In article ,
Tony Williams wrote:
In article ,
Stuart wrote:

The next two bits is where I am getting confused. Is there some
difference between a power tool and an electic motor, after all I
can't think of a power tool that dosn't have an electric motor!

Most power tools use a series-wound universal motor, and this
type of motor can have a high power factor. But an induction
motor (such as in a fridge, or blower motor in a c/h boiler) can
have an awful power factor.

While in maplin the other day I picked up one of these:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?... ID=&doy=12m1

This measures volt, current (and can show watts etc) as well as keeping track
of kwh etc. One thing that surprised me was that it has a PF option that
shows you the power factor of whatever is plugged into it. For 12quid it
seemed a bargain so I picked one up. Haven't a clue how accurate it really
is but its a gadget :-) The manual that comes with it is not exactly
great either - nice engrish.

It seems to return about the correct values for my kettle and a couple of
smaller appliances. Also, it shows the kettle to have a PF of 1 near as
dammit (as I would expect) right down to my cordless drill charger which
it claims has a PF of .25. Its a cheapy wickes cordless with a 1hr
charger - I guess its plausible.

Not tried it on the fridge yet as that requires effort moving the fridge

Darren