Kill-A-Watt P3

If you intend to use the 110V device in the OP it for anything more than a tiny 15-20 W router or external HDD, you will have to get a behemoth step-up transformer that by itself will cost several K

how would you use it to measure the power consumption of a PC or a fridge without hooking it up via at least a 1KW stepup ? let's not even talk about aircons and microwaves
 
^If you did care to read the previous posts, we have not been considering the 110V device precisely because of the step-up transformer coming in between the mains and the device itself.

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@mymandarin123: Great! Keep us posted on how it goes. :)
 
Desecrator said:
Meanwhile does I2C world accept orders from the UK?
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They can get the stuff but we need to order it ourselves and get it shipped to their address. This is what they told when I asked few days back.

At present we can purchase the item from USA only however we can surely help you to get the item from London to your doorstep. You can use our PPO service and purchase the item yourself and give the shiiping address as our London office address. Once your shipment receives London office we will ship it to you.
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But the shipping rates from the UK are higher than US.

INCOMING RATES FROM U.S.A.

FOR 1ST LBS

---- $ 10.00

Every Addl ‘l LBS

---- $ 6.00

10 LBS & above (per LB) ---- $ 6.00

25 LBS & above (per LB) ---- $ 5.50

50 LBS & above (per LB) ---- $ 5.00

Incoming Rates from UK

FOR 1ST LBS

---- 15.00 GBP

Every Addl ‘l LBS

---- 6.00 GBP
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Damn that's way too high. :(

I think the DX deal is better but the problem is the maximum amperage supported is only 10A thus that equates to 2200W which is the maximum safe power it can monitor. ACs and other heavy appliances draw as much as 15~20A IINM. So this device can probably measure lighter loads.
 
^Yeah that model has a battery backup feature. But again for US households.

Anyways I think we can bank on the DX deals unless we can find a good bargain on the one from Maplin, UK.
 
Yeah like I posted before, it can measure power factor, frequency, current, voltage, power drawn from the outlet etc. Heck, most of us may not even bother plugging an AC or a washing machine at all. :p

Meanwhile, I shall call up those 2 nos. I had posted before and find out if those guys are actually dealing with these units. :)

If they are, we can have a head count and convert this into a GO. I highly doubt the probability of those guys having the product though.
 
Not to hijack the thread in any way, but if you have a little interest in making your own stuff, you can make a similar unit yourself in half an hour.

I had written a blog with step by step instructions on how to make a kill-a-watt device for 220v. Take a look and see if you still want to spend money to buy it !!!

Random musings...: "Kill A Watt" for 220v !

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---

Got a few requests from folks who cannot access the blog from work, so created a guide here in TE.

http://www.techenclave.com/guides-and-tutorials/kill-watt-measure-power-consumption-220v-172201.html
 
^ Its okay for a time pass project but not usefull if we want to measure reading of an appliance during a week or month and for people like me whose place has 3-4 power cuts in a day. The multimeter will give reading only at one instance not continuously. i dont think i would have the patience to draw up a chart to measure the watts everytime i took a reading and then add them up. Also how accurate is this? Is it a true RMS multimeter and is there any mention of the accuracy of multimeter in its manual?

What your setup lacks is convenience. All those wires sticking out here and there, plus the added bulk of the multimeter instead of an all-in-one device which we just have to plug into a socket that the op and some of us want. :)
 
I agree to your points, but there is a certain fun in understanding and implementing DIY projects :) I would have loved to buy a single device that does all, unfortunately, they are either too expensive or unreliable stuff coming from DealExtreme.

And yes, one more point. The multimeter shows a continuous live value for the amount of current passing through at any point.

6pack said:
^ Its okay for a time pass project but not usefull if we want to measure reading of an appliance during a week or month and for people like me whose place has 3-4 power cuts in a day. The multimeter will give reading only at one instance not continuously. i dont think i would have the patience to draw up a chart to measure the watts everytime i took a reading and then add them up. Also how accurate is this? Is it a true RMS multimeter and is there any mention of the accuracy of multimeter in its manual?

What your setup lacks is convenience. All those wires sticking out here and there, plus the added bulk of the multimeter instead of an all-in-one device which we just have to plug into a socket that the op and some of us want. :)
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