Voltmeter on House Current

[m Ransley]

Right, Kill -a -Watt independantly tested and found very accurate , 9$ is cheap they used to be 50$. Great to use on a frige to compare to new units to decide if you can get a good payback. or see if it draws to much on different cycles. Good for checking generator Hz output. Great to see what Tvs , Vcrs, radios etc all pull at rest and find the power hogs. Buying one led me to find easy ways to save 20 a month. Now get a clamp on digital ampmeter that goes to 0.01A a 35$ Greenlee and do your own energy audit.

[Harry Everhart]

I recently bought this neat little meter that you plug into the wall. It tells you volts - amps - watts - cycles - and how much power and appliance uses. You plug it into the outlet - and then you plug an appliance into it. It tells how many amps and watts the appliance is using. The computer will even tell you how many KWH you used since the reset.

I am amazed at how much the voltage fluctuates though - right now it is

119.5 volts. But I have seen id down to 112 volts.

The meter is called the "Kill A Watt" P3. Model P4400. I got it for $9 from True Value.

Harry

[m Ransley]

Depending on time of day it can be normal for your area to go down during the day as the utility Co load increases, if it happens just when your AC is on or varies alot then it is worth looking into. Call the utility Co they will say what is normal for your area and what is not.

[Jeff Wisnia]

OK, I'll bite. Assuming the Greenlee you refer to is a hole punch, how is it used in the audit? Do you punch holes in boxes so you can pull a loop of current carrying conductor out to clamp the ammmeter onto? (That's "amm", not "amp" BTW.)

Jeff

[m Ransley]

The Kill a watt records time, and records actual Kwh used over the time \\period in memory so you leave it plugged into your frige for a period, then you can know what your months bill may be. I forget if it a 100 or

1000 hr clock. Compare it to the Energy Guide label and you have the start of a comparison. It is not just an amp meter it logs info till you unplug it so you can retrieve and record your findings.

[Art Todesco]

Jeff, Don't you just hate it. It's ammeter, not ammmeter!

[webmaster]

Greenlee relabels several meters, and puts their name on them. Just like most of the Greenlee electrical handtools are Kliens that have green handles on them instead of blue, or yellow, etc..

Also, some of us prefer CLAMPmeter. :)

[Duane Bozarth]

" [e-mail]" wrote: ....

Maybe CLAMmeter? :)

[Donald Gares]

Harry Everhart wrote: (text snipped)

Wow, only $9.00! I just purchased a new one on e-Bay (same model) for $27.83 (including shipping) and I thought that was a good deal. I had searched the web before I purchased and did not find them close to $9.00. Are you sure that $9.00 was the correct price? If so, I will go to my nearest True Value and buy all they have and then put them on e-Bay. :-)

Don

[Joseph Meehan]

That's about normal. Anything between 110 and 120 is certainly normal. It is not unusual to be well outside those numbers and that can be a problem. It is also possible that there is a wiring fault in your home, but if that is the max swing, it is likely just normal supply changes.

[Harry Everhart]

I bought mine for $9 at True Value Hardware. I bought it for one reason

- it was $9 :-)

Wife thought it was stupid - still does :-)

Harry

[Duane Bozarth]

"Red Cloud®" wrote: ....

....

Don't know where you found it, but that's certainly not accepted.

Actually, I just did. There were only 380(!) hits for the misspelling...that's pretty good, actually considering the millions of correct spellings.

Let's see..."ampmeter" --> 9,080 hits w/ the "Did you mean 'amp meter'?" message.

"ammeter" --> 203,000 (I'd thought it would be much higher)

Is there English word w/ three consecutive letters in proper spelling--sure can't think of one.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Sort of. But a unit that draws 5 amps is more costly to run that draw 7 amps but only runs half as long. You need a timer to go with it.

[Duane Bozarth]

Where do you get the third one from? Am(pere)Meter...the third is only a typo that has propogated.

As for the "word", Oxford dictionary has "ammeter" right there in full-blown glory.

* 4 entries found for ammeter.

am·me·ter ( P ) Pronunciation Key (mmtr) n.

An instrument that measures electric current in amperes.

[am(pere) + -meter.]

* No entry found for ammmeter.

Did you mean ammeter?

Suggestions: ammeter atmometer anemometer ohmmeter Mammet

[Beeper]

[Jeff Wisnia]

Before I started this I did check the spelling to keep from making a bigger fool of myself than needed, and this:

An ammeter is a measuring instrument used to measure the flow of electric current in a circuit. Electric currents are measured in amperes, hence the name. The word "ammeter" is commonly misspelled or mispronounced as "ampmeter" by some.

Came up at:

But thanks for the Greenley information. I always thought of them as just a hole punch company. I've still got some of theirs I bought over

50 years ago for punching tube socket holes in aluminum chassis for my ham radio projects. That was after I got rich enough to afford them...Before than I had to use the "drill a circle of holes and and use a half-round file" technique.

Jeff

[Red Cloud®]

Actually it does have 3 M's! Do a google for ammmeter and see for yourself. I know it looks funny, but that's the way it is spelled.

Don't you just hate it? LOL

rusty redcloud

[webmaster]

LOL Thanks..needed that laugh...

[Red Cloud®]

It is not an english word at all. It is technical jargon, and 3 m's is correct.

rusty redcloud

[stretch]

NO, Two Ms is correct. Look it up in a technical manual or the dictionary. I have been using that term as technical jargon since ........ 1960 or so when I got into electrical/electronics. It is ammeter.

Stretch