Kill-A-Watt meter

[electra225]

A Kill-A-Watt is a small digital meter that you insert between the power supply, such as a Variac or isolation transformer, and the chassis under test. It doesn't take the place of a dim bulb, but measures wattage, amperage, voltage and a couple other values. This information can be used in troubleshooting a chassis that is suspected of having too heavy of a power draw. The dim bulb will actually limit the current to the chassis under test, thereby helping to prevent damage to power transformers and other components from too heavy of a current. I don't know how I got by without one. In fairness, I learned about them on ShangoO66's videos. He uses one frequently when he checks out an old TV chassis. My Variac/isolation transformer/dimbulb is homebuilt, installed into an old Paco oscilloscope case. I plug the KAW into the power supply, plug a power strip into the KAW, then plug the chassis under test into that. This prevents too much plugging and unplugging into the KAW, possibly shortening its life.

[electra225]

I just re-discovered the Kill-A-Watt. I don't understand how anybody working on electronics gets by without one.

[Hi-Fi-Mogul]

Greg,
Any advice on what are good brands of Kill-A-Watt meters ?

Thanks !

[electra225]

Kill-A-Watt is a brand name, like Jell-o is to gelatin deserts and Freon is to refrigeration refrigerant. The model I have is an off-brand, but it does the same job. Mine came from Amazon. They can be had there and on ebay, as well as other places online. Mine was a nudge north of $20. Worth its weight in gold, as far as I'm concerned. IT is really more useful on TV chassis or big chassis that pull a lot of current. The little radios I have been tinkering with today run around 25 watts. I like to connect it into the power supply of items I have under test, then just monitor it out of the corner of my eye. It will tell you what the chassis is doing and will keep you out of trouble early before damage is done. A dim bulb will limit current, while a Kill-A-Watt won't. But, with a dim bulb, you don't know exactly what the wattage is. My iso/Variac/dim bulb contraption is in one cabinet, so it's no big deal to use both the dim bulb and KAW at the same time if you want to both limit current, and know what the current is. You can also measure line voltage and a couple other useful values.

[hermitcrab]

That is one item I do not have ... I'll have to check them out...

[William]

You need one, Elton. I have one and I find it very useful. It's included with my Variac/dim bulb/Kill-A-Watt thing I built.

Bill

[Firedome]

I have a nice General Radio variac (the real "Variac", it's their trade name) with a meter, but can see where this could be a very useful thing to have. I wonder if Fluke makes one.

[electra225]

I have no idea. If Fluke did make one, it would cost more than the one I posted. The one I have has served me well. I don't think you'd be disappointed with it. I don't know what brand Bill's is, but he likes his, and I'm sure it is not a Fluke.

[Motorola minion]

I had one of the original Kill-A-Watt and went all over board using it to prove my 70+ year old refrigerators were using less than half of what a then-new unit uses. Then, I put it on everything from the early LED bulbs to dehumidifiers to old radios and TVs.

Irked extensively by the utility-sponsored buy-back of $50 for "old, inefficient refrigerators" to reduce residential electric consumption (ACT 29), I wrote letters to the local newspaper to set the record straight. It may have saved one but the ad campaign continued until a "prize" was awarded to the customer who "recycled" the oldest working refrigerator, a 1940 GE. I wrote another letter after I composed myself about how the carbon footprint is not reduced by replacement of trouble-free legacy equipment with undersized, over-worked and doomed to a short life. GE=Electrosux thanks to Neutron Jack Welch!

I used the Kill-A-watt so much in fact, its voltmeter became inaccurate due to typical cheap/imported capacitor issues inside the meter. Not worth my time, so this Whats Up is my "new" one. https://www.ebay.com/itm/155021509083?h ... SwdOFimS4N

[William]

Dave, I always wondered about just how much hype the electric companies were saying about new verses old appliances for energy consumption. My current home was built in 1998 and the fridge, stove, and above the stove micro are still original. Yes, there are white, but white is my favorite appliance color. As long as they work, they will stay in the house.

Bill

[Ken Doyle]

I had one of the original Kill-A-Watt and went all over board using it to prove my 70+ year old refrigerators were using less than half of what a then-new unit uses.

About 8 years ago I put a Kill-A-Watt meter on my 1951 GE Combination refrigerator freezer and left it there for 3 months. I did the math, I figured that it cost about $40 a year to run. To take it out of service in the name of energy savings would be a crime.

[William]

Ken, so you still have that fridge, and if so, is it still in use today? That was the year I was born. If you still have it, is it still all original? If yes, all I can say is WOW! 71 years old and still working. I guess we Americans did build quality stuff back in the day.

Bill

[Ken Doyle]

I still have it, but I just moved and it's sitting in the warehouse at work. It's not pretty, someone painted it with a brush years ago, but it works just fine. The fridge holds a steady 37°f and the freezer holds a steady +3°f. As far as I can tell, it's never been repaired except for the dried out wiring I replaced 20 years ago. Only problem with it is that it's very heavy and no fun to move up a flight of basement stairs!

[William]

Thanks, Ken, I think that is so cool, no pun intended.

Bill

[electra225]

"Fred the Inforcer", the guy who helped me get the Concert Grand out of the haunted house in Fort Worth, has an old International Harvester chest freezer, he claims is from the 1940's. It is old enough it has a belt-driven compressor. The motor is probably a 1/2or 3/4 horsepower motor, but is as large as a 3 horsepower one is today. The latch for the top is made like the IH logo on the hood of a truck. Really a neat old unit. His farm is a "heritage farm" being in the family for 100 years or more. I don't see how the new refrigerators could operate cheaper than the old ones. They have defrost cycles and have a circulation fan that runs most all the time. The old ones just cooled. If you wanted them defrosted, you unplugged it.

[William]

That is so true, Greg. Fans, usually two, timers, and heating elements all take electricity. We lived without those things for years and years, and 71 years later they are still working.

Bill

[TC Chris]

Ken, so you still have that fridge, and if so, is it still in use today? That was the year I was born. If you still have it, is it still all original? If yes, all I can say is WOW! 71 years old and still working. I guess we Americans did build quality stuff back in the day.

Didn't we discuss those old late '30s and '40s GE fridges? The 1946 model I donated to the National Park Service seems to by humming along still. I did replace the door gasket. Yes, I could buy it. Yes, it is modern and vinyl instead of rubber. Yes, it required some effort to acquire and install. Do not get me started on our reluctance to fix things. Or on things designed not to be fixable. Or on young'uns who don't know which end of a screwdriver to grab.

Chris Campbell

[19&41]

I bought one while I was researching what my generator would need to take on around the house, principally the refrigerator. I already had a inline wattmeter, a Triplett that had a maximum 1000 watt capacity. The refrigerator would peg it on startup. I wish I could get a startup reading with the Kill A Watt. I'm sure I will have use for it as time goes by.