My second made-in-China Kill A Watt model:P4400.01 has died. Both devices apparently expired when the charger input hit 11 amps. So I am seeing a trend here. Does anyone have a suggestion for a more durable product to measure power draw and kWh that plugs into a 120V wall outlet and functions like a Kill A Watt - but last longer?
I can tell you why your kill-a-watt failed and how to fix it if you want... at your own risk.
The kill-a-watt units have two fuses in them.. a normal fuse, and a thermal fuse. They were never intended for max draw for hours on end, like an EV does.
So they slowly heat up, but not overly hot... just to their max safe temp. This cycles the thermal fuse. after a couple months of doing this, the thermal fuse breaks.
To fix it, you have three options on the fuse...
you can replace it. However it will pop again.
You can replace it with a higher temp one. This works longer... but at the risk of melting the plastic before it goes.
You can just by-pass the thermal fuse with a piece of wire... and never leave it unattended for long. This is what I did. I no longer use it for charging, just for checking and testing.
This guy has pics and the right idea.. but he used a conventional amperage fuse. not a thermal one... but it has good pics so im linking it. dont do this.
http://blog.thelifeofkenneth.com/2012/04/fixing-dead-kill-watt.htmlif you want to see all the other EV guys with the same issue,
Google kill-a-watt thermal fuseedit:
youtube video :