S TOPP I H G P O WER ME TE R S **** 3rd Edition By: John .1. WiUiam, MSEE Pres?dent Consumertronics Co. Includes STOPPING POWER METERS 2ND EDITION, SPM ADDENDUM And More!! STOPPING POWER METERS is divided into two distinct bodies. The first body covers watt-hour energy meters, how they work, how they are adjusted, and the errors they produce. The second body is devoted to various techniques of slowing do~,vn and stopping power meters. This pamphlet is comprehensive, lengthy and full of valuable information. Indepth theoretical knowledge is not required to understand and utilize it. However, a very good practical electrical and electronic background and know-how is a must. NOTE: The utility meter attached to your home or business is a watthour meter - not a power meter. CAUTIONS AND DISCLAIMERS DO NOT USE THESE METHODS ON ANY METER BELONGING TO A UTILITY. Completely isolate your utility meter from your personal meter with an isolation transformer and/or heavy filtering. As hr as we know, the legality of applying load control methods that incidentally make the utilityowned meter underregister has not been legally tested. However, assume that the law will take as dim a View of doing this as it does if you actually physically tamper with the meter. It is ironic that many law enforcement agencies on one hand can't seem to do enough to plea# utility big-shots while blithely ignoring the many and extreme aimes committed by utilities upon the citizenry. Fortunately, most juries savvy this perversity of the law and act accordingWe must firmly state that we are totally against breaking the law in any fashion and that WE FORBID ALL ILLEGAL APPLICATIONS..Also, no licence# is granted under the copyright and/or patent rights of Consumertronics Co. or anyone else. And, although we have made every reasonable effort to provide accurate, reliable and useful information, we assume no responsibility whatsoever for errors or omissions. Be careful and know what you are doing. Induced currents can injure or kill and mistakes can also cause# property damage. All circuit diagrams are simplified; add fuses and circuit breakers as required. WATTHOUR METERS There is nothing magical or sacred about watthour meters. Like any high-grade scientific instrument designed to accurately measure an electrical parameter (energy, in kilo-watthours) under specific operating conditions and an ideal environment, they lose accuracy when their operating and environmental conditions are less than ideal and thru the process of aging. Watthour meters measure electrical energy consumed in a dynamic load by using the principle of the 2-Phase induction motor. IN FACT, IF THE ROTOR DISK WAS RESTRAINED, THE WATTHOUR METER BECOMES A CONSUMERTRONICS CO.
Copyright ~ 1979 John J. Williams ana DYNAMOMETER-TYPE POWER METER. Essential features of watthour meters are depicted in Fig. 1. The basic elements of the single phase meter are the stator assembly (electromagnet), the rotor assembly (includes disk) the retarding magnet(s), and the resister assembly. The stator consists of a voltage (potential coil) with a compensatory winding, and two current coils. The stator is energized by the combined effects of the line voltage and load currents. Two torques acting in the same direction but ~0 electrical degrees apart are generated. These sinusoidal rotor torques add to produce a resultant constant and steady torque. The first torque component results from the interaction of the useful current flux (dw to load current) with the voltage-induced eddy currents in the disk, and like the induction motor, rotor speed is proportional to line frequency. The second rotor torque results from the interaction of the useful voltage flux with the current-induced eddy currents in the disk. When the power factor (PF) is unity, both torques are always in the forward direction because the current (or voltage) flux is always of the same polarity as the voltage (or current)induced eddy currents. However, when the PF is less than unity (lag or lead~, there are different instances in the cydes of each torque component when the torques are reversed corresponding to those instances in which the line voltage and current are of different polarity. Although still initially constant , average torque is diminished. As it turns out, the disk torque will be proportional to the product of RMS voltage, RMS current, and PF (cosine of the phase angle between voltage and current). Thus, you will b billed for the real, not imaginary, power consumed. Our LOADFINDER pamphlet, among other information, explains real, imaginary and apparent power and how to make PF corrections. To translate the disk torque into disk sFed, permanent "braking" magnets must be provided, otherwise, the disk sFed would increase until arrested by very low air and dVot friction. These powerful magnets generate an eddy current in the aluminum disk whenever it is moving. This eddy current provides an opposing torque because its flux opposes that of the permanent magnets. This theoretically results in one constant sFed for every torque level. Thus, disk speed is then proportional to consumed real power. The register assembly consists of a gear train that connects the rotor worm gear to the pnged dials in the meter's faceplate. Thr~pha#, three-wire systems require two single-phase meters or one meter with two independent stators. Four-wire polyphase systems usually require three single-phase meters. For ~I PF less than 0.5, one meter will always run BACKWARDS! Unless it is known for certain that PF is less than 0.5, the true energy reading cannot b accurately determined. P.O. Drawer537, Alamogordo, N. M. 88310 Family, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Stopping Power Meters STATOR LINE 240 VAC CT~ToF~ ASSEMBLY ~ Braking Maon~. P. 2
