If you've watched Aussie50 on Youtube much, you've probably seen his DIY power display panel. It has several analog meters on it: Volts 0 to 300, current 0 to 20A, and current 0 to 50A. I believe it also includes an on/off switch and emergency shutoff button as well.
I want to build one but am unsure as to what type and quality of meters I should be getting.
Amazon has a bunch of them in the 10 to 20 dollar range. I'm sure they're "OK" but should I get something better?
The problem with other companies, e.g. Simpson Electric is that they omit pricing information from their websites. Nearly every company I've looked into omits price info. I completely hate this, it's stupid because the price will have a large impact on what I ultimately decide to purchase. But based on poking around a bit, it appears that meters a la Simpson are 75 to 100 dollars each. This is expensive but not ludicrously horrible or out of the question — there is a lot to be said, especially in the long run, for using higher-quality components.
On the other hand, I don't need extremely high accuracy. I just want to have some parameters on display so that I can avoid blowing up my variac and whatnot. My current variac is rated 5A and I have one in the mail right now that is rated 22A. Both 120VAC, but am considering adding a third variac, 240VAC, as well.
I think voltage 0 to 300, current 0 to 20A, and current 0 to 50A meters would be about right. But which ones (e.g. price/quality) do you guys recommend that I go with?
ETA: This might be good. They even set your meters in a nice little plate for mounting on the panel. And they include pricing!
Plate-mounted meters
45 dollars for a pair of meters nicely mounted like that? Hard to argue with it, what do you think?
I want to build one but am unsure as to what type and quality of meters I should be getting.
Amazon has a bunch of them in the 10 to 20 dollar range. I'm sure they're "OK" but should I get something better?
The problem with other companies, e.g. Simpson Electric is that they omit pricing information from their websites. Nearly every company I've looked into omits price info. I completely hate this, it's stupid because the price will have a large impact on what I ultimately decide to purchase. But based on poking around a bit, it appears that meters a la Simpson are 75 to 100 dollars each. This is expensive but not ludicrously horrible or out of the question — there is a lot to be said, especially in the long run, for using higher-quality components.
On the other hand, I don't need extremely high accuracy. I just want to have some parameters on display so that I can avoid blowing up my variac and whatnot. My current variac is rated 5A and I have one in the mail right now that is rated 22A. Both 120VAC, but am considering adding a third variac, 240VAC, as well.
I think voltage 0 to 300, current 0 to 20A, and current 0 to 50A meters would be about right. But which ones (e.g. price/quality) do you guys recommend that I go with?
ETA: This might be good. They even set your meters in a nice little plate for mounting on the panel. And they include pricing!
Plate-mounted meters
45 dollars for a pair of meters nicely mounted like that? Hard to argue with it, what do you think?
