killawatt

[xsilver]

im interested in getting a killawatt device
problem is that Im in australia
according to the specifications of the killawatt device - it only supports 115v?

just want to know if i'll blow the thing up if I plug a 240v device in it

the next problem is where to buy one
or if there are any similar products available at near this price range?

 

[Markbnj]

What is a killawatt device? In general, anything that says it wants 115 should not have 240 plugged into it unless you are looking for expensive entertainment.

 

[JackMDS]

Yap, if it 115V only it would blow up if plugged to 240V.

Markbnj, http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/r...c_usage_monitor_review

However there are Killawatt for 240 as well.

http://www.epinions.com/content_327264669316

 

[Navid]

http://www.p3international.com...al/P4400/P4400-CE.html

You should not use this with a line voltage of 240V. You could damage the Kill-A-Watt device and more importantly damage house wiring or cause a fire!

 

[Navid]

Originally posted by: JackMDS
However there are Killawatt for 240 as well.

http://www.epinions.com/content_327264669316

Why do you think this operates at 240V?

This is from your link:
The unit is rated for up to 125VAC

 

[coolpurplefan]

http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums

Maybe jonnyguru knows.

 

[Modelworks]

I use the old school method.
A good true rms meter and a power cord with the meter spliced in .
Works on any voltage

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: Markbnj
What is a killawatt device? In general, anything that says it wants 115 should not have 240 plugged into it unless you are looking for expensive entertainment.

Kill-A-Watt is a device that measures the wattage of whatever's plugged into it and displays it on a simple little display.

 

[xsilver]

Originally posted by: Modelworks
I use the old school method.
A good true rms meter and a power cord with the meter spliced in .
Works on any voltage

serious?
sounds dangerous - but if thats my only option then I'll have to look into it.
true rms meters though are expensive?? $50 us or so? whereas the killawatt is only $25

 

[Modelworks]

If you don't need exact accuracy you can also use a clamp meter.
Its much safer and is usually not far off .1% or so.

 

[yelo333]

Have a look at this little mini-review. In it, he says:

2. By pushing two buttons at once I was able to get a 220 volt scale..
There's only 5 buttons it's 2 to the 5th power to figure out which two.
(32 choices).

So it makes me wonder if kill-a-watt supports 220v, or if that was merely a canceled feature half left in?

Please note that I'm making no claims about whether or not it does actually support 220v. I live in the US, so I really don't have a need/way to test it.

Good luck!

 

[Mark R]

Originally posted by: Modelworks
I use the old school method.
A good true rms meter and a power cord with the meter spliced in .
Works on any voltage

But it doesn't measure power - only current, which isn't particularly useful because:

RMS voltage x RMS current =/= Average power.

 

[Mark R]

Anyway, as to the OP - surely there must be a cheap plug-in Watt meter for Austrlian power.

There are plenty for the UK and European market (which use 230 V). I have one of these, which does the job perfectly adequately.

 

[Zepper]

In the states, most local power companies will hook a power analyzer to your home wiring for a short period for no cost - perhaps they have something similar there. But AFAIK, the KAW is 120VAC only. If you know your electrical wiring, you should be able to hook two of them together to work with 240 as basically all 240 is is two 120 lines that are 180 degrees out of phase. Each one would read half of the total.

Markbnj,
"What is a killawatt device?" The Kill A Watt meter is a device to measure several power functions in one compact device. I've done a brief review of it here: http://www.techimo.com/reviews/ - it's in the Power Supplies section.

.bh.

 

[Mark R]

Originally posted by: Zepper
If you know your electrical wiring, you should be able to hook two of them together to work with 240 as basically all 240 is is two 120 lines that are 180 degrees out of phase. Each one would read half of the total.

It certainly isn't in Australia. It's a single phase of 240 V to neutral. No way to hook 2 up together safely.

 

[Zepper]

Sorry, if it really is a 240 hot relative to ground, then it probably couldn't be done. Maybe Seasonic will push them to build a 240V one as they sell a version of the KAW as the Power Angel. Quite a few here run their PC PSUs off 240 for the better efficiency

.bh.

 

[xsilver]

Originally posted by: Mark R
Anyway, as to the OP - surely there must be a cheap plug-in Watt meter for Austrlian power.

There are plenty for the UK and European market (which use 230 V). I have one of these, which does the job perfectly adequately.

I really do wish there was but alas our small population of 20 million = squat products
ask for a snake with 2 heads - I can rustle you up one
specialty electronics components? bupkis

www.jaycar.com.au
this is one of our largest electronics stores and they got squat

Im thinking about buying that uk one instead and just buying 2 converter plugs.
cost me a fair bit more though.

 

[Mark R]

Originally posted by: xsilver
I really do wish there was but alas our small population of 20 million = squat products
ask for a snake with 2 heads - I can rustle you up one
specialty electronics components? bupkis

Im thinking about buying that uk one instead and just buying 2 converter plugs.
cost me a fair bit more though.

Well, I'm sure you've searched harder than I have, and have found nothing. So, I don't really know what to suggest.

I'm not sure I can suggest anything other than getting a cheap UK or European type one and adaptor plugs. I'd check ebay first though, as the meters are cheaper. No point in making things more expensive than necessary.

As an aside, I just came across this report on power consumption of gadgets - which, even if it doesn't answer your questions specifically, may be interesting:

The rather whistfully named: The Ampere Strikes Back

 

[xsilver]

thanks mate - the reason why i want the killawatt is that I bought an obscure hp / delta power supply and would like to test the efficiency of it.
it was an expensive unit and I was hoping it would be at least close to approaching the "80 plus" specification.

the hp and delta website have no information whatsoever on the psu in question
google hasnt been much help either

and since no one in australia has one - I guess I would be the coolest kid on the block

 

[Zepper]

The Delta/HP PSUs aren't particularly known for efficiency - just reliability and stable power output. You'll be doing good to get 75% peak eff. I had one of their 460W workstation PSUs here (they show up quite often on eBay) and rewired it for standard connectors - had to have a roomy case for it to fit in there too. It did have full-range AC tolerance (no voltage switch) and active PFC which are good features to have. Eff. wasn't such a big deal when those units were speced.

.bh.

 

[xsilver]

lol - yeah I was thinking as such - but wanted to have fun testing out the unit anyways

I didnt have to rewire my unit as it was from a standard atx workstation setup but was 750w

it may have been wiser instead to go for a 500w seasonic/corsair but I managed to get this psu for even cheaper than a 500w corsair new.

 

[xsilver]

ok found 3 possible UK versions of the killawatt
lots of buttons


with backup battery?

with 3 line LCD


what's the best? prices are pretty much exactly the same.
2 of them harp on about how it can measure under 10 watts - I guess this is a good feature.

the 2nd one with the backup battery looks the sturdiest?

 

[Zepper]

The first one is very similar to the Kill A Watt while the others only measure voltage power and kWH... For use with computers plus everything else, I'd want the first one. For appliances in general it really wouldn't matter.

.bh.