Thought those fancy multimeter clamps were a gimmick, but nope

I was always team analog meter for diagnosing fridge compressors, thought the clamp-on ones were overpriced. Then I picked up a Uni-T UT210E for around $40 last month and used it on a dead Whirlpool in Dallas. It caught a micro-amp draw the old meter missed completely. Has anyone else switched tools after a stubborn no-start call?

2 comments

2 Comments

andrew69314d ago

Started using a clamp meter after 20 years in the trade. Now I won't touch a fridge without one.

caleb_gibson14d ago

Respectfully push back on this @andrew693. I've been doing appliance repair for about 15 years and I still rarely use a clamp meter on fridges. Most of the time it's just a bad start relay or a dead capacitor that a simple multimeter catches. I can see the value for compressor draw tests and stuff like that, but I don't think it's a must-have for every single fridge call.