Reliance Controls AmWatt™ Load Tester

I would have given it a 5 had it had a female plug-in pig-tail a 5+ had it come with an on/off switch and a 10 if it displayed the spike/surge voltage side-by-side with the run-time voltage. As it comes, one needs to pull and insert appliance several times to ensure actual readings of the spike - if you don't see the very first number (flashes as fast as a blink) - you will miss the high surge reading. One of appliance flashed (blink-speed)at 830, then 178 then fell to 98. At first we used 178 cuz you are looking at the plug while plugging it in and you miss the first display but see the second - after re-testing, we found that if one person keeps an eye on the LED display while another person plugged in the appliance, you got an accurate load value. At first, we thought a 2000 volt generator would suffice, we actually need a 3700.

I would have given it a 5 had it had a female plug-in pig-tail a 5+ had it come with an on/off switch and a 10 if it displayed the spike/surge voltage side-by-side with the run-time voltage. As it comes, one needs to pull and insert appliance several times to ensure actual readings of the spike - if you don't see the very first number (flashes as fast as a blink) - you will miss the high surge reading. One of appliance flashed (blink-speed)at 830, then 178 then fell to 98. At first we used... more

Living in Houston, hurricane seasons can vary from a few storms to a full blown Category 4 headed straight for the city.

When Rita came close to hitting Houston a couple of years ago, it became apparent that we needed to be ready to stay and tough out the storm if we could not get out of the city.

I made the decision to start shopping for generators.

There were quite a few things that I found important: 1 - quality, 2 - load watts, 3 - fuel consumption. With a limited budget, I couldn't pick up a nice quiet unit like my buddy's Honda.

Man, that was an awesome generator but for close to $1k, it was too far out of reach. I wanted to spend around $3-400 on something in the 2500-3000 watt range.

After more research, I found what I originally thought was an off-brand but turned out to be quite popular. Going through the Coleman site, I found ProForce generators. As I dug deeper, these ProForce generators were simply just another brand line for Coleman.

After searching through the different sizes, I found it: The ProForce 3000. It was perfect. With a whopping 10 hours of run time on just 3 gallons of gas (@ 50% load), it was one of the most fuel efficient generators on the market for it's size. I pulled the trigger and bought it.

Since then, I've used it for all types of projects. From powering a camp site to helping provide electricity for construction areas, it's never let me down. It's so compact and much more quiet than other generators I've seen used.

It's one that I would highly recommend to anyone looking to purchase a generator in this size. Hurricane season for 2008 has just started here in Houston. With the news stations buzzing about being prepared this season, I know that I'll be safe with my ProForce generator on standby.

Some recommendations that I would have for this unit would be to purchase an hour meter to keep track of maintenance. EG Direct has a nice little Yamaha unit for only $39.

Additionally, it wouldn't be a bad idea to purchase the AmWatt power meter to keep track of how much load is on your generator. This will also help to balance the load between both 120v outlets. I've purchased both for my generator.

EGD RESPONSE: Harold, the ProForce is a very nice generator. You made a wise choice. Unfortunately, Coleman Powermate went bankrupt a few months ago. If you're looking for a similar machine, consider the Briggs & Stratton 3500 Watt Portable Generator. Very similar. Very nice generator.

Living in Houston, hurricane seasons can vary from a few storms to a full blown Category 4 headed straight for the city.

When Rita came close to hitting Houston a couple of years ago, it became apparent that we needed to be ready to stay and tough out the storm if we could not get out of the city.

I made the decision to start shopping for generators.

There were quite a few things that I found important: 1 - quality, 2 - load watts, 3 - fuel consumption. With a limited budget, I... more

Does just what it say's it will do great for testing appliances and other items. Lets you see the load the electrical motor pulls. Just plug it into the wall outlet and plug your appliance into the tester and turn it on.

After searching eBay and online, I purchased this unit for the price and the corded feature.

Most other units are plugged directly into the wall and then you plug the powered source into the unit.

Well, as you can imagine, behind stereos, TVs, refrigerators, etc...this corded unit makes it MUCH easier and faster to rate your electronics.

Tip: If you have a TV, dish, cable, speakers, etc. all plugged into a powerstrip...just rate the lot of them via the powerstrip. After all...in an outage, to have the TV working...the cable and or dish needs power too!

After searching eBay and online, I purchased this unit for the price and the corded feature.

Most other units are plugged directly into the wall and then you plug the powered source into the unit.

Well, as you can imagine, behind stereos, TVs, refrigerators, etc...this corded unit makes it MUCH easier and faster to rate your electronics.

Tip: If you have a TV, dish, cable, speakers, etc. all plugged into a powerstrip...just rate the lot of them via the powerstrip. After all...in an... more

Boy dose this thing work great. I did not know how much electricity I was wasting in my house. Thanks

It's a very good device. It does what it says.

You would be surprised at the real wattage of certain things.

Have a multimeter. But this is so much easier. Plug into wall socket, plug appliance into meter. Presto,amps & volts. Did so for all appliances in home. Made a list. Manage consumption. If installing transfer switch, you need this.

This testing device is great. You need something like this to check your power draw. I used this to check the power draw on my generator, and then replaced the power hungry halogen lights with a thrifty LED light for my work shed.

This easy-to-use load tester is of good quality. It helps determine the real electrical load used.

Great tester easy to use, built well.

Well worth the price!