So does anyone know how I can use this thing in some sort of way? Its rated for 0-15 amps. It would look cool if I could see how many amps are going through my huge fan but I have no idea if it will work. I have 3 of these if anyone would like to purchase one also.

Just looking at it right of the bat I see it says AC amps. PSU put out DC current don't they?

This isnt going to be used on the PSU. That huge fan I showed you runs AC

Ahh I see... I thought you were going to run it on project shoe box. I can't really tell you a way to hook it up off hand.

I might run it in project shoebox. This guy might go in it aswell. Can anyone help?

yust wire it inline with the fan. like this:

lead from outlet>>>one contact of the amp meter>>>out the other contact>>>first lead of fan>>>secod lead of fan back to the outlet.

it does not mater what order you wire it in, because it is ac.

one tip is to clean up the back of the meter, it looks like it is corroded, and could cause a short between the contacts, and the meter wouldnt work right.


one final note: depending on how big the fan is, it may not pull all that much amps, you should check how many amps the fan pulls, because if it is over the rating of the meter, some things could melt down

---Deleted so as not to confuse people from my moment of stupidity. Check the post below if you really wanna know what I said---

Quote: Originally Posted by jcarkeys No. That's how you wire a voltmeter. An ammeter is wired in parallel. that means you have the two leads going off to the fan like normal, but you also have wires going from the terminals that the fan's connected with into the the ammeter. I don't remember the schmetic diagram for AC, but this'll suffice.

NOOOO dont do that, that will make a big spark, or something will melt. REPEAT do not wire in parrell. amp meters have a very low impeadance, and if you wired it in parrel, it would be direct short, and the amp meter would fry, and probably throw your circuit breaker. what you are discribing is is the way to wire a volt meter, what i discribed is a amp meter, because amps are a unit of flow, and to measure flow in a circuit it needs to be in series

hope this helps

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Lala lala la. The brain was on vacation. You're right, I'm most definitely wrong in terms of which one in parallel.

Though, 1. it's ammeter and 2. they have very low resistance such that it doesn't decrease the voltage across the line, not impedance.

Thanks guys, you both confused me and lead me to understanding, all in one day. Im gonna check it out tomorrow and see what happens. Hopefully I wont blow up. The fan is rated for 35/32 watts and 50/60Hz but nothing on amp's.... so I dont know.

Well, it won't draw more than 15 Amps because that's all that most normal household breakers and lines are rated for.

Though, at 35 Watts and a line voltage of ~110 Volts, it shouldn't draw more than .3 Amps.

Awsome, Im just looking for something that works and looks cool. Not sure if it will fit in my case theme but who knows. I doubt anyone would want to buy these anyways.

Quote: Originally Posted by jcarkeys Well, it won't draw more than 15 Amps because that's all that most normal household breakers and lines are rated for. Though, at 35 Watts and a line voltage of ~110 Volts, it shouldn't draw more than .3 Amps.

yah that was what i was thinking at the begining of this thread, if its an ac fan small enought to fit in an SFF case, it cant pull that much.


edit: i have like ten meters like that, some are smaler, ac/dc /amps/volts if anyone really wants some

DO NOT CONNECT IT.

Theres a formula you MUST use in order to get the correct range. I'll look it up later. If you dont have a resistor is parallel with the meter you could blow it. Im an electronics whiz...take it from me.

But it order to measure amps, connect in series with the load.

Somethings you must tell me or need to know, How much does the fan draw anyway? On the meter does it say anything in ohms or current wise? It should be in small writing.

AC Ammeters have bridge recitifer inside them I beleave, I dont know if your meter has an internal resistance for scale. Where did u get this meter anyway?

Quote: Originally Posted by Cpl Rampage yah that was what i was thinking at the begining of this thread, if its an ac fan small enought to fit in an SFF case, it cant pull that much. edit: i have like ten meters like that, some are smaler, ac/dc /amps/volts if anyone really wants some

You got PM. I like to know if u have DC meters, what range..etc.

There is nothing labeled on the meter. The fan only says 50/60Hz, and 35/32W. 1 Phase, 115V~AC.

Quote: Originally Posted by Cpl Rampage yah that was what i was thinking at the begining of this thread, if its an ac fan small enought to fit in an SFF case, it cant pull that much. edit: i have like ten meters like that, some are smaler, ac/dc /amps/volts if anyone really wants some

Can you post some pict's where did you get tem from?

i have five dc meters, four of them are amp/milliamp meters, here are the ratings

0-200 dc milliamperes
0-1 dc amperes
0-10 dc amperes
0-15 dc amperes

the fifth one, does not have any label, but i am pretty sure it is a VU meter, like for measuring how loud a song is, although i am not positive.

here is a pic of the meters, the small one at the bottom is the one i beleive is a VU meter

Quote: Originally Posted by Nerdz Theres a formula you MUST use in order to get the correct range.

You mean the formula that Watts=Amps * Volts? If you want to rearrange that, you get Amps=Watts/Volts since we know both the watts paramater(35/32 and we'll go with the highest range cause it'll draw more amps) and we know the voltage (~110 because it's from the wall). So that leads us with .318181818 which rounds to .32.

Seeing the scale on that ammeter, it'll hardly move. But try it anyways.

Quote: Originally Posted by jcarkeys You mean the formula that Watts=Amps * Volts? If you want to rearrange that, you get Amps=Watts/Volts since we know both the watts paramater(35/32 and we'll go with the highest range cause it'll draw more amps) and we know the voltage (~110 because it's from the wall). So that leads us with .318181818 which rounds to .32. Seeing the scale on that ammeter, it'll hardly move. But try it anyways.

No theres a formula for calculating the shut, in which is placed in parallel with the meter in order to get the correct range. Sincec that meter is 0-15, you can easily turn it into 0-.15 or even ignore the 15 and have it go only 0-10. Get what Im saying?

Heres an example. The meter I have is a 1mA 50Ohm meter movement (those where the measurements I was talking about). Its range is 0-15VDC. I want my full scale to be 15V. I would calculate the proper resistor for it to give me the correct display. But a volt meter you place the resistor is series (because good volt meters have a very HIGH resistance, while ammeters have a very LOW resistance.) I beleave this can be solved without the metermovement's stats...or atleast I hope.


Have you already hooked this thing up and tried it? It could have the correct resistor inside, but as stated before the meter wont move much.

Something else you should know: see the little black knob at the bottom of the meter? Thats called zero adjust. You adjust it to get accurate readings . To use it just make sure the meter is not measuring and adjust the knob.

cpt rampage u have PM again.