Remote-Outlet

Tag Archive: handy

It Did What I Needed It To Do

I didn’t realise it would come with an earth pin attached (yes, stupidly I did not deduce this from the fact that there are three holes in the front). Not the end of the world, though – the hollow earth pin was made of copper so I just cut it off with a hack saw in a couple of minutes. It’s a nice-looking little doover-lacky, and the action of the switch although not exactly crisp is sufficiently robust. No regrets. I’d buy another if I ever needed it.

When the switch is on, you get a dim light reminding you that the switch is on. Turn the switch off and it shuts down the outlet completely. Turning the switch off is essentially the same as pulling the plug out of the socket. You have to decide if the convenience of a switch (vs pulling the plug) is worth the cost of this gadget. Personally, I think the price is kind of high for the limited functionality. Also, the device is kind of big, so it may block 2 outlets (depending on the layout of your socket).

It measures power with 3 significant figures. I tested my laptops, desktops, and other stuff. It shows that desktop computer consume much more energy than laptops. This one give me a reasonable precision power of my stuff. It is good for home use.

Once activated by the start button on top of the timer the, power runs to whatever is plugged in until the set time elapses. Perfect for single uses like a battery charger or portable heater. But, and I’m deducting one star for this, you cannot renew (extend) the timed cycle midway through by pushing the button again. You must wait for the cycle to time out or unplug the timer and restart it. Otherwise, great device for safety and conservation. Doesn’t block the lower plug-in on wall outlets. Made in China, of course.

Plug something into it and it will display how many watts are being sucked out of the wall. Push a button and it will display the dollar cost.

I always wondered how much energy the space heater used. How much energy does the computer use when it is in energy save mode, does the phone charger suck energy when the phone is not plugged in?

I work out of the home and run several computers all of the time. I also have a room full of aquariums. After finding the biggest electricity hogs and changing to using them only when needed I have cut my electric bill down significantly. This unit has fulfilled it’s purpose.

I use it when charging our cell phones so that the battery won’t get ruined by being charged excessively. It elimintes the phantom energy consumption, but I like the idea of having my cell phone battery last longer as well. It is also really handy for a device that didn’t have a switch. Now it does. It would be useful for any heat produciing fire hazard like a curling iron or coffee maker that doesn’t turn itself off.

This thing is well built, can be set for 30 minutes, 3 hours or 6 hours, and can handle any device drawing up to 1800W.

February 12, 2014 Outlet, , , 0 Read more >

Very Well Thought-out Product

My application required the three-prong feature, or for me to use multiple adapters. The only switches in my local hardware store were two-prong, so this suited my needs. Now, my application is for an overhead lamp in the laundry area of my garage. It has a power cord hanging down from it to plug into a wall AC socket. No switches. This product has an LED light embedded in the switch. Except it ‘lit’ when the switch is on, and dark when the switch is off. This is a bit counter-intuitive for my application – I would rather have the swtich lit when the overhead light is off so I can navigate to it in my darkened or dimly lit (depending on the time of day I do my laundary) garage. But it works the opposite of that.

Electricity cost/kwh can easily be set, and co2/khw can be set as well. Averages tell you the yearly/monthly cost based on duty cycle / historical usage. I read the 1-star reviews and there are some mistakes and misinformation there, however, one legitimate complaint is that it does not give you total KWH used since beginning a measurement. You can back-out the math to easily calculate this based on the yearly cost projection if you know the amount of time spent measuring, but this is a legitimate shortcoming that it can’t simply display the number. Overall however, a VERY well thought out product and still squeaks by to deserve 5-stars.

This is very handy when you have devices that continue to draw power when “off” (like electronics with power bricks and other so-called “vampire” appliances that constantly draw power) or appliances for which you want to have extra assurance that they’re off (e.g., irons). Given that U.S. power outlets down’t have switches, I usually unplug such appliances. This solution is more convenient. It essentially introduces a power switch right at the outlet, cutting power completely to whatever is plugged in when you toggle the switch, without having to unplug the device. It’s like a power strip without the big strip. It’s a relatively low cost and very convenient way to completely cut the power without having to unplug and replug appliances all the time. I sort of wish U.S. electrical outlets were wired with this functionality, as in the rest of the world. In the meantime, this is a relatively cheap and simple solution.

February 9, 2014 Outlet, , , , 0 Read more >

Probably the Best Option Right Now

The Kill-a-watt type meters are bulky, and plug into an outlet where they’re really hard to read.

This unit solves both problems: The bulk at the outlet is reduced, although it can still be improved; there’s no reason the bulk needs to be at the outlet at all.

And the display is not only nice and large, easy to read; it is also connected with a wire that allows you certain freedom in where you put the meter. The cable could be longer, but, you know, this is still a fantastic unit, and reasonably priced.

