Quality volt stick

[ban-all-sheds]

Basically, my father-in-law comes over now-and-then to do a bit of electrical work. He is a retired electician and likes to use, what I call, a "volt-stick" now and then. BUT, he often forgets his.

Please, please, PLEASE find a way, with whatever tact you feel is prudent, to stop him doing that.

I have no idea what he is like in general terms, but as far as electrical work goes he is a doddery and dangerous old fool.

Sorry, but lives are at stake here - yours, his, his daughter's, his grandchildren if there are any.

A volt-stick is no use whatsoever for anything which requires it to be of use.

 

[PerranOak]

OMG

 

[JohnW2]

OMG

He is very well-intentioned, with 'his heart in the right place', but I feel moved to offer you, on behalf of him and the forum, an apology for his language - which I found shocking even by BAS standards!

Such devices do have their uses, but what your father-in-law needs to understand (and very probably does understand) is that they are not reliable enough to be used for confirming that a circuit is 'dead' before putting one's life on the line by working on it. Despite what BAS said, one would have to think quite hard to come up with credible scenarios in which anyone's life but his own would be at risk.

Kind Regards, John

 

[ban-all-sheds]

How about any one of the scenarios which could result from electrical work done by the sort of person who would use a volt stick.

 

[JohnW2]

How about any one of the scenarios which could result from electrical work done by the sort of person who would use a volt stick.

Those risks to which you refer have nothing to do with use of the volt stick, per se - but, rather, relate to your wild extrapolations/assumptions concerning someone about whom you know almost nothing. You don't even know for sure what he uses the volt stick for.

I think it needs to be the person who has never used a 'volt stick', neon screwdriver or suchlike who should throw the first stone - if there are any such people here.

Whatever, as I said (and as you may now see for yourself, in the light of day), your language was inexcusable, even by your standards.

Kind Regards, John

 

[Maxatoria]

If they want to make volt sticks useful they should include a temperature mode so that it'll tell you if your cuppa's too cold then at least it'll have a definite use and will be worth the space in a tool box

 

[JohnW2]

If they want to make volt sticks useful they should include a temperature mode so that it'll tell you if your cuppa's too cold then at least it'll have a definite use and will be worth the space in a tool box

I sometimes wonder. Like most people here, I preach the standard 'party line' about 'volt sticks', neon screwdrivers etc. - since it is really the only rational/safe thing to say. However, there are vast numbers of these products out there, some significantly priced and from very reputable manufacturers (like Fluke). What I sometimes wonder is how many of those who do the preaching have one in their toolbox, for what purpose they use these devices "which have no use" and, in general, how close their practising always is to their preaching.

Kind Regards, John

 

[333rocky333]

volt sticks are a usefull guide
But i use them in reverse, i prefer them lit and use them going off as a guide, but always in conjunction with a martindale 13700 tester

In situations where it may not be possible to use a two prong tester ie a chafed cable in a false ceiling or trunking if it lights then you are more aware to be cautious

I used to find them handy to confirm outputs from 12 volt transformers too and again a good quide to checking a transformer may be dead before removing cover to use a proper tester

Also in commercial where there is numerous switches its a handy tool that you can get someone even unqualified to safely hold near the light with no risk to themselfs why you wizz though the switches to eliminate them before testing with a proper tester.

They also come in handy where you cant access a suitable connection for your tester, we get a lot of blown out wires in bc holders, disturbing the fitting could result in the cable reshorting to earth and its not always practical to isolate all the lights, so you can get a rough guide if the voltstick goes off and on, before dropping the fitting to use a proper tester on the connector block
At the moment i dont possess one

 

[JohnW2]

volt sticks are a usefull guide...

I agree, and often use them, in the sort of manners you go on to describe (apart from the commercial ones), and imagine that many others probably also do. However, you will rarely find people admiting that here.

But i use them in reverse, i prefer them lit and use them going off as a guide, but always in conjunction with a martindale 13700 tester

Same here. In any walk of life, placing any reliance on the absence of something (information, data, 'warning' lights, symptoms etc.) is always very iffy - and dangerous if it is a safety-critical issue. Imagine if the standard tri-colour (or even bi-colour) traffic lights were replaced by single red lights!

Whatever, to brand anyone who uses a volt stick as "a doddery and dangerous old fool" is clearly totally unacceptable.

Kind Regards, John

 

[PerranOak]

... my father-in-law is none of those things!

 

[JohnW2]

... my father-in-law is none of those things!

With one possible exception, I don't think that any of us believe that we have any reason to think he is.

Kind Regards, John

 

[canduit]

I think volt sticks and neon screwdrivers are very useful. But shouldn't be the only type of tester in the toolbox. Use them to indicate a live circuit not a dead one.

 

[JohnW2]

I think volt sticks and neon screwdrivers are very useful. But shouldn't be the only type of tester in the toolbox. Use them to indicate a live circuit not a dead one.

Quite so. Stop if there is a red traffic light, but don't assume it's safe to proceed if there is no red light (and no green or amber, either)! They can, of course, produce 'false positives', but that's not the end of the world, since that constitutes erring in the right direction.

Kind Regards, John

 

[RF Lighting]

I have a fluke voltstick. Once you know it's limits and how it behaves in different scenarios, it's a very useful tool indeed.

 

[JohnW2]

I have a fluke voltstick. Once you know it's limits and how it behaves in different scenarios, it's a very useful tool indeed.

... and do I take it that you nevertheless don't regard yourself as "a doddery and dangerous old fool"?

Kind Regards, John