Watts Up...50 amps continuous?

[rfrink]

I got a Watts Up ..and I love it.  Its' rated for 50A continuous...100A peak...but the lead wires are so tiny.  I'm guessing about 12 ga.  

When I look in my handy EE pocket handbook, it has a table of allowable ampacities for single insulated conductors and shows that a 12ga wire is only good for about 25-40 depending on the temp rating of the insulation. (?)

How does the Watts Up wires carry that much current?

Oh,  did I mention how much I like this meter...yep, I really like it.

Thoughts?

-Rob

[gotwind2]

They are pretty cool Rob, I use them regularly.

I've only pushed mine to 25 Amps, it handled it without a problem, I bought 3 of them.

As far as current capacity of the leads, the thin multi stranded wire with a silicon sleaving may be the answer, I'm no expert on these matters.

What I do know is don't let the meters get wet, as I stupidly did (only lightly) the unit was non workable, my fault.

A great tool however.

Ben.

[RandomJoe]

I have a couple of them, and they are certainly nice.  But no way would I run 50A continuous.  The leads get warm on mine if I run just 10A for any length of time!  It has worked fine reading higher currents, but I rarely do so so haven't investigated improving them.

I think I remember someone (Commanda?) mentioned opening one up, removing the internal shunt, and using the meter across a different shunt that could actually handle higher power.  But considering the quality of my memory lately, no guarantees! :p

[independent]

Seem to remember a link to directions on the actual manufacturer's site

[rfrink]

Breaking news alert!!....I just took a closer look ans see that the lead wires have "14 ga" marked on the insulation.

50 amps through 14 ga continuous?  100 amps peak?...

Keep in mind, that this post is not to criticize these wonderful little instruments....but to try to understand their potential a little more.

-Rob

[bzrqmy]

I too have one of these.  I am currently (no pun intended) using this device to record my daily turbine output.  

Anyone know of a unit like this under $100 that interfaces with a PC?