me almost 2 years to save up to acquire them and waiting for the right deal; both of them are pre-owned and still had valid NIST traceable calibration stickers. As with your situation, I purchased the Uni-T recommended by another RUclipsr and I can definitely say that it is pretty accurate for the average DIY'er for the price point. As my system started to grow the 100 amp limit would get me, I knew that at some point I would have to bite the bullet and by no means I am gonna pay suggested retail prices for a brand new Fluke. There's quite a debate if you should just spend the money for "nice" tool first. Depends on the situation; my take is I would spend the money on quality system components first and save up for the "nice" tool second. Ballparking it and adding the 125% sizing rule to it will keep things safe and not having to worry about burning the house down because you undersized something that you really shouldn't. I am currently saving up on getting a FLIR camera as my nominal 48 volt system is starting to creep up and over the 100 amp continuous mark and it is the most efficient way to find hotspots on your system components and connections. For now, the IR thermometer gun and checklist log on a clipboard will do in the meantime. Time for me to do the calibration notch trick on one of my DC shunts for that same issue.
Very good point! The high end clamp meters give you data on how large the variances are! Our engineers spend a lot of effort minimizing these variances.
On my Kaiweets 208D clamp meter, I was fairly surprised how consistent the readings were with the wire moved all around different positions of the large clamp diameter. Some meters are very sensitive to position, so just test it for yourself on the meter you have to see how much difference there is in the readings with the wire at different points in the opening.
Speaking of inrush current, I would like to request a "soft start" project/testing video if you take requests. Use the youtube search and type in "the simplest soft start" should be the first result. I am curious how well it works for various items. especially a refrigerator where it has to remain active while the compressor kicks on and off.
Great job! I have a dc generator on my off grid system that has the same setup. Same data loger and shunt. I used it to test fuel efficiency between gas and diesel engines. I need to calibrate the shunt just like you did. I built mine about 5 years ago with the same box you did. Thanks you for the video. Now I can calibrate it. I also automated the dc generator and can set the amps manually or with a AVR. It charges repurposed Tesla batteries. Have a blessed night brother.
I also bought the UNI Tmainly for the dc amps and really like it except I wish these style/shape meters had a flip out stand to keep position easier to read. I needed an inrush meter for AC but really only needed it for just that purpose and didn't really want to spend about $70 for the green one you have. I searched around and ended up purchasing a METER K 05 for about $26. It worked well for inrush and I really like the fact that it has a backlight for the LCD screen as well as a small flashlight. Its problem is its physically larger than the UNI T and my biggest problem with it is the lead plug ins wont keep a good connection. If the UNI T had inrush current and added a backlight on the LCD screen and min max hold it would be ideal for me . Maybe they have a different UNI T model that at least does inrush. I will check in the future.
Happen to know a buddy with a Fluke brand clamp on meter? Always heard they are the best of the best for meters. They are certainly priced that way from the ones I’ve seen. Be curious to compare that to them.
You have not considered the voltage drop to your box meter (cable losses). Also, I'm not sure if one can precisely measure current with multiple ampereclamps on the same line.
Uni-t is a very good multimeter! Here in europe it has a very good reputation. The newer model goes up to 600 amps DC and has inrush current reading also!!
I am not sure of the material that your shunt is made of. I would be tempted to seal it with finger nail polish or something similar, otherwise moisture may affect the shunt and therefore the reading.
I would have started by looking at the accuracy of all of your meters according to the factory specifications. That Victron smart shunt only gives an accuracy of ±0.3% for Volts and ±0.4% for Amps. So for just knowing the state of your batteries and the amount of current being used or taken in on a display, that is plenty accurate. They don't list it based on ranges of voltage and current so we don't know how that accuracy changes based on the voltage or current readings being taken. We also have to consider that to get power these meters are multiplying Voltage and Current and to get Watthours also have to have an accurate real-time clock which will likely be the accuracy of the RTC of the cellphone or other android device so only accurate to ±8.6 to ±1.7 seconds per day. This will get you a ballpark figure that is likely within a percent of the capacity of the battery bank but as the bank gets larger the error will always be greater.
David, you picked a good subject here, meters these days are much cheaper, it may well be prudent to request a copy of the meters calibration certificate from the manufacturers rather than send them away each year for re-calibration. I guess it all depends on the spec one is working too. NAMAS, ISO, BS or uncertified IE not for valid measurement.
You should do a short video on how to calibrate the shunt, that is pretty important, and I had a hard time finding it. I wanted to make sure to do it right.
Most important thing is to have a known reference current to calibrate to. And remember it's a one way process, and works only if your readings are lower than the target. Adding metal back to the shunt is going to be problematic if you go too far.
A lot of those meters if you open them up have a pot so you can dial them in. Might be worth looking into so they all read the same. Good video btw. Cheers
The LG battery is in parallel with the "Tower of Power". They work fine. I have my bulk charge set to 56.8v on my Victron charge controller, which means 4.057 volts per cell in the LG, and 3.55 volts per cell in the tower of power. And I discharge down to 48 volts. So neither battery is being over-charged, or over-discharged.
The 208D does pretty much everything right. The only thing I consider a drawback is display visibility in sunlight. Just can't see it without a lot of hand shielding. Looks pretty indoors though.😅
hello, interesting comparison of several measuring devices, but I wouldn't take your statement as a decision as to which one measures more accurately, because if I looked correctly, none of them are calibrated...
