Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Sun, 12 Jan 2020 18:43:28 -0500, "Tom Del Rosso"
wrote:

I expect a large fridge to draw around 5 amps, but my clamp
transformer (on one wire of a broken-out extension cord of course)
and Fluke together say 830ma when the thing is running. Does that
seem wrong? It measures the toaster oven at 9.1A and the fridge
light at 300ma.

Make and model of the fridge? 117VAC or 240VAC? I can possibly
lookup the expected current drain online and do a sanity check. I
found a few charts that claim a full size refrigerator/freezer should
draw about 700 watts. 5A sounds about right:

Frigidaire FFHT1621TS1


117VAC * 5A = 585 VA
No clue on the PF (power factor) so I'll use VA instead of watts.

If you're seeing only 0.83A, then you're looking at the current drawn
by a fan or light bulb in the fridge, not the compressor. Try
lowering the temperature setting of the thermostat temporarily to
force the compressor to start.

Tthat 800ma is when it's making noise. It's less than 10ma the rest of
the time. The other loads are toaster and microwave so they draw zero
most of the time.

The most unfortunate thing is that all the outlets in the kitchen seem
to be on one breaker. I say so because there is a 3 volt drop on any
outlet when the toaster oven draws 9 amps. In another room it drops
100mv or less.