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Review on P3 P4400 Electricity Usage Monitor by John Springer

Revainrating 5 out of 5

six years ago on Meter Sockets

I bought the P4400 in 2011. He showed which household items were energy vampires, some of which used as much electricity when turned off as when turned on. I could turn them off with extension cords or turn them off when not needed. By measuring the power consumption of internet-connected devices, I was able to estimate how much time a given UPS would give me in the event of a power outage. I kept a table. the performance of various elements under various conditions to aid in future troubleshooting. When my internet speed dropped, the P4400 showed me the culprit. The power consumption of my $4 VOIP phone adapter power supply was unusually high. For the refrigerator, I measured kWh per day for the temperature in the summer kitchen and for the temperature in the winter kitchen. After that, the P4400 could show me if the fridge was working just as efficiently, or if I might need to check for dust or ice. When the fridge wasn't cooling, the P4400 was a quick way to check if the compressor was drawing power. .Last year bought a smart car battery charger. It didn't have an ammeter. Turning off the multimeter can short out, open, or damage the multimeter. I connected the charger to my P4400 and used a multimeter to determine how many watts the charger required for each output amp. Then I didn't need a multimeter. The P4400 showed input power, kWh and time and told me output current, amp hours and charging time. The other day my P4400 was in the engine bay of a truck while I was charging the battery. In unexpected rain, the hood rose just three inches. During a sudden heavy downpour, enough drops fell through the gap to wet the P4400. There were still valid power ratings, but not in kWh or amps. I just bought another one. The P4400 has proven itself. Update: I bought an electric chainsaw last year. I finally decided to use the P4400 to see if the manufacturer's performance claims were correct. Apparently so. He also showed me how much tension I lost with 150ft extensions. The P4400's flashing display warned me that the current could damage it if I operated the saw for more than a few seconds. The manufacturer recommends 14 gauge wire or larger. My cables are unmarked. I used an electric skillet to test. Unlike a saw, this is a resistive load and does not draw enough current to damage the meter. First I plugged the P4400 into an outlet and the frying pan into the P4400. A voltage drop was noticed when switching on. I then plugged the extension cord into the outlet and connected the P4400 and the skillet to the cord. I wrote down the voltage drop and amps. I subtracted the voltage drop at the output from the voltage drop at the end of the cable to determine how many volts I was losing in the cable. If I divide this by amps I have ohms. In a cable, current flows through the hot and neutral parts in series, so the path is twice the length of the cable. To get the number of ohms per foot, I divided the ohms by twice the cable length. Knowing ohms per foot, I was able to look up the readings online. My cables are 16 gauge. I can probably get 2.5 hp with them. I could get 2.75 hp if I switched to 14 gauge wire. I get along well with gauge 16.

Pros
  • handy thing
Cons
  • Speed