J. Phil Thien's Projects

Yes a cheep clamp on will work and it will give you a good idea of how much curent you are using. You will need to open the J-box on the motor and put the meter on just one of the lead's thay should be marked L1 or L2 not on the cord this will give you the best reading.

On start up for 3 or 4 seconds the motor will pull it's full amp rating marked FLA on the name plate and then go down to about half and thats were it should run. A larger impeler will increse the amp draw but it will also decrese the horse power

Hope this helps
Duane

To test the amp draw of a motor you need a tool called a amprobe just clamp it arond one lead of the motor wile the motor is runing

I used to repar electric motors so if you have any qustons i will be glad to help
Duane