meter disc revolution

 

I'm trying to track down why our bills are so high, and I have several
appliances of unknown wattage.  So I figured I'd turn them on and off and
make calculations using the speed of the meter disc, the thing with the
little black wedge painted on it.

What amount of power usage does one revolution of this disc indicate?  I
called Southern California Edison and was given two answers: 1 kWh (way too
high) and then, after I asked for an "expert," 1 kW (wrong unit).
Eyeballing it, I'm guessing it might be 10 Wh, but can someone tell me for
sure?

Thanks in advance.

 



Count how many times the disk goes around to make the last dial on the
meter increment by one.  the last dial is usually 1KWH. You can verify
that by looking at the readings on your bill.  So divide 1 KWH by
however many revolutions and you'll get the number you are seeking.

 

That rev factor is printed on the meter at the bottom

 


Yeah, I didn't really want to stand there all day...

 



I forget how impatient people are today.


By the time you found the phone number and called So Cal Ed, waited on
hold, asked two people, eyeballed your meter, and composed a post to
usenet, you spent more time than you would have in front of the meter.
But hey, you got to see just how "expert" some experts are.