Power/Power Quality Metering 1

[Jerry123]

Hello,

We are currently spec'ing out meters for different locations on our site and I started comparing Power Quality meters on the market today. I am currently looking at the Square D ION7650, Eaton Powerxpert 8000, Fluke 1750. The question is, does anyone out there have any good references/papers/web site's that compare these different types (sampling rate, memeory, communications...) of meters and other that are available today? Does anyone out there used these meters and like one better than others and why?

Thanks,
Jerry

 

[DTR2011]

I ran into the ION meters this summer at a wind farm project. Without the books, SW or much else, I was able to program these meters quite easily. Additionally, I was able to make the meters do much more than what I would expect. Everything was fairly intuitive.

Myself, and the end users really liked the large custom screens available and the easy navigation via the soft keys. We were primarily concerned with energy metering.

Granted, I had a 3 phase relay test set available and could test the various custom functions I desired.

The Ethernet and Modbus communications worked as expected on the first go.

I can't speak directly for the other two units, but I would assume similar from similar platforms.

 

[dpc]

The ION meters are quite good, although expensive. These are revenue-quality meters. I'm not sure about the other meters you mentioned. Eaton is not known for their metering products.

If the application is for just in-house metering and PQ measurements, I suspect there are a lot of meters that will meet your needs.

Might also have a look at Electro Industries offerings (Shark meter among others).

Also the SEL-734 is a very capable product and much less expensive than the ION 7650. The display is not nearly as nice as the ION meter, though

 

[DTR2011]

I did a quick search on the Fluke 1750. IIRC, this is what was the RPM (Reliable Power Meters) unit. I used that meter quite extensively back in the day, performing PQ studies. If this is the same meter, there are some very nice reporting features, which are particularly suited for portable work.

The meter did not require much in terms of presets. If a CT was connected incorrectly, this could be resolved via SW later.

The reports were quite comprehensive and basically created themselves. For PQ issues, again not having to set up much in terms of thresholds was very impressive at the time. I had used BMI and Dranetz previously and had nightmares of no data / too much data.

With that said, it seems like you are looking for a permanent installation. The Fluke 1750 may not be suited for your needs.

As DPC said, SEL products are very good. The display is small, but if you are using communications, this can be overcome. If you ever imagine doing any automation / control, the SEL would be very simple to configure and apply. The new SEL Meter, the SEL 735, has a listed base cost of $1500, per website. As stated many times, by many members here, SEL has excellent support and product quality.

I would narrow my choices to the ION and SEL devices. Consider that the ION basically has an HMI built in, the SEL doesn't (small limited display). If you have intentions of using the meters to communicate and analyze from an upstream PC, I would choose SEL. If you want something that is easy for maintenance folks to use without connecting to a laptop, consider ION. ION support is based out of Canada.

 

[slavag]

ION is good staf.
You can check also SATEC devices. like to EM720 or EM920.

A new Siemens line, sorry Im not remmeber types

 

[LionelHutz]

We have an older version of the power meter that became the Fluke 1750 purchased about 10 years ago and to be blunt - I hate the thing. Unless Fluke has improved it a HUGE amount I would never look at one again. You can't access any raw data. Searching for a certain type of event is a pain in the ass. You must use it's own software for the different graphs and they are ugly. I was at one site and messed with it for hours before getting a good measurement because it kept locking up and having to be hard reset. The report it produces is a Word document that contains a whole bunch of "data" yet really tells very little and then I end up spending hours cutting the extra crap out and re-formatting it so I can add in the notes and such to explain the good info.

You really didn't state what you wanted the meters to do.
Accuenergy @

http://www.accuenergy.com

makes some decent and low cost power meters such as the Acuvim IIR (revenue rated) or Acuvim-X. They could be suitable but then maybe that's not what you want at all.

Another option is the Tyco meters, such as a Integra 1530. Similar to the Accuenergy meters but a higher price.

 

[jraef]

I'm a little confused. The ION and the Eaton are both panel mounting meters, the Fluke is a portable. What are your plans here, are you looking for something to install in your switchgear or something to carry around to do testing?

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