NERDS!

Lets go worst case scenario here. A Stern Pinball machine is guarded by an 8 amp fuse. 8 Amps times 120 volts (what comes out of the wall) times 24 hours is 23,040 is it was on 24x7 and drawing the max it could draw. 31 days in the longest month is 714,240 watt hours if it was drawing as much power as it possibly could 2487 for a month. The average residential rate in Allentown PA is 15cents per 1000 watt hour. 714.24 times .15 is $107.36… under the worst possible scenerio. In reality a pin with incandecents is going to be drawing 2 amps max in attract mode and around 4 amps during a game. If it is on 12 hours a day and played an additional 2 hours per day that works out to (12*2) + (2*4) 32 *120= 3,840, or just under 4 Kwh per day at 15 cents per watt or 60 cents a day. .60*31 = $18.60 per month… So $20 per month would be more realistic for a pin with incandecents. If you find average power draw on a Stern I'm guessing that number will come way down.

The math has been done before. He’s full of it.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/electricity-use-for-machines#post-3365266

Sterns idle around 1.0 amp in a 120v area that's 120 Watts

120watts x 24(assumed on non stop) hrs is 2880 watt-hours

a KILOWATT HR ia PA IS ABOUT 14.3 CENTS

SO 2880/1000 to find kilowatt hrs is 2.88 kw hrs

2.88 x 30 days is 86.4 kw hrs average month

86.4 x 14.3 cents is 12 dollars and 35 cents a month

Add a bit for the time they are being played.
Adjust for different amperage draw while idle every game is different

Assumed there are on 12hrs a day it's like 6 bucks a month,

Another option would be to install one of these $30 Kill A Watts. It tells you on an outlet how much juice is being used. Tell him you'll pay $.15 a KWH (or whatever his rate is) for the machine. If you have more than one there let him pick out the one it goes on and multiply. Would probably be cheaper than any estimate we come up with (minus the device itself).

https://www.amazon.com/P3-P4400-Electricity-Usage-Monitor/dp/B00009MDBU

(post deleted, I had posted exactly what the post above suggested)

Honestly, while I think the info above about actual reality is great, I don't see the justification for adding the electric cost to his commission. Are you calculating the commission on a net-profit basis? Or gross revenue? I suspect the latter. If so, commission on gross revenue is fair for him too.

If he wants you to pay for his electricity, then it's only fair that the commission be calculated only on how much you make on the machine after your expenses. Maintenance, upgrades, travel time, taxes, everything.

Be careful, I've melted two of those now. I never overloaded it, just testing things here and there. My current one even has a little melty plastic near the outlet. Never catastrophic, but concerning.

I have one I picked up from Home Depot a decade ago, still going strong.

I have two of those watt monitors. They work perfect. Picked them up a while back as we wanted to know what the arcade machines, TVs and dehumidifiers were drawing. I don’t remember what the exact numbers were but it was waaaaaaay less than we thought.

I feel like the two we bought were closer to $100 each and the old dehumidifier was pulling really hard on full blast and no issues

Sorry for the third post…. Also… If you’re worried about the price or don’t want to keep it. Just buy it from Home Depot and return it after a week and get your money back. Get a nice one either way

Why would he be concerned with a $225 profit per month? Talk about looking a gift horse in the mouth. Move on and find another client.

Yeah, no kidding. It's not like the space is actually costing them anything. It's pure profit, and probably even makes the ambiance better for their customers, so might even improve their overall business.

The power meters are handy, but if the location owner is griping about the electricity cost, I'm not sure I wouldn't put it past them to swap the meter with a different outlet that's drawing more power.

If using one, should make sure to get one of the cheaper ones that doesn't hold its memory when you unplug it, so that you can tell if it's been tampered with.

This ^^ Pay attention to your gut feeling. If things don't seem right, move on. Just because an establishment is busy and appears to be doing well doesn't mean that they are. It doesn't matter if it's a mom & pop, franchise or cooperate location.

I hope it's not the case, but maybe the location has cashflow problems and is penny pinching. To keep a business afloat these days one needs to pay attention to their costs and profit margins and make ruthless decisions to stay afloat.