Hi Dave, looking at your Sunny Island back there are you using a charge controller with these or is it charging you batteries as well. Any videos you can recommend on setting up Sunny Island or do you have one you have done yourself.
I'm using my original Victron charge controller to charge the batteries. The SMA inverters don't play well with it. LOL. But a friend of mine wrote a code that I'm Beta testing right now to overwrite it. I'll make a video on that once he is convinced the bugs are worked out.
i have two of those shunt style panel meters in my truck to monitor the alternator output vs load. I knew their readings were a bit off, 3% compared to each other. But now I'm interested in doing that calibration. I do have a Klein DC clamp to compare with already. My question is that if I perform the calibration at say 30 amps, will the calibration still be correct when the load is near 100 amps? Should I do the calibration at some middle amperage level for best accuracy?
The ones I tested seemed to be calibrated based on the full rating. In this case, at 100 Amps. But, I tend to use this at lower Amps and that's why I calibrated it lower, around 30A.
Greetings the meter you made for capacity test, the external power battery should be 12v battery to test batteries 8v or less and you can add xt60 to connect probes to do so
The ones that may be most accurate would not have to agree with the Victron unit. You would need to know if that unit is correct in the first place. That would require having three of them to test against. Two out of the three would have to agree in your same location for them to be even considered as accurate.
Yes. Sorry I didn't show it on camera, tried to keep the video short. But I appreciate the tip in case someone else is watching and didn't think about it.
Very good job, lots of work and I really enjoyed watching this David! The Victron shunt is interesting - how did you know it's the most accurate? Based on what Victron states, or from your previous tests?
OK, let me answer my own question... I had no idea before about the difference between shunts and multimeters, so I finally figured it out. The Victron Smart Shunt has a current measurement accuracy of +/-0.4% and a voltage accuracy of +/-0.3%. A Fluke 117 (for example) has a current measurement accuracy of +/-1% and a voltage measurement accuracy of +/-0.5%. So definitely the Victron Smart Shunt is more accurate than a Fluke 117, and probably even more accurate than the cheaper lesser-known brands of multimeters. Thanks again for doing this video - got me thinking and learned something new!
I think you would want to measure in the same place or close to the smart shunt since that is where you are comparing at. Would some of the other connections in your meter box ect skew the results a little plus being further away? I dont know maybe it doesnt matter? Neat to see all the different results. I have that same ames meter! I like it except it doesnt have a little stand to hold it up!😀
Hazard Fraught. I think you should invest in a Fluke 87. One of my favorite meters is the Keysight U1253B - I don't think they make it anymore, They're not clamp meters, btw.
Thanks for your comment. I looked up the Fluke 87. They sell it with an optional clamp, but unfortunately the clamp is AC only. Shoot. I'm trying to find the "ultimate" DMM.
David, I’ve got a HIOKI CM4376 clamp meter (up to 1000 A AD/DC, 600 V CAT IV, 1000 V CAT III, measures inrush and frequency, connect via Bluetooth, max. wire diameter 33 mm/1.3 in wire diameter). You want to try it out?
@@DavidPozEnergy Hi Dave, later in the comments I discovered that Fluke does sell a AC/DC clamp. It's not cheap but I did buy one. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0022Y9FJY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 The good thing I I can use it with my other multimeters, my oscilloscope and my bench multimeters. Hope this helps!
Did you test the meter which you said it's under 20 usd? Because that one was the cheapest. This uni-t is a great meter. I bought it from Ali seller 30 euros, I'm very happy with it. The quality and accuracy is amazing with that price. Anyway thanks for the videos. It's great and informative like always👍🏼
DC clamp meter zero is influenced by the earth's magnetic field. The meter's orientation should be the same when it's zeroed as it is when clamped on the wire. I could've easily missed it.
He could have bought the $89.99 one and been better off from the looks of it. I have two of the Ames 610A models and for Voltage they read within .002 Volts of each other when measuring DC Volts.
I've found that those little Uni-T meters are pretty nice for the $$, and have a great low range on the clamp, good for finding stray loads in cars and whatnot. As my whole-house (almost) system is a lot lower power than most, the 100A top is fine for me. And i can always get a bigger unit if needed. I'm one of those that mentioned carving on the shunt to calibrate it (most shunts even have a saw cut in them from the factory). Glad you were able to get your unit on track. One more calculation you won't have to worry about! Always nice to know you're getting good info during tests. Keep on doing the battery stuff! I'm still tuning my setup here, many more batteries, a 1000w/36v sine wave UPS for the 'never drop' loads, and a 3000W/36V 'Reliable' inverter to carry the refer/freezer and microwave loads. (Still designing the sequencing setup for those bits.) Power's not real reliable up here, so have to compensate. Sun hard to come by, too... (Trees). Take care, stay safe and keep on making these videos. (I'm about to release a video thru a RUclips friend of what happens when you drive a drywall screw thru an 18650... Very flashy and messy. Still picking bits of sooty things out of the room. Amazing what one Li-ion can do when provoked! It's quite the show! Fortunately, my security cam caught our screwup...:) Careful with those things! Stu (Tinkerbat Tech)
Does measuring the current with all meters on at the same time, impact the current readings of the downstream meters? Also makes me laugh because I looked for meters myself weeks ago and tried to catch the names of yours from the videos. Keep the videos coming!
