PR10-E-NEW

I had this meter measuring my inverter A/C unit, never seeing more than 10 amps, and after 3 weeks it shut down (the green dot in the lower right of the display turns red). The manual states it has an "auto restart" feature that I did not turn on. I tested it in the "ON" state and it does indeed restart in one minute or less (it appears to have a cool down sensor as well as a timer). I then tested the "launch overload" feature. "It has an output protection function and can be set to cut off the power supply when the voltage, current, power, or temperature exceeds the output protection value. The “Launch overload” mode can be set when the current is 2A or above. No current and power are detected whether exceeds the setting or not within 15 seconds when the “Launch overload” is checked. " Translated: "the meter will not monitor or enforce the current and power protection limits you have set. During this period, even if the current or power exceeds your protection thresholds, the meter will not cut off the output" This is false: I set the protect to 150 volts, 15 amps, 1750 watts, with both "launch overload" and "auto reset" on. Then I plugged in a 15 amp saw and turned it on. The meter flashed high current and shut down the power instantly. So it does not ignore inrush current for 15 seconds. I retested several times, same result every time. It is also extremely difficult to program, the instructions are bad, and the interface is extremely cumbersome. For example if you want to check the "auto rest" box you have to step through all 26 boxes every time just to set one. It is a very powerful meter, but maddeningly difficult to use.

Pros: Big easy to read color display that is backlit, and it "just works". I took it apart and was relatively impressed with the build quality too. Cons: It does run a little warm and it isn't UL listed so you have to use it at your own risk. My fridge seems to run the compressor way more often even after cleaning the coils and I was worried about how much this was costing me. This unit shows the all the stats (watts, amps, cost per day and cost total) so just leaving it in for a week showed me it was less than 70 cents a day which is OK I guess. I'll have to compare that with my next utility bill but I've got no reason to think it's inaccurate. It does have a lot of other features that I don't use. It has temperature, voltage, and current alarms which I turned off but if you lived in an area where you'd be concerned about power spikes or something that could be useful. The unit runs a little warm and I suspect that's mostly from the enormous relay inside it. I wish it had vents for cooling on the top instead of being completely sealed, ventilation might resolve that warming up issue entirely. It's easy to take apart but you do need those triangle-head security bits -- it doesn't standard Phillips or slotted head screws. However somewhat conveniently the internal CR2032 battery IS socketed so it's trivial to replace it when the battery dies some day. I hear these things shouldn't be used near their maximum rating so I wouldn't use it with any kind of heating device. Inside the wire is of a large gauge but soldered in place instead of using pin and socket connection so in a real bad situation I suppose wires could come loose and touch things. But for fridge, it's perfect. No problems!

I use mine in the workshop to help me avoid inadvertently overloading circuits. Overall, it couldn't be much simpler - just plug it into a standard 15A outlet and you're good to go. The display is reasonably large and easy to read, and you can tell at a glance what your power consumption is. I like that you can set an alarm threshold and it will alert you if you get near to overloading a circuit. There are a few things I'm not thrilled about. First is that the unit is large enough that it obstructs the second receptacle in the outlet it's plugged into. I use an adapter that gives me three outlets out of the power meter, but that's not a great workaround. Second issue is that I wish the meter reported both the current and the maximum power observed over time. When I run (say) a large table saw, there's an initial surge as the tool spins up, but I don't see that number unless I'm staring at the power meter while starting the tool...I'd much rather have a way to see the current/peak/average consumption. Third, I'd like to see an option for a version of this power meter that can be used on a 20A circuit. Seems to me that if you have higher-power appliances/tools/whatever, this might be what you'd want to measure. Fourth isn't really a shortcoming, but it would be nice to see the manufacturer invest in some type of app or connectivity, whether Bluetooth/BLE, WiFi or even something like Zigbee or Z-Wave. It would be nice to have the option to integrate the metrics from the power meter with things like home automation systems. Still, this one is just a "wish list" item - the vendor is clear that they don't offer this sort of feature. Shortcomings aside, I do think this power meter is of good quality and works as advertised. It's easy to use, accurate and definitely helps me to better understand my power consumption without costing an arm and a leg.

work well and easy to read

Works great and can handle more watts than most.

Not sure if I got a lemon or if they are all the same. Worked great for a day or so, then the screen went white. Nothing seems to fix it.

Nice and easy to read as in colour and gives multiple pages of readouts. So far has been on for a couple months.

Uses up both plug sockets that can’t plug anything else in the lower plug in the wall socket. The menu system is lacking ease of use. It does look promising in performance so far. Will update if anything changes