Best amp meter for motor setup
 

Hi all
I'm trying to be more accurate when setting the timing on my motors so I thought in getting an amp meter, as a cheaper alternative to a motor analyzer.
I understand that the motor analyzer is going to provide me more info, but at this point I just want a quick tool to help me go back and forth on timing to find that sweet spot. Also I dont want to have to get the motor out of the car any time I want to check the amp draw.

So what in line amp meter would you guys recommend? My Multimeter is only good up to 10 amps, which is too borderline and I didnt want to ruin it. Guys at the track had a handmade one, but I couldn't find anything online about making one easily.
I thought in getting this:

https://www.amazon.com/Rcharlance-Analyzer-Precision-Backlight-Balancer/dp/B07DL3MY21/ref=mp_s_a_1_13?keywords=watt+meter&qid=1567126260 &s=gateway&sr=8-13

Let me know what you think

Sams rev meter. Available at Lefthander-RC. Price is around $40

I ran across that one a few days ago.. it seems similar to the 18 dollar one from Amazon, but significantly more expensive.. do you know why is that? I'm not questioning the Sam's meter quality by any means, just trying to understand the big price gap

I'm guessing his cost to purchase the bare meter, wire, connectors, labor soldering the things together and of course the middle man selling them.

Buy 1 of these. And solder your leads on

https://www.harborfreight.com/30-amp-automotive-fuse-circuit-tester-67724.html?cid=paid_google|*PLA+-+All+Products+-+Lower+Sales+Items|New+Products+-+%282%29+Price+%2410-30|67724&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&mkwid=sA bYZxhhk|pcrid|318476002941|pkw||pmt||pdv|m|slid||p roduct|67724|&pgrid=63088204546&ptaid=pla-296817495309&pcid=1654049980&intent=&gclid=EAIaIQo bChMI1anrmc2p5AIVGMNkCh3ZEQU3EAQYDiABEgJZlvD_BwE

Yes, that will provide you with power draw from the battery between the connection to the ESC, however I believe the amp draw will be greater when you add resistance from the ESC plus gearing of the drive train hooked up so if you tune per any recommended amp draws from the manufacturer, then you will be grossly under clocking your motor. Not really sure what any correlation will be to get a proper unloaded amp draw reading with this method. To me it's a lot easier to hook the motor up to an analyzer, totally worth the extra 5 minutes to re-solder too, this gives peace of mind to fix any connections that might go bad over time ;)

Perhaps you can find a friend who has a motor analyzer and have him set the amp draw for you first, then take an initial reading with your $15 meter, and then you'll know what the correlation is afterward. Of course this assumes there are no worn parts in the drive train, no excessive binding, too tight of mesh, worn bearings, etc that may skew your readings... too many variables that are not worth the risk IMO.

I understand that measuring the in line amp draw is just a method that does not take load into consideration. What I don't understand is why would the motor analyzer be a better tool, if that also doesn't account for gearing, ESC, and so on? Aren't those 2 methods basically the same, other than the analyzer providing phase timing difference and KV?

Edit: what motor analyzer do you recommend? The RC Juice one is the one I see most

Using the motor analyzer will eliminate any outside variables that can effect draw, not all bearings are the same, some drive lines are more efficient than others, different rollout, mass of tires/inserts may vary etc.

I use the RC Juice analyzer myself, not the best quality, but it gets the job done for a reasonable price, if you want the best money can buy then consider this one:

Motolyser 2 Brushless Motor Tester

You can use one of those free (or cheap if you don't have a coupon) multimeters from Harbor Freight - https://www.harborfreight.com/7-func...g_q=multimeter

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rct...c9651458f3.jpg

I was just curious about how you would solder the bullets into the thin wires that come with this amp meter... do I need to replace the wires by a thicker gauge?

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rct...26dfbf5c11.jpg

This is how the deans should be connected. The other cable is fine as is.

https://beta.photobucket.com/u/andyk...0-9af57920604d