Any electricians on here?

[TrxR]

Do any of you know if there is such thing as a meter that could be installed between my meter and panel that would log the incoming voltage and usage.?

Been having problems for years and the power company wont do a thing. Had a 2 days here where everyone was away for 2.5 hours and one day we used 10Kw in that time , the next day 0Kw. We also went 13 days using 300Kw then went 2 days and used 600Kw . Makes no sense as nothing different is being used. Its also very common for dimming lights in the house.

Thanks

 

[BradY]

Should be very possible to install a din mount kW/hr meter that measures total consumed as well as instantaneous consumption. Have them wire between the meter and main switch, or between main switch and downstream breakers if you can find one that can handle the current draw

 

[hoz53]

Do any of you know if there is such thing as a meter that could be installed between my meter and panel that would log the incoming voltage and usage.?

Been having problems for years and the power company wont do a thing. Had a 2 days here where everyone was away for 2.5 hours and one day we used 10Kw in that time , the next day 0Kw. We also went 13 days using 300Kw then went 2 days and used 600Kw . Makes no sense as nothing different is being used. Its also very common for dimming lights in the house.

Thanks

Like brad y says there are a number of ways to do that. I’d also call the public service commission in your state and talk to them about it..

 

[jkohler]

Your power company needs to hook up a power data logger for a few days. You may need to have an electrician come out and check your side of the meter for any loose connections also. Dimming lights often will be a loose or corroded neutral.

 

[TheOtherZilla]

Licensed sparky here. as noted in the previous comments it's the power company who has the data loggers. Usually in my experience the problem is in the home or the service wiring. Dimming lights indicates a neutral problem. Been there, found that. more than a few times. If not addressed you can blow up a whole bunch of stuff , like TV's , microwaves etc..

 

[TrxR]

Brand new entrance and panel two years ago made no difference .
They have put a power logger on before but refused to let us see the data . The technician back then said it looked like we lived next to a saw mill and would get back to us. Didn't hear back from him for over a month so we called the power company who claimed they never heard of that tech. That was years ago.

Two years ago a tech that was out when the new entrance was installed claimed our problem was that there needed to be booster station installed somewhere as we were so far away from the nearest one, but said that the power company would never spend that money to install one. The place right before us is a summer camp and pulls a big draw of power.

 

[TrxR]

We have also observed ramdom low voltage which was also noticed by the guy that installed our heat pump. When we get dim lights you can check the voltage in any outlet and it will be down between 100 and 105 volts.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

Do you have alternative power supply, since you are the end of a rural supply line?

 

[TrxR]

No alternative power supply other than a small 5000w generator.

 

[jmm03]

TRX, this place may have something that works and won't break the bank: https://www.dataq.com/data-logger/?...MI4NbWvq6J6wIVgT6tBh0DkQJ0EAAYAiAAEgK5xPD_BwE Jim

 

[jkohler]

Voltage shouldn’t drop more than 10%. Sounds like the power company needs to install a voltage regular. Do you know what size of transformer your on and how many are feeding off of it.

 

[Bad Mojo]

I'm not an electrician but I did building maintenance in a 3M sq ft complex. We used a Dranetz meter to log suspicious fluxuations. I haven't heard of anyone using that meter in 10 years. I skimmed some of the posts and one guy said to look at neutrals. Do that.

 

[TrxR]

Voltage shouldn’t drop more than 10%. Sounds like the power company needs to install a voltage regular. Do you know what size of transformer your on and how many are feeding off of it.

We are the only one on that transformer but Im not sure how large it is.

For curiosity sake I checked three different outlets with my Voltmeter a few minutes ago and it actually showed high at 135V but is now back to 119.

 

[TrxR]

I see the battery symbol is on on my metter so im going to have to buy a new battery and check again every so often.

Im not sure if the low battery will cause issues or not. Its a Triplett 9005 meter.

