No, I said, if it does, what it says it supposed to do, it’s a bargain! That’s a big if. But for that kind of money it is disposable!
I read that it has good ratings and I found this review helpful.
Overall I like the device. When plugged in, the display lights with any button press and remains lit for a while. I like that it shows the maximum watt draw. I wanted to know exactly that so that I could properly size an inverter to run a fridge and freezer on batteries during power outages. Each display has the cumulative time at the top. The "manual" states that this is the amount of time that the meter is connected to the power source. That is not correct, at least not on mine. It rather shows the amount of time that power is being drawn. So if this is connected to a cooler that runs intermittently, it displays the amount of time that the cooler is drawing power, not the amount of time that the meter is plugged into the outlet. So, you can't know from the displays what the overall average power use is. You can only calculate the average power consumption while the cooler is actually running, which only occurs when the compressor is on. To know the average, I have to use a different KAW meter that keeps track of total watts consumed and total time the METER is plugged in. Other than that, it works well, but it's not quite as useful as it could be. So, it's a little bit of a letdown. But it does show the maximum power draw that occurred while in use, which my other meter doesn't show. The time also shows the total amount of time that power is being draw, which my other meter also doesn't show. It would be nice if it showed both how long the meter was plugged in AND how long a powered device was actually drawing power. Then it would be just about perfect.
Setting the cost is slightly tricky. In the display with only the time and cost showing (no middle field), press the "cost" button for a few seconds. You are now incost entry mode, but you must press the "function" button so that the first digit starts blinking, and then the "up" or "down" key to change the value of that digit. Then press the "function" key again for the next digit and repeat for further digits. When set, press the "cost" button to exit the cost entry mode. You are now set. It seems that the first two digits should be for whole cents and the digits to the right of the decimal for fractional cents, so it is not a dollars and cents display. If your electricity rate is 33.14 cents per kWh (like if you live in California where they have cheap renewable power), the display, once set, will read 33.14, and if your electricity costs 6.04 cents per kWh (like where I live) then the display in setup mode will read 06.04. The actual total cost of electricity consumed will be in the mode 1 screen where time, total watts and cost are displayed.
You can buy slightly stupid seeds!
