Reliance Controls 30-Amp Indoor Wattage Meter

My generator is an older model Honda an EM3500 that I have had for 9 or 10 years and it still performs like new. I purchased the MB75 meter to see how well I have been able to balance my electrical load over the years with such a small wattage generator 3500 watts and I was surprised that I had balanced my load to around 1000 to 1200 watts on each leg with normal running not appliance start-up. My generator is connected via manual transfer switch into the breaker box and I can run anything in my 3 story house as long as I stay under the 3500 watts. This year I will be upgrading to an 7200 watt generator.

This MB75 meter is a great addition to my setup even though they could have made the leads a little longer to make the installation easier.

My generator is an older model Honda an EM3500 that I have had for 9 or 10 years and it still performs like new. I purchased the MB75 meter to see how well I have been able to balance my electrical load over the years with such a small wattage generator 3500 watts and I was surprised that I had balanced my load to around 1000 to 1200 watts on each leg with normal running not appliance start-up. My generator is connected via manual transfer switch into the breaker box and I can run anything in my 3 story house as long as I stay under the 3500 watts. This year I will be upgrading to an 7200 watt... more

I recently installed a Briggs & Straton 8KW generator for emergency back-up during power outages. I also installed the Reliance 30 amp watt meter MB75 to monitor the watt load. I was pleased with with the meter except for the very short pick-up leads( only about 12 inches long) much too short to reach my generator leads. I had to splice an additional 12 inches into all 4 leads. The meter was not cheap. I don't understand why the leads were so short. I also installed the Reliance PowerBack alert. The unit works as it should except it's not loud enough. 86 db is not very loud unless your house in very quiet, which mine is not most of the time.

I recently installed a Briggs & Straton 8KW generator for emergency back-up during power outages. I also installed the Reliance 30 amp watt meter MB75 to monitor the watt load. I was pleased with with the meter except for the very short pick-up leads( only about 12 inches long) much too short to reach my generator leads. I had to splice an additional 12 inches into all 4 leads. The meter was not cheap. I don't understand why the leads were so short. I also installed the Reliance PowerBack alert. The unit works as it should except it's not loud enough. 86 db is not very loud unless your hou... more

Adding the Reliance (inductive) wattage meter in line with my new generator input feed to my main panel gives me visibility to load balance for optimal generator efficiency for my whole panel generator backup.

The meter was easy to install, was immediately confirmed to work with first generator test, and it looks to be well built and and a bargain.

After replacing my small 35 year old circuit panel with a new Siemens 4040 panel, I wanted to change from using a generator subpanel with only 10 circuits to a whole panel generator backup.

The one great thing about the generator subpanel was that it had wattage load meters so that I could insure circuits were arranged for reasonable load balance between the two legs for optimal generator efficiency.

I selected an interlock bracket kit that enables me to dedicate the first two slots on the top right breaker column as a generator back-drive breaker. The interlock bracket bolted to the face of the panel physically insures the main breaker and generator breaker are always in opposite positions to satisfy codes.

This is an easy way to supply generator power to the whole panel, but with simply adding a circuit to a plug-in for the generator, there is no way to check load balance between the two legs so that one or two circuits could be swapped across legs if needed (something you hopefully only need to do once or twice to get reasonable balance).

No local big box store or electrical supply in my area had load meters that I could find. Luckily, a web search led me to the Reliance meter box. I'm a "do it myself" home improvement guy, and this dual meter box was super easy to splice into the wiring between the panel and generator wall plug.

A quick test while on the generator with an 1800 watt hair dryer on various settings performed on each leg quickly verified meter function.

If it works for the long term just as it did after installation, I'm a very happy guy.

EGD RESPONDS: For your safety, Electric Generators Direct.com recommends that all electrical wiring be done by a licensed electrician.

Adding the Reliance (inductive) wattage meter in line with my new generator input feed to my main panel gives me visibility to load balance for optimal generator efficiency for my whole panel generator backup.

The meter was easy to install, was immediately confirmed to work with first generator test, and it looks to be well built and and a bargain.

After replacing my small 35 year old circuit panel with a new Siemens 4040 panel, I wanted to change from using a generator subpanel with only 10 circuits to a whole panel generator backup.

The one... more