Author Topic: Looking for a 'cheap but good' single phase 120V power line glitch logger  (Read 1572 times)

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Offline cvancTopic starter

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Hi all-

One of my customers has a chronically troubled piece of equipment that I have looked at and tested for days on end without trouble.  I think it's perfectly healthy but it still glitches intermittently at the customer location.  And by 'intermittently' I mean one second of misbehavior every few days.  Very intermittent.

I'd like to test his AC power using some kind of logger.  It would have to catch brief glitches and brownouts and store a log of that info for me to evaluate later.  I could either access this log via the Internet or just go pick it up and download the history directly.

And it has to be cheap, let's start the conversation by saying 500 US Dollars maximum, 200 would be much better.

Does such a thing exist?  Many thanks.
 

Offline Kean

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I've been looking for something similar for Aussie 240V AC, and in my travels I found these ones on ebay that might suit you

https://www.ebay.com/str/powermonitors

 

Offline tautech

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You can easy do this with a DSO with a Pass/Fail mask and get a logic output when it happens.
Wise operators would use a 100:1 probe.  ;)
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Siglent Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@SiglentVideo/videos
 

Offline windsmurf

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You can buy an old UPS system.  You can configure many of them to log frequency and detailed info regarding the powerline condition.
Your customer may already have a UPS, in which case the data may already be there, or the logging just needs to be configured to your desired frequency.
 

Offline joeqsmith

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I have a similar problem where I wanted to detect dropouts at home and record it over an extended time. 

Cheap pedometer with it's switch connected in parallel with a relay.  The relay is powered from a wall wart.  Power drops, the counter increments.  Not sure on the cost as it's just junk I had laying around.   

I started logging on 6/28/18.  Not sure how long the battery is good for in the pedometer.   

Of course, in my case I really only care about dropouts.   You may need something better.  Looking at more complex problems may run you well over  $500.     

Online langwadt

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Hi all-

One of my customers has a chronically troubled piece of equipment that I have looked at and tested for days on end without trouble.  I think it's perfectly healthy but it still glitches intermittently at the customer location.  And by 'intermittently' I mean one second of misbehavior every few days.  Very intermittent.

I'd like to test his AC power using some kind of logger.  It would have to catch brief glitches and brownouts and store a log of that info for me to evaluate later.  I could either access this log via the Internet or just go pick it up and download the history directly.

And it has to be cheap, let's start the conversation by saying 500 US Dollars maximum, 200 would be much better.

Does such a thing exist?  Many thanks.

wallwart arduino and pc with mysql?
 

Offline Gregg

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I have a Dranetz 626 that you can have for the cost of shipping.  It hasn't been used in years but worked when put on the shelf.  I opened it and the NiCad pack hasn't leaked and it looks very clean inside.  The Dranetz has a thermal paper printer, I believe.

I also have an older model Powertronics that has a built in inkjet printer and uses the old school computer continuous paper with the tractor holes on the sides that I would let go cheaply.  The Powertronics is more user friendly than the Dranetz and has a parallel printer port which I used with an old school dot matrix printer so I didn't have to fiddle with the built in inkjet. 

PM me if you are interested.
 

Offline threephase

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Have you looked at the Hantek 365F. I don't believe it has internal memory so has to be communicating to a PC to record data.

https://www.amazon.com/Hantek-Recorder-Multimeter-Resistance-Measurement/dp/B07GZJRKH1
http://www.hantek.com/en/ProductDetail_156.html

Of a similar nature is the Powertronic Probe 100+ module, again hooked to a PC to collect data

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AYRLH24/ref=psdc_14244481_t1_B001DNLW82

There is the Extech DL160 and a host of other similar single phase recorders that do have internal memory.

http://www.extech.com/display/?id=14418
https://www.amazon.com/Extech-DL160-Voltage-Current-Datalogger/dp/B004OSHVQK

Some models from electrocorder, but they are approaching / above your upper price limit.

https://www.electrocorder.com/products/voltage-loggers

Microdaq have a few recorders available, one in articular from LOGiT may suit you

https://www.microdaq.com/supco-logit-current-voltage-data-logger.php
https://www.microdaq.com/data-loggers/voltage-current.php

Alternatively, if this is a one off, could you hire an energy analyser in your area?
 

Offline LapTop006

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One of my customers has a chronically troubled piece of equipment that I have looked at and tested for days on end without trouble.  I think it's perfectly healthy but it still glitches intermittently at the customer location.  And by 'intermittently' I mean one second of misbehavior every few days.  Very intermittent.

I'd like to test his AC power using some kind of logger.  It would have to catch brief glitches and brownouts and store a log of that info for me to evaluate later.  I could either access this log via the Internet or just go pick it up and download the history directly.

Even the better loggers may not be that helpful. At $ORK's larger sites they have permanently installed loggers on all feeds, but the few times I wanted to get the data they had nothing on events that almost certainly were power line related.
 


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