I bought this primarily for my bathroom so I could turn on my speakers and if I forgot to turn them back off, the timer would do that on my behalf. However, I do like to shut it off manually to save energy before the 3 hour wait is done (30 minutes is too short for morning rituals) and it just plain doesn’t work. I can turn it on, but turning it off requires pulling it from the wall. Probably a fluke, but there should be some product consistency.

I originally was going to buy the P3 Kill-A-Watt but thisdevice allows you to plug it into the wall and look at the monitor at a distance with the lengthy wired lead. There are adaptor leads for the P3 but this made more sense.

I would suggest this device for anyone wanting to know how much energy your various devices use.

I think the concept here is spot on. However, I have used routinely “light strips” (power strips) that do the same thing, some of these even with lighted switches, most of these available at various places including hardware stores for comparable prices but having up to 6 outlets which can be handy if there might be some additional item that you need to plug in to the same circuit without of course overloading the circuit. True, even the 3′ corded power strips can be a tad bulky compared to a single switch item like this, so you really have to decide what would work best for you.

One thing I mentioned to Amazon in their “Tell us what we missed” section regarding the description is that I can’t see any mention of the maximum amperage or wattage rating (someone please correct me if I’ve overlooked that piece of information). Given that they describe how this can be used with appliances that are typically high wattage (coffee pots, etc.) I would ASSUME that the amperage is at least 15A, but ideally this should be specified in the information for the product.

February 8, 2014 Outlet, , , 0 Read more >

Nice Unit to Get Electric Use Info

I find myself trying out a item that I wish was available to me 7 years ago….when I needed to test the output of a whole bunch of electrical items.Back then I had to hire an electrical Engineer to tell me what I was using to dispute a elelctric bill. Now, because of this little unit –you no longer have to go thru the confusion and craziness that I did. All you have to do now is plug it in and read the display…easy as pie to use and understand. Now you can tell when its time for a certain item to go because its drawing too much electricity….or tell when you need to use a certain thing more becasue its so frugal. When you plug this unit in it shows it is using 0 – 0.5 watts . I tested my pencil sharpener…and when I plugged it into the unit there was no change –therefore showing it does not DRAW power until used……….as I began to sharpen my pencil the power use went up steadly to 69.17 watts. You can then press a ” $ ” symbol and it shows you what a years worth of this item will cost you. Co2 imprint as well. Thats the sort of information this unit will give you. Excellent information to figure out your electrical use !

I never really thought about where electricity came from. Do people really think about that? Probably not much, unless you or people you know mine for coal. Nine out of every ten tons of coal goes towards producing electricity. Coal is a finite resource, and once it’s gone, it’s gone. Now that’s food for thought. Now I turn off as many electrical items as I can when I’m not using it or when I shut the house down for the night.

Many appliances that we leave plugged in when not in use are still drawing electrical current, and it does cost money. With this clever product you can do your own science project by finding out how much each item in your house costs you to operate.

I used this monitor on several items but one appliance that sort of scared me was the hair dryer. My hair dryer did not show that any electricity was being used by it being just plugged in but not in use, but when I turned it on, it said it would cost over $60 a year in electricity. Not that anybody ever runs the hair dryer for a year solid, but it is something to be aware of.

This product is easy to use because it has a nice long cord between the information screen and the outlet end. Very handy when what you are monitoring is down at the floor and you don’t want to be crouched down there with it. You can set the rate that your utility company charges you per kWh to get an accurate reading. The instructions that come with the monitor are very concise and easy to read. This is a huge plus, for anybody who has read terrible instructions or ones that are multi-lingual, that are nearly impossible to follow.

The monitor also reads the CO2 that your appliance is emitting by using electricity. The monitor is a very easy to handle shape and doesn’t interfere with other plugs in that might be occupying the outlet, usually.

I gave this to my 9 year old daughter to find out more about conserving electricity. She had a ball, just as I did, plugging appliances in and finding out how much CO2 an appliance puts out, and how much it costs Mommy and Daddy to operate it. I was my daughter’s age in the 70s when we had the energy crisis here in the United States, which was a total drag. We were afraid to use any electricity. But now we have this, and can decide if it’s worth using the appliance, if it’s worth keeping it plugged in or unplugging when not in use. Happy monitoring!

February 5, 2014 Outlet, , , , 0 Read more >

Adds Convenience to My Life!

We tested it on Friday and it worked from about 20-25 feet away in the room. Perfect applcation for this device.

Works great. The only thing strange about the device is the design didn’t allow my 3 prong plug to fully seat in receptacle. The molded rubber end of unit didn’t allow enough room. Easily solved with an exacto knife cutting away a 1/4″ or so of material that did not effect integrity of unit.