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Comp~nsation Coil - ~ ~ \Volta9;C~ S Current Coil ~ ~ ~ ~;Wrent Cojl Ll L2 TO LOADS 7~ ~Brskin~ M~n~t; -ROTOR AEStM~ ROTOR ASSEMBLY ~_ Rotor Plate - Fig. 1: Basic Elements of the Typical Induction Watthour Meter. The four major manufacturers of watthour meters are: 1 ) General Electric. 2) Sangamo. 3) Westinghouse. 4) Duncan. The common inductance watthour meters design principle has remained unchanged since 1925, but there have been some improvements in devoting, roil design compenr, tion, otc., since then. To maintain accuracy watthour meters must b calibrated frequently. Utilities u ually limit this recallibration to: I) Full-Load Adjustment. 2) Light-Load Adjustment. 3) L~ Adjustment. I~ FULL-LOAD ADJUSTMENT The Full-Load Adjustment rating of most home and small business m~rs is 5 to 30 amps, printed on meter face. At a loss of some accuracy, most modem meters are capable of measuring energies of up to 600% Full-Load Rabng. This adjustment is made at full load and unity PF. It is done by assuring that the braking magnets are of suitable strength. Then, by carefully varying their positions, from thedisk or by adjusting the positions of the magnetic shunts that lie between their Pob faces and the disk, by turning the adjustment wh~l that has an "F" and "S" on it until disk speed is accurately ~t. NOTE: In some cases the "S" direction speeds the meter up while the "F" direction slows it down ~Duncan Meters). This opposite notation is designed to fool and Fnalize meter tamFrers. This is the main adjustment that the utility will make when either you or it is concerned about the meter's ccurac~ 2) LIGHT-LOAD ADJUSTMENT Under light loads (10% of Full Load), meter performance becomes nonlinear. This results from friction, lack of linearity ~
~ Registration Dials~
J ~ P ~ ~REGISTER ASSEMBLY; in the generation of driving torque as a function of load current;, and the presence of torques due to the potential flux acting alone caused by the lack of symmetry of the stator with respect to the disk. Uncompensated, meters usually overregister under light loads. However, due to voltage coil flux irregularities, it has not been uncommon for meters to run backwards under li~ht loads. Slots and holes have ben put in the disks of modern meters to prevent the disk from moving at all under very light loads ~less than 1% Full Load). This adjustment essentially adds a controlled torque due to the
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voltage flux alone sufficient to provide the correct disk sFed for 10% unity PF loads. Compensation torque is provided by adding a shaded-pole loop known as the Light-Load Plate. The necessity of this adjustment is apparent if the disk turns in either direction when there is no load. This condition is known as "meter aeeP- 3) LA~ AD,~USTMENT Since the voltage coil has some resistance, the voltage flux lags line voltage by less than 90~. A compensatory lag coil (See Fig. 11 or plate is provided to adjust the lag so that it is as close to 90as possible. This adjustment is made at 0.5 lagging PF. When the lag is out of adjustment, it almost always results in underregistration, but it is hardly noticeable unless the PF is small. Any lag adjustment made to inaea# disk sFed at lagging PF will decrease its speed for leading PF (capacitative load). Often, the Light- Load and Lag Adjustments are provided by the same mechanism. A radial motion provides the Lag Adjustment while a circumferential motion provides the Light-Load Adjustment. WATTHOUR METER INACCURACIES Utilities are fond of boasting that watthour meters are accurate to within ~1% of actual consumption under conditions where load currents vary from 0.3% to 400% and voltage from 80% to 120% of rated values, PF from 0.2 lagging to 0.2 leading, and temperatures from -40 C to ~75 C. In my opinion, that claim is utterly false. In reality, this is the very best case error for precise ly calibrated meters under laboratory conditions. Under the above "field" conditions, cumulative error for a calibrated meter can be as high as 10096 under small loading conditions and higher than 10% under normal home/business loads WITHOUT having made any effort to "fool" the meter. These errors can result in either your or the utility's favor. When it favors the utility, you'll never hear about it, and you will undoubtedly never collect a dime for past overpayments. When the error is in your favor, if the utility notices, you probably will b billed on a guessed-estimate arbitrarily determined by the utility to adjust your costs upwards. And your meter will b recalibrated or replaced by one more favorably calibrated for the utility, andlor you may b monitored by a pole meter. However, unless you take the initiative and even chronically complain, the utility will seldomly adjust an overregistering meter to read the correct amounts. Meter errors are caused by a number of factors, many of them interrelated. These errors exist even when the meter is precisely calibrated. They are accentuated when the Full-Load, Light Load and/or Lag adjustments are required. No scientific instrument remains accurate if not frequently and precisely calibrated, particularly an instrument in continuous outdoor use. Wear, deterioration, temperature, humidity, dirt, electromagnetic fields and vibration always take their toll. Meters usually spend years in operation, AND SOMETIMES EVEN DECADES, between calibrations. Errors didn't matter so much when rates were fair, such as in the 1960s and early 1970s. However, few people can now afford to pay for their actual consumption much less for errors that are compounded by the Fuel Adjustment rip-off.
