I think the Kill-A-Watts are great. I own two of them. I would use one for everything except when the air conditioner is on. First, the Kill-A-Watt is specified at 15 amps max, and although the running amps are less, the starting amps can exceed this. Second, I once saw a scheatic of the internals of a Kill-A-Watt. My memory may fail me, but I think it sensed current by passing it through a low-value resistor, and measuring the voltage across that resistor. A shunt, in other words. And a shunt causes a voltage drop. A small one, to be sure, but in a situation where you are already marginal on voltage, an extra drop may not be a good plan.
The Kill-A-Watt also has an internal fuse. If you pop it, it is not a big deal - except that it is soldered in, and no one seems to know the value (I'd guess 20A).
Just my thoughts.
Bill
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