TS-836A Plug Power Meter Energy Voltage Amps Electricity Usage Monitor,Reduce Your Energy Costs

Great meter, big clean interface easy to read and works great. Also, the design looks pleasing to eyes comparing to many other ugly meters I was looking at. Only the manual is not well-thought-out, kinda simple language, but enough to understand the basics. So far it works, been using it 24/7 for 2 weeks.

I have used Kill-a-Watt meters before, and both I had eventually stopped working right - so I decided to try this meter instead. It works quite well, and has some nice features that the kill-a-watt didnt. For one, it is convenient that it stores the readings when you unplug it, you have to manually reset it with a little button that you have to poke with a pencil-tip or something. I also really like the min and max watt readings, which allows you to record the start-up surge on appliances with electric motors. All in all I am quite happy with it, but at the moment cannot comment on its longevity.

We “adopted” a 50+ year old chest freezer for free over a decade ago. Works great, but I always had a nagging feeling that it was an electrical beast. With proper settings of this meter, I determined the freezer was chewing up enough kilowatts to cost between 50-60 cents a day! - as compared to a newer freezer averaging 15 cents. Yes, I will be pitching this freezer and take the ComEd $50 credit. Is the monitor worth the purchase, yes - makes for a good learning tool for kids to understand the cost of “leaving th lights on”. However, the instructions are so pathetically written that it is a wonder that they do not pay a high school student $50 to rewrite them in a way that makes some degree of sense.

I bought this mainly to test how many watts my computer was using to buy a more appropriate sized PSU. After playing with it for a while I started running around my apartment testing random appliances to determine how much wattage it's using up. If you have older style outlets (2 prong), this won't work, the plug requires a 3 prong plug. The majority of items shown on the screen are ignored unless you want to carefully monitor the wattage. There's a timer that tells you how long it's been plugged, an option that tells you the minimum/maximum wattage and more. I just look at the middle box that displays the wattage reading and move on.Even though your power bill won't significantly drop after buying this, it could be used to make better decisions on what you're constantly running.

Seems accurate, I don't generally bench-test $20 items... The beastly thing about this is its low-contrast display that needs strong lighting and a straight-on viewing angle to read. Hate it, glad I only will occasionally need it, as it is barely adequate, not at all a pleasure to use.

After one month, I'm thoroughly pleased with this purchase so far. Keeps track of how many days/hours/minutes the unit been monitoring power usage. It shows the current wattage usage as well as the min/max wattage, amperage draw, and kWh. It would have been nice if the screen was backlit, but its not a big deal. The builtin battery retains information if you unplug it or incase of power failure.It works, it shows the essential information. I can read the display fine. It's significantly cheaper than its competitor. Could it be better? Probably, but for the price I can't complain. Unless it breaks in the next few months, I see no reason why it doesn't deserve 5 stars.With power strip and extension cords, I run all my devices in my room through this meter so I'm able to keep track of my power consumption. It has also helped me eliminate unnecessary devices that I really didn't need and be a bit more conservative with my power usage.

I got this the other day. I already own 2 P3 International P4400 Kill-a-watt meters which are very similar in function.Here's why the TS836A is better:The display has three lines instead of one. more info at a time. Not well used though...The plug is lower on the unit and does not block the second outlet of a duplex outlet receptacleThe unit remembers min and max power levels.The unit has an internal NiMH battery and keeps the accumulated time and KWH and min/max Power info in the event of power failure or just moving the unit.The unit enables cost per KWH entry to calculate actual cost rather than just KWHCurrent is displayed xx.xxx vs. xx.xx for the P4400. One more decimal of resolution. Too bad the current reading is much worse accuracy than the P4400!Here's why the Kill-a-watt P4400 is better:smaller size2% error on current and watts vs 5% error on current and watts for the TS386A (spec was 3% for the TS386A so its out of spec)Display is easier to read, the segments of the numbers are bolder and much easier to read in dim light and off-angle. esp. when the unit is wall mounted down low.Individual buttons chose one or two functions only - easier to chose.The line frequency is displayed with xx.x digits vs. just xx (no decimal) for the TS386A Better frequency resolution is nice if you are using a generator for example.Ultimately it is a little harder on the TS836A to find the info you want due to the function button having so many functions. The units that show what the numbers are is very small and hard to read. On the P4400 I can just push the button for the function I want and I know what units the number displayed is in.Picture shows accurately the contrast difference in the displays. (picture here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2GZM7RIYIITWK/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00009MDBU)Instructions with the TS836A are a little hard to understand. I don't have the P4400 instructions at hand but I don't recall having such a hard time with them.Final opinion: I think I like the Kill-a-watt a little better.P.S. 9 months later, The display is dimmed out and all but unreadable. Definitely a loser now. P4400s all still working and much older. Changing my rating to one star!PPS Its readable but only at a very small viewing angle from straight on which means you can never read it when plugged into a fixed wall socket like its intended.And by the way, it doesn't have VA (reactive power) and Power factor of the P4400. something I miss.

Works well! I like calculating how much each pluggable item costs to run and this is the perfect tool for that purpose.

This was a terrible product. LCD Display is barely readable. Product works intermittently. Product looks pretty and appears to have all the right specifications however when it's working even the readings are not accurate and do not correlate... product registered 1.2 amperes of current on a 120 volt AC and indicated 80 watts of power consumption, ... this doesn't math out correctly. 1.2 amperes at 120 volts is well over 120 watts. Instruction sheet which came with it was terrible, it made reference to an internal battery which wasn't even accessible. ... I returned the product and the seller refunded my money without issues.

- Meter works well and seems accurate (measures 1 watt consumption on idle coffee maker)- Size of device can limit access to the second outlet in a duplex receptacle- Instructions are very poorly translated, almost funny to read. If you are very non-technical you might need help to use this (but then I expect you wouldn't be thinking of buying one)... :)- The information is retained when device is unplugged, but screen will time out after a few seconds. Pressing a button will turn the screen back on (even when unplugged) to see the information on it.- There does not seem to be a way to reset the time/cost information except using the reset button, which resets everything.- There is no time-of-use functionality so if you (like me) have different electricity costs at different times of the day, this device will not represent that. It only gives you total cost based on the per-kilowatt-hour cost that you input.

Why is it called TS-836A ? What is the difference between this and RioRand Plug Power Meter Energy Watt Voltage Amps Meter with Electricity Usage Monitor, Reduce Your Energy Costs ASIN B00L6P2L0A as well as RioRand Digital LCD Electricity Usage Monitor Watt Voltage Amps Meter ASIN B00K7VMJYM. ?It arrived quickly and do what other reviews say but it came is a white paper box and there is no reference of any manufacturer, brand and model number on either the box or the product or the manual. When called in customer service regarding lack of any branding I got a refund of 5 bucks. i will appreciate if any of the reviewers can inform why is it called TS-836 A and what is the address of its manufacturer or what is the manufacturer's warranty on it.? Anyone has seen the model number on the product, packaging and manual.

LCD Display Plug Power Meter Energy Watt Voltage Amps Meter with Electricity Usage Monitor, Reduce Your Energy Costs Over a year and still going great good product