Was in Morrisons today and they had these on the end of aisle display (where
they have bits of hardwear). Only 87p, not on special, just marked up as
87p.Not bad if you need a mains tester.

On Fri, 9 Mar 2012 23:58:49 -0000, "Road_Hog"
wrote:

Was in Morrisons today and they had these on the end of aisle display (where
they have bits of hardwear). Only 87p, not on special, just marked up as
87p.Not bad if you need a mains tester.

Providing that you _know_ how to use such a tester safely :-)

Not lighting up doesn't mean that there's nothing there; lighting up
doesn't always mean that a dangerous potential is present. A bit like
digital multimeters really, in the wrong hands!

I haven't seen neon screwdrivers for yonks. I used to have one in an
RS toolkit some 25 years ago.

--
Frank Erskine

Frank Erskine wrote:
On Fri, 9 Mar 2012 23:58:49 -0000, "Road_Hog"
wrote:

Was in Morrisons today and they had these on the end of aisle display (where
they have bits of hardwear). Only 87p, not on special, just marked up as
87p.Not bad if you need a mains tester.

Nasty dangerous things. Avoid.

Bill

On 10/03/2012 01:47, Bill Wright wrote:
Frank Erskine wrote:
On Fri, 9 Mar 2012 23:58:49 -0000, "Road_Hog"
wrote:

Was in Morrisons today and they had these on the end of aisle display
(where they have bits of hardwear). Only 87p, not on special, just
marked up as 87p.Not bad if you need a mains tester.

Nasty dangerous things. Avoid.

Bill
As a non electrician I would have thought it could add another bit of
safety. Even to change a socket I have to put the mains ring off then
check the socket is not live then I panick and put the complete mains
off then usually get my wife to double check and at that I still try and
avoid touching a wire while changing it.
But with one of the neon testers then if it lights before switching off
then doesnt light after switching off surely adds another safety zone.

But would be interested in the whats `nasty & dangerous` part.

On Mar 10, 8:05*am, ss wrote:
On 10/03/2012 01:47, Bill Wright wrote: Frank Erskine wrote:
On Fri, 9 Mar 2012 23:58:49 -0000, "Road_Hog"
wrote:

Was in Morrisons today and they had these on the end of aisle display
(where they have bits of hardwear). Only 87p, not on special, just
marked up as 87p.Not bad if you need a mains tester.

Nasty dangerous things. Avoid.

Bill

As a non electrician I would have thought it could add another bit of
safety. Even to change a socket I have to put the mains ring off then
check the socket is not live then I panick and put the complete mains
off then usually get my wife to double check and at that I still try and
avoid touching a wire while changing it.
But with one of the neon testers then if it lights before switching off
then doesnt light after switching off surely adds another safety zone.

But would be interested in the whats `nasty & dangerous` part.

http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?...on_screwdriver

NT

ss wrote:
On 10/03/2012 01:47, Bill Wright wrote:
Frank Erskine wrote:
On Fri, 9 Mar 2012 23:58:49 -0000, "Road_Hog"
wrote:

Was in Morrisons today and they had these on the end of aisle display
(where they have bits of hardwear). Only 87p, not on special, just
marked up as 87p.Not bad if you need a mains tester.

Nasty dangerous things. Avoid.

Bill
As a non electrician I would have thought it could add another bit of
safety. Even to change a socket I have to put the mains ring off then
check the socket is not live then I panick and put the complete mains
off then usually get my wife to double check and at that I still try and
avoid touching a wire while changing it.
But with one of the neon testers then if it lights before switching off
then doesnt light after switching off surely adds another safety zone.

But would be interested in the whats `nasty & dangerous` part.

Used as you are using it, with a check that it's working, is probably
OK. But people tend to just believe the thing with no other check at
all. That's where the danger lies.

My own check is to short out L & N before touching anything, and lock
the door of the room with the consumer unit. And I always wear gloves
even when I 'know' the circuit is dead.

Bill

On 10/03/2012 08:05, ss wrote:
On 10/03/2012 01:47, Bill Wright wrote:
Frank Erskine wrote:
On Fri, 9 Mar 2012 23:58:49 -0000, "Road_Hog"
wrote:

Was in Morrisons today and they had these on the end of aisle display
(where they have bits of hardwear). Only 87p, not on special, just
marked up as 87p.Not bad if you need a mains tester.

Nasty dangerous things. Avoid.

Bill
As a non electrician I would have thought it could add another bit of
safety. Even to change a socket I have to put the mains ring off then
check the socket is not live then I panick and put the complete mains
off then usually get my wife to double check and at that I still try and
avoid touching a wire while changing it.
But with one of the neon testers then if it lights before switching off
then doesnt light after switching off surely adds another safety zone.

But would be interested in the whats `nasty & dangerous` part.

I suspect you will get a few bites on this ;-)

Now, where does one start...

The main problem is that they give both false positives and false
negatives. Hence if you rely on them you can end up thinking a
de-energised circuit is still live, or more worryingly, end up believing
a live circuit is safe.



