Ammeter / Amp Gage

[cmillsap]

Anyone have a source for the black round A/C ammeters (0 to 50A scale)
above the entry door on an LXi and others. Neither Parliament nor I have been able to find one. The bezels match the volt meters on the same panel.

[davidbrady]

Hi Chuck,

Did you switch the two meters to see if it's the gauge?

You probably know that it's a Beede instrument. I bought a spare from Wanderlodge way back when, but I'm away from the garage for about a week.

Maybe a pic sent to Beede might help. If it's the gauge and if it's out-of-stock, they can probably replace the mechanism.

[cmillsap]

Thanks, David,

Yes, I did switch them. Parliament said thar Beede doesn't make that ammeter anymore. I think I will need to find a source where I can buy a matching set and replace both meters. DC ammeters are easy to find but the AC ammeter with a 50 amp scale is not. The only ones I've found are made in China and they want a large minimum order. But I am going to check directly with Beebe....

[davidbrady]

This site talks about movements. Looks like they work in quantities, but it might be worth giving them a call: Mod-Tronic Instruments Ltd.

[cmillsap]

Here's the response I received from Beebe Instruments. So we will have to find an alternate source for our gages.
-------------------------------------------------------------

Good afternoon Chuck,

We no longer manufacture this type of product. All panel meter and Meter relay product became obsolete 6 years ago with no replacements. You can check with Hoyt Electric or Jewell Instrument to see if they can help.

Best regards,

Wanda Foote

Beede Instruments

Customer Service

Phone 603.753.6362 X201

Fax 603.753.6201

WWW://BEEDE.COM

[davidbrady]

(06-24-2013 15:35)cmillsap Wrote:  Here's the response I received from Beebe Instruments. So we will have to find an alternate source for our gages.

Well that stinks!

I spent some time today searching for meters and movements. Finding a replacement that matches isn't an easy task. I wouldn't rule out swapping the movement from some other meter. There are a bunch of sites out there that talk about this. I haven't spent enough time on it to see if there are repair centers that are willing to do this work. What we're looking for is a replacement "panel meter" to measure AC current. In my searches I stumbled across this illuminating article on panel meter movements.

[RBBuscher]

At this point would you not be better to just install a digital amp/volt meter?

[cmillsap]

(06-24-2013 17:56)RBBuscher Wrote:  At this point would you not be better to just install a digital amp/volt meter?

That may be an option but there are 4 meters on the panel; 2 for voltage & 2 for amperage, i.e. one volt & one amp meter on each leg. All these meters are identical in shape & size. One odd digiital meter among the other three would not be great. Maybe replacing two of the same meters may not look too bad. I can get the ammeter but the bezel will not match the other 3 meters. So a minimum of two may be less noticable.

As David said, it may be possible to switch the new meter's internal mechanism to the old meter's body but I haven't measured to see if they would be the same size.

Here's a link to the only meter that I have found that is similar in size and design..

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Analog-Round-AMP...2740wt_932

Chuck

[davidbrady]

Here's another one Chuck: Simpson Electric (Graingers), and their home page Simpson Electric. Better prices here.

Hoyt , Simpson , A&M have theirs, and there's a few to choose from here at Weschler.


  round_datasheet.pdf (Size: 1.58 MB / Downloads: 711)

  Industrial-and-Military-Panel-Meters.pdf (Size: 157.69 KB / Downloads: 742)