It’s great. Very well made & not flimsy like the others and a really good feature is that the plug is on a short cable so you don’t have a hassle trying to plug it into a strip or outlet. I really wish I could get a few more of the key chain transmitters…that’s what I’m looking for.

So glad I found this because although the others I had (Handy Switch) worked pretty good for a while, I had to throw them away because of the recall/fire hazard thing. Now if only I can find extra transmitters…..

UPDATE……..The remote went through a hot water wash (accidentally left it in my pocket) Let it dry out over night, put in a new battery..AND IT STILL WORKS!!!

In order to keep energy costs down I generally only keep on a light that I need at that time, often for reading. The rest of the house is dark at night. I’ve got a couple of places where the lamp is behind a large chair, making them difficult to turn on and off, and of course they are on the far side of the rooms. If I want to see where I’m walking ‘d have to cross the room to turn on a light elsewhere before coming back to turn one of these off and either climb on or move around the chair to get to the switch.

I received a similar product for Christmas and was instantly in love. That one plugged directly into the outlet. This one has a short cord that plugs into the outlet which allows you to mount the device on a wall close to the outlet. Mine is actually plugged into a multi-outlet strip which works out fine. I’ve got the remote dangling from a light switch which has to be on all the time for something else. No more navigating across a dark room.

My only complaint is how difficult it was to open and close the battery cover due to the position of the ring that attaches the keychain to the remote.

I have used one of these switches for my family room light for several years, and it has worked wonderfully. I decided to buy two more for my bedroom and my son’s bedroom. One room is upstairs and one is downstairs. The good news is, the remotes have a long range. The bad news, both remotes are on the same frequency. What a surprise in the middle of the night when my bedroom light came on because my son had turned his light on! We swapped the family room remote switch with my son’s and everything is fine. Alas, I wanted another outlet switch for another room, but can’t seem to find ones with multiple frequency options.

We kept the remote near the tree and it worked as advertised. I will note you can’t get very far from the source or the remote tends to not work. I will say our plug is located behind our large screen television, so we don’t have line-of-site (that may make a difference in the distance it works from).

January 23, 2014 Outlet, , , , 0 Read more >

Too Big?… NO PROBLEM… They Work WELL

The remote comes with a battery, the buttons are reliable (meaning, they work the first time) and the range on the thing is good. I’m using this to turn on and off lamps throughout my home without having to walk to each one and turn the switch.

I USE THEM FOR ACCENT LIGHTHING in every room in my home. The Units come in different frequencies codes. I bought some where they were on the same 4-digit code, but it swapped them out for ones w/ different codes to not interfere with other units in my home.

I have CHAMBERLAIN REMOTE OUTLETS (2nd best, but at around $30 for a single outlet unit), LOWES Remote outlets, WOODS Remote Outlets, STANLEY Remote Outlets, AND ALL THE OTHERS (they are in a trash drawer in my garage, totaling more than $200)… THESE Are the only ones I use, because they WORK the SMOOTHEST (a real treat in my quest). YES, They are slightly Big.. BUT IF YOU WANT REMOTE ACCESS To An Outlet FOR CONVENIENCE, You can simply USE $2 ‘OUTLET ADAPTERS’ to expand what limited outlet space you have, so that the size of these is not a Problem. For example, one can buy ’3-OUTLET Extender ADAPTERS’ IN ALL SHAPES AND SIZES here on AMAZON, WALLY WORLD, HOME DEPOT, ECT.

Saw this – decided to try it. Rather than having one remote for each outlet, this has one remote for ALL outlets. Worked like a charm – so much so, that my sister-in-law saw it and had to have her own, so I ordered her one as well. Very handy to simply ‘click’ the remote and turn on/off any of the lights we have set up. Highly recommend for those difficult to reach items (like the Christmas tree!)

I’ve had them for months now and they are extremely reliable and and sturdy, the remote control signal has also been reliable and strong. The only drawback is their size. They are extremely large and bulky units and given the way the plug portion is designed they have to be plugged into the upper openings of outlets and sometimes will still block the lower opening for all but the smallest plugs of other devices. I would still buy again, as previous wireless units I’ve brought would not last very long and have some kind of malfunction. These have been bulletproof so far…

The remote is pretty big … and empty. I’m pretty sure they could have made it a little smaller.

It also uses an atypical battery so I can’t use my rechargeables and have to make sure I keep a spare on hand.

The wall units are also very BIG. They don’t fit well into power strips because they block most of the other outlets.

Since these are so big it is even worse that the plug is in the front of the unit making it stick out even further than if it were on the side like some other adapters.

If the price weren’t right I’d give these 2 stars since I had to buy some other stuff to make them fit (adapters and such). On the bright side they are not at all visible now!!

BTW, when you turn one of these on or off you can gear a fairly loud clicking sound especially in the open in a big room …

January 10, 2014 Outlet, , , , 0 Read more >