Description:

FLIR’s CM174 is the first clamp meter to embed a Lepton® micro-bolometer so electricians can see where to place the jaws before taking a reading. The narrow 1.38-inch (35 mm) jaw measures up to 600 A AC or DC with True-RMS accuracy and zero-button DC offset removal, while the 6 000-count TFT simultaneously overlays a 60 × 80-pixel thermal image. Infrared-guided measurement (IGM™) highlights hot conductors from −13 to 302 °F, a 30 : 1 distance-to-spot ratio and 50° × 38.6° field-of-view covering an entire panel at arm’s length. Advanced modes—Lo-Z to kill ghost voltages, VFD low-pass filtering, inrush capture, min/max and a flex-probe input—cover everything from lighting circuits to 3 000 A bus bars. Four AAA cells power 10 h of conventional testing or 3 h of imaging; a backlit keypad, twin LED work-lights and laser pointer make midnight troubleshooting practical. Despite the thermal core and 10.5 oz battery pack, the CM174 weighs under one pound and slips into a shirt pocket, yet carries CAT IV-600 V / CAT III-1000 V safety ratings and a 10-year detector warranty.

Economic Advantage:

Technicians usually tote a clamp meter and a thermal camera—or waste time “blindly” probing each conductor until the hot leg is found. The CM174 merges those tasks: one squeeze reveals both thermal and electrical clues, cutting average fault-finding time by 30 % and slashing equipment payload in half. Its Lo-Z and VFD modes reduce callbacks caused by phantom voltages or noisy drives, and the commodity AAA batteries avoid the $70 proprietary packs required by handheld imagers. Over a typical year of service calls, shops report labour savings that eclipse the meter’s purchase price two-to-one.