testing for power

Joined
22 Nov 2009
Messages
50
Reaction score
0
Location
Leeds
Country
United Kingdom
Am I right in thinking that when testing wires with an electric testing screw driver. Its only the live wire that will make the end of the screw driver light up?
 
Am I right in thinking that when testing wires with an electric testing screw driver. Its only the live wire that will make the end of the screw driver light up?

No you don't. :twisted:
Put the screwdriver in the bin, dangerous pile of shyte and use proper test equipment.
ie Voltage indicator or multi- meter
 
Am I right in thinking that when testing wires with an electric testing screw driver. Its only the live wire that will make the end of the screw driver light up?

No you don't. :twisted:
Put the screwdriver in the bin, dangerous pile of shyte and use proper test equipment.
ie Voltage indicator or multi- meter

Say it as it is :lol:
 
Am I right in thinking that when testing wires with an electric testing screw driver. Its only the live wire that will make the end of the screw driver light up?

No you don't. :twisted:
Put the screwdriver in the bin, dangerous pile of shyte and use proper test equipment.
ie Voltage indicator or multi- meter
Don't put in bin the neon screwdriver is a good safety device which can high light when errors have been made.
However it is NOT a piece of test equipment. It relies on the general earth system to work and this is not good enough to reliable show if anything is live. There are neon testers which will do this. Martindale sell a range but the same applies to the these
R615501-02.jpg
and these
R254099-12.jpg
they are only good to show when power is there and are no good to show when it is not.
These
R0203748-01.jpg
would be allowed but the proving units
R410006-01.jpg
has no 13A socket so really the whole kit
R375164-91.jpg
is required. Proving dead is harder than proving live and neutrals are a real problem and I always used a clamp on meter to check for any current before removing any wire.
Ionisation is very rare but when it does happen the results are deadly. When the old style light bulb blows sometimes it goes with a flash and trips the MCB this is caused by ionisation inside the bulb. With 32A as supplies 13A sockets it has enough force to blow sockets off the wall. With the main incomer it can blow you a few feet. If you see all the rubber gloves and goggles etc used to work live you would realise what it can do.
So yes neon screwdriver is very good for pointing out mistakes. I use one. Very good with borrowed neutrals where cable is not live until you start to disconnect. But it is no good to prove dead. I will admit I don't always use a proving unit but I do test the tester before I disconnect and I use a tester with two wires and which can't be switched off. In other words not my test meter.
But to tell people to dispose of the second line of protection and to dump neon screwdrivers is folly they do have their use. However since they do connect to your body to work I always used good quality ones from RS or other quality outlet not cheap imports.
 
ok I just wonderd as I removed my old electric shower that was working ok just dated. Tested the electrics it light up when touched the live but not when I touched the neutral
 
What you want is something like this.

While Eric's advice is correct, it isn't practical to expect a DIYer to purchase and use a proving unit. Instead, it would be good practice to check your test equipment on a known live supply on a regular basis to prove that it's working. This should really be carried out before and after testing any circuit, but it rarely happens in the real world.

While the neon screwdriver is useful as a last ditch safety device in alerting you to a live circuit when you go to undo a terminal, they aren't actually particularly good terminal drivers, so you may as well throw it away. Although I've never heard of it happening, there is also the remote risk of an internal failure linking the screwdriver tip to the metal end cap. Put that onto a live supply and it could be curtains.

Not only that, 99% of the time you want to measure between two known points, rather than down to the general mass of earth.
 
Ok thanks for for your advice, Just checking the splash gaurd that comes with the mira sprint shower. Does that just stop in the place it is. I am just asking as it seems pretty pointless and not protecting much.
 
It s a piece of thinish plastic that comes slide between the heating element of the shower and the electrical cables
 

If you need to find a tradesperson to get your job done, please try our local search below, or if you are doing it yourself you can find suppliers local to you.

Select the supplier or trade you require, enter your location to begin your search.


Are you a trade or supplier? You can create your listing free at DIYnot Local

 
Back
Top