Posted April 5, 20232 yr I bought one of these: https://www.geewiz.co.za/gadgets/43656-digital-watt-meter-kill-a-watt-measure-your-electricity-usage.html?sfdr_ptcid=2961_617_121793010 Delivery was fast, as is usual with GeeWiz. I took the item out of it's packaging, read the instruction pamphlet, then plugged it in and plugged the extension lead feeding my computer and monitor into it. And it showed me 44 odd watts and I could cycle through the various functions (voltage was 223 V). Cool! So I decided to go to the kitchen and use it to track consumption for the fridge. So I unplugged the fridge, plugged in the meter, plugged the fridge into the meter and.... nothing. No display. So I reset it. No difference. Then I left it plugged in for the rest of the day and overnight because maybe there's something inside it that needs to charge. No difference. Maybe it's a dud. I can return it, but that will take time and gee-wiz reserve the right to apply a re-stocking fee. So I ask here because maybe there is something that I can do to kick it back to life and save myself and Geewiz some time and a run around. Is there anything else I should try? And is it possible that this device won't work on the circuits my PV system is backing up? Edited April 5, 20232 yr by Bobster.
April 5, 20232 yr Had one of these for years.... Nothing rechargeable inside. Works after lying in a drawer for at least 3 years. Looks likely you have a dud.
April 5, 20232 yr So your meter wasn't very safe and effective and died suddenly? Mmm. I have a Ellies FSEMS efergy meter that is a few years old. It looks identical to your Kill-a-dud. Mine became erratic and I then noticed that the internal battery was leaky and had died. I couldn't get the right replacement and decided to use a super-cap. Now the cap seems to have charged beyond the intended voltage. Stupid me, I should have expected that. I need to spend more time on it and see if I can get it going again. My efergy meter could measure the Power Factor (PF) - Has the kill-a-watt meter also got that function? I really would like a meter that can measure the PF. If you are not interested in the PF, you can get one of these: https://www.sonoffafrica.co.za/product/sonoff-powr316/
April 5, 20232 yr 36 minutes ago, Bobster. said: Maybe it's a dud. My first one also stopped displaying. Geewiz shipped a replacement and took back the faulty one (and did not ask me a fee to do this). The replacement has been working for a couple of years without issues. Ask them to exchange it. Great tool to figure out the power usage around the house
April 5, 20232 yr Author 1 hour ago, Modina said: My efergy meter could measure the Power Factor (PF) - Has the kill-a-watt meter also got that function? I really would like a meter that can measure the PF. If you are not interested in the PF, you can get one of these: The one I bought gives quite a lot of information. It has 6 modes 1) Wattage in real time 2) Cumulative wattage and time elapsed 3) Voltage (real time) 4) Amps and PF (real time) 5) Minimum power used during the time spent monitoring 6) Max power used during the time spent monitoring Edited April 5, 20232 yr by Bobster.
April 5, 20232 yr I have the same one works great . You must have got a dud . Just get it replaced it's worth the trouble getting it replaced Edited April 5, 20232 yr by GMAC
April 5, 20232 yr Sounds like it had a loose solder joint that was secure enough to last until you plugged it into the fridge. Either that or an infant mortality on the PSU of the unit. Should definitely be a CPA warranty repair/replace.
April 5, 20232 yr 4 hours ago, Modina said: So your meter wasn't very safe and effective and died suddenly? Mmm. I have a Ellies FSEMS efergy meter that is a few years old. It looks identical to your Kill-a-dud. Mine became erratic and I then noticed that the internal battery was leaky and had died. I couldn't get the right replacement and decided to use a super-cap. Now the cap seems to have charged beyond the intended voltage. Stupid me, I should have expected that. I need to spend more time on it and see if I can get it going again. My efergy meter could measure the Power Factor (PF) - Has the kill-a-watt meter also got that function? I really would like a meter that can measure the PF. If you are not interested in the PF, you can get one of these: https://www.sonoffafrica.co.za/product/sonoff-powr316/ So your meter wasn't very safe and effective and died suddenly? Mmm. 🤣🤣🤣
April 5, 20232 yr 6 hours ago, Bobster. said: The one I bought gives quite a lot of information. It has 6 modes 1) Wattage in real time 2) Cumulative wattage and time elapsed 3) Voltage (real time) 4) Amps and PF (real time) 5) Minimum power used during the time spent monitoring 6) Max power used during the time spent monitoring Thanks @Bobster. Yes those are the same functions that mine covers. So if I can't fix mine I will buy a new one. Sometimes new models are watered down in functionality. One never knows. Just wanted to make sure. For me the PF measure is important and few meters support it. Technology life-time follows the so-called bath-tube curve. High failure rates at the start (due to manufacturer defects), then a long period of rock solid performance and then after a certain period (often designed into the product) a high rise in failure.
April 5, 20232 yr Why not just buy a smart plug with power consumption? Cheaper than the Kiill-A-Watt and you can switch it on/off as well? https://www.takealot.com/tuya-smart-wifi-power-plug-south-african-2-3-pin/PLID73611427
April 5, 20232 yr @Sc00bs I am allergic to WiFi. Haha. No, these smart plugs can only measure reactive power - at least as far as I know. I want to be able to measure the power factor or "real" power. If you don't know the PF, you could make large errors as the real power could be substantially lower than the reactive power. PF is a difficult subject to get your head around. It has to do with the current and voltage being in phase (in resistive loads) or out-of-phase in inductive or capacitive loads. The PF is why inverters normally have two power ratings. One expressed in KW and the other in KVA. KW is into a resistive load and is always smaller than the KVA ratting. We tend to loosely interchange the two, but there is a difference.
April 5, 20232 yr Author 4 hours ago, Sc00bs said: Why not just buy a smart plug with power consumption? Cheaper than the Kiill-A-Watt and you can switch it on/off as well? https://www.takealot.com/tuya-smart-wifi-power-plug-south-african-2-3-pin/PLID73611427 Because I went & googled "kill-a-watt". Lol.
April 19, 20232 yr Author On 2023/04/05 at 9:37 AM, iiznh said: My first one also stopped displaying. Geewiz shipped a replacement and took back the faulty one (and did not ask me a fee to do this). The replacement has been working for a couple of years without issues. Ask them to exchange it. Great tool to figure out the power usage around the house So it took a little while with all the holidays, but Geewiz are replacing. They are just shipping me a new one and don't even want the old one back. So good service from them.
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