Re: Williamsburg, VA

On Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:42:03 -0400, John H <salmonbait@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

On Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:12:39 -0500, Janet Wilder
<kelliepoodle@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

nothermark wrote:
On Tue, 23 Jun 2009 07:46:25 -0400, John H <salmonbait@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

On Mon, 22 Jun 2009 08:55:30 -0700, "Bruce S" <bruce.snell@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

John H wrote:
Last year someone suggested an instrument for testing the current at
camp sites. Like a dummy, I didn't get it then, but want to buy one
now. Could someone remind me again what it was, please?
I think it was the "Kill-a-watt" that was recommended for that purpose.

Bruce




That's the thing that tells how much current a given appliance is
using.

I think a plain old multimeter is the ticket.

I think the kill-a-watt was reccomended because it lets you plug an
appliance into it to make the current tap. The problem with measuring
current is you have to either break the line and insert the meter in
series with the load or use a current sensing coupler on one of the
two conductors.

here is a typical tap - plug cord into one end, other into outlet:

http://www.drillspot.com/products/449664/Amprobe_ELS2A_Three_Wire_AC_Line_Splitter
Use a meter like this to clamp through a hole to sample one leg:

http://www.drillspot.com/test-instruments/electrical-power-testing/clamp-on-meters/?srt=Lowprice

as you can see - there are price options ;-)

I think you really want to measure line voltage, not current, as a low
line voltage will cause problems. A simple voltmeter or multimeter
will do that as you only have to probe an outlet. Just don't touch
the metal probe tip when you are doing it.

Are you sure it wasn't just a circuit tester? The "yelllow, yellow,
red" thingie?

I had one of those that I used to test the box before I would plug in.
We also had a little meter that plugged into an outlet inside the rig
that showed how much voltage was coming in. The thing we relied on the
most was a powerline monitor. That thing protected us from power
surges and voltage drops. This one is like it but much less expensive.
Ours cut the power off if it was faulty.

http://tinyurl.com/laeq4n

That's what I just put on my 'wish list'.

Be careful what you wish for ;-)

Janet posted links to two very different devices.

The one above monitors line voltage but not current. It also has a
spike suppressor and frequency check. None of those functions shut
down the system if the voltage is low. If it does not have a low
voltage alarm I would not bother. In this case the specifications
don't say but the comments indicate it does beep for low line voltage.
You want this feature unless you plan on watching it all day. I could
see buying one of these.

The one Janet used is the one in her second message:


http://tinyurl.com/mggw3d

or

http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/product/portable-surge-guard/2279

This is an in line device between the pedestal and your power cord.
Because it is in the line it can interrupt the power if there is a
problem. Assuming that is what you want done. OTOH it does not warn
you inside the MH. Basically it's protection for Dummies - not bad
but you need to understand it to really be an effective user. Unless
I was messing about with really bad power I would go to the first
choice.

If I was in a place with bad power problems then I would consider
adding the in line unit.

The way I would use the items would be to plug the monitor into the
pedestal to check for ground and polarity problems. Then plug in the
power cord and put the monitor in a convenient outlet in the camper to
watch for brown outs as everybody turns on their air conditioner or
heater.

If I was really paranoid or in a place with bad lightning problems I
would be inclined to just pull the plug during a storm.

Mark
.

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