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Approved Voltage Indicator ?

Volt sticks are superb bits of kit if used within their limitations. Great for double checking borrowed neutral circuits for example, in fact great for double checking at any time. Plus they are non-contact, they glow and they beep. And can be used one handed and reached into places other bits of kit can't reach. I never chop, snip or touch a cable unless the Fluke has had a sniff to double check.

Another piece of kit I never leave home without is a Bosch DMF 10 Zoom detector. Great for sniffing out nails to double check which way the joists run under carpets when on site for an estimate. Need to learn when 'not' to trust it though.
 
Alas mine didn't. I'm a Makita man myself when it comes to drills. Not sure why. Always liked Bosch when I've used one. Think I just got one (Makita) and it stuck as it's always been good gear for me.
 
FingRinal said:
Volt sticks are superb bits of kit if used within their limitations. Great for double checking borrowed neutral circuits for example, in fact great for double checking at any time.
Click to expand...

How are they used to detect borrowed neutrals? Personally I don't like the idea of trusting something that lights up when rubbed on a wooly jumper.
 
I don't think the fluke testers satisfy the requirements of GS 38, the T2 ones I have seen don't have finger guards and some have great big lumps of metal on the tips.
 
Got a Di-Log voltage/continuity tester (very similar to the one pictured on TLC) the probes are shrouded (2mm showing) but these are removable for deeper terminals, such as on some MK gear.

The probes are not fused, but the unit itself is.

I generally trust it, however it has a habit of picking up the tiniest of voltages and indicates voltage present but not lights illuminate to indicate how much. As a continuity tester however it is very handy, it would be improved by the addition of push on croc-clips to the probes.

The megger is never far away when I need to be click-sure.
 
Just a little conjecture here - I suppose that the difference between a multimeter and a voltage tester (for checking dead), is that a multimeter has a high impedance input and will usually indicate a voltage in just about anything due to induced voltages or capacitive coupling, so is no good for testing for dead.

To prevent this it would be necessary for the voltage measuring device to also apply a load sufficient to reduce such voltages to a managably small level.

Looking at the spec of the device sold by TLC it seems to suggest that at 600 odd V the device draws 3 and a bit mA, which suggests a 200k resistive load. I assume this is how the testers become useful for dead testing.
 
I believe the main reason for using a 2 pole voltage detector instead of a multimeter is from a safety POV and to do with the a multimeter being easier to be set incorrectly or mis read.
 
How are they used to detect borrowed neutrals? Personally I don't like the idea of trusting something that lights up when rubbed on a wooly jumper.
Click to expand...

They aren't - directly. But when you disconnect a circuit from the board to ensure its isolation (L + N), who knows what might still be lurking? There have been quite a few electricians badly burned or killed after following text book safe isolation, only to find somethng somewhere was borrowed.

The Volt stick is a handy means of double checking at times when other means of double checking are not available or practicable.

Nothing is a 100% fail safe but the more things you have at your disposal, the safer you will be.

Have you never come across a neutral or live which 'lends itself' when a floorboard is stood on for example?
 

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