METER ERROR SOURCES I) TEMPERATURE ERROR Meters read high between O and 8~F and low thereafter. Error accentuates with decreasing PF and alone can be as high as 4% at 0.5 PF. The main cause# of this error is the increase in the voltage coil lag at low temperatures (temporary error) and demagnetization of the braking magnets permanent error) at high temperatures. ALL PERMANENT MAGNETS DEMAGNETIZE WITH TIME, THE RATE OF WHICH IS DETERMINED BY TEMPERATURE, TIME, QUALITY, AND ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD EXPOSURE. The demagnetization of braking magnets ALWAYS results in rotor speed-up and over registration I 2) FREQUENCY ERROR Lille frequency seldomly varies more than ~ IX from 60 ~or 50) Hz. a 10% variation of line frequency can result in a 1% or more error, particularly for high PFs. Meter reads high at low frequencies ~to a point) and low at high frequencies. Meter ~can perform erratically when harmonically rich waveforms ~eg rectified sine wave) is applied to it at appreciable energy levels. Error is higher for low PF loads at low frequency. 3) VOLTAGE ERROR Generally, line voltage k stable to within+10% of rated. In cases of overvoltage, watthour meters read substantially low due to significant AC damping that results in some braking. This phenomenon is called "overload droop" and is slightly higher for low PF. Watthour meters read slightly high when voltage is low. - 4) VERY HIGH OR VERY LOW LOADING Very low loading almost always favors the utility, even for compensated meters, up to the point where the meter stops turning. This error can possibly be as much as 100% of actual consumption. Very high loading of meter results in 'overload droop." For low PF, the meter almost always reads high no matter the actual consumption. 6) METER DISSIPATION Meters dissipate about IA watts on a continuous basis. Furthermore, if the disk stops turning, 22-24 watts is required just to restart it. For the dubious privilege of letting the utility monitor your electrical consumption, it costs you about one KWH Fr month in meter dissipation alone. 6) VIBRATION AND SHOCK Vibration and shock will uncalibrate any scientific instrument - including watthour meters, causing it to either underregister or overregister. Thus, if your meter is located where earthquakes have occurred, near heavy machinery, or near high traffic flows, your meter may be put out of calibration in a very short period of time. The effects of most of these error mechanism are summarized in Fig. 2. This section is dedicated to slowing down, even stopping power meters without physically tampering with them or applying externally pnerated power, and~ while consuming substantial power. WE MUST STATE CATEGORICALLY THAT NO METHOD IS PROVIDED FOR ILLEGAL APPLICATION WHATSOEVER. THIS INFORMATION IS PROVIDED FOR EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL PU RPOSES ONLY. WE ARE ABSOLUTELY AND TOTALLY AGAINST BREAKING THE LAW IN ANY FASHION. Any attempt to tamper with a utility meter is almost definitely illegal. It is unclear to me whether the legal definition of tampering includes load control methods. Some utilities define it ~: "Tampering means any unauthorized interference with the Company's equipment, including meters or other property, which would reduce the accuracy of the measurement, or eliminate the measurement of the electricity taken by any Customer or person on the premises, or any
unauthorized connection of a meter." utilities maintain easement rights over virtually every property they service. Thus, if you break into the meter attached to your property while standing on your property you could go Stoppin~ Pow~r Met~rs to jail for TRESPASSING! If your utility notices a sudden drop in usage or very low usage that cannot be explained,they will probably sudd nly appear to examine the situation. Broken meters and seals, meter bypasses, attached magnets, etc., are very obvious. Don't be like the old farmer who shot a hole in the side of his meter glass with 9 B-B gun. He would then slaN the meter da~n by inserting a piece of straw between the rotor disk and braking magnet, at night. The hole was discovered by a meter retder five years later. He blamed the hole on, "Vandals shooting up the place last weekend." See our infamous but delightful GOOSY MOTHA'S FAIRY TALES publication ~$1.95). The utility may slap a pole meter on your line. A pole 'J meter may be a meter similar to yours or it may be a currentscJuared-hour (~SH) meter. These are located on the top of