electric meter lamp

[ldj]

I want to make a lamp with wiring going through this meter so it will turn wheel and dials. How do I wire it up?

 

[Red Dave]

I want to make a lamp with wiring going through this meter so it will turn wheel and dials. How do I wire it up?

First you must determine whether that kWH meter is designed to be wired directly, or through a set of Current Transformers.

Then, you will need the associated meter base to plug that meter into and that can be wired to.

 

[Blackhole49]

I want to make a lamp with wiring going through this meter so it will turn wheel and dials. How do I wire it up?

I'm assuming it is a plug in meter. Just attach your cord from the wall to the input posts and wire to the bulb to the output. Make sure the back is protected from inadvertent contact.

 

[Keith True]

Unless you have the patience to watch paint dry,you won't have the patience to sit and watch the wheels turn with a lamp.Now with an old juice sucking incandescent bulb you might see a little action,but not much.With one LED lamp you may not see any action with the naked eye.I had a bunch of those meters around.We had to pull them and replace them with a two-way for solar installations.The new smart meters they want back,but they told us to just throw the old style ones away.I know folks have made lamps with them,but I never saw one that actually runs the juice through it.I have some lamps made with parking meters.I've given a few away to guys that wire them into their dedicated circuit to see exactly how much their electric cars are using to charge.

 

[Phill Tibbetts]

A lot of them around since the power companies are switching tto digital meters they can read from the ofice. I've seen several lamps but never noticed how they did the wiring, won't turn very fast unless you have a heavy load on it.

 

[Dingo3]

You have a 2 wire socket meter. You will need the socket or base. Most lamps are made from abase meters not socket meters. Pretty simple wiring but with out the base it can get amateurish looking.

As stated earlier it’s not going to turn much with an LED bulb and obviously you don’t need the heavy gauge wire shown in the video for one lamp.

 

[DoubleO7]

As stated earlier it’s not going to turn much with an LED bulb

I wonder if you could get inside a mechanical dial meter and rig a 120v motor to drive the dials when on?

 

[Dingo3]

I wonder if you could get inside a mechanical dial meter and rig a 120v motor to drive the dials when on?

Not much room, you would have to gut it. I noticed that there was not a multiplier listed on the meter face so it might be 1:1. If that’s the case than a 60w incandescent bulb should move the disc enough to see.

 

[DoubleO7]

Not much room, you would have to gut it. I noticed that there was not a multiplier listed on the meter face so it might be 1:1. If that’s the case than a 60w incandescent bulb should move the disc enough to see.

Yes, I think the O.P. meter is maybe the lowest amperage one made. 15amp, 120V

 

[Dingo3]

Yes, I think the O.P. meter is maybe the lowest amperage one made. 15amp, 120V

Yes, it was designed for an apartment or very small house, out building. Lights and a fridge might have been the only things used back in the day.
With a RR of 55 5/9 the arbor gear has to rotate that many times to make the right dial move one turn. It should still rotate the disc enough to be visible.

 

[ldj]

My meter doesn't look exactly like the one in the video. From what I read I assume I would connect the 120v from the wall to the top 2 lugs on the meter and then the bottom 2 on the meter to to the light. See photo of bottom of meter.

 

[Dingo3]

My meter doesn't look exactly like the one in the video. From what I read I assume I would connect the 120v from the wall to the top 2 lugs on the meter and then the bottom 2 on the meter to to the light. See photo of bottom of meter.

Since it does not have a pot coil link on the back I assume you will only need to attach the hot wire to one side on the top and a wire from the bottom blade on the same side to the lamp. The neutral wire can just go straight through to the lamp socket. We did not use that type in our system.

 

[Dingo3]

This is the only diagram that I could find that did not mention the pot coil. On our 2 wire service we used the adapter shown in the previous video.

 

[Throop]

If you google "Form 1S" meter wiring, you will find several pictures.
Rich

 

[Dingo3]

If you google "Form 1S" meter wiring, you will find several pictures.
Rich

True but his is a 2S 2wire. Different animal, I’ve never used one but it should work with the earlier wiring I mentioned and the OP stated or the video and last diagram I posted.

 

[JMOR]

60Watt incandescent load should turn disk one revolution every minute & 48 seconds. For reading increase of 1, need about 16.7 hours.

 

[ldj]

Well I connected a hot and neutral from wall receptacles to top lugs and out bottom lugs to lamp and it works light comes on and the wheel in the meter turns. Now I'll finish the lamp since I know it works.

 

[ldj]

These are both mine. The one with the shade is one I was asking about.

 

[JMOR]

Very nice! Maybe I should send you my meter!

 

[Dingo3]

These are both mine. The one with the shade is one I was asking about.

Sorry I couldn’t be of more help. We did not use form 2S 2wire meters. 1S 2 wire and 2S 3wire were the norm. It’s the first time I’ve seen one. Nice lamps, I’d show you mine but they are packed away for the move.