How to use a PeakTech multimeter
Updated: 22 October 2026
You have one of these PeakTech meters in your hand and you want a voltage, a continuity beep or a clamp current. How to use a PeakTech multimeter, for the four listings here, starts with what the meter is allowed to decide. It can measure. It is a poor tool for proving a UK circuit is dead. The [PeakTech multimeter comparison](/hub/measuring-equipment/peaktech-multimeter) is the product table. This page is the order of an ordinary reading, and the point where you stop. The Products Compared editorial team followed HSE guidance and the listings scraped on 21 October 2026. We did not draw jack positions, because the files do not show them. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
You have one of these PeakTech meters in your hand and you want a voltage, a continuity beep or a clamp current.
You have one of these PeakTech meters in your hand and you want a voltage, a continuity beep or a clamp current. How to use a PeakTech multimeter, for the four listings here, starts with what the meter is allowed to decide. It can measure. It is a poor tool for proving a UK circuit is dead. The PeakTech multimeter comparison is the product table. This page is the order of an ordinary reading, and the point where you stop. The Products Compared editorial team followed HSE guidance and the listings scraped on 21 October 2026. We did not draw jack positions, because the files do not show them. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Type | Current | Jaw | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  PeakTech PeakTech P 3440 | Graphic handheld | Series, limit unstated | None | 8.0 | about £204.17 | View offer |
| Alternative |  PeakTech PeakTech P 1650 | 400 A clamp | 400 A AC/DC | Not in the scraped table | 6.3 | about £77.70 | View offer |
| Best value |  PeakTech PeakTech P 4350 | 80 A clamp | 1 mA to 5 A, then 80 A | 12 mm | 6.7 | about £75.18 | View offer |
On this page
What this meter will and will not prove
HSE’s HSG85 says that after you isolate you still prove the circuit dead. For low voltage it names a two-pole detector, a test lamp, or a voltmeter with insulated probes and fused leads, and it says multimeters are not recommended because they can be set to the wrong function. Electrical Safety First says the same about multimeters and non-contact sticks. Prove the indicator before and after, preferably on a proving unit. A flat cell can look like a dead circuit. The only UK review of the P 1650, on 24 June 2026, says the battery arrived flat. The clamp titles mention a contactless voltmeter. GS38 treats non-contact detectors as a way to identify live equipment, not as proof of dead. Categories are on the CAT rating page. Once a proper indicator has done the proving, an ordinary voltage reading on a lead is a different job.
Leads, function and range before you touch the circuit
GS38 says the leads go into the instrument first, and it recommends fused multimeter leads, usually not above 500 mA, with tips no more than 4 mm and preferably 2 mm. None of the four component lists states tip length or a lead fuse, so you should not treat the pouch leads as confirmed GS38 leads. Set the function before the probes meet the work. If you are unsure of the voltage, start on the highest range and step down. The P 3440 and P 3442 print CAT III 1000 V and CAT IV 600 V. The P 4350 and P 1650 print CAT III 600 V. Stay inside the mark on the meter you hold, and inside the mark on the leads if they carry one. The buying guide compares those strings before you purchase. With the function set, a voltage reading is a measurement, not a certificate.
Voltage, resistance and continuity
Read voltage on the voltage function after the display settles. A UK review of the P 3440 describes plant equipment and electric forklift circuits and calls the meter fast there. Resistance and continuity belong on a part you have already made dead and disconnected, so you are checking the component rather than the consumer unit. That same UK review says the P 3440 beep takes almost a second. Wait for it before you decide a core is open. The P 3442 bullets do not name a continuity beep, so do not copy the P 3440 timing across. If the display shows a voltage with the leads in free air, stop. Non-UK reviews of the P 1650 describe a voltage with nothing nearby. A figure that will not clear is a reason to distrust the instrument. Current in a closed cable needs the jaw, which is the next setup.