or near to your service pole and are generally placed Just where your service drop connects into the main lines. They are usually easy to spot. They may be the hook on tyF, which has a folding hook that loops around the wire and closes to look like a folded question mark. Or they may b hard-wired. No matter how precise they claim these meters to be, as well as your meter, a 10% or so difference in readings can occur just from nominal differences between the meters, line droppage, and different environments. Since a CSH meter does not indicate line voltage fluctuations, the error can be substantially greater than that of a pole meter watthour meter. Furthermore, if your PF is extremely low, which can be measured accurately by a utility PF meter, the utility will likely personalize you for this condition. Few people dispute the need of a utility to get a fair retum solely based upon the service provided (but not upon the utility's investments~. However, most people believe that public (?) utilities have been swindling them. Electrical' costs have soared several times what they should be. Many people believe that if the untampered watthour meter provided by the utility is unable to adequately measure the amount of usage required by their particular desired loads, then that is their problem. ExFa to be hassled if they ever discover this. Don't brag. No method of slowing or stopping a power meter should be based upon breaking a line neutral or fusing one. These practices are deadlyll Virtually every method that will slow or stop the meter employs loading that requires DC or frequency components somewhat removed from 6~ Hz. Fig. 2 demonstrates the- susceptibility of watthour meters to such conditions.Power meters behave similarly. Note: As the line frequency approaches either DC or high frequency, the watt-hour reading tends to zero (disk stops turning). A meter with only DC or RF energy imposed on it will not turn no matter how much energy is applied, it will burn out first. In the RF case, there are certain tones that do this best, largly dependent upon meter and wiring. Any DC will brake a meter similarly to the braking magnets. DC brakes are, in fact, commonly applied to induction motors in general. Even a powerful induction motor can be made to practically stop on a dime when DC is applied. Even a little DC will eventually magnetize permanently the stator if applied long enough to provide lasting effects even after it is removed.
High frequency components will simply underregister due to the impedances and hysteresis of the coils and rotor inertia. Since meter voltage is hard to alter, frequency techniques are applied to the current thru the mster. Mixed frequencies, ie rectified sine wave, will cause the rotor to behave erratically, and if its energy is high enough, rotor sFed will drastically slow down and may evenstop. Harmonically-rich waveforms require more energy to stop a meter than DC or RF, simpy bcause most of its harmonic energy is in freqwncies not very far from 60 Hz. Fast load surges will be far underr~istered primarily due to he rotor inertia. CAUTION: Line and induced volta~s can killl For all ehctrical projocts, be certain that all circuit components induding wiring, can more than handle worse case voltages currents and powers before proceeding to construct any drcuit. U# sensible, safe and accurate wiring techniques and procedures, as well as good judgment, at all times. YOUR SAFETY IS TOTALLY UP TO YOU. If you do not have a power or KW-HR meter to practice on, either can be obtained legally. KW-HR meters can be obtained by mail from ENGINEERING ASSOCIATES, 7567 Rt. 49A East, Dept. C, Arcanum, OH 453C4. They sell a real nice, rebuilt. Iike-new, GE 1-14, 5 Amp, 115 VAC KW-HR meter for ONLY $2011 Owner's narne is Charles C. Littell, Jr.. (513) 692-5641 . In our figurss, ~ represents line neutral, and ~7 represents earth ground (ussd to ground cases in three wire 120 VAC systems). PIV designates peak inverse or reverse voltap, or DC working voltap for capacitors. All figures are simplified circuit diagrams. Add fu#/drcuit breaker protection as required. In addition, all meters should have tNnsient suppression. Cl of Fi~s. 6 and 7 do a good job. For better transient suppression, GE, Schenectady, NY, does excellent work in this area with very good GEMOV 19 Varistors. Transient suppression is required to assure long lasting,rare-free psrformanres of semiconductors, capacitors and other components. Even without our methods, good transient