scam or real deal

Status
Not open for further replies.

MD12297

Member
Location
Joppa, MD
Has anyone had any experience with these type of units. I've installed similar units in the past and never gotten precise feed back from the customers.

http://electricsaver1200.com

I was thinking of selling them again but I don't wasn't to rip people off. I've opened them up in the past and it looks like it consists of 2 capacitors. The companies that sell the different models claim it has something to do with wasted power used when motors start.

I am a master electrician but definately not an engineer. Any professional input or first hand experience would be greatly appreciated.
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
search this forum for the words 'snake oil' and you find enough information on either this product or similar products.
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
There should be a way to report these guys.

Report to who? They are selling a product that some will claim is totally useless but others will say is wonderful. We already have other products like that being sold all the time. How about Weight loss pills, male enhancement products, hair growth products just to name a few.
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
Before you can have their product taken off the market you will have to prove that it is a scam. It will do some of the things it says it does making it a little harder to just say it is a total scam.

Heard a radio ad recently I don't remember the model of car in the ad but they said something like "how would you like to be able to drive 500 miles on a tank of gas".

I thought to myself I can drive about 500 miles maybe even 600 if things are ideal with my 3/4 ton diesel truck on one tank - problem is the tank is likely a lot bigger than the one on the car they were promoting.

Their product may have some benefits but marketing likes to stretch things and can give false hope in what it will do.
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska

I don't know.


I think that these devices are still on the market.



Probably will not do. May be a start though.


Have you seen the full page ads for a room cooler that can cool a room for pennies a day? They tell you how efficient the thing is all that is needed is enough energy to run the circulating fan. You put refreezable cells into it for the cooling source. They forgot to mention in the ad that the freezer will use energy to freeze the cell. If the freezer is in the same room you wish to cool you really do not cool anything and in fact probably gain some heat from inefficiencies in the freezer.

Is this a scam? I wouldn't call it illegal, they are selling a product that pretty much does what they say it will do, but I am not planning to buy one.
 

ceb58

Senior Member
Location
Raeford, NC
Report to who? They are selling a product that some will claim is totally useless but others will say is wonderful. We already have other products like that being sold all the time. How about Weight loss pills, male enhancement products, hair growth products just to name a few.

I had a Dr. tell me that you could collect your grass clippings and sell them as a natural weight loss product. As long as there were no controlled drugs in it the FDA couldn't do any thing. The product would work. Eat two servings of this natural fiber a day and lose weight. There would be no fat or any substance to the grass clippings so you would lose weight. And the product worked as advertised.
Just like the solar clothes dryer that was sold for $10.00 ea. The person received a piece of small rope and two clothes pins. With instructions to tie the rope between two points in the yard and use the pins to hold the wet clothes on the line.
 

LarryFine

Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
Location
Henrico County, VA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
I had a Dr. tell me that you could collect your grass clippings and sell them as a natural weight loss product. As long as there were no controlled drugs in it the FDA couldn't do any thing. The product would work. Eat two servings of this natural fiber a day and lose weight. There would be no fat or any substance to the grass clippings so you would lose weight. And the product worked as advertised.
Not to mention the savings on milk.
 

stevebea

Senior Member
Location
Southeastern PA
Has anyone had any experience with these type of units. I've installed similar units in the past and never gotten precise feed back from the customers.

http://electricsaver1200.com

I was thinking of selling them again but I don't wasn't to rip people off. I've opened them up in the past and it looks like it consists of 2 capacitors. The companies that sell the different models claim it has something to do with wasted power used when motors start.

I am a master electrician but definately not an engineer. Any professional input or first hand experience would be greatly appreciated.

These guys are overzealous and any savings would be negilible!!
 

gar

Senior Member
Location
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Occupation
EE
110410-2228 EDT

MD12297:

In many cases you should be able identify, almost immediately, that certain ads are a scam just by the way they are written. This is the case with this product.

Study their description and whether it logically makes sense. Apply your technical background to analyze their description. Where is this device located? The main panel. The main panel is very close to the KWH meter. How does this device change anything in the load area? It is simply a shunt across the power supply, and that power supply has a rather low impedance compared to the small magic box. How much do they depend upon many false testimonials? Do their use of words make technical and logical sense?

Almost certainly the box contains at least two capacitors. Ask your self what these can do for you in a residential situation when located essentially at the energy meter? Your meter does not measure amperes. It measures the instantaneous product of current and voltage, averages this for a short time, and integrates that product over time to give you the time integral of real power over time, this is energy. Real power over time is what does work and what you pay for.

.
 
If snake oil search doesn't do the trick, Look up the difference between vars and kilowatts next find where motors fit into that equation. Can't save any money if you weren't paying for it in the first place.
 

robbietan

Senior Member
Location
Antipolo City
Our group just made a similar "power saver" for only $2, compared to the $50 product being sold in the market here. however, our smiles vanished when our boss told us how much our "manhour" cost to make the product
 

petersonra

Senior Member
Location
Northern illinois
Occupation
engineer
Report to who? They are selling a product that some will claim is totally useless but others will say is wonderful. We already have other products like that being sold all the time. How about Weight loss pills, male enhancement products, hair growth products just to name a few.

Personally I do not need any male enhancement products, but if they don't work, why is smilin' Bob smiling?
 

gar

Senior Member
Location
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Occupation
EE
110603-1559 EDT

MD12297:

On rereading your original post you said you had installed similar units in the past.

Have you gone back to any of the installations and ask whether the customer was able to see any difference? The resulting answers might not be very useful, but would be interesting.

I suggest you run some experiments. To do this I suggest one Kill-a-Watt meter because it is inexpensive and performance is not too bad. Costco may be a low cost source. I prefer the standard unit over the EZ model. I have both. The EZ model is required if you need measurements over a long time span and a power interruption might occur. For example refrigerator testing.

Additionally a TED System would be useful. It allows tests you can not do with the Kill-A-Watt. You need the computer software for TED as well as the basic system.

If you get any of this equipment I can describe how you could perform tests on the power saver. Also you would want a 120 V single phase motor with no load on it. Probably about 1/3 HP. In other words a loose motor.

.
 

Jraef

Moderator, OTD
Staff member
Location
San Francisco Bay Area, CA, USA
Occupation
Electrical Engineer
Bob is smiling because he made a lot of $$$ on the scam:):)
My wife asked me if these commercials were legal, I said they are, but you have to listed VERY CAREFULLY to what they do NOT say. They do NOT ever specifically say that it works, it's always implied!
 
Last edited by a moderator:

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
My wife asked me if these commercials were legal, I said they are, but you have to listed VERY CAREFULLY to what they do NOT say. They do NOT ever specifically say that it works, it's always implied!

And to get back on topic that is exactly why the snakeoil salesmen can sell their power saving devices. They never really lie to potential customers they just don't tell all of the facts. And some (maybe most) do not even know all the facts they just know what they were trained to say when certain questions are asked.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top