240V 50 amp Digital Voltage Monitor (DIY) Project Amazon Link for meter amzn.to/3TGDGKW Amazon 50 amp plug, male and female link www.amazon.com/dp/B000PGVZ30/... www.amazon.com/dp/B07DJ79R75/...
Hey good job young man. I just purchased a gas powered generator, i like your idea and i will have to attempt to make one for mine. I will have to re-watch your video for the instructions.
I would like to know what (wattage ) my industrial fan heater is drawing as it can draw up to (16 amp ) using a (13 amp) plug I do not want to make it draw to many amps to do another melt down on the plug. Like what happend on Sunday 25 December at 09:45hts. I was unaware that the thermostat was on it maximum power. Hence the burn out.
I noticed the whiskers sticking out on the terminals. Stranded wire is always twisted clockwise. Hint: Twist the exposed stranded wire counter-clockwise. Then the screw tightens down on the wire, the strands will be drawn in. Problem solved. Power is calculated by multiplying the voltage times the current. The reason for the voltage connection. The things you are calling monitors are called Current Transformers or CT's
Thank you so much for the great video. You always have the best information presented in a clear, concise way. Keep up the great work, my only suggestion would be to have someone hold the camera or use a tripod a little more often.
Very cool. I wonder if I could attach the meter to my 50amp breaker wires and mount the box next to panel to monitor gen usage when using gen and not utility power. That DIY kit would be a big seller man!
Just came across this and thinking about it for my Predator 9000, I have a 240v/ 30 amp twist lock, curious if I can use one meter with the clamp around both legs and it will add up the total wattage? Or is it necessary to wire up 2 meters, one for each leg. I'm thinking I'd like it plugged directly into generator, mounted to frame (if it doesnt vibrate loose), then run my cord to inlet at the house. Thoughts?
I made a unit like this and it did not work on my conventional generator. It worked fine on the Inverter Predator 9500 I have. With the old Powermate generator the display just flickered a little. I'm assuming the power isn't clean/stable enough for device to work. It might with a power conditioner but I won't be getting one to test that. I just thought I'd mention this.
Quick question. Do the wires powering the meter need to be attached to the same wires that you are measuring? I'm installing on my generator and it would be easier to get power to the monitor by using a different source .
Hi, Gavin, great instructions, I built this last night but I am going to use it for a more or less permanent mount beside my main panel so I can watch my gen when it is under load. I intend to put the conductors around each leg in the internal portion of the inlet box from outside, my question is: I need to add about two feet to the black/red wires from each conductor...using the same gauge wire, do you think that will induce delta into the accuracy of the readings or will that still be ok? I am thinking ok but never hurts to ask, lol. Thanks!
Can I use this same set-up with the predator 9500 even though it doesn’t have a 50amp outlet? I have the 30amp to 50amp splitter cord already. And run a 50amp cord from there to my inlet box.
@@GeneratorReviews I have the 30amp to 50amp splitter cord and connect that to the 50amp cord that runs to my inlet box. Would I still use the 30amp plugs or the 50amp?
Great video. I am just subscribed. I have the generator connected to my main electrical house panel via gen inlet and 50 amp breaker. Can I use the 2 monitor clamps on that 50 amp breaker wires? I could then connect the monitor ground to the panel ground bus. Where would I connect monitor power? I plan to have the 2 monitor displays in the house, so should I power the monitors using a regular wall outlet? Thanks for your response.
@@GeneratorReviews So I can have the 2 clamps on the 2 wires on the 50 amp breaker inside my panel and then have the 2 monitors inside my house. I can probably cut and modify a regular extension cord with hot, neutral, ground, and connect the monitors to a regular wall outlet. Anything that you can think of that I am forgetting? Can the monitors handle 110v coming to it?
will this tell me a rolling use for a total of lets use an example of 30 days? I am trying to see how much power a 5th wheel is using so I can charge them for total KWH. thank you
That meter is bad ass, when you start selling your shirts you totally got start selling these meters to. If you were gonna start selling those how much would you sell them for. Could you use those on any generator??