and riwle eliminstion protects induction motors and transformers, and shields applianres from utility ripde control of them. Our RIPPLED OFF pamphlet explains transients, ripde, and utility apdiance and Peak Demand Meter control in detail. I) DC LOADS DC Loading is the hardest to accomplish but it is the most effective method. If you have induction motors or transformers~ they will also be adversely affected by any DC that reaches them. C=500 uf, 25 PIV min. L=1000 turns rriin., insulated wire on'about a l" soft-iron core. As with all suggested homemade inductors, keepwell insulated and don't U# a core that can be touched (eg leg of a drill press). Cl are PaFr-Oil typss or Fig. 1 lelectrolytics, and a re 1000 to 100,000 uf, 400 PIV, depandin~ upon load reactance. See Fiq. 3. With the DC Method, three major problem areas have ari#n. Some are finding that the Cl (Blocking Capacitors) are very expensive, overly bulky or difficult to realize, even with the Fig.ll arrangement. The# capacitors are required ONLY IF you apply the DC Method with other loads #nsitive to DC excitation (induction motors and tNnsformers tend to saturate) simultaneously running off the same meter. This problem is simply solved by running all your DC experiments with all the #nsitive loads disconnected. With a DC current of about 5 Amps, a substantial permanent decrea# in meter indication will result with time due to permanentlyinduced malfunctions. Problems involving the kickback of rectified AC into the DC power supply are evident. We u#d a very heavy duty charger (like that found in garages) and didn't ob#rve any malfunctions. Fig. 4 illustrates two approaches of overcoming this problem, making it possible to realize this method with a smaller, home-type auto-battery charger. The Fig. 3 circuit only affeas the current coils of the meter. This is becau# th e meter's voltage coil is across the outputs of the two rectifiers. To get the
voltage coil into the act, we used the circuit of Fig. 5. We obtained satisfactory results with both approaches, but customers prefer the Fig. 5 approach. Be careful when using the DC mathod. Other meters sharing the same power transformer #condary will also be slowed down. However, becau# the loads on any other meters will probably not be DC isolated, havoc could result in their operations. Stoppin~ Power Meters P
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Fig. 6: Frequency Method using capacitative coupling. C is between 0.01 and 0.001 uf, 400 PIV. C1=2' uf polypropylene. L=100 turns. See text. ~,~ RG SB or 5 ~, ~ ~i~l ~3 1 Other Clr
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Fig. 7: Alternate Frequency Method using inductive coupling. L1=100 turns. All other values are the same as Fig. 6. See text. DC Pa~e ~ supply ~: Calp~ IIC l~dFig. 10: Momentary Current Surge Method. See text. _ ~ ~ ~ ~1+ ~l~ Fig. 11: An equivalent circuit for using electrolytic capacitors to do the job o f SCR or paper-oil types. The big advantage here is that electrolytics are considerably cheaper and smaller and more available for large capacitances. However, DC rated electrolytics are not recommended by manufacturers for this type of application, but we have had good results using them. Suitable capacitors may have to be found by a trial and error process. Some may overheat, swell and possibly even explode under these conditions. Use Cautionl 2) HIGH FREQUENCY LOADS High frequency loading is more easily accompished but less effective and consistent than the DC Method and will require "tuning." Tone generators are also called signal, audio, frequency or function generators. Most well designed units with shorted output protection and the ability to deliver at least 5 amF (if necessary, couple with an audio amplifier) to the meter. Tones may be steady or in bursts. Our TONE DEAF pamphlet conbins many useful designs. See FiF. 6 and 7. Optimum frequency is emdrially determined. Meter will stop at certain "resonant" tones but run at higher tones. The signal an be either hardwired to the meter, Fig. 6. or transformer ooupled to it, Fig. 7. The former appears more effective, the latter, more safe. Very good shielding should be NOTE: All figures are simplified circuit diagrams. Add fu#s or circuit breakers where necessary. ~ ShppinS~ provided and all signal lines should b of minimal len~th and ~with good impedanoe matchin~. Radiated RFpowerbyonda small amount pnerally roquires prior FCC approval. We found in certain cases that by using the Fig. 6 circuit with the rn~r passing only a few 60 Hz amps, the meter will indicate in reverse at everal frequency points. Why? We are not absolutely certain