The readings should all be the same, though inline current shunts will decrease the current from the added resistance. All the meters should reflect the same decrease though, no difference upstream or downstream.
Did you have multiple meters hooked to that wire at the same time? I'm certainly no expert on Electronics, but I know that electricity plays tricks. Do you think you'd get the exact same results if you only put one around that wire at a time?
I did it both ways, all at once and one at a time. I thought I mixed in a little video footage of both... but maybe not. It's been a long day of editing and I'm forgetting which shots made the final cut.
@@DavidPozEnergy thank you for the reply. Like I said, I'm not professional or anything. But it made me wonder if it might be possible for them to affect each other after learning how inductors work.
Would have liked to see a comparison of all those meters against an industry standard (more expensive) Fluke DMM.... BTW I have some of the meters you did test.
@@DavidPozEnergy David.. You can get a decent Fluke on Aliexpress for under $100 USD delivered. I have 2 of them and use 1 as a reference just to check my other meters. For under $100 it will not be the Fluke top of the line meter but even on the lower end models the specs are very good.
the smaller the clamp diameter the more accurate it will be. if you perfectly centered the conductor in the other clamps they would give much better results.
The conclusion that UNI-T is the most accurate is too brutal. Every measurement tool or instrument has the accuracy error about +/- 1%, and there's some variation even for the devices of the same brand. I think those meters are all doing enough good jobs.
heya oke I order myself a multifunctional battery tester (1% accuracy )and I tought there was a 50 Amp internal shunt bilt in but there isn't they said up to 200volt and 300 amp's but the shunt for it you have to bay sepratly so still have to do that lol so have to wait for that peace
With all the money you spent on meters you could have bought a good brand name one. Wich is what you should have done to start with. Grandpa always told me buy the good tool to start with, always cheaper in the long run.
God bless the people of all the nations to helping the sickness and afflictions that affect them, their families and individuals, but also healing the corruptions which have infiltrated their economies and governments. May the unnecessary burdens be lifted as they turn to God and Yeshua and receive divine intervention to governance, education, energy harvesting, healthy food and water and caring for themselves and each other. Science says we cannot get free energy, but that is the only type of energy we ever have used, thanks to Creator! Coal and oil, wood/biomass, solar power and wind are all harvested from Creation. There are better technologies coming online. When much is given, individual accountability needs to match the increase because the power levels are equivalent to a hydroelectric dam in a package the size of a coffee table. Thank you Yeshua! Will we use it to be creative or will we use it to make war? Ask for wisdom. - Peace and love.
All these meters are acceptable to be used for their designed application. None of these devices are the required 10 times accuracy in order to be used as a calibration source. Victron smart shunt specification is BS, typical shunts made in the US are +/-0.25% Chinese made shunts are +/-0.5%. Most shunts calibration are done at a specific temperature and current value so the accuracy of calibration is set at a specific value. Once the shunts temperature leaves a specific range or current density changes, out goes the accuracy. Taking into consideration the Smart Shunt has several manganin leafs the current density is not uniform until around 60% saturation. The distance between the brass end blocks appears to be less than 1 inch, shunts with a narrow distance between the brass ends blocks have a higher drift due galvanic action. The Shunt's in the video are in a box with no air flow, shunts are required to have an air flow to maintain accuracy. Considering the above and the price point of victron the stated +/- 0.4% accuracy is probably just the Analog to Digital chip being used and the shunt is assumed to be perfect. Consider the Shunts thermal drift + the shunts base accuracy + Analog to Digital chip ( +/-0.4%) + current density through the shunt. The accuracy is more likely between 1 to 2% just like the Clamp on Meters being used. I would not have adjusted the shunt's calibration as none of the devices are accurate enough to be doing calibration with.
Here's an interesting supplemental video on calibrating and hacking a UNI-T: ruclips.net/video/Vj6b-clYTis/видео.html ...for example. Now, I'm not saying the average home enthusiast would desire to get that far into it with the EEPROM flashing (although doesn't seem too difficult), but I saw a couple interesting points on testing. They mentioned that the hall effect probe of an ammeter can become magnetized which is not desirable and can throw off readings, so it is good to degauss the probe once in a while with a demagnetizer. The other interesting thing I saw was if you wanted to test amperages at higher scale with a fixed amperage provided on the power source, you can loop the wire twice, three times, four times, five times, etc, through the probe to add on the amperage readings, to help with testing calibration. Say like you had a 10a going through your test wire, you can loop it once and it will read 20a, loop it again to make it read 30a, loop it again to make it read 40a, etc... This is to help test calibration across the curve. Anyways, just thought I'd throw it out there, as I hadn't thought of that trick before. Gotta love You Tube, great way to get all the smart minds together. Anyways, keep up the awesome creative videos!
Mastech ms2115a is better than a fluke and cheaper .I like the extech ma1500 40000 count display good voltage resolution but when it measures ac amps it acts like is charging a capacitor and take about 5 seconds for it to register in ballpark reading
@DavidPoz #DavidPoz is your DIY meter box that you made ampere bi-directional ie, can it measure amps in both directions ie. in and out and if so does it have a (-) minus sign when used in the reverse "charging" in mode or when its in "draining" mode , thanks for the videos ;-]
I bought the uni-t a year ago because of one of your videos and loved it ever since. I also have the smart shunt and there really close to each other and love both items nice vid mr poz
Great info, especially in recalibrating the shunt. THANKS!
