Re: Refrigerator monitor ideas?

["Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx>]

"Dave Houston" <nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:45c5be6b.1293035578@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> "Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> >My wattmeter tells me it draws 112 watts when running.
>
> It would be interesting to see what your Kill A Watt meter shows for 24
> hours in kWh mode. You could then calculate annual kWh and compare it to
the
> hypothetical figures bandied about by bureaucrats and ivory tower
academics.

The test is underway as I write this.  I've noticed both higher and lower
wattage readings at different times, 62 and 275 to be exact.  It will be
interesting to keep track of the door opening and closings and correlate it
with energy use.  I just love those Hawkeyes to easily automate that task!
Just stick one in the fridge with lithium or NiMH batteries and it sends two
sets of commands (motion + dawn/dusk) that should enable me to determine the
precise state of the door). Maybe dad was right when he complained that were
going to send him to the poorhouse when we left the door open for too long!

I suspect the initial readings will be very high because I've opened the
door about a week's worth in a single day but they certainly won't be
hypothetical or statistical summaries of someone else's power consumption.
(-:

I just checked the dogs and the Kill-o-Watt and got to watch the power
consumption slowly creep down second by second as the compressor warmed up.
It's a shame that neither the Kill-o-Watt nor the Ratshack RS-232 Multimeter
can handle logging the refrigerator's power consumption from moment to
moment.  I might be able to rig up a loop around a single conductor of the
reefer's powercord to get some sort of graphic record of the relative power
consumption.  The RS232 meter is rated for 20A, but it cautions that rating
is only good for 30 secs at a time.  Do you think it would be safe to hook
the meter up directly or should I make a jury-rigged an induction probe?

--
Bobby G.