So I priced it all out and in most cases you would be looking at $70-$100 depending on parts stock (for those that don’t gave any of the parts. I.E.: Work box, pair of monitors, 10/4 wire. Male & Female ends and weatherproof connectors. YES being able to monitor usage would be nice (since many generators don’t have it built in). But us in necessary, due to the fact that most generators usually have overload/over draw protection built in… 🤔
Hello Gavin, thanks for the video. I built one this weekend. It looks like it’s working, but I have a question. I connected to a Predator 9500 using a 25’ 10AWG cable. Interlock, etc. No AC or other heavy loads. The top meter read 123 Volts, 6.591 amps and 563 watts. I’m not an electrician, but OHM’s law tells me the watts should be 810 not 563. The bottom meter had similar readings. Also, the top meter had PF reading of .61 and the bottom meter read .50 PF. That should ideally read close to 1.00 and .90, or thereabouts. Does the PF affect wattage output? To any electrician out there, what does a low PF in this case mean? Are my wires loose? Any help or observations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Hey, even though I did see any arrows which would point to a proper orientation, I did have mine in placed in opposite directions. Once I changed one of them and both were oriented toward the same direction, problem solved. Thanks, much appreciated. The PF reading is now 1.0. @@GeneratorReviews
Just found your vid. Nice work!! Question... I'm currently making something similar & would like your thoughts. 3 meters in a box, on a diy parallel Y cable, that will connect 2 120v generators to a 120v 30a RV outlet. A meter measuring the output of each gen, & the 3rd meter measuring the combined output of the two gens. The idea is if I mix 2 different gens, like a 2,000w & a 3,500w, or a 1,600w & 2,200w, I could see if they are sharing the same load equally or if the bigger gen is carrying more load as it should. I'm wondering if the meter readings will be affected incorrectly by back feeding each other since essentially they're all on the same circuit leg. What do you think?Thx!
Ok, I did what you showed unfortunately one of my legs always seems to flash when it's plugged in to 240v do you have any suggestions I'm even plugged it into a 240 wall socket can I get one leg that flashes I'd appreciate any comeback from anybody thank you
Hey. Is that an adapter cable that came already with the connectors or is a soow 6/4 cable and you added the connectors. If it is a adapter that came all in one can you provide the link?
@@GeneratorReviews thank you. The Hurricane Ian came by my house. I lost power and I was able to power my whole house with the GM9000iED. Stove is gas, dryer gas, 2 AC units- 3ton and 2ton. With both ac running, refrigerator and anything else that is normally connected like internet etc I was running the generator at 4,800 watts. 💪🏼
Agreed. My setup is all 30 amps from the generator to the house generator inlet so I can duplicate this setup Gavin has outlined but with 10/4 SOOW I am assuming. I just want to be able to monitor the 2 legs off of my 240 30amp outlet…..and want to do it safely.
I'm sorry but I'm done exactly what you've done and my monitors don't seem to pick up any current and when I have the monitors in place like you do I'm only getting a quarter of the bolts out but it's a funny thing to monitors are sometimes working and sometimes not working and this is the second set of monitors I've tried. What am I doing wrong. Sorry smartphone at put the word bolt but I said volt.
Shouldn’t you have connected the meter power to the neutral instead of ground ? Aren’t you using ground as a return for the meter power the way you did it?
Also, I have a RVGUARD 4 Prong 30 Amp 50 Foot Generator Extension Cord from Amazon that I connect to my generator and home do I follow same setup? Thanks In advance. Can I just pay you to make one? Lol😅
Shouldn't the power to the meters be the hot and neutral? Neutral is current carrying where ground is not, and for accurate power readings, you want to measure voltage across the load. See the 5th diagram down in the Amazon link you posted up top.
Most generators are bonded, the ground and neutral wire coming from the same place and you have to get your power reading from your hot wire I guess that’s why I showed a test. It works great and it goes back to zero with no load.
@@GeneratorReviews My Honda is floating neutral. Probably no big deal, but as an engineer I'd still follow the wiring diagram since that is the recommended method.
Why green instead of white. I think power should be taken from line to neutral, not ground to line......It is true that neutral and ground are bonded in some installations, but not all....
If you take it from the neutral wire your monitor will never show zero because it always measures the power from the monitor. RVs, transfer switches and most generators are bonded
