Frequency Meter for MEP

[Thorne]

I am a long time reader and a recent joiner to the forum. (Just bought 2 MEP003) I have them both running and one is connected to my house. Thanks to this forum! I was a little worried about watching the frequency and voltage so I have been looking for a solution.
I know everyone says to get a Kill-A-Watt but they are not convenient. I wanted something I could sit by the TV or really anyplace I had an outlet in the house and see from across the room.
I loved the old Meter boxes a diesel generator place sold a long time ago. The diesel generator place now sells digital meters that you have to wire up to 120 VAC.
So I decided I would build a frequency box myself. I bought a meter from the diesel generator place, an Otterbox 2500 case, and a power jack connector.
An Otterbox 2500 is large enough to hold the meter and IEC power jack chassis mount for 120 VAC.
I cut the Otterbox to hold the digital meter and connector for my 120 VAC. Connected the meter to the power jack and with a spare computer power cable. I now have a frequency meter that I can plug in to any outlet in the house and I can see it across the room without having to run to the generator to keep an eye on the output. I do have around $40 to $50 in parts for this and I know it is more than a Kill-A-Watt but I like the fact I can see it across the room.
... Happy Power Production!

 

[steelandcanvas]

Nice project.

 

[johnray13]

Nice set up. That particular meter will show you the voltage too, right?

 

[Thorne]

steelandcanvas --------> Thank you

johnray13 --------> Yes it has a button on the front.

 

[DieselBob]

Nice idea there Thorne. I was going to do something similar in a project box with a voltage and frequency meter.

 

[quickfarms]

Where did you get that meter?

 

[edgephoto]

For the lazy ones of us Kill-a-Watt makes a wireless setup. Has a claimed 300 ft range. P4220 is the sensor and P4225 is the display. A quick goole shows the pair at under $100. You can add up to 8 sensors to the display.

 

[Jimc]

That meter looks like the one from hardy diesel that they sell on ebay. I just ordered one

 

[Thorne]

quickfarms ------> Hardy Diesel is correct like Jimc said.

 

[Thorne]

edgephoto ----> I did not know the wireless Kill-A-Watt had the frequency part. P3 international does not show that on the website. I would have done the wireless option but the price was too high to guess. I will pass that on to my dad when he gets the other MEP003 hooked up.

 

[BigB]

Hi all,
I just got my MEP-003A home and have been playing around with it. The frequency meter showed 60Hz so I wanted to verify it with my DMM.
The DMM showed 55Hz. I adjusted the throttle up to get a reading of 60Hz. I remembered a gadget that a buddy gave me called a Good Governor GG101. I plugged it into the 120V outlets and checked it. This verified what my DMM showed. I did a web search and can't seem to find anyplace that sells it so I am not sure if it is still available. It does show up on a few RV sites though.
Just wanted to put my 2 cents in.
Andy

 

[1800 Diesel]

steelandcanvas --------> Thank you

johnray13 --------> Yes it has a button on the front.

Thorne--real nice job there..planning to make one similar to yours. Did you happen to ask the HD folks about the accuracy of the meter? Or did you happen to check it against a known good meter (Fluke or equal)?

Thanks

 

[Thorne]

Sergeant Major -- Thank you...

Yes I have checked both the HD meters with my Fluke.
Both HD meters are within .2 of the fluke.

 

[quickfarms]

I am not impressed with hardy diesel. I contacted them thru there web site two weeks ago. I received an automated response so their system got it and my email address is correct but they never responded to me. If they can not help me it would be good business to take the 5 seconds and respond.

 

[Isaac-1]

Try giving them a call, I have bought a few things from them over the years (frequency meter, drum adapter kits, etc.) and they have always provided excellent help, even including telling me their obscure parts source for part in one of their kits when I only needed the one piece and not the whole kit.

Ike

 

[johnray13]

Sometimes people have claimed they sent me an email and I swear I never got it. I think there are times when internet mail can get a little flaky. I agree with Ike, give 'em a call and see if they can help you.

John