--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

In message , Bill Wright
wrote
Frank Erskine wrote:
On Fri, 9 Mar 2012 23:58:49 -0000, "Road_Hog"
wrote:

Was in Morrisons today and they had these on the end of aisle
display (where they have bits of hardwear). Only 87p, not on
special, just marked up as 87p.Not bad if you need a mains tester.

Nasty dangerous things. Avoid.


They are OK as long as you are wearing Wellington boots and keep one
hand in your pocket.

--
Alan
news2009 {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

On Sat, 10 Mar 2012 08:42:13 +0000
Alan wrote:

They are OK as long as you are wearing Wellington boots and keep one
hand in your pocket.

Thus ensuring that it doesn't light up when you touch it onto a live
wire, leading you to believe it's safe to work on.

--
Mike Clarke

On 10/03/2012 08:42, Alan wrote:
In message , Bill Wright
wrote
Frank Erskine wrote:
On Fri, 9 Mar 2012 23:58:49 -0000, "Road_Hog"
wrote:

Was in Morrisons today and they had these on the end of aisle
display (where they have bits of hardwear). Only 87p, not on
special, just marked up as 87p.Not bad if you need a mains tester.

Nasty dangerous things. Avoid.


They are OK as long as you are wearing Wellington boots and keep one
hand in your pocket.

What, you mean they're safe for Freemasons?

David

That depends on whether you mean because people don't use them properly or
if teir design is suspect. The point is that the blade before the
screwdriver bit has to be sheathed and ther needs to be a metal contact on
the handle on the opposite side of the neon of course, and thus pretty safe.
We could have a discussion about making everything100 percent safe, which
would be impracticale.
I can remember a neighbour using one of these which proved his caravan was
live.... Brian

--
Brian Gaff....Note, this account does not accept Bcc: email.
graphics are great, but the blind can't hear them
Email:
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________


"Bill Wright" wrote in message
...
Frank Erskine wrote:
On Fri, 9 Mar 2012 23:58:49 -0000, "Road_Hog"
wrote:

Was in Morrisons today and they had these on the end of aisle display
(where they have bits of hardwear). Only 87p, not on special, just
marked up as 87p.Not bad if you need a mains tester.

Nasty dangerous things. Avoid.

Bill

Bill Wright :
Frank Erskine wrote:
On Fri, 9 Mar 2012 23:58:49 -0000, "Road_Hog"
wrote:

Was in Morrisons today and they had these on the end of aisle
display (where they have bits of hardwear). Only 87p, not on
special, just marked up as 87p.Not bad if you need a mains tester.

Nasty dangerous things. Avoid.

I use one as part of a safety sequence. The only reason I include the
screwdriver test is because the screwdriver is already there (for
screwing screws), it costs nothing to use it, and if the result is not
as expected, I need to check everything again.

--
Mike Barnes

Road_Hog wrote:

Was in Morrisons today and they had these on the end of aisle display (where
they have bits of hardwear). Only 87p

I was happy to spend the extra £12.67

http://www.screwfix.com/p/p/56462

Tim Streater wrote:

Andy Burns wrote:

http://www.screwfix.com/p/p/56462

Any particular reason you paid more than £13 for what could be done with
a screwdriver with a built in resistor and neon?

Because it's a self-powered, non-contact voltage detector ...

On 10/03/2012 10:26, Tim Streater wrote:
In article ,
Andy Burns wrote:

Road_Hog wrote:

Was in Morrisons today and they had these on the end of aisle
display (where
they have bits of hardwear). Only 87p

I was happy to spend the extra £12.67

http://www.screwfix.com/p/p/56462

Any particular reason you paid more than £13 for what could be done with
a screwdriver with a built in resistor and neon?

The screwdriver needs contact with a live part, the volt stick is non
contact.


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On 09/03/2012 23:58, Road_Hog wrote:
Was in Morrisons today and they had these on the end of aisle display (where
they have bits of hardwear). Only 87p, not on special, just marked up as
87p.Not bad if you need a mains tester.

Not bad if you need a screwdriver, *very* bad if you need a mains tester!



--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On 09/03/2012 11:58 PM, Road_Hog wrote:
Was in Morrisons today and they had these on the end of aisle display (where
they have bits of hardwear). Only 87p, not on special, just marked up as
87p.Not bad if you need a mains tester.


Big issue is failure mode ... if neon or resistor fails ... no light,
could lead you to think there is no power when there is.

Like another poster my last one was part of a tool kit 30 yrs ago ..

On Mon, 12 Mar 2012 19:17:38 +0000, Rick wrote:

On 09/03/2012 11:58 PM, Road_Hog wrote:
Was in Morrisons today and they had these on the end of aisle display
(where they have bits of hardwear). Only 87p, not on special, just
marked up as 87p.Not bad if you need a mains tester.


Big issue is failure mode ... if neon or resistor fails ... no light,
could lead you to think there is no power when there is.

Like another poster my last one was part of a tool kit 30 yrs ago ..

Wasn't there a mantra ... test the tester, test the circuit, test the
tester ?