ctfjr
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Or this thread could be titled, "How long could I procrastinate before finishing my ammeter monitoring box?".
I finally finished installing the digital ammeters on top of the power distribution box of the generator. I used 2 Chinese digital meters with 2 current transformers. Its a simple concept - you run each wire of one side of the 220 through the center hole of the current transformer. The ac current generates a magnetic field that in turn induces a current in the winding contained in the transformer (like putting a single wire through a donut). Of course I ended up with one bad segment on one of the displays so I guess you can say I'm not really finished yet until I change that
I also had a major issue with the wire I ran into the transfer switch in the house. I used #2 - way overkill but I had picked it up cheap on Ebay. I couldn't maneuver the wire through the transformers in the box. I ended up reducing the last 12 inches to #6 and spliced it to the #2 using split bolts.
In the crappy Iphone pix you can see the spliced wire on the top of the box. A small open frame 12 volt dc supply is in the lower left (powers the digital displays) and the displays are on the right wall.
I checked he readings of each and they are spot on with my clamp-on ammeter. Which brings me to my question, how accurate is that % rated meter???
The load (pretty well balanced I might add) is just over 20 amps yet the % meter indicates about 30%. When the load jumped to 33 and 34 amps (each leg) the ammeter only read just under 50% -
I finally finished installing the digital ammeters on top of the power distribution box of the generator. I used 2 Chinese digital meters with 2 current transformers. Its a simple concept - you run each wire of one side of the 220 through the center hole of the current transformer. The ac current generates a magnetic field that in turn induces a current in the winding contained in the transformer (like putting a single wire through a donut). Of course I ended up with one bad segment on one of the displays so I guess you can say I'm not really finished yet until I change that
I also had a major issue with the wire I ran into the transfer switch in the house. I used #2 - way overkill but I had picked it up cheap on Ebay. I couldn't maneuver the wire through the transformers in the box. I ended up reducing the last 12 inches to #6 and spliced it to the #2 using split bolts.
In the crappy Iphone pix you can see the spliced wire on the top of the box. A small open frame 12 volt dc supply is in the lower left (powers the digital displays) and the displays are on the right wall.
I checked he readings of each and they are spot on with my clamp-on ammeter. Which brings me to my question, how accurate is that % rated meter???
The load (pretty well balanced I might add) is just over 20 amps yet the % meter indicates about 30%. When the load jumped to 33 and 34 amps (each leg) the ammeter only read just under 50% -
