Kill A Watt KWH meter = Cool gadget!

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Re: Kill A Watt KWH meter = Cool gadget!

I ordered two and received them today. Very nice, especially for the price, and the readings agree fairly closely with those on my homemade wattmeter. The only thing I wish was different is for power and VA to be displayed to the tenths of a watt for low wattages. For example, a device drawing 1.5W might fluctuate between 1 and 2.

The line frequency measure shows 59.9 Hz. No way to correct that. It looks like a calculation error. The device probably reads the time for one cycle to the nearest tenth of a millisecond. This would be 16.7 ms. When you calculate the frequency by taking the inverse, you end up with 59.9 Hz.
 
Re: Kill A Watt KWH meter = Cool gadget!

I wish I had patented this thing when I came up with the idea about 15 years ago. I never got around to building one. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rant.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif
 
Re: Kill A Watt KWH meter = Cool gadget!

I am now enlightened with the knowledge that my 27" television with twin TiVo/Sat receivers averages $5.39 in electricity on a monthly basis.

It's kinda fun to put the electric bill together by pieces.

Peter
 
Re: Kill A Watt KWH meter = Cool gadget!

Cool! I think I will have to get one. I just bought a Yamaha ef1000is and need to figure a rough estimate of what I can run on it.
 
Re: Kill A Watt KWH meter = Cool gadget!

[ QUOTE ]
bhds said:
Cool! I think I will have to get one. I just bought a Yamaha ef1000is and need to figure a rough estimate of what I can run on it.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is the perfect accessory for a small generator like that. If that Yamaha is anything like the Honda (and I'm sure it is) you are just gonna love that thing!

Peter
 
Re: Kill A Watt KWH meter = Cool gadget!

Hehe. Youre partially to blame LitFuse /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif I wanted to get the smallest gen. I could find to be used for the very basics during power outages. You had posted in a couple of threads that your 1kw honda was able to run your frig. That was the deciding factor for me. The yamaha and honda were almost identical spec wise. Yamaha was the cheapest. I ran it for the first time today and powered my frig for a half hour with no problems /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/happy14.gif My little 600watt microwave lasted about 30sec before it died /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif
 
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Re: Kill A Watt KWH meter = Cool gadget!

I wonder if I can use my meter on my air-cooled argon ion laser. Guess I'll have to check the max. ratings on both. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif
BRB...nope, the meter comes up 1 amp short (15 amps max. for the meter vs. 16 amps for the laser).
 
Re: Kill A Watt KWH meter = Cool gadget!

Loved my honda eu1000i. Loved it even more when I sold it and bought an eu2000i.
 
Re: Kill A Watt KWH meter = Cool gadget!

TD- I hear what you're saying, my father and brother both bought eu2000i's after hurricane Charley. Not having electricity for two weeks is a great motivator.

They both got theirs from Mayberrys.com for $899 ea. w/free shipping, which was the best price I could find. Where did you get yours?

I'm probably going to get one also, but I'm also considering another eu1000i and the parallel cable instead. Theoretically this would give me another 200W continuous power over the 2000 (1800VA continuous vs. 1600VA). However the guy at Mayberrys told me that they have tested the 2000 at 1800W continuous with no ill effects. I wish the 2000 had been available when I got the 1000. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon23.gif

Peter
 
Re: Kill A Watt KWH meter = Cool gadget!

I considered another 1000 with a parallel cable also. But I was able to sell my 1000 for $500 cash locally. It was then cheaper to buy the 2000.

After using it, I can say that a single 2000 is a better solution. I ordered mine from wise equipment in IL. I got it for $885 delivered.

Besides, when I sold my 1000, it had about 400-500 hours of runtime on it anyway!.

Sell the 1000, there is a strong market for it.

Also, does your unit burn oil? Both of mine have. I have tried regular oil and synthetic. After running for about 4 days straight, I'll have to add some oil to them.
 
Re: Kill A Watt KWH meter = Cool gadget!

My multimeter will measure peak readings and lock them in. Peak is a real fuzzy area to deal with.
 
Re: Kill A Watt KWH meter = Cool gadget!

[ QUOTE ]
bhds said:
Is there any way to measure peak or start up current draw?

[/ QUOTE ]

Not with the K-A-W, the display doesn't update fast enough.

I used to use a line splitter and a clamp ammeter with peak hold, but now I use a Watts Up Pro It's similar to the K-A-W, but adds some other nice features like peak draw, min and max voltage, data logging, etc. Also automatically gives you the cost in dollars and cents, including monthly average, without doing any math. I haven't fooled with the software yet. $125.95 shipped from the same site referenced in the first post. Probably not worth the extra bucks for merely curious, but worth it for a geek like me. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Peter
 
Re: Kill A Watt KWH meter = Cool gadget!

[ QUOTE ]
turbodog said:
My multimeter will measure peak readings and lock them in. Peak is a real fuzzy area to deal with.

[/ QUOTE ]

My fluke has the same capabilities. I just dont have the clamp amp meter. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif something else I need to buy
 
Re: Kill A Watt KWH meter = Cool gadget!

TD- You're probably right about selling the 1000 and sticking with a single unit.

The guy from Mayberrys was telling me about a new Yamaha 2000W model in development now. Similar to the EU2000, but with an integrated battery to allow the inverter to supply a substantial boost for starting motors/compressors etc. I'm in a holding pattern till I hear more about that one. It's not parallelable like the Hondas, but the boost is more important to me.

After a couple days of running I have had to add some oil to my EU1000 to keep it from shutting down due to the oil level safety feature. It's a trivial amount though, and seems to happen less with Mobil 1, which is all I now use in my generators. Glad to hear I'm not the only one.

Peter
 
Re: Kill A Watt KWH meter = Cool gadget!

Yamaha has a good idea, but most anything you're gonna RUN with a 2kw generator will start also. I have used it run to my medium-size air compressor. I just have to make sure to drain all the air before I turn it on. Also, I heard that the honda 1000 will parallel with the 2000, FWIW. Oil use.... mine has actually only shutdown once. Texas last year, 104F and 3 days running in the bald-open sun did it.
 
Re: Kill A Watt KWH meter = Cool gadget!

My 12,500 BTU window unit pulls 10A, which leaves a couple amps for the fridge, on which it will happily run. It won't start the fridge with the AC running though. It's workable to run the fridge on a schedule, but if I could just plug them both in and forget it, that would be preferable.

I had heard that 1000 and 2000 could be paired as long as the power is pulled from the larger unit.

BTW,

If in need of the cables for the 2000, don't spend big money. They can be made with parts from Home Depot for about $30. There's no "magic" in those Honda OEM cables.

Peter
 
Re: Kill A Watt KWH meter = Cool gadget!

I've had one of these for a year or two, and they're great. It's sometimes eye opening to see how much more or less power various appliances use than what you'd expect! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif For example, I discovered that the chest freezer in our cellar takes MUCH less energy to operate than what I'd expected. I also use it to check power consumption for the various computers I own, and learned that one of our desktops only consumes 30 watts! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

I paid something more like $40 for mine. $30 and under is a steal. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif
 
Re: Kill A Watt KWH meter = Cool gadget!

FYI for anyone interested in these- I saw some at RatShack just after Christmas for $25 each. Not sure if it was a Christmas "special" as far as stocking them though. As far as I know, this item is not normally stocked at the Shack anymore...

Peter
 
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