AC Line Splitter Direct and 10X Sensitivity

by Elenco

Product Description

AC line splitter. This instrument is a special accessory for clamp meters which can be used to measure current conveniently without destroying the insulation part of the equipment power lines.

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 6.7 ounces
• ASIN: B0002I118K
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #130,190 in Home Improvement (See Top 100 in Home Improvement)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well built and feature packed tool to have, April 22, 2008

By 

HMMWV "God, Country, Corps" (santa clara, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: AC Line Splitter Direct and 10X Sensitivity (Misc.)

In order to make a current measurement you used to have to break the circuit and run one conductor through your meter's 10A current input and return back to the device from the meter's ground then hope there are no surges over 10A to blow your meter's fuse. With today's advanced amp-clamp meters, and this tool, Safe, Fast, Easy, and Accurate current measurements are posssible.

First, the tool is inserted between your device under test and an AC wall plug.

The tool features 2 "holes" to put your amp clamp into. This eliminates the need to have a split cable with just one wire to put your amp clamp onto. One hole is labled "X1" which has only one wrap of the current carrying wire in it, so your amp clamp will read the actual current used by whatever is plugged into this tool.

The second hole has a trick - Labeled "X10" it features 10 wraps of the current carrying wire and multiplies the meter's reading by 10. By doing this you can just move the decimal point to the LEFT one place and make accurate measurements of very small currents that your amp clamp may not sense accurately otherwise. It's a simple current transformer. Say you are using your clamp on a device that reads 0.1A on the X1 hole. Using the X10 hole your meter could read 0.5 - 1.6 A depending on its rounding numerics. Moving the decimal point one digit left you find what originally was limited by the resolution of your meter to 0.1 A is really 0.05 - 0.16A (again depending on roundoff error you eliminated by using the X10 hole)

There are two other convenient features worth noting other than the X10 current multiplier. Banana jacks are present for Earth, Line, and Neutral to make voltage measurements simultaneously. Also, the somewhat wierd looking "Jack" for the device to plug into is of the "Universal" design found in international hotels and cruise ships which handles most of the USA, Europe, China, Japan, and too many other countries to list. This is the reason the holes on the jack look a little funny and there are 2 ground holes - they accept many plugs equally well. If you are testing an overseas appliance you have an adapter here to the US standard outlet. Combine it with a 2:1 transformer or a variac where needed and you can get 230 volts to run the appliances for countries with 230 VAC voltage standards.

For $11, this adapter can get you out of alot of trouble neatly and extend the low current range of your existing AC amp-clamps. Most people pay $11 just for an overseas adapter. It's a great accessory.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Look out! Reverses hot and neutral for US plugs, January 26, 2010

By 

Chapman Flack (Lafayette, IN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: AC Line Splitter Direct and 10X Sensitivity (Misc.)

I just got one of these. As a line splitter it's fine, splits a line as well as any other line splitter out there. I thought the funky universal socket was a pretty cool feature, and maybe it is: although the splitter only has a regular NEMA 5-15P (US) plug on the end, its socket will accept lots of different international plug shapes.

Only I guess the international plug standards don't all put hot on the same side, and this splitter is actually wired so if you're using a standard US plug (yes, right, the kind that matches the one on the end of the splitter), you'll get your hot and neutral reversed!

I wish I could have been in the room when the design team figured that out.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Handy Tool, March 12, 2007

By 

A. Clegg - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: AC Line Splitter Direct and 10X Sensitivity (Misc.)

This tool makes amperage draw tests extremely fast and easy and very accurate...