Great info here and I'm glad you were able to calibrate your meter. No more correction factor...sweet
Those UNI-T meters are awesome. There is also a way to hack them to increase resolution and to make them start in DC mode straight away instead of having to select DC every time you turn it on.
Also the firmware can be modified so it turns off after 2 hours instead of a few minutes and the backlight can be set to be on all the time (but that eats battery quicker)
Very awesome versatile little devices and it's small enough to fit in my pocket :)
wow, can you share more details on that ? links?
Ya the backlight is the most annoying thing to me and starting on dc would be nice
@@oleksii.zagorskyi Calibrating and hacking the UNI-T UT210E clamp meter: ruclips.net/video/Vj6b-clYTis/видео.html
@@james10739 Calibrating and hacking the UNI-T UT210E clamp meter: ruclips.net/video/Vj6b-clYTis/видео.html
Nice review! Thanks for setting all that up and the real time multiple devices comparing. I just now bought the UNI -T. Thanks again! 😊
Your welcome. Were you able to find it with my link?
Yes, and unfortunately I’m in Canada so it sent me there.
Nice meter test. The amp comparing was very interesting. I would like to add that a man with one clock always knows what time it is.....a man with two clocks is never really sure.
Awesome Video!! I never knew you could calibrate the shunt!!
Thanks! I am just getting started in renewable energy and I appreciate all the effort you put into your videos!
Glad you tried the calibration method for the shunt. thanks for showing it in your videos.
Great video, very smart idea for fine tuning. I'm currently building a replica capacity meter on your design
Cool. Good luck with your build.
@@DavidPozEnergy Wonder how much that decrease in material decreased the Watt capability of the shunt. Maybe it will get hotter when rushing the max 300A thru it..?
such a useful video. thank you so much for showing all these details. like showing the small uni-t will fit on the 4/0 wire. something i was wondering among other things. cheers.
Good tests and pretty cool you could calibrate the shunt that way. I have a similar shunt, not the same, but also noticed it has a notch cut. I guess that's how they calibrated it at the factory. Your red meter that was more accurate and had the smallest clamp diameter - I bet that's why it was more accurate. I noticed with my clamp meter, if I put a small wire through it like a #6, I get slightly different readings if the wire is positioned directly in the center of the clamp vs up against the side.
shunts can not be calibrated as seen in the video.. The angle the wire to the clamp should be at a right angles to be the most accurate due to magnetic coupling. The smaller the clamp means less magnetic energy is lost in air before the meter can measure it.
@@Justin-bl6iy yes they can, and they are in the factory. I have several and you can see the notch on them.
Consider sending one of the meter to a accredited ISO 17025 calibration lab. I remember clamp meters runs about $50 for calibration and there are labs all over the country.
I love your setup! VERY clean and organized! Great presentation on clamp meters. Here's something to note, and I've commented about it on other peoples videos that were doing load tests using an inverter. I have that same Reliable inverter as you have there, it's just the 24V version. I also have a good clamp ammeter that reads PEAK INRUSH current. When monitoring a load like a small space heater, if I switch between RMS and peak, there is a big difference in current readings! As much as 15% higher in peak. Reason is that the inverter uses a switching high frequency power supply that draws power in spikes as well as continuous current. It well throw off the readings from your Victron and clamp meters I think. If you scope the voltage at the inverter, you should see lots of "noise" spikes. Use a pure resistive (like wind turbine dump load resisters or the like) load when doing battery drain tests and other load tests. That's my opinion. Thanks!
I've used uni-t model ut203+ clamp meter with ac and dc amp up to 400a and its perfect and accurate for the price also come with extra features for home or auto shop useand i highly recommend it
agree, the simple Midnight Classic shunt is extremely accurate, I can turn on a tiny LED light and see it on the monitor
Absolutely! If you use a low resistance shunt you get a high sensitivity. Shunts are not very accurate fir high current measurements. High currents heat up the shunt and change the resistance. If you want to measure high currents accurately you want to use a fluxgate sensor.
Spooked me for a second there. I thought "Wait aminute! I didnt write that!"
master of the multimeter universe
great content again
Great video, very cool. Did not know you can nibble down a shunt to calibrate it. Learned something new today.
My fav tools for clamp meter now is Fluke 319.
Can measure AC & DC up to 1000 Amps.
and has an INRUSH feature
Thanks David for sharing the video
on how to calibrate the shunt resistor.
I learned at least two things here tonight.
1. I will trust my UNI-T 210E more than I did.
2. I'll know how to calibrate my current shunts now.
Thanks David!
Your welcome. Thanks for the comment. Those are the exact two things I was hoping to relay.
Can this read dc current like 0.01 amp ?
If you want more accurate readings on low amp with clamp meters you can coil it up so the cable goes 2 times trough the center and you double the reading, then divide in half.
I do this as a car mechanic to diagnose parasitic draws if the cables is long enough since at low current they are terrible on the accuracy
Oh and BTW I would reccomend you to ask a electronics tool distributor if they can do a calibration check on the unit-t one and tell how accurate it is.
