I noticed last week that the green light (and I guess the the red!) no longer seems to light up. Today I started the generator to check a minor AC repair, and I saw the voltage meter was fluctuating from below 90 volts to around 100.
A brief panic, then I checked an outlet with a test meter - a steady 118 volts. No issues with the power supply.
I didn't find a lot of information about the Powerwatch, other than it is just a passive indicator fed from the AC wiring.
I do use the meter regularly and I think the polarity indicators are a good idea. Has anyone replaced their Powerwatch Panel? What did you use?
Matt,
I did a Google Image search for your photo of the panel, and got a result of........nothing. This tells me there ain't a lot of info about this meter floating around in the ether. If one of our resident electrical gurus can't help you, you may be S.O.L.
Seems like I remember a post one time saying that the PowerWatch meter only monitors "one leg" of the AC power system. Here it is:
Powerwatch polarity indicator (https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=44466.msg450410#msg450410)
Chuck, that one post was the one I found. Thanks!
Were these panels not installed much, do they not go bad, or does everybody never look at them?
I did some word searches for similar things and found similar things but no nice "stick it in the hole" replacements.
If no good replacement options come up, I will take it out and see if an amateur component-level repair can be done.
I have always used ours (which still works fine) as a general indication of "Yes, we have AC power". I don't put a lot of faith in the actual voltage measurement, which does seem to bounce around, more or less, at random.
The PowerWatch bulbs are said to be replaceable:
PowerWatch Bulbs (https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=24639.msg193358#msg193358)
Powerwatch meter (https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=29949.msg256405#msg256405)
Just an FYI,
They now make that bulb in an LED version but I don't have that number right here handy.
Mike
i missed that forum thread. The green light is apparently still available, the red is not.
My curiosity is stronger than my desire for a nap. I opened the box and took a photo.
So one (green) light will operate when the proper hot is "hot." If the polarity is reversed, the neutral becomes hot, and the other (red) light comes on. So any 120-volt lamp should work in either location, the color is the thing, both are otherwise the same.
I don't know where I am going with all of this. I looked at some voltage meters, and none had three connections. Do you think the ground on the meter back is just for wiring convenience, and is not part of the meter circuitry?
edit: added the photo
Well, I felt emboldened, and bought panel lights and a meter off Amazon. I could not help myself, and bought a ROUND analog meter, just cause it looks so cool!
If this all works, I will report. If it does not, I will report.
Still curious about the ground connection on the old meter. Does it have a function for the meter, or just convenience for the wiring?
Amazon.com: Baomain Analog Dial Panel Meter Voltmeter Gauge SO-45 AC 0-150V... (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07S376BV3?psc=1&smid=A3HMB6GLG0WJ17&ref_=chk_typ_imgToDp)
That analog gauge is really cool!
you need all three connections for the reverse polarity light to function,
hot, neutral and ground. If there is a voltage potential between neutral and ground the red light will illuminate.
I removed the powerwatch and installed 2 of these in a new panel. Both legs now monitored as is the hertz M2 AC Multimeter - Blue Sea Systems (https://www.bluesea.com/products/1838/M2_AC_Multimeter)
Another apparent 120VAC power problem (https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=24856.msg223394#msg223394)
When my power monitor gave up the ghost years ago, I went a cheaper route. I bought two voltage/polarity checkers for under $100. I then cut out the old digital monitor from the Foretravel panel and replaced it with the two voltage/polarity checkers that I bought off Ebay. The voltage checkers were plug-in type so I had to cut off the back and hard wire them in. I then glued them to the back of the panel and it looked and worked great. Last month one of the monitors started acting up and I found that they were still available on Ebay. So I just replaced the one bad one for under $50.
Thanks all!
I was intimidated by this project. I thought the panel might be the monitor for some mysterious box or circuit buried deep within. After I OPENED the panel, and with your help, I realized how simple it was. It is a meter and two bulbs at the end of an AC circuit.
I ordered a modest AC meter and two AC indicator lights off Amazon and simply reproduced what was there. I chose a groovy, vintage-looking meter. Analog or digital would do about the same thing. The ground connector on the original meter serves no purpose but to allow the connections for the indicator lights. I did make a plastic adapter for the new meter to cover the old holes on the face plate and to extend the meter out slightly, so there was no chance of contact between the terminals and the metal (I think) back of the box that contains the circuit.
The meter just shows the voltage of the hot and neutral. The green light connects to hot and ground, and lights up when all is good. The red light hooks to neutral and ground, and illuminates if the neutral is not neutral!
That is really a cool looking analog meter.
Likely a reaction by an old guy to the stresses of a confusing modern world, but I LIKE analog stuff. I recently decided to start wearing a wristwatch, after about 30 years of a cell phone being my timepiece. I bought several thrift store and pawn shop cheap watches, and quickly found that I really preferred dials with numbers and hands.
For a while, I was writing and recording music, and the analog displays of the equipment are so much more inviting and engaging than a computer screen. It feels more like art, and less like procedure.
A zillion years ago, around the dawn of digital readouts, I remember reading that auto racers and hot rod people loved their analog gauges. One just loosens the nuts on the back, and twists the gauge until "normal" points up. Then a person can analyze a bunch of information with a simple glance.
Bob & Susan, Those are wonderful meters. For others, one meter can measure both 120v legs taking the place of two meters. Because these meters also measure 120v amps, the meters would be even much more valuable if amperage transformers were put around the two 120v hot legs feeding the main breaker box and 4 small diameter wires are fed from breaker panel to meter location. Transformers could be installed in transfer relay switch. Every limited shore power supply, inverter supply, generator, benefits by knowing 120v amps/leg to keep things in line, like turning off an appliance before turning on another, and knowing which 120v outlets are on which leg, etc.
Also old school pilots.
Back in the day, whilst enjoying my (second) all-expenses paid 12 month vacation in SEA, my "office" was a B-52 cockpit. The engine instrument panel between the pilots was comprised of 32 gauges in a 4 x 8 array.
When airborne, if all 8 needles in each row were pointing the same direction, it was a comforting indication.
I must have won the same lottery. I also got the grand prize of 12 months in U Tapao.
The blue seas M2 adds various alarm functions if so desired
I admire the ingenuity shown here.