about the mechanism involved but believe that the revelsals are caused by a combination of voltage coil flux irregularities and voltage to current phase relationships. a arel 2 uf (non41ectrolytic) polypropylene capacitors. If polypropybne capacitors are not available, use polyc~rbonate or polyester capacitors. We recommend 400 PIV ratings, unless you are in a high lightning strike area, then 8~0 PIV ue better. LslOO turns, 2" dia., be sure to use heavy enough wiring to withstand.loading. Ll inductors are made from at least 100 turns each of both insulated meter lines and insulated tone pnerator lines, tightly packed. Ferrite coras are preferred, air cores are not nearly as good but will work if tone generator voltage and windings are high. In our Ist Edition of SPM, we recommended RF signals of 1 KHz to 1~0 KHz ~Figs. 6 and 7). Frequency components below 1 KHz are difficul~-to filter ~ut without significantly attenuat;ng tho 60 Hz Line comPonent. even though some ~ower Meters
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fre~uencies, phasos and amditudes. Whan a 60 Hz sine wave is half wave rectified, DC and 60 Hz components are produced ' along with an infinite number of harmonics that raddly diminish in power content. The DC component will brake the meter movament while the harmonics will diminish tha total mater reading by making the meter bahave in an e~rrabc fashion.~ Rectifier must be rated such that its steadY state current ratin~ is at least twica the sum of all universal or DC motors, incandescant lighting and heater elemant steady state load currents. Rectifier surge current rating should b at least three times the combined sur~e currents for all loads. Minimum PIV should b 800 volts. Transient suppression is highly recommended. If there is a lot of motor brush sparking, filter out all AC components for a DC motor, and all harmonics fw an AC motor. Use a 2 uf non electrolytic, 400 PIV capacitor across the motor terminals. DC may haw to be filtered out for some univarsal motors. USE GREAT CARE IN APPLYING THE CIRCUIT OF FIG. 8 BECAUSE IT RESULTS IN A FLOATED LINE NEUTRAL. THIS CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS, POSSI8LY RESULTING IN SHOCK OR FIRE. ' ' A number of people wggested the circuit of Fig. 9 as an easier alternative because it raquires only single 120 VAC/DC frequency points btl,veen 100 Hz and 1 KHz are vcry effec- ~ loads. We tested it and found no observable nat reduction in tive in reducing meter indication. However, because of custo ~ metar i ndication even thous~h someomers more by it. mer feedback on successes of the 100 Hz to 1 KHz 'are-, we The circuit of Fig. 8 90t mixed reviecau# some custochanged our limit frQm 100 Irlz to 10 KHz- (to accommodate mer~ noticed a n et INCREASE in meter inion by using it. audio generators~ in our ?rd ;Edition. This resulted in custoI have not yet been able to pinpoiy particular meter type mer complaints of filtering'pro~lems! Therefore, choose what- or circuit fact or that explains therant differences beever range suits YOll beR. rhis method has no observabletween our resul ts and the results of ot I do believe that permanent effects on meters., the answer lies in the different effects on dif ferent meter tyFs The DC method problem of adver#lY affecting ~o~er '- I ~nder different loads to yross violations of Blondel's Theorem meters on the same transformer is usually nota problemwitH '~ ~See our~ KW-HR METERS book for an explanation of ~this method. The power lines and transformer will dissipate Blondel~s'Theorem). This method has very little effect on the ~most high frequency energy components very affectivelv. ~ ~r-egistration
for loads NOT in the rectifier circuit. A nurr~ar of firms today are peddling trarlsient elimina'' 4~ HIGH SURG E, LOW DURATION LOADS tors as energy savers. They state that by filtering out line ~ transients (usin~ their 0ossly overpric~d c~rcuits, of 'coursej ' Fig. 10 depicts several powertchin~ circuits. The timers "the meter runs more slowly becaus~ transients cause meters - can be adiUSte d in combination with ener diodes for load to overregister.