Then you can check the others to a known good.
At work we use Wurth every year on all tools.
Cool trick, thanks for sharing.
I'm using Uni-t UT204A that ranges 600A -AC/DC,
even in decimal values readings are pretty accurate,
I also have a uni-t - good meters for the money.
Ya they cost money but not to much
As an electrician I have expensive meters Greenlee and fluke and the unit T is right with them in accuracy. Great little starter meter in my opinion and it's very compact which is nice too.
I have several multimeters and they are all ok but my go to meter is always my fluke. It isnt a clamp on multimeter but the most accurate and reliable and for testing semiconductors it is by far the winner. I would love to see a Fluke tested as well so maybe you can borrow one as they are not cheap but the best!
Hey David...I liked your trick of trimming your shunt to increase resistance. I have one of those too and will keep it in mind if I need to make adjustments. Thanks!
Your welcome. I'm glad another viewer suggested it in one of my older videos.
LOVE that video man. Thanks so much for sharing. God Bless.
Daumen hoch! Ich hoffe du hast in zukunft noch mehr zeit Videos zu machen! Sehr guter content in diesen zeiten!
You can probably remove much of the marker old ink with isopropyl alcohol aka isopropanol (70% is really common as "rubbing alcohol"). It does tend to stain plastic so probably won't all come out.
I was going to say the same thing.
Chemtool works even better, but use very little, it will melt the plastic if left too long.
My meter collection consists of a Fluke 336 and 355 AC/DC clamp meters along with the Uni-T UT210E. Am I a Fluke fanboy? Maybe, but it took me almost 2 years to save up to acquire them and waiting for the right deal; both of them are pre-owned and still had valid NIST traceable calibration stickers. As with your situation, I purchased the Uni-T recommended by another RUclipsr and I can definitely say that it is pretty accurate for the average DIY'er for the price point. As my system started to grow the 100 amp limit would get me, I knew that at some point I would have to bite the bullet and by no means I am gonna pay suggested retail prices for a brand new Fluke.
There's quite a debate if you should just spend the money for "nice" tool first. Depends on the situation; my take is I would spend the money on quality system components first and save up for the "nice" tool second. Ballparking it and adding the 125% sizing rule to it will keep things safe and not having to worry about burning the house down because you undersized something that you really shouldn't.
I am currently saving up on getting a FLIR camera as my nominal 48 volt system is starting to creep up and over the 100 amp continuous mark and it is the most efficient way to find hotspots on your system components and connections. For now, the IR thermometer gun and checklist log on a clipboard will do in the meantime. Time for me to do the calibration notch trick on one of my DC shunts for that same issue.
Ah finally I knew there was a better way. Good looking out there man !
The UNI-T has an advantage, that being it's clamp is smaller. A clamp-on meter is most accurate when the tested conductor is centered in the clamp.
Very good point! The high end clamp meters give you data on how large the variances are! Our engineers spend a lot of effort minimizing these variances.
On my Kaiweets 208D clamp meter, I was fairly surprised how consistent the readings were with the wire moved all around different positions of the large clamp diameter. Some meters are very sensitive to position, so just test it for yourself on the meter you have to see how much difference there is in the readings with the wire at different points in the opening.
nice fix to your shunt. Cool!
Speaking of inrush current, I would like to request a "soft start" project/testing video if you take requests. Use the youtube search and type in "the simplest soft start" should be the first result. I am curious how well it works for various items. especially a refrigerator where it has to remain active while the compressor kicks on and off.
Good stuff, David.
You can clean up the cover of your box with a wipe of a rag with a little chemtool on it. As if 1.07 was never there. I enjoy your videos.
Great, very informative. Keep it up.
Great job! I have a dc generator on my off grid system that has the same setup. Same data loger and shunt. I used it to test fuel efficiency between gas and diesel engines. I need to calibrate the shunt just like you did. I built mine about 5 years ago with the same box you did. Thanks you for the video. Now I can calibrate it. I also automated the dc generator and can set the amps manually or with a AVR. It charges repurposed Tesla batteries.
Have a blessed night brother.
Great video 🙂
Please show how the SMA is set op in the menu and how the inverter is communicating with the SMA inverter 🙏
I also bought the UNI Tmainly for the dc amps and really like it except I wish these style/shape meters had a flip out stand to keep position easier to read. I needed an inrush meter for AC but really only needed it for just that purpose and didn't really want to spend about $70 for the green one you have. I searched around and ended up purchasing a METER K 05 for about $26. It worked well for inrush and I really like the fact that it has a backlight for the LCD screen as well as a small flashlight. Its problem is its physically larger than the UNI T and my biggest problem with it is the lead plug ins wont keep a good connection. If the UNI T had inrush current and added a backlight on the LCD screen and min max hold it would be ideal for me . Maybe they have a different UNI T model that at least does inrush. I will check in the future.
I recently bought that uni-t 210E, and it works quite well. Had some weirdness putting it on the negative lead, so just watch that.
Happen to know a buddy with a Fluke brand clamp on meter? Always heard they are the best of the best for meters. They are certainly priced that way from the ones I’ve seen. Be curious to compare that to them.
great video..been trying to buy the right/good/great meters.
You have not considered the voltage drop to your box meter (cable losses).
Also, I'm not sure if one can precisely measure current with multiple ampereclamps on the same line.