 

[jkohler]

I’d check from line to neutral on both and see if they are balanced. You probably need to see if you can get someone at your power company that will work with you on it. Sound like they need to get a data logger back on it.

 

[BradY]

https://www.hagerelectro.com.au/e-c.../kilowatt-hour-meters-energy-meters/33979.htm

We use these occasionally. Take note I’m from Aus and our mains voltage is 230v. But hopefully you can find something similar.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Transmission line and substation engineering is what i do now. You need to find a spot you can measure both of the hot legs coming in to ground. If its floating around like that you could have a rusted ground rod underground a ways. I saw one a few weeks ago that looked normal at the ground level but was rusted in half about 6” deep. As far as the power usage you need a new meter. You need to demand they install a new meter. They dont just put them in unless broken but if you get with em just right they will replace it. As far as putting your own usage meter there youll have to have current transformers and potential transformers of your own unless you can come across an old meter somewhere and install a meter base for it on your side of the meter. See if you can find a lineman or service man hanging around somewhere and borrow their expertise. Not sure how big your utility is but some are small and the same guy does a lot of jobs and just dont have much time to go to nuisance calls until its just broken so stern with the office and nice to the actual guys doing the work will get you fixed up. I suspect your ground rod though- especially if things change according to rain etc.

 

[TheOtherZilla]

We have also observed ramdom low voltage which was also noticed by the guy that installed our heat pump. When we get dim lights you can check the voltage in any outlet and it will be down between 100 and 105 volts.

That is way too low. NEC only allows a 5% drop. Check in the panel at the mains. And maybe have the power company check volts in the meter panel. This is the power companies responsibility it seems. PSC might need to get involved.
And it is no big deal for the power company to boost voltage at the source.

 

[Rodney]

Definitely sounds like something is loose or making poor contact with the neutral. At the main service your neutral and ground are supposed to be connected together and then connected to the ground rod. That’s a very important connection that will wreak all kinds of havoc with your electrical system if not done correctly. As someone stated earlier, electronic devices are very susceptible to poorly bonded neutrals. As far as your unusual power usage, something else might be drawing power and you’re unaware of it.
Quick example, I rented a trailer home from a farmer that used to live in it before he built his farm house. The trailer had its own meter ( supposedly). The meter never moved for three months. The power company never questioned it. But I had power. One day the farmer plugged in a battery charger to charge his boat battery that was stored in the neighboring barn. The next month the meter had moved and showed I had used $6.00 worth of electric. Come to find out, the meter was only feeding the barn and my service was fed off of the farmers service and my usage was not enough that he noticed much difference in his bill. Never would have believed it if it hadn’t happened to me personally. Not saying this is your situation, but just goes to show that what’s happening underground may not be what you think it is. Didn’t mean to ramble, just thought you might get a kick out of that story. Definitely check your bonding of your neutral and ground.

 

[TrxR]

Transmission line and substation engineering is what i do now. You need to find a spot you can measure both of the hot legs coming in to ground. If its floating around like that you could have a rusted ground rod underground a ways. I saw one a few weeks ago that looked normal at the ground level but was rusted in half about 6” deep. As far as the power usage you need a new meter. You need to demand they install a new meter. They dont just put them in unless broken but if you get with em just right they will replace it. As far as putting your own usage meter there youll have to have current transformers and potential transformers of your own unless you can come across an old meter somewhere and install a meter base for it on your side of the meter. See if you can find a lineman or service man hanging around somewhere and borrow their expertise. Not sure how big your utility is but some are small and the same guy does a lot of jobs and just dont have much time to go to nuisance calls until its just broken so stern with the office and nice to the actual guys doing the work will get you fixed up. I suspect your ground rod though- especially if things change according to rain etc.

We only have one power company for the whole province.

Ill talk to someone about the ground wire and see if we can possibly get a new meter.

As for my own i was wondering if there were meters that could be connected between their meter and the panel? I believe some apartment buildings use similar. Is there any small devices i could even just plug in to a outlet that would log the voltage?