Keep them or pitch them? Digital Amp Gauge

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User Name

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USA
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Electrician
Hey there guys, so I've been on the hunt for a panel gauge that I can install in enclosures that was small, preferably using a round hole, and be affordable. As some of the panel gauges I had installed for customers over the years were getting into the several hundred-dollar range and required punching out a huge hole. I wanted something more efficient, something a guy could afford to put on like every motor.

Well I found just what I was looking for, I'll attach pictures, found them surfing the web and they check off all the marks. Uses a 22mm hole, standard size perfect. 0 to 100 amps, huge range I'll never need them for more than 100. Digital, no more analog and squinting to see where the gauge is at. And stupid cheap, which probably should have been my red flag, but I was really excited to give them a try.

I installed a few and they work, like really well, against my Klein meter within an amp, good enough for where they're going. And really bright, can be read from a distance. Was going to install another and said hold up...where's the UL listing, where's any NRTL mark? It's tagged for CE, but that's not accepted by OSHA as far as their website says at the moment.

So now I'm conflicted, these things are just what the doctor ordered, but it kind of looks like I might not be able to use them. Maybe you guys have seen or even used these things before.... what do you think...use them or pitch them in the trash? Thanks.
 

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U

User Name

Senior Member
Location
USA
Occupation
Electrician
Right? I thought they could even be installed right on the motor junction box as well they're that small, but didn't get to yet. Also I thought about doing a button next to it so that if you wanted to check the amperage you push the button and it turns the gauge on, instead of being on the entire time the motor is on.
 
U

User Name

Senior Member
Location
USA
Occupation
Electrician
Yeah there are two screws on the bottom for input voltage. here's the guy's website I got them from, he's got a bunch of other stuff but some of that stuff I definitely wouldn't install on site. https://contactordepot.com/ you can buy the stuff on Amazon too.
 
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GoldDigger

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User Name said:
Right? I thought they could even be installed right on the motor junction box as well they're that small, but didn't get to yet. Also I thought about doing a button next to it so that if you wanted to check the amperage you push the button and it turns the gauge on, instead of being on the entire time the motor is on.
Click to expand...
So presumably you would just interrupt the power to the meter and not do anything to the CT circuit? Unless you are concerned about the life of the meter, I would not be at all concerned about leaving it on whenever the motor is on.
 
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DanS26

Member
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IN
It appears that the device needs to be fed AC voltage with a relatively small gauge wire. Would not that wire need to be protected by an appropriately sized fused disconnect within the enclosure?
 
D

DanS26

Member
Location
IN
DanS26 said:
It appears that the device needs to be fed AC voltage with a relatively small gauge wire. Would not that wire need to be protected by an appropriately sized fused disconnect within the enclosure?
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What I mean is an in-line fuse of the appropriate size to protect the small wire.
 
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Todd0x1

Senior Member
Location
CA
I have seen alot of meters in that formfactor and have never seen a listed one. My guess is that you can't cram the necessary circuitry to be safe and legal into something that size.

For a UL digital ampmeter that goes in a round hole (but it does need mounting screw holes drilled) there's this https://www.murata.com/en-us/products/productdetail?partno=DMR35-ACA1-AC1-R

I use alot of these https://www.selec.com/us/en/products/volt-amp-freq a great option at only around $100/ea 120vac supply and UL. Square panel punch is about $400.
 
Jraef

Jraef

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The way I look at it is that if a manufacturer is serious about the North American market, they will get an NRTL listing on their products. So if they don’t, to me that means either they are not committed to supporting our market, or their product will not pass, so they don’t mention it. Chinese mfrs are notorious for this. So you put it in your system, then it fails and the Chinese supplier is long gone.

It looks like Big Clive did a video dissection of these. He does a good job of finding flaws.
 
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ptonsparky

ptonsparky

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Jraef said:
The way I look at it is that if a manufacturer is serious about the North American market, they will get an NRTL listing on their products. So if they don’t, to me that means either they are not committed to supporting our market, or their product will not pass, so they don’t mention it. Chinese mfrs are notorious for this. So you put it in your system, then it fails and the Chinese supplier is long gone.

It looks like Big Clive did a video dissection of these. He does a good job of finding flaws.
Click to expand...
I like watching those...
 
U

User Name

Senior Member
Location
USA
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Electrician
DanS26 said:
What I mean is an in-line fuse of the appropriate size to protect the small wire.
Click to expand...
I was going to see what the power draw was but I don't have a meter that I can put in series to check it, its to low for the clamp on. I'm going to use a 1 1/4" glass fuse holder and 1/2 amp fuse (actually 2 because its being feed 220v) just off the shelf parts from my regular supplier. 1/2A was the smallest they had on hand. Try that for the ones I've already installed and see how it goes, already got customers wanting more but might have to disappoint them :confused:.
 
U

User Name

Senior Member
Location
USA
Occupation
Electrician
Jraef said:
The way I look at it is that if a manufacturer is serious about the North American market, they will get an NRTL listing on their products. So if they don’t, to me that means either they are not committed to supporting our market, or their product will not pass, so they don’t mention it. Chinese mfrs are notorious for this. So you put it in your system, then it fails and the Chinese supplier is long gone.

It looks like Big Clive did a video dissection of these. He does a good job of finding flaws.
Click to expand...
I actually caught the video the other day, I liked his video, might have to see what else he does, and yeah I agree, a guy should be supporting the companies going to extra mile to do things right, not the ones that fly under the radar.
 
U

User Name

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Location
USA
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Electrician
And actually to add to that I looked around my house, first thing I picked up that was plugged in was only marked for CE, found 2 more, must not be enough regulation or oversite going on to make sure this stuff is staying out of the country.
 
don_resqcapt19

don_resqcapt19

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User Name said:
And actually to add to that I looked around my house, first thing I picked up that was plugged in was only marked for CE, found 2 more, must not be enough regulation or oversite going on to make sure this stuff is staying out of the country.
Click to expand...
In general, there is no mechanism in place to prevent the use of unlisted products, and even in the NEC not everything is required to be listed.
 
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