Not only uni-t is accurate the build quality is on point even I got the cheaper model.
Uni-t is a very good multimeter! Here in europe it has a very good reputation. The newer model goes up to 600 amps DC and has inrush current reading also!!
On my list to try next
I am not sure of the material that your shunt is made of. I would be tempted to seal it with finger nail polish or something similar, otherwise moisture may affect the shunt and therefore the reading.
I would have started by looking at the accuracy of all of your meters according to the factory specifications. That Victron smart shunt only gives an accuracy of ±0.3% for Volts and ±0.4% for Amps. So for just knowing the state of your batteries and the amount of current being used or taken in on a display, that is plenty accurate. They don't list it based on ranges of voltage and current so we don't know how that accuracy changes based on the voltage or current readings being taken. We also have to consider that to get power these meters are multiplying Voltage and Current and to get Watthours also have to have an accurate real-time clock which will likely be the accuracy of the RTC of the cellphone or other android device so only accurate to ±8.6 to ±1.7 seconds per day. This will get you a ballpark figure that is likely within a percent of the capacity of the battery bank but as the bank gets larger the error will always be greater.
David, you picked a good subject here, meters these days are much cheaper, it may well be prudent to request a copy of the meters calibration certificate from the manufacturers rather than send them away each year for re-calibration. I guess it all depends on the spec one is working too. NAMAS, ISO, BS or uncertified IE not for valid measurement.
You should do a short video on how to calibrate the shunt, that is pretty important, and I had a hard time finding it. I wanted to make sure to do it right.
Most important thing is to have a known reference current to calibrate to. And remember it's a one way process, and works only if your readings are lower than the target. Adding metal back to the shunt is going to be problematic if you go too far.
Could try soldering the notch
A lot of those meters if you open them up have a pot so you can dial them in. Might be worth looking into so they all read the same. Good video btw. Cheers
Hey I see the Lg Chems are still there on the wall. What did you find out about how they charged in parallel with the other type cells?
The LG battery is in parallel with the "Tower of Power". They work fine. I have my bulk charge set to 56.8v on my Victron charge controller, which means 4.057 volts per cell in the LG, and 3.55 volts per cell in the tower of power. And I discharge down to 48 volts. So neither battery is being over-charged, or over-discharged.
Now that made the accurate however it would also slightly mess with the max capable current.
That's a great point. The last few builds I'm usually in the 10-30 amp range for testing.
Thanks a lot for this video. I have been wanting a dc clamp meter, but not wanting to spend $200.
Check out the Kaiweets HT208D, it may be atop the bang for the buck stack from what I've seen.
The 208D does pretty much everything right. The only thing I consider a drawback is display visibility in sunlight. Just can't see it without a lot of hand shielding. Looks pretty indoors though.😅
victron smart shunt 0.4% accuracy on current measurement , UNI-T is 2.0%, mine is closer to 1% , great meters for the price UT210D is capable of 200A
hello, interesting comparison of several measuring devices, but I wouldn't take your statement as a decision as to which one measures more accurately, because if I looked correctly, none of them are calibrated...
Awesome video!
Thank you!
Hi Dave, looking at your Sunny Island back there are you using a charge controller with these or is it charging you batteries as well. Any videos you can recommend on setting up Sunny Island or do you have one you have done yourself.
I'm using my original Victron charge controller to charge the batteries. The SMA inverters don't play well with it. LOL. But a friend of mine wrote a code that I'm Beta testing right now to overwrite it. I'll make a video on that once he is convinced the bugs are worked out.
@@DavidPozEnergy Thanks will be keeping my eye on that. Will keep an eye out for that one.
i have two of those shunt style panel meters in my truck to monitor the alternator output vs load. I knew their readings were a bit off, 3% compared to each other. But now I'm interested in doing that calibration. I do have a Klein DC clamp to compare with already.
My question is that if I perform the calibration at say 30 amps, will the calibration still be correct when the load is near 100 amps? Should I do the calibration at some middle amperage level for best accuracy?
The ones I tested seemed to be calibrated based on the full rating. In this case, at 100 Amps. But, I tend to use this at lower Amps and that's why I calibrated it lower, around 30A.
Bravo David...
Greetings the meter you made for capacity test, the external power battery should be 12v battery to test batteries 8v or less and you can add xt60 to connect probes to do so
The ones that may be most accurate would not have to agree with the Victron unit. You would need to know if that unit is correct in the first place. That would require having three of them to test against. Two out of the three would have to agree in your same location for them to be even considered as accurate.
What do you use to crimp the large gauge wire
David, did you ZERO all your dc clamp meter before taking the reading? this is important to calibrate it prior to all measurements =)
Yes. Sorry I didn't show it on camera, tried to keep the video short. But I appreciate the tip in case someone else is watching and didn't think about it.
Very good job, lots of work and I really enjoyed watching this David! The Victron shunt is interesting - how did you know it's the most accurate? Based on what Victron states, or from your previous tests?
OK, let me answer my own question... I had no idea before about the difference between shunts and multimeters, so I finally figured it out. The Victron Smart Shunt has a current measurement accuracy of +/-0.4% and a voltage accuracy of +/-0.3%. A Fluke 117 (for example) has a current measurement accuracy of +/-1% and a voltage measurement accuracy of +/-0.5%. So definitely the Victron Smart Shunt is more accurate than a Fluke 117, and probably even more accurate than the cheaper lesser-known brands of multimeters. Thanks again for doing this video - got me thinking and learned something new!
