Electricians tools

[Bacon]

Never belived in them and have never used on or tried to use on never will,

Hence i gave mine to good home by the name of Steptoe.

 

[ProDave]

But nobody has answered what you use instead of a neon screwdriver? Please tell us so.

 

[alpha spark]

A gs38 recognised voltage tester

 

[ProDave]

A gs38 recognised voltage tester

Give me an example of one please

 

[alpha spark]

http://isswww.co.uk/VoltageContinuity-Probes/Fluke/Fluke-T51000-Electrical-Tester/

 

[ProDave]

So what happens if you want to test if something is live (like a light switch) but there's no neutral or earth to put the other probe on?

Do you take a long wander lead off to the nearest neutral?

 

[alpha spark]

Could use a variety of methods but none of them would be the use of a neon screwdriver

 

[sellers]

Also some flukes have an audiable alarm when one probe touches a live conductor, but usually I put it on the earth that should be in the backbox, if its not there I'll look for the nearest earth.

 

[steptoe]

Could use a variety of methods but none of them would be the use of a neon screwdriver

Just one example will do.

 

[sb_89]

Hang on a minute.... If you have no earth or neutral, how would u test with a neon screwdriver ? You need to be a reasonable earth for the neon to light, so if your stood on a wooden floor or wear rubber boots prodave has the same problem as someone with a set of multitesters.

I will admit I use non contact fluke pen as a secondary check, and it has saved me a shock once or twice over the years, maybe put one of them in your screwdriver set !

 

[alpha spark]

Could use a variety of methods but none of them would be the use of a neon screwdriver

Just one example will do.

My tongue

 

[ProDave]

Hang on a minute.... If you have no earth or neutral, how would u test with a neon screwdriver ? You need to be a reasonable earth for the neon to light, so if your stood on a wooden floor or wear rubber boots prodave has the same problem as someone with a set of multitesters.

A neon screwdriver only requires a TINY current to flow. So just touching a wall for instance will give a high impedance path to earth and will be good enough for the tiny current needed to light the neon.

 

[SteveT]

Thanks kerching ill take a look at one of those where do u get them fromeBay

 

[sb_89]

Hang on a minute.... If you have no earth or neutral, how would u test with a neon screwdriver ? You need to be a reasonable earth for the neon to light, so if your stood on a wooden floor or wear rubber boots prodave has the same problem as someone with a set of multitesters.

A neon screwdriver only requires a TINY current to flow. So just touching a wall for instance will give a high impedance path to earth and will be good enough for the tiny current needed to light the neon.

I disagree, a wall is not going to give u enough potential difference to light a neon, if it did then I could shove my testers on the same wall and get a reading of the voltage. I'm not 100% sure but don't you need a difference of 90v to light a neon ?

 

[SLIPSHOD & SLAPDASH]

I disagree, a wall is not going to give u enough potential difference to light a neon, if it did then I could shove my testers on the same wall and get a reading of the voltage. I'm not 100% sure but don't you need a difference of 90v to light a neon ?

I disagree, a neon needs such little current it will light.

Even after all the years i have been doing this is i still wonder how you can get a shock, when your standing on wooden steps, wearing rubber trainers, on a nylon carpet, with rubber underlay, on wooden floorboards, in a brick built house, on the 3rd floor ?

 

[londonfire]

I use a kewtech kewstick as a secondary. Also great for where you have no exposed parts. Found a faulty mcb with it last week just by tracing over the board till the light went off.

 

[wozz]

Cant remember the last time I wanted to test something and had no earth or neutral within reach!

 

[Marvo]

Even if you're at a remote class II device with just a live supply and a switched live out & no earth, if you're using a digital tester with high input impedance you could use the switch live wire as a neutral for test purposes as the resistance through the load it's supplying is immaterial compared to the tester input resistance. Otherwise a trailing lead from a known neutral/earth is better.

Neon screwdrivers needing very little current to light is also a problem, they will sometimes indicate a wire is live when there's nothing but a capacitively induced surface voltage, the kind of voltage that confuses apprentices when they see a 90 something volt reading on a digital meter that's testing a wire that's disconnected at both ends and can't understand why they get a 0 volt reading on the same wire with an analogue tester..

 

[kme]

Now there I have to disagree.

I`ve never known a neon to illuminate from capacitative induction - voltsticks and some meters can be fooled though.

 

[steptoe]

lets say you are in a loft and there is a buch of cables all taped together running the length of the loft before disappearing into a small void, and then you spy a solitary bare end of a single red sticking out, how do you test it?