~ If this were so the frequency method des~ conditioning, either manuallv or autcally (more circuitry aibed herein would cause your;neters to overregistul ~Ow_ ~ JS required), to provide switching charistics that will ever, -their rflasoning is tDtally false ~usin~ theit owri-h~gicl1: minimiz e the power meter readhile also minimizing load ~iltering~wt all line transients on the -meter'~ LOAD side Variations. Thi s same effect is prodin spot weldin~ simply means that ALL of the incomin~ transient energy ~ operations and it is a fact that utilitick on an extra use fee dissipated BY THE METER ALONEI In fact~ the tran~ient ; for spot welders simdy because their watthneters energV then absorbed by the' neter- would be rnuch groater substantially u nderre8ister. This methquires the mnst than that absorbed by the meter and the load without tra~ knowledge, time and money to effect, anoodly amount of sient removal because transient eliminators much reduce~the total impedance as seen by the incoming transiNlts - thus greatly increasing transient current levels inside the metcr. In fact, the meter DOES SLOW DOWN USING JRAN c SIENT ELIMINATORS - because such filterinD INCREASES-~ and not decreases - meter transientsll Thus, under a very high transient environment, load side line filtering essentially duplicates our Frequency Method. Other substantial enerDy savings result because induction motors and transformers operate far more efficiently with clean electrical inputs, and their reliability and longevity also substantially increases. Our RIPPLED OFF 11 pamphlet (S3.95~ describes transient and ripple eliminator circuits, costing under S20 for you tn make, that are as good - if not better - than the $200 or $12w ones peddled by these firms. 3~ HARMONIC LOADS This method is most practical and easiest toachieve,and it ~loes not require special equipment or filtering of other loads. See Fig. 8. However, much greater h~rmonic power is required for the same effects. According to Fourier Theory, all waveforms are composites of simple sine waves of certain time to maintain.Fig. lUls a su~ested circuit, others will work, drcuit should b desi8ned to best fit Vour needs. C-lOvv uf 400 PIV rn,inimum. SCRs or Motor Star~r Relays should have minimum of 25 amp surge current rating. R~ watt minimum heater elements or incandescem bulbs. The author has received only one input from this method a person claiming that this method could permanently slow down meters by causing damage to the meter's current coils. MAGNO-BRAKE TECHNIQUE
An anonymous contributor, whom I alll "The Flasher" (See our KW-HR METERS Book), made us aware of the technique described in Fig. 12 . This technique is easier to apply than the DC Method and can be more effective. In fact, it can be made so effective that it would permanently wreck your meter by disrupting its carefully balanced mechanical system and/or by shorting out the voltage coil windings. The result of this damage can usually be physically observed - the meter either fails to indicate or its action is erratic often with scraping sounds. "The Flasher" managed to accidentally wreck his utility meter in this fashion. Why utilities would react to this in an hysterical manner is beyond me since they cavalierly inject line ripple onto your power line with no regard to the destructive effects it has on YOUR equipment and on YOUR lifel As with the DC Method, we suggest that you disconnect all other AC loads from the rneter's circuit. We used a commercial photoflash unit alled a SYNCHRO TESTER (National Camera, Inc., 2000 West Union Ave., Englewood, Colo.). Check with your amera store on vsrieties. Our unit outputs about 400 Volts, 1 to 50 msec. duration per "flash." The circuit of Fig. 13 would work just as well. Plate transformers are cheap surplus items. You should be able to control voltage level with a rheostat. The storage capacitor discharge can be controlled by an electromechanical or solid state relay (SSR~ or even a telegrapher's key. The former two can be electronically controlled to provide consistent and programmable results. Voltage level duration and repetition rate should initially be low anri slowly inaeased until the desired results are realized. Patience and perserverance are musts to get optimum results and to gain valuable experience and knowledge about meters. Mkter 240 V~C PhotoFln~h CircUl t Fig. 12: Our infamous Magno-Brake Technique. C-5.0 uf 600 PIV. Ls are same as Fig. 6. C1=50 uf, 600 PIV polypropylene or other "poly" type upacitors. R211~wirewound with bolt insert, 50 Watts. See text. z . 1 H ~ r lOK ~ lOW~tt 0.02 ufl n U ~
C~p. Control ~nk Circuit
t
