Review on 🔌 HiLetgo Digital Multimeter AC 80-260V 100A PZEM-061 LCD Display Energy Power Meter with CT by Carl Durant

Re: AC version. On the surface, that's a really good deal - for just a small amount you get voltage, current and frequency, plus some derived values on the side, and all you have to do is connect four wires. I figured I'd build a Kill-O-Watt style meter and save some money. Trouble is, the low price certainly makes up for it, and when you add in everything you need to bring it to an acceptable level, the price isn't that high anymore. You can assume that you need to power this device *through*. . However, this is actually a bad idea. Screw terminals may work for 220V, but at 120V it's clearly not safe to connect two wires. You *will* have a short mustache. And you won't be able to put a tip in it more than black. So instead you should use some kind of join to form a small triple. Apply power directly from the outside of the meter, but only connect a short pair of wires to the display. You can probably use a much smaller wire for this purpose since you won't be putting a lot of stress on those wires. Remember to surround one of the load wires with a current transformer ring. Even with good connectors and tips, leaving them open is quite dangerous. I think you MUST keep it in the box. To do this, while a rectangular hole is easy enough to cut, you need to be fairly accurate. Unfortunately, the lugs holding the gauge are tiny and flimsy. I don't see them lasting very long or very strong. I might consider gluing it in place or finding a better fixing solution. In the end, it still costs you to turn this into a kill-o-watt style energy meter * extension to cut in half * grounding plug (or metal-bodied grounding lug) * 2 3-prong connectors. I used wire nuts but would have preferred lever nuts.* 2 short lengths of wire, possibly from the same extension.* 2x black wire lugs for whisker guards* 2x white wire lugs for TT wire.* Project box* 2x almond wire AND after all that might not be the money saving project that it was.