Suggestions on Choosing a Power Analyzer 11

[IntrepidLearner]

Could someone suggest a power quality analyzer for the measurement of harmonics & energy? I have no budget as yet - simply looking for one which is reliable, rugged & preferably lightweight. Also, it must be able to datalogger upto 4 current and 4 voltage channels.

I've heard good things about the Dranetz-BMI 4300, and am looking for opinions/feedback on some other choices which meet my criteria.

 

[bdn2004]

Hioki 3196

A testing company recently used this one at our plant. It provided us a months worth of test data from the meter in spreadsheet form.

Thinking we might want to purchase one ourselves - I contacted the local rep. I was allowed to use the same meter on a trial basis for a few weeks. They had a really good website to show you how to use it. You schedule an appointment online and they had someone on the phone live that talked you through it and answered any questions.

The meter and the software are easy to use and provided all the data we were looking for. It comes in a hearty case is lightweight.

 

[IntrepidLearner]

Thanks, bdn - I'll definitely look into it.

Open for a few more suggestions...

 

[DanDel]

Look at the RPM (now owned by Fluke) recorders. We have been using them for years with good results.

 

[DTR2011]

Depending on your needs, you may also want to check out the Fluke 43B meter. It reads a single current and voltage. About $1500 The RPM is a great meter and very versitile. It is however more of a $20k meter. I have used both.

******Another very economical approach********

There are many 3 phase switchboard power meters available that in essence do the same thing. You can easily purchase the required CTs and connect to either direct (up to 600V) and use appropriate CTs. Most of the great features of the $20k set can be made for about $4k.

 

[Skogsgurra]

I have had some problems with the Dranetz/BMI PP4300. It seems they haven't put an anti-alias filter before the S/H and A/D. So, when there are HF components (like you get from a PWM inverter), the HF components are folded into the harmonics frequency range. The result is that you get a higher THD reading than you actually have on the grid.

A sure sign is that you have an unrealistically high percentage of even harmonics. I often see more than one percent even harmonics on grids where I know there are none.

An example is given below.

Please note that the "Even contribution" is higher than the "Odd contribution" If you get that, you had better check with an instrument that has faster sampling.


Gunnar Englund

http://www.gke.org

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100 % recycled posting: Electrons, ideas, finger-tips have been used over and over again...

 

[jghrist]

Fluke has a new 1750 3Ø Power Recorder that looks interesting for $10K. It uses wireless transmission to an included PDA for setup and has an ethernet port.

 

[IntrepidLearner]

Can anyone comment on the Fluke 434/5? At first glace it seems to satisfy my requirements.

 

[olicg]

You may also look at

http://www.infratek-ag.com.

They have two models which i know: 106A and Infratek 31 Hand Held.
These are economical as well.

Olic

 

[catserveng]

We have used the Fluke 434 and 435 with good results. Easy to use, robust, and good support from Fluke. We use it to monitor and diagnose engine/generator systems.

 

[IntrepidLearner]

Thanks for all the feedback so far guys!

I was recently introduced to the Extech 382090 & 382095 models. Does anyone have any experience with either? What's the difference b/w the two?

 

[JBinCA]

I just used the Dranetz BMI PX5 series. I would recommend against this unit, based upon the user interface and documentation. The fundamental problem is that nothing is particualarly intuitive, so you have to hunt around to get aything done. The manual was little more than a collection of screen prints from the device. This means that if you have a question about what you see on the screen, you get to search for a couple of minutes to see the same exact thing on paper. Thanks for that Dranetz!

I ended up getting good data after multiple iterations. And it showed me what I wanted to see. But, even then, the viewer / report writer software was less than intuitive.

Some of my colleagues have used RPMs and speak highly of them.

 

[Skogsgurra]

Yes, JBinCA.

I use the PP4300 a lot and I should have got used to it. But, as you say, it is not very intuitive. I prefer not to have customers around when I set it up - they would immediately lose confidence in me if they saw me hunting around.

Still, it does its work (exception for the even harmonics anomaly described above) and it is a recognized instrument in this part of the world. Using a recognized instrument is sometimes necessary. I could do the same job using an oscilloscope or recorder with FFT capabilities - but my customers wouldn't accept it.

Gunnar Englund

http://www.gke.org

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100 % recycled posting: Electrons, ideas, finger-tips have been used over and over again...

 

[ScottyUK]

This is the descendent of my much-loved Voltech PM3000 analyser. I haven't had a chance to play with this new one, mainly due to having no viable excuse for buying one, but if it is half as good as the PM3000 was when it came out then the PM6000 is definitely worth a look. Voltech in the UK used to have a loan instrument which you could take for a few days to test in your own application - I expect they still do.

http://www.voltech.com/poweranalyzers/pm6000/default.asp?SL=83746e9n

The instrument I've got has proven itself very versatile, reliable and robust, features I have come to appreciate it for. It's main downside is the size and weight compared to some of the hand-helds.


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Sometimes I only open my mouth to swap feet...

 

[AFerguson]

We have 3 PP4300s - Agree that the customer should not see you set them up, but they have produced excellent results when in used combination with the Dran-View software. The PX5 is also a sharp unit and easier to use than the PP4300.

Either way, no unit has the "cheeseburger" button!

 

[Skogsgurra]

Right Fergy!

When the Cheesburger buttton comes, it is time to find something else to do for a living...

Gunnar Englund

http://www.gke.org

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100 % recycled posting: Electrons, ideas, finger-tips have been used over and over again...

 

[ozmosis]

Some further feedback on the Dranetz PP4300. We use these units for analysing power quality issues in conjunction with PWM AC drive installations around the world. Generally the data compiled is pretty good, I would concur with Gunnar that the spurious readings on THD is a bit concerning. We connect some of the optional modem units so we can monitor remotely and (after a lot of messing around)they do seem to work ok. However, the main pain-in-the-a__ is the Dranview software. The latest (I think) is Dranview-6 and if you happen to save data in this version and the person you wish to share it with only has Dranview-4, then they cannot view it. The backwards compatibiity is something Dranetz seem to have overlooked and casues a few headaches as the person with dranview-4 can only see this with -6 and this costs a few ££'s/$$$'s/€€€'s

 

[mutimuti]

I am for HOIKI too! We just got two analysers, usb port and the nice thing are the CTs. They are just like a rope (I think its some kind of optical coupling) can surround the biggest bussbars and the smallest, an LED automatically indicates whether is 500A or 1000A. Excellent instrument, can store weeks & weeks of data.

mm

 

[Skogsgurra]

The "ropes" are actually Rogowski Coils. Not optical, but inductive. Picks up and integrates dH/dt to produce total MMF and thus I. Very good at fundamental and high frequencies, but do not try them on DC.

Gunnar Englund

http://www.gke.org

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100 % recycled posting: Electrons, ideas, finger-tips have been used over and over again...

 

[fredpar]

Hven't herd anything bout PA-9 from Megger.