Measuring ampage / current with clamp meter

[stuee]

Hi.
So i volunteer for a non for profit event group. We regular have events with food trucks there and use our 3phase power towers which have 8x 15A sockets.
We seem to overload sometimes on them and trip the box. I was wanting to find a way to check the ampage at the start of the event before people arrive and then again when in full swing to see the full load, also to see who is drawing too much etc.

Is there a way to do this with a clamp meter, like clamp around one of the 15amp cables and even better around the 3phase cable to see how much juice its pulling?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Les Jones]

You have to put the clamp meter around ONE CONDUCTOR of the cable. If you clamp the whole cable the magnetic fields from the three phases cancel out. (Or in the case of single phase the magnetic fields from the libe and neutral conductors cancel out.

Les.

 

[MikeMl]

You have to make a short cable with a male plug on one end and female socket on the other. In between, make a short loop out of the each of the hot wire(s). The jaws of the clamp meter go around only one the loop wires at a time.

In the US, the clamp meter goes around any conductor but the green one. Since I have no idea what country you are in, you will have to figure out the wire colors...