Current with the clamp
Use the P 4350 or the P 1650 when the conductor stays intact. Fluke’s DC method is to zero with the jaw empty and closed, then clamp one conductor. A French review of the P 4350 says the REL control is required. Amazon does not name the button, so treat it as the relative or zero control that reviewer calls REL. A whole flex, live and neutral together, cancels and the load reads about zero. That near-zero is what you expect on a healthy load cable. It is not a leakage test. Leakage is the imbalance, with both live conductors and not the CPC, and that method is on the clamp page. Non-UK reviews say the P 4350 low range can drift after zero. If it will not sit still, do not record a milliamp figure. The handhelds measure series current only in an opened circuit. PeakTech states 10 A, and Amazon does not print that limit.
When you put the meter down
Stop for the supply side, for an Electrical Installation Certificate, or for an RCD fault you cannot isolate. Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, regulation 16, requires competence or supervision where knowledge is needed to prevent danger. These meters are not BS EN 61557 installation testers. Put the meter down if it shows voltage in free air, if the clamp will not zero, or if a flat battery means you cannot trust a blank display. The P 3440’s slow beep is a reason to wait on a disconnected core, not a reason to prove a board dead. Non-contact voltage on the clamp titles does not replace the two-pole indicator. If you are still choosing which meter to own, use the PeakTech comparison.
Common questions
Can I use this multimeter to check a circuit is dead?
HSG85 says you should use a two-pole detector, a test lamp, or a voltmeter with insulated probes and fused leads, proved before and after on a proving unit. A multimeter can be on the wrong function, so a zero can be a setting error. A flat battery can look the same, which is what the P 1650’s only UK review describes. Non-contact voltage in the clamp titles identifies live equipment. It does not prove a circuit dead. Electrical Safety First gives the same warning.
Why must I zero a DC clamp?
A DC jaw can show an offset before any cable is inside it. Close the empty jaw, zero, then clamp one conductor. On the P 4350 a French review says REL is required, and other non-UK reviews say the low range drifts afterwards or wanders with the jaw empty. If the display will not stay at zero, the milliamp figure is not usable. Follow the relative or zero control on your meter. This page does not invent a front-panel diagram the listings do not show.
Do I clamp one core or the whole flex?
Clamp one conductor for load current. Live and neutral in the same jaw cancel, so a healthy flex reads about zero while the load is drawing current. Clamping line and neutral together, and leaving the CPC out, is how a leakage clamp shows imbalance. The P 4350 is the listing that states 1 mA resolution, and the 12 mm jaw limit sits on the clamp page. This how-to does not ask you to open a live board to separate the cores.
Why is the P 3440 continuity beep slow?
A UK review says the beep takes almost a second, on a meter that same person found fast on plant equipment. Wait out the delay before you call a disconnected core open. The delay is reported behaviour of that model, not a measurement of the cable. The P 3442 listing does not describe its own beep. Continuity remains a check of a dead, disconnected part. It is not how you prove a consumer unit dead.
What if the meter shows a voltage with the leads in the air?
Stop and treat the instrument as untrustworthy for that task. Non-UK reviews of the P 1650 describe a voltage with nothing nearby. A phantom figure can also come from a wrong function or a lead that is not seated. Leave the circuit alone rather than probing further to see if the figure moves. If the question is whether the circuit is dead, use a proper voltage indicator and set this meter aside until a known source reads cleanly.
When do I stop and call a competent person?
Stop for the supply side, a certificate or condition report, an RCD fault you cannot isolate, a free-air voltage, or a clamp that will not zero. Regulation 16 of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 is the competence rule. A CAT IV mark on the P 3440 or P 3442 does not authorise installation testing under BS 7671. A clamp on a vehicle battery lead is a different scale from a live consumer unit. The stop is the same when you no longer know the danger.
Related pages
Sources
Public sources listed in the research digest. Shelf prices and star lines are the amazon.co.uk figures on these four listings. The price bands are this set, not a market average.
- Martindale Electric: measurement categories explained (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- HSE GS38: electrical test equipment for electricians (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, regulation 16 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- HSE: electrical FAQs (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- SELECT Best Practice Guide 7 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- Fluke: what is true-RMS (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- PeakTech P 3440 manufacturer page (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 (retrieved 22 October 2026)