I think you would want to measure in the same place or close to the smart shunt since that is where you are comparing at. Would some of the other connections in your meter box ect skew the results a little plus being further away? I dont know maybe it doesnt matter? Neat to see all the different results. I have that same ames meter! I like it except it doesnt have a little stand to hold it up!😀
That's cool you have the same Ames meter. Is the result what you expected? Have you also noticed it reading slightly high in DC amps?
Thanks, useful info
Hazard Fraught. I think you should invest in a Fluke 87. One of my favorite meters is the Keysight U1253B - I don't think they make it anymore, They're not clamp meters, btw.
Thanks for your comment. I looked up the Fluke 87. They sell it with an optional clamp, but unfortunately the clamp is AC only. Shoot. I'm trying to find the "ultimate" DMM.
David, I’ve got a HIOKI CM4376 clamp meter (up to 1000 A AD/DC, 600 V CAT IV, 1000 V CAT III, measures inrush and frequency, connect via Bluetooth, max. wire diameter 33 mm/1.3 in wire diameter). You want to try it out?
Hi Chris Scholz, Thank you, let's talk.
@@DavidPozEnergy Thank you. I’ll send you an e-mail, Davis
@@DavidPozEnergy Hi Dave, later in the comments I discovered that Fluke does sell a AC/DC clamp. It's not cheap but I did buy one.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0022Y9FJY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The good thing I I can use it with my other multimeters, my oscilloscope and my bench multimeters. Hope this helps!
Wait you measured current on the negative cable?
Amazing hack on that shunt
Did you test the meter which you said it's under 20 usd? Because that one was the cheapest. This uni-t is a great meter. I bought it from Ali seller 30 euros, I'm very happy with it. The quality and accuracy is amazing with that price. Anyway thanks for the videos. It's great and informative like always👍🏼
DC clamp meter zero is influenced by the earth's magnetic field. The meter's orientation should be the same when it's zeroed as it is when clamped on the wire. I could've easily missed it.
I like your Harbor Freight Tool
He could have bought the $89.99 one and been better off from the looks of it. I have two of the Ames 610A models and for Voltage they read within .002 Volts of each other when measuring DC Volts.
You starting fluid or break cleaner to remove the permit marker
I've found that those little Uni-T meters are pretty nice for the $$, and have a great low range on the clamp, good for finding stray loads in cars and whatnot. As my whole-house (almost) system is a lot lower power than most, the 100A top is fine for me. And i can always get a bigger unit if needed. I'm one of those that mentioned carving on the shunt to calibrate it (most shunts even have a saw cut in them from the factory). Glad you were able to get your unit on track. One more calculation you won't have to worry about! Always nice to know you're getting good info during tests. Keep on doing the battery stuff! I'm still tuning my setup here, many more batteries, a 1000w/36v sine wave UPS for the 'never drop' loads, and a 3000W/36V 'Reliable' inverter to carry the refer/freezer and microwave loads. (Still designing the sequencing setup for those bits.) Power's not real reliable up here, so have to compensate. Sun hard to come by, too... (Trees). Take care, stay safe and keep on making these videos. (I'm about to release a video thru a RUclips friend of what happens when you drive a drywall screw thru an 18650... Very flashy and messy. Still picking bits of sooty things out of the room. Amazing what one Li-ion can do when provoked! It's quite the show! Fortunately, my security cam caught our screwup...:) Careful with those things! Stu (Tinkerbat Tech)
Can’t wait to see that light show! 😂
David, you should be able to remove that 1.07 marker with Lacquer thinner. Just be real quick on the plastic housing.
Isopropyl alcohol is safer on the plastic.
It's my first DMM too :D 3:20
Does measuring the current with all meters on at the same time, impact the current readings of the downstream meters?
Also makes me laugh because I looked for meters myself weeks ago and tried to catch the names of yours from the videos.
Keep the videos coming!
The readings should all be the same, though inline current shunts will decrease the current from the added resistance. All the meters should reflect the same decrease though, no difference upstream or downstream.
Did you have multiple meters hooked to that wire at the same time? I'm certainly no expert on Electronics, but I know that electricity plays tricks. Do you think you'd get the exact same results if you only put one around that wire at a time?
I did it both ways, all at once and one at a time. I thought I mixed in a little video footage of both... but maybe not. It's been a long day of editing and I'm forgetting which shots made the final cut.
@@DavidPozEnergy thank you for the reply. Like I said, I'm not professional or anything. But it made me wonder if it might be possible for them to affect each other after learning how inductors work.
If you are talking to quantum physicists there is a difference. For an electrician: no
@@mattosborne1233 The DC clamp meter doesn't use an inductor, but uses a Hall effect sensor instead.
Would have liked to see a comparison of all those meters against an industry standard (more expensive) Fluke DMM.... BTW I have some of the meters you did test.
So would I. I'd love to buy a known, calibrated, standard that I can check against, but don't know how to find an affordable one for home use.
