Swain Meter Clamp-on DC Meter Overview

Description 

Worldwide Quality and Reliability

Swain Meters are field-portable, non-contact ammeters for corrosion protection, fault location, and quality assurance. They are accurate, convenient, and trouble-free under normal field conditions, even for underwater measurements. A Swain Meter is calibrated and sold as a set with a Swain DC Amp Clip™ or DC Amp Clamp™.

Applications

  • Determine current magnitude & direction.
  • Locate shorts & interference.
  • Ideal for current measurement for anodes, gas & oil pipelines, concrete & steel columns.

Swain Meter Product Line Overview

  • Swain Meter DC Amp Clips™ & Amp Clamps™.  Available from 3/4" to 60"+ diameter aperture. For contactless current measurement from 5 milliamperes (mA) to over 200 amperes (A).
     
  • Swain MER Meter® Clamp-on DC Current Meter.  MER stands for Magnetic Error Reduction, which solves magnetic interference problems. Two to three times more accurate and faster to use than  a standard meter when measuring current flowing in a 1/2" to 48" pipe with residual magnetism.
     
  • Swain AutoMER™ Autoranging Clamp-on DC Current Meter.  Combines automatic control with MER Magnetic Error Reduction. Range and zero are set automatically.
     
  • Swain MER2 DC Amp Clips™ & Amp Clamps™.  Two to three times more accurate than MER DC Amp Clips & Clamps in the presences of external magnetic fields. Protected by US Patent 6,323,635 B1.
     
  • 70 mA Tester for Swain Clamp-on DC Ammeters.  Battery powered 70 mA regulated current source designed to verify the accuracy of direct current Swain Meters.
     
  • 700 mA Tester N-10 for Swain Clamp-on DC Ammeters.  Battery powered 70 mA regulated current source into a 10-turn loop. Designed to verify the accuracy of direct current 

 

Swain Meter FAQ

What are Swain Meters?
  Swain Meters are precision built and calibrated portable meters, coupled with clips or clamps, used to measure current magnitude and direction on conductors in the atmosphere, underground, or under water. They as suitable for AC or DC. They are ideal for pipe, pipelines, cables, supports, rebar and other structures where corrosion may be a problem.
What sets Swain Meters apart from other clamp-type meters?
  All Swain Meters utilize Magnetic Error Reduction (MER) technology. This greatly reduces the effect of the Earth’s magnetic field, which introduces errors into the measurements of all other clamp-type meters.
What is the differences between clips and clamps?
  Clips are single-piece, spring loaded sensors, which can be installed and removed by compressing a handle. Clips range in size from 3/4” to 6” diameter. Clamps are larger sensors. They are manufactured as matching half-circles, which are  and bolted together around the conductor to perform  measurements. Clamps range in size from 6” to 60” diameter. Custom sizes can be produced on demand.
What is the difference between MER and MER2 sensors?
  MER stands for Magnetic Error Reduction, which minimizes magnetic interference problems. MER is the older and less expensive sensor (clip and clamp) technology. MER2 is a newer, patented sensor technology, which reduces magnetic interference by a factor of 2 or 3 and cuts zero errors in half compared to MER.
What precision can a Swain Meter achieve?
  Swain Meters are capable of a 1 milliampere (mA) resolution on 3/4” to 13” clips and clamps, 1 to 10 mA on 14” to 24” clamps, and 1 to 100 mA resolution on 15” to 60” clamps.

 

Swain Meter Applications
 

Energy transmission – oil, natural gas, electricity  

Stray current identification
Flange leakage

Induced AC measurement
Direct burial for long-term monitoring

Corrosion control  

Structure identification
Foreign contact location
CP system circuit diagnostics

Power generation  

Battery float charge and load current
Tower leg interference
Guy wire current drain
Grounding system current drain

Marine    

 Dock/platform anode current
Current leakage from propeller
Undersea to depths of 700 ft

Automotive
 
Current leakage in electrical system
Alternator and battery diagnostics

Dairy
 
AC identification in milking process