Hi

Are these things worth having
http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?...45560&doy=31m1

I really only want to know if a cable is live or not - two reasons, one is
fault finding the other is safety.

If they say a cable isn't live - is that always 100% risk your life on it
true?


--
Dave
The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
...
Hi

Are these things worth having
http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?...45560&doy=31m1

I really only want to know if a cable is live or not - two reasons, one is
fault finding the other is safety.

If they say a cable isn't live - is that always 100% risk your life on it
true?

(guesses)

If it showed live, then I switched a circuit off, and it showed "off" with
the thing put in the same place, I'd probably trust that.

I'll await more experienced comments though...

cheers,
clive

On Wed, 31 Jan 2007 22:15:20 -0000, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:


I really only want to know if a cable is live or not - two reasons, one is
fault finding the other is safety.

If they say a cable isn't live - is that always 100% risk your life on it
true?

If they say there are no volts there usually are not - the problem is
that they detect volts - not power - so often say the circuit is live
because of trivial leakage when it isn't so you start to disbelieve
them. The result is well documented and predates electric power - go
read the story of Brer Rabbit and the thorn bush or the little boy
who cried wolf.

"I'm sure it isn't really live" - eeekk...

For low impedance circuits you really need a low impedance test set.
A couple of 15W bulbs in parallel and a pair of leads is often much
more reliable than a box full of electronics.

--
Peter Parry.
http://www.wpp.ltd.uk/

Reliable?...most of the time! certainly NOT 100%. They are very
difficult to see in sunlight, a better version made by VoltStick also
emits a sound [other makes available but we use VoltSticks]
A decent one will even tell you which side of a Twin & CPC cable is the
live through the outer covering. Handy for tracing breaks in flexes and
cables. Will not work through SWA or any metallic sheath [obvious
really].
Also available is MagStick which senses a magnetic field, handy for
checking solenoid valves.
Whichever you decide on DONT trust your life to it, they are handy for a
quick check only. Work on the premise that 'even when you are sure it
is dead treat it like it is still live!'
Always 'prove' it before and after a test.

HTH


--
Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG

On Wed, 31 Jan 2007 23:15:24 +0000 (UTC), "Grumpy owd man"
wrote:

Reliable?...most of the time! certainly NOT 100%. They are very
difficult to see in sunlight, a better version made by VoltStick also
emits a sound [other makes available but we use VoltSticks]
A decent one will even tell you which side of a Twin & CPC cable is the
live through the outer covering. Handy for tracing breaks in flexes and
cables. Will not work through SWA or any metallic sheath [obvious
really].
Also available is MagStick which senses a magnetic field, handy for
checking solenoid valves.
Whichever you decide on DONT trust your life to it, they are handy for a
quick check only. Work on the premise that 'even when you are sure it
is dead treat it like it is still live!'
Always 'prove' it before and after a test.

I'd second that. Worth it for "tracing the break in flex" alone.

Wouldn't trust my life to it.



Thomas Prufer

On Wed, 31 Jan 2007 22:15:20 -0000, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:

|Hi
|
|Are these things worth having
|http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?...45560&doy=31m1
|
|I really only want to know if a cable is live or not - two reasons, one is
|fault finding the other is safety.
|
|If they say a cable isn't live - is that always 100% risk your life on it
|true?

When I was a apprentice Electricians Mate the rule was "Put the fuses in
your pocket" Otherwise use a multimeter.
--
Dave Fawthrop dave hyphenologist co uk Google Groups is IME the *worst*
method of accessing usenet. GG subscribers would be well advised get a
newsreader, say Agent, and a newsserver, say news.individual.net. These
will allow them: to see only *new* posts, a killfile, and other goodies.

"Dave Fawthrop" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 31 Jan 2007 22:15:20 -0000, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:

|Hi
|
|Are these things worth having
|http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?...45560&doy=31m1
|
|I really only want to know if a cable is live or not - two reasons, one
is
|fault finding the other is safety.
|
|If they say a cable isn't live - is that always 100% risk your life on it
|true?

When I was a apprentice Electricians Mate the rule was "Put the fuses in
your pocket" Otherwise use a multimeter.

Mind you, that isn't always foolproof - I've worked on three phase where
someone had managed to wire it up so that the fuses were bypassed.
Fortunately, I was using an insulating floor mat and following the other
rule of never touching anything except the terminals you are working on. It
was only later, when I was following an odd cable that I discovered I had
spent an hour or so working on live equipment.

Colin Bignell

On Wed, 31 Jan 2007 22:15:20 +0000, The Medway Handyman wrote:

Hi

Are these things worth having
http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?...45560&doy=31m1

I really only want to know if a cable is live or not - two reasons, one is
fault finding the other is safety.

If they say a cable isn't live - is that always 100% risk your life on it
true?

You can risk your own life on it Dave ;-)

As others have said they have their uses. I have one that has a slider
control for sensitivity and a buzzer as well as an LED. Unfortunately I
can't remember where I got it - possibly TLC or CPC. I use it to tell if a
particular cable is live without having to get at the conductors in it.
It's not foolproof: a completely disconnected cable running parallel to a
live one will pick up enough induced energy to operate the tester.

I use a neon screwdriver to tell me if I really shouldn't touch a
particular cable or terminal (and a quick flick of a dry finger, standing
in dry rubber-soled shoes on a dry floor before grabbing hold of it!)
Actually I sometimes have to lick my finger before putting it to
the end of the neon tester to get it to light up since there's usually too
little conductivity when everything's really dry.

A neon tester can light from the current through high-value resistors
in things like motorised valves in central heating controls. To
properly test these I use a 2-probe tester with a couple of LEDs (wired
presumably through a big resistor in the handle of the probe) which will
definitely only light up if there's really a fairly serious circuit
energised. (You also get only one LED lighting up if it's rectified AC such as across
the motor of a spring-return zone valve in the holding position - e.g.
http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/images/5/5...lve_wiring.gif)