@@DavidPozEnergy David.. You can get a decent Fluke on Aliexpress for under $100 USD delivered. I have 2 of them and use 1 as a reference just to check my other meters. For under $100 it will not be the Fluke top of the line meter but even on the lower end models the specs are very good.
the smaller the clamp diameter the more accurate it will be. if you perfectly centered the conductor in the other clamps they would give much better results.
Well Done!
What about low ampere test? Like half or quarter ampere
None of these meters in my test are accurate below 2A. For those lower numbers you can get a separate device like this: amzn.to/3OGc9Z9
Off bugspray(green can) will take sharpie right off
The conclusion that UNI-T is the most accurate is too brutal. Every measurement tool or instrument has the accuracy error about +/- 1%, and there's some variation even for the devices of the same brand. I think those meters are all doing enough good jobs.
Thanks
It looks like linear regressions are in your future! Take care. Tootles... Wade
heya oke I order myself a multifunctional battery tester (1% accuracy )and I tought there was a 50 Amp internal shunt bilt in but there isn't they said up to 200volt and 300 amp's but the shunt for it you have to bay sepratly so still have to do that lol so have to wait for that peace
With all the money you spent on meters you could have bought a good brand name one. Wich is what you should have done to start with. Grandpa always told me buy the good tool to start with, always cheaper in the long run.
You are probably right.
That sounds like smart advice Keith!
From Aguadilla Puerto Rico. I thank you. God Bless America....
God bless the people of all the nations to helping the sickness and afflictions that affect them, their families and individuals, but also healing the corruptions which have infiltrated their economies and governments. May the unnecessary burdens be lifted as they turn to God and Yeshua and receive divine intervention to governance, education, energy harvesting, healthy food and water and caring for themselves and each other.
Science says we cannot get free energy, but that is the only type of energy we ever have used, thanks to Creator! Coal and oil, wood/biomass, solar power and wind are all harvested from Creation. There are better technologies coming online. When much is given, individual accountability needs to match the increase because the power levels are equivalent to a hydroelectric dam in a package the size of a coffee table. Thank you Yeshua! Will we use it to be creative or will we use it to make war? Ask for wisdom.
- Peace and love.
you cant compare hall DC clamp meters against shunt resistor... pines and apples :X
I mean they are different methods but they are trying to measure the same thing
It is not possible to measure DC amp with a clamp. The magnetism around the single wire you clamp it around doesn't fluctuate
Try Pure (99.50% to 99.99%) Acetone (a better grade Nail Polish Remover) to remove the marker on your box.
All these meters are acceptable to be used for their designed application. None of these devices are the required 10 times accuracy in order to be used as a calibration source.
Victron smart shunt specification is BS, typical shunts made in the US are +/-0.25% Chinese made shunts are +/-0.5%. Most shunts calibration are done at a specific temperature and current value so the accuracy of calibration is set at a specific value. Once the shunts temperature leaves a specific range or current density changes, out goes the accuracy. Taking into consideration the Smart Shunt has several manganin leafs the current density is not uniform until around 60% saturation. The distance between the brass end blocks appears to be less than 1 inch, shunts with a narrow distance between the brass ends blocks have a higher drift due galvanic action. The Shunt's in the video are in a box with no air flow, shunts are required to have an air flow to maintain accuracy.
Considering the above and the price point of victron the stated +/- 0.4% accuracy is probably just the Analog to Digital chip being used and the shunt is assumed to be perfect. Consider the Shunts thermal drift + the shunts base accuracy + Analog to Digital chip ( +/-0.4%) + current density through the shunt. The accuracy is more likely between 1 to 2% just like the Clamp on Meters being used.
I would not have adjusted the shunt's calibration as none of the devices are accurate enough to be doing calibration with.
Parabéns pelo vídeo, não falo inglês, porém como você fala devagar aos poucos estou compreendendo tudo.
Here's an interesting supplemental video on calibrating and hacking a UNI-T: ruclips.net/video/Vj6b-clYTis/видео.html ...for example. Now, I'm not saying the average home enthusiast would desire to get that far into it with the EEPROM flashing (although doesn't seem too difficult), but I saw a couple interesting points on testing.
They mentioned that the hall effect probe of an ammeter can become magnetized which is not desirable and can throw off readings, so it is good to degauss the probe once in a while with a demagnetizer.
The other interesting thing I saw was if you wanted to test amperages at higher scale with a fixed amperage provided on the power source, you can loop the wire twice, three times, four times, five times, etc, through the probe to add on the amperage readings, to help with testing calibration. Say like you had a 10a going through your test wire, you can loop it once and it will read 20a, loop it again to make it read 30a, loop it again to make it read 40a, etc... This is to help test calibration across the curve.
Anyways, just thought I'd throw it out there, as I hadn't thought of that trick before. Gotta love You Tube, great way to get all the smart minds together. Anyways, keep up the awesome creative videos!
Mastech ms2115a is better than a fluke and cheaper .I like the extech ma1500 40000 count display good voltage resolution but when it measures ac amps it acts like is charging a capacitor and take about 5 seconds for it to register in ballpark reading
Fluke 325 and 117
@DavidPoz #DavidPoz is your DIY meter box that you made ampere bi-directional ie, can it measure amps in both directions ie. in and out and if so does it have a (-) minus sign when used in the reverse "charging" in mode or when its in "draining" mode , thanks for the videos ;-]
I'm not sure. I've only used it to measure discharge capacity.