Thanks. It's a possibility, but it'd mean breaking into the 6mm2 cable that I just installed recently - and it doesn't really fulfil the 'easily resettable' requirement...
As I said somewhere else, there's a pair of volt-free contacts in the power switching box - and I think I can persuade a spare PIC board that's kicking around here to count the hours / seconds that the contacts are closed... It could even do that maths to convert that time to kWh and Euros!
Here is another option. Simply connect the clamp around one conductor of the circuit to the kiln where convenient, positioning the monitor wherever you like.
HI Philip I've got a similar device here - but I've been so tidy with the cabling that there's not really room to squeeze the clamp over one conductor... Thanks for looking, though...
All that's really needed is a minute / hour timer that's stopped / started by an external switch. I've just remembered that I've got some analogue battery clocks modules in the workshop - I guess one of those would do at a pinch - simply wire my volt-free relay contacts inline with the battery.. - manually set the hands to 'midnight' to reset the clock...
Not pretty - but I guess it'll do the job (quickly!) Thanks Adrian
Ah - somebody who shares my sense of humour! Been having a bit of fuss round here lately - was arranging to meet up with the local Police-lady who's dealing with it... She says "Can't do tomorrow morning - I'm on court" Little voice in my ear said "Ah - hope you get off" - but (luckily) common-sense prevailed and I just said 'OK'...
Thanks for the link. It does make reference to a minimum reset time (a pulse, presumably). Low volt supply isn't a problem - got that already in the control box.
On a side issue - which clown (re)designed the CPC website ? On that page, there's links to 'Further Information' and 'Catalogue page'.
The catalogue page link takes you to a page in their whizzy 'flip the pages over with your mouse gosh that's cool' online catalogue - but the page they link to is full of wall-mount boxes and enclosures - no mention of hours meters.
The further info link takes you to a page on Curtis Digital Hours Meters
- which doesn't include this pcb-mount model.
How the **** do they expect to sell anything ??
Oddly - feeding "pcb mount hour meter" into eBay shows up a UK-based supplier selling the item for more money that CPC - now that's got to be a first!
No info on how / what the reset function might be - though an online copy of the datasheet says that Reset is 'optional on 701'...
Thanks for the link. It does make reference to a minimum reset time (a pulse, presumably). Low volt supply isn't a problem - got that already in the control box.
On a side issue - which clown (re)designed the CPC website ? On that page, there's links to 'Further Information' and 'Catalogue page'.
The catalogue page link takes you to a page in their whizzy 'flip the pages over with your mouse gosh that's cool' online catalogue - but the page they link to is full of wall-mount boxes and enclosures - no mention of hours meters.
The further info link takes you to a page on Curtis Digital Hours Meters
- which doesn't include this pcb-mount model.
How the **** do they expect to sell anything ??
Oddly - feeding "pcb mount hour meter" into eBay shows up a UK-based supplier selling the item for more money that CPC - now that's got to be a first!
No info on how / what the reset function might be - though an online copy of the datasheet says that Reset is 'optional on 701'...
Thanks - food for thought Adrian
Same item on the Farnell site gives better datasheet
formatting link
Just use a momentary pushbutton switch for the reset.
Yep, it's as simple as that! The non-resettable type, as used on diesel powered gensets (emergency standby or shipboard gensets), are known simply as "Hour Meters".
They're used to facilitate periodic servicing in the same way a vehicle's odometer is used to represent approximate engine run time servicing intervals. In both cases there'll also be service tasks based on time intervals for when the machinery is under-used.
For ICE powered gensets, the Hour Meter might be replaced with a more accurate revolutions counter to determine the servicing intervals.
Although for this use, constant rpm, an Hour Meter can be just as effective, it's when the engine might be used to drive a slightly less powerful 50Hz generator than a 60Hz one that the revolutions counter comes into its own (50 hour service intervals on a 60Hz genset corresponding to 60 hours on a 50Hz genset - 108 Mega Revolutions reading in both cases - the servicing interval would more likely be rounded down to 100MRevs in this case).
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