P4400 'KILL-A-WATT' Meter

[RoyB]

I have a P4400 KILL A WATT meter always plugged in here at my COMMS console at my house...

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My meter is now reading high AC voltage of 136.4 VAC. It has been reading around 128 VAC here at the house and recently I have started seeing it creep up. I always thought that was high and using my FLUKE 77 work multimeter today I see the actual AC voltage is 118.2... I walked around the house 120V Receptacles and the AC Voltage using my FLUKE 77 meter all read around the 118VAC reading...

I am guess the calibration of the KILL A WATT has gone bad for me...

I made a couple of AC AMPS readings that agreed between the two meters so that part of the P4400 is working ok...

I see they only cost around $17 from AMAZON so guess I will order another one.

I did watch a VIDEO someone made troubleshooting a bad P4400 and he opened it all up and found a blown fuse. I did not see any calibration pots anywhere in the video...

Maybe I should get a different AC VOLTMETER to constantly monitor my 120VAC here in my comms room...

I have one these in POPUP trailer so i think I will order another for use in here...

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Roy Ken

[RoyB]

Thanks for comments - This has been my standard meter for a few years and then i started seeing the AC Voltage alitle higher and didn't give it much thought. Now it reads 134.6VAC... That caught my attention haha... I pulled out the second good multimeter and it reads 118.3VAC every here...

I Think i will order a new KILL-A-METER brand meter since they only cost around $17 from AMAZON. I love the other functions it does... This is the meter I would use as well with my test setup for plugging into camp ground pedestals... so its not only just for the Ham Radio station here...

If the the new one does the same thing then I will just give it up haha... I have now read the 118.2VAC from two different FLUKE meters so pretty sure they are somewhat correct... The 134.6 is down abit from my other reading a couple of days ago... The P4400 meter has been not plugged in since then... That is way to high a reading and I'm sure I would be seeing some local failures here...

I'll replace it one time I reckon...

Roy Ken

[JiminDenver]

I monitor my usage to know that the devices I chose stay within the output of my solar system and under the radar of the battery bank.

[DavidP]

wa8yxm wrote:

DutchmenSport wrote:
I'm just curious? Why do you folks monitor your electricity so much, so closely? I've never done that. My camper is just plugged in. I do have a Progressive Industries Surge Protector, but no readouts. I'm just a "plug and go" person. Why all the monitoring? I just don't get it?

PI makes surge protectors with read outs.. Those are the ones we recommend. the ones without read outs I do not recommend.

But to answer your question.. LOW VOLTAGE is a killer for many devices, and HIGH for other devices.. That's why we monitor

Also low voltage can be in indication of "issues" which can be easily fixed.. or which can get more expensive over time.

Finallyl.. It is easy to monitor.. I mean the Kill-A-Watt performs several functions depnding on where I plug it in.

And some of us just like to know.. I'm a Certified electronics technician (even if I've never worked in that field) and an electronics hobbyist.. So naturally.. Enquiring minds want to know.

Agreed. I too just like to know what the power is doing. Camping/vacation time is precious time so if I can spot a potential problem before it causes issues a quick glance at a monitor at times is worth it to me. I agree if you’re going to invest in a PI having read outs is the way to go. My old TRC did not but the re-designed PI (PT 30X) I picked up this year does. I still like to have the small TRC digital line monitor inside for convenience and to see levels downstream for the panel. The majority just plugs in and looks at nothing and most likely will never have an issue. I on the other hand even monitor and check RPM levels on all my power equipment, tractor and small engines so they run optimal. I’m on the other extreme. Hell, I even have a digital tach on my Honda walk behind lawn mower.

[wa8yxm]

DutchmenSport wrote:
I'm just curious? Why do you folks monitor your electricity so much, so closely? I've never done that. My camper is just plugged in. I do have a Progressive Industries Surge Protector, but no readouts. I'm just a "plug and go" person. Why all the monitoring? I just don't get it?

PI makes surge protectors with read outs.. Those are the ones we recommend. the ones without read outs I do not recommend.

But to answer your question.. LOW VOLTAGE is a killer for many devices, and HIGH for other devices.. That's why we monitor

Also low voltage can be in indication of "issues" which can be easily fixed.. or which can get more expensive over time.

Finallyl.. It is easy to monitor.. I mean the Kill-A-Watt performs several functions depnding on where I plug it in.

And some of us just like to know.. I'm a Certified electronics technician (even if I've never worked in that field) and an electronics hobbyist.. So naturally.. Enquiring minds want to know.

[MrWizard]

Roy
Said it was in the comm center aka his Ham Shack
I'm sure he doesn't want to loose expensive Ham radio equipment to over voltage

I'm on generator and solar, I monitor my dc power, don't worry much about ac voltage

[DavidP]

DutchmenSport wrote:
I'm just curious? Why do you folks monitor your electricity so much, so closely? I've never done that. My camper is just plugged in. I do have a Progressive Industries Surge Protector, but no readouts. I'm just a "plug and go" person. Why all the monitoring? I just don't get it?

I too have a Progressive Industries SG but also have a TRC plug in monitor. Because CG's many times have very unreliable and unstable power I like to take a quick peak to see what the voltage reading is. If very low but not low enough for the PI to kill power I might think twice before using the electric source for the water heater or monitor overall usage a bit more closely to keep voltage drop at a reasonable level. Mine is plugged in near one of my entry doors so I can quickly glance at it on the way in or out.

[Chris_Bryant]

You can also get one of these Onan branded meters, surplus for $4.25

https://www.sciplus.com/p/ONAN-OUTLET-TESTER_57808

[DutchmenSport]

I'm just curious? Why do you folks monitor your electricity so much, so closely? I've never done that. My camper is just plugged in. I do have a Progressive Industries Surge Protector, but no readouts. I'm just a "plug and go" person. Why all the monitoring? I just don't get it?

[Bill_Satellite]

The product called Kill-A-Watt is not spelled kilowatt.

[jamesroadking]

It's spelled "Kilowatt" One kilowatt equals 1000 watts.

[SteveB]

My 1st Kill-a-watt died the same way. I did not bother to try to fix it. I have a new one hooked up to my always on computer. his reminds me I need to check it.

[AdamBryner2012]

I'm pretty fond of these. They double as a nightlight as well.
You can find them on Amazon for about $15 bucks.



Have them littered throughout my RV.