Quality volt stick

[PerranOak]

I'd like to get a quality volt stick for normal domestic use.

The one I had from Screwfix became erratic!

Any suggestions as to the best (not cheapest) one please?

Cheers.

 

[Johnmelad]

I'd like to get a quality volt stick for normal domestic use.

The one I had from Screwfix became erratic!

Any suggestions as to the best (not cheapest) one please?

Cheers.

None of them are reliable for testing live/dead. They have their uses but you need to know how and where to use them. You would be better off with a touch tester.

 

[BigJon]

As above, they have their uses but a multimeter/testlamps is your best bet.
FWIW I've got this one from maplin which is quite good.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/non-contact-ac-voltage-detector-45560

 

[PerranOak]

So, when a cable is buried in a wall, say, you can't use a meter surely!?

 

[GaryMo]

I have both a Fluke 1AC and a 2AC.
Both are about the best volt sticks I've used and pretty reliable though take the advice above if you're considering one for isolation of supplies.

 

[ericmark]

This click on picture for link is likely the best no contact tester to detect both voltage and magnetic activity.

Most of the cheaper version use a simple read switch which is prone to damage by any shock.

The non contact testers go to silly lengths the CAT tester

can detect cables at quite a distance but not really a DIY tool.

There is of course a limit to which any non contact device can work and to detect mm by mm a cable buried is very different to inch by inch or foot by foot and much depends on what you want to do with the tool.

Clearly to prove dead one would never use a no contact tool so the question must be raised what do you want to detect?

 

[GaryMo]

So, when a cable is buried in a wall, say, you can't use a meter surely!?

And in many cases you won't use a volt stick either as they generally wont read though plaster and the like.

 

[ricicle]

Di-LOG PL107N. Best around IMO.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

So, when a cable is buried in a wall, say, you can't use a meter surely!?

No.

But why do you want to use anything on a cable in the wall?

 

[westie101]

The only one we are allowed to use are made by this lot. Not designed to prove dead but to identify the neutral to check polarity

http://www.eatechnology.com/product-catalogue

 

[PerranOak]

Sorry all, bad explanation from me.

I mean digging around in a wall, find and expose a plastic coated wire. Is it live?

Installing an exterior light, two cables under the roof. One is live?

Is the cable to an appliance live?

They seem to be a one-stop solution to such things!?


EDIT: do these things have a "proper" name rather than volt stick?

 

[Aragorn84]

Given the random nature of your "found" cable, whats to say that while its dead at the moment, it wont become live some time later?

Surely better to properly trace the cable, and find out what its for, than to trust some device telling you its dead, only for some thermostat/timer/FCU/Lightswitch to make it live some time later, like right when your touching the bare conductors...

 

[PerranOak]

I'm sorry but I must've been a complete numpty and not explained myself properly with all of my "examples"!

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.

So, I want to get one for him to use when he comes over.

I don't need a piece of equipment that would have pride-of-place in a nuclear power plant but, equally, I don't want the old-boy to blow his trousers off!

Is that clearer? Sorry for the confusion.

 

[Iggifer]

I personally use:

http://www.fluke.com/fluke/uken/Electrical-Test-Tools/Electrical-Testers/Fluke-1AC-II.htm?PID=56048

but I don't use it for testing for dead, I use it for circuit identification & then test for dead properly. But if your Dad is happy to use one, can't go too far wrong with Fluke

 

[martinxxxxxx]

Di-LOG PL107N. Best around IMO.

I am so glad that you came up with that, it is what I use.
I like that at least you can say that the battery is live (it glows when you press the button, with no volts around) and then when you put it near volts it sings.
Would not trust it at all apart from slight indication, but use ful when identifying circuits, by cycling the power, don't ever use one of these to test for dead - use an approved lamp.