"daestrom" wrote in message news:M5Oif.37047$ snipped-for-privacy@twister.nyroc.rr.com... : : "Pop" wrote in message : news:_6qdnQ-Ja snipped-for-privacy@usadatanet.net... : >
: > "daestrom" wrote in message : > news:2b%hf.65715$ snipped-for-privacy@twister.nyroc.rr.com... : > : : > : "Pop" wrote in message : > : news: snipped-for-privacy@usadatanet.net... : > : > ... : > : > : "All that seemed to be on were voltages for chips in the : > : > : answering machine, the microwave, and the furnace. I : > unplugged : > : > the : > : > : answering machine and the microwave. The meter disk didn't : > : > move in : > : > : several minutes. I plugged them back in. The disk still : > : > didn't move in : > : > : several minutes. : > : > : : > : > : I guess those three devices didn't provide enough torque to : > get : > : > the disk : > : > : moving. So far I haven't seen it move slower than 35 : > Watts, : > : > and I : > : > : haven't been able to account for more than an estimated
15 : > : > watts." : > : > ... : > : >
: > : > Jeez, guys: a nightlight and such isn't going to show any : > meter : > : > movement for a LONG time; probably days, certainly many : > hours! : > : > Think about it! Certainly you won't see anything in 'several : > : > minutes' as mentioned here! Oh, and the wheel will most : > likely : > : > turn - done it with vacation home with night lights; 3 of : > them; : > : > left on for a winter. : > : >
: > : : > : Well, a 7 watt nightlight on a meter with a Kh=7.2, should : > rotate the disk : > : once in just under an hour. But I think there is a minimum : > friction where : > : it just won't register. I think it was Charles that had a link : > to : > : watt-hour-meter calibration spec. : >
: > Yeah, there does have to be a minimum friction, I'd have to : > agree. I guess I was reacting more to waiting a "few minutes" or : > whatever the phrase was. : > Also, everyone here says, and others seem to agree with, the : > fact that 1 revoution = 1 kWH but that's not true here in upstate : > NY. : : Well, *I* didn't say it was 1kwh, and I see a couple of others that pointed : out that the meter's Kh number tells you how many watt-hours per rev of the : disk. : : > I don't recall the numbers anymore, but when I was using the : > spinning disk to measure power, my utility told me where to find : > the "multiplier" on the meter face to convert the number of : > revs/minute to kWH. I don't recall the number any longer, but : > two numbers are stuck in my head: 6.4 and 7.2. I do know the : > disk didn't indicate that one rev was a kWH though; it was far : > from it. : : Yep, the number you want is shown as Kh=xx (mine used to be 7.2 before it : was replaced with a digital one). : : > They recently stuck us with one of the modem call-home types : > so I can't support my allegations anymore. I really dislike the : > new digital meters: There is zero way to guestimate ANY power : > usage unless it's a very high current or a long period of time. : : : Here in upstate NY in Nimo(oops, National Grid) country, they've been moving : to electronic meters. But the one I have has a small black 'dot' on the LCD : readout that pulses with each watt-hour, to show you it's 'turning'. : : Look underneath the digital readout for a small LCD 'spot'. When you have : some loads running, it should blink on/off slowly, the speed tells you how : fast the older 'disk' would have turned. : : > The lowest digit is a kWH; you'd think they'd have been down to : > tenths, at least, but I guess since they charge by even hours, : > they only have to display the even hour. : > Oh! A little sidelight here: When they went down the road : > here switching out the meters for the new digitals, you should : > have heard the complaining about the power company using THEIR : > phone lines to call in their meter readings, and how could they : > stop it, and what else was it telling them about their houses? : > . They just couldn't fathom that it didn't use the phone : > lines for that. : : Funny, our meters (national grid in the CNY division) don't use phone lines. : They are RF and the meter reader comes by once a month and simply drives : up/down the street. His unit polls each meter and gets kwh reading and : serial number while driving by at 10 mph. Still have a meter-reader, but : one can cover the territory that used to take about eight. : : Are you *sure* yours uses a phone line? I know some commercial : installations in DTE country (lower Michigan) required a dedicated phone : line, but those were 'open choice' commercial customers, where the : non-utility supplier had to schedule power in 15 minute intervals and bill : accordingly. : : Who's your utility, maybe you can take the model no. off the meter and : google it. That's what I did and found out all about it. : : daestrom : : No, ours doesn't use an actual phone line; sorry, didn't mean to imply that. I had my tongue in my cheek there about how everyone heard the "modem" word in an ad they left at each home, and everyone with a computer decided it was going to use THEIR phone lines. I was just commenting on the misconceptions of a couple people talking to others. The ad never said it used phone lines either, but clearly stated a "modem-like" device fed a small transmitter and gave the FCC registration no., etc.. I threw it away so I can't perfectly quote anything from it now.
Never thought about using Google - good idea. Last time Nimo had all the info on the old meter online, but I can't find it again if it's still there. Google might be a good resource. I don't recall any opening under the readout, but I'll look next time I'm out there. You gave some good info - thanks!
Regards,
Pop