Xfrm~. Fig. 13: Simple, effective home made "photoflash" circuit. Points A and B correspond to Fig. 12. The minimum stepup value of the plate transformer is 250 VAC. Transformers with higher step-up voltages result in a greater dramatic effect on meters. Be sure that other circuit components can easily and safely handle the voltage and power produced by whatever transformer you choose. See text. When using any of the four methods desaibed, different timing schemes can
be used. For instance, there may be some Friods that you find it highly advantageous to stop or even reverse your power meter while restoring it to normal opeNtions during other Friods. Commerically available AC timers are excellent here. Or you may feel more oontent to remove your circuit completely between applications. SORRYI We do not make or sell any of the described circuits. Also, we do not answer questions presented us, or provide more detail on the sFcifics of these circuits. Several past customers, whom, upon their request, we INNOCENTLY provided more detailed information tried to rip us off with the complaint that we provided them "how to" info. on ripping off the utilities, even though we have reFatedly stated that we absolutely are against any illegal applications whatsoeverl Many electronic retail outlets do not carry an adequate supply or selection of capacitors and many SPM lcustomers have written to us to supply them information on the SrOPPING POWER ME~ERS
P. 8
capacitor tyFs suggested in our applications. We recommend the follnwing sources (of the many available) for capacitor information - sFcifications, costs, distri_utors, etc. (It is usually helpful if you provide them with the capacitor types and sFcifications needed, and the electrical parameters of the applia~tinn~ v~-- h~ in mind.) ELPAC Components Div. ELPAC Electronics Inc. 313t S. Standard Ave. &nta Clara, CA 92705 Sprague Electric Co. 645 Marshall St., N. Adams, MA 01247 Corning Glass Works Electronics~Prod. Div. Houghton Park A2 Corning, NY 14830 Panasonic Co. Industrial Components 1 Panasonic Way Secaucus, NJ 07094 Del Electronics Corp. 250 E. Sandford Mt. Vernon, NY 10550 Cornell Dubilier Elec. t 50 Avenue L Newark, NJ 071-1 Most of the awlications described herein require power inductDrs - some very heavy. The author has found that surplus sources are a good start. However, the values you need are not commonly available, in which ca# you will need magnet wire to wrap your own. Magnet wire is available in various coatings, gaups and lengths, but magnet wire heavier than 18 gauge is almost never available in stores. Listed below are some very good sources of magnet wire of virtually any gauge, length or coating. Daburn Elect. & Cable Corp. Belden CorD. Elect. Div. 70 0ak St. P. O. Box 13i7 Norwood, NJ 07648 Richmond, IN 47374
Essex Magnet Wire & Insul. Div. McGraw Edison Co., Edis. Elec. 1510 Wall St. Grenier Fld., Munip. AirpDrt Ft. Wayne, IN 46804 Manchester, NH 03101 Rea Magnet Wire Co., Inc. ' Phelps Dodge Magnet Wire Co. 3600 E.Pontiac St. Box 600 Ft. Wayne, IN 46806 Ft. Wayne, IN 46801 STOPPING POWER METERS 3rd Edition is the culmination of years of work in the vital area of meter re#arch,' design and testing. Many customer contributions, insights and experiences have been integrated into it. This 3rd Edition contains all of the information found in the 2nd Edition (Copyrighted 1977) and STOPPING POWER METERS ADDENDUM (Copyrighted 1979), including our infamous MAGNO-BRAKE TECHNIQUE. The first edition of STOPPING POWER METERS W85 copyrighted in March 1976. Since then, well over 10,000 copies have sold nationwide and it continues - with ever increasing popularity to be our very best #ller. It resulted in the author's infamous CBS "60 MINUTES" interview with Mike Wallace (March 5, 1978, "Power Pilferage"~ and many important subsequent media coverages. STOPPING POWER METERS is brought to you by: CONSUMERl~RONlCS GO. P.O. DrawerS37, Alamogordo, N.M. 88310 It is but one of the very informative, useful and money saving publications we offer. Our other energy publications include: KW-HR METERS Book, MDVR Book, RIPPLED OFF, LOADFINDER, LIBERATE GAS AND WATER, GOOSY MOTHA'S FAIRY TALES, KILLER WATTS, FIREBREATHER, VORTEX GENERATOR and our newest and most controversial one of all: IRON GONADS. Other topics include: SURVIVAL GUNS & AMMO, SILENCE IS GOLDEN (Silencers), V.A. - 2ND TO NONE?, F.D.I.C. - FACT OR FAIRY TALE?, THE TESLA CONNECTION, HOLOCAUST AMERICA, X-RAY TO DEATH, etc. Send for our brochure with $.30 in stamps or coin. Lots of luck and greates?of successes.
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