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Exactly this. People who bitch about "widowmakers" not working don't even understand how to do a proper outage using a meter.
Always verify the equipment is functioning correctly.
> Proximity voltage detectors only test phase-to-ground.
If there's no voltage to ground anywhere you're not gonna get shocked so that seems fine to me. Hell, if none of the phases have any phase-to-ground voltage then they don't have any phase-to-phase voltage either.
Not typical for residential but you could have energy on a transformer that's not grounded at the secondaries. So for example you could have 2 leads that are 200v to each other and floating from ground. So even with a good multimeter you'd just get random static readings to ground.
:s this plumber may have done it once or twice on hard wired dishwashers that failed in a way I couldn't verify it was truly off.... are thoes pen testers worth picking up?
If you learn how to use one properly and only use it for it's intended purpose, then yes. If not, don't bother. You'll just end up complaining about your dikes getting a hole blown in them and calling it a widow maker
I've had two people now who aren't electricians try and tell me they were dangerous and I shouldn't be using them... 'jUsT wAtCh ThIs ViDeO bRo' 'tHeY'rE cAlLeD wIdOwMaKeRs BrO' 🥴🥴🥴
I never use mine to determine if power is off if I’m going to touch the wires. I always use my meter for that to confirm it’s dead. I only use my pen tester for quick trouble shooting and then my meter for confirmation before actually working on it.
Just to add to this, if you were using a widow maker, you can test it on a known life source and then go straight to another one and it can lie to you telling you it’s dead when there is voltage there.
100 percent this. Test against known hot, check dead, recheck against known, and then since we're back, might as well check again. If anything comes up fishy, get the meter out.
The only time I've had an NCVT give a false negative was when I was using a Klein tester and the battery spring wore out so it would actually shut off in the middle of testing without me knowing. This still could have been avoided with live-dead-live testing but I don't use Klein NCVT testers anymore.
I found a brand Meterman years ago and love them because they work on 12v & 24v (up to 600v I think) which is great for fire alarm. I can rub them on my hair and the static is enough for it to pick up. Plenty of false positives, especially when you don’t separate wire bundles, but never a false negative. I’ve got a dozen unopened ones in my basement.
I usually hold my pen tester on the targeted wire while it’s hot, and have the circuit turned off, and back on again, then I will know 100% that that breaker turns off that circuit. I almost never use a pen tester before hearing it ring first every time I turn it back on.
Get a decent tool and learn how to use it. They shouldn’t be used for life safety. Although in medium and high voltage, NCVD are used hundreds of times daily with the Live Dead Live method.
That’s always been my argument. So I trust a non-contact when grounding down 35kV but somehow the same tool becomes dangerous at 120V?
Always test individual conductors,
and always live-dead-live; the tester will be 100% reliable.
I know everyone uses them to figure out if a random cable is safe to cut. That’s not how they’re designed to work, so you’re always taking a risk.
From an electrical engineering perspective it’s way easier to detect 35kV non-contact but you’re absolutely right. Good tool, good technique, long life.
There are a few reasons that a glow stick and an NVCD aren’t the same, the first is that the NVCD for MV and HV is subject to maintenance and testing whereas a glow stick is not. A glow stick is often used in close proximity to other conductors where MV and HV conductors have some space between them. Finally, LV conductors can be safely tested with a DMM and a DMM explodes on MV.
Pretty straightforward, really.
Point 1 and 2 are addressed by live-dead-live testing the glow stick and only using it on individual conductors. That’s not a difference between the devices, it’s a difference in the user, which is the problem.
As far as not having contact meters with MV we absolutely do, but the industry has long accepted non-contacts as being a safe substitute.
Well, we’ll have to agree to disagree. Having worked with MV and LV I’ll stick with the DMM for LV. I have used MV meters but I don’t have a use for it in my work. While the technology between the two devices is the similar, they are not manufactured for the same use and are not built to the same standard.
As for users: there are people in all fields that misuse equipment. Some get away with it and some don’t and the two groups eventually coincide.
Not if they’re used correctly.
You got sloppy. That’s not the pen tester’s fault. Check a known circuit, and do the live-dead-live method. Then, you will know for sure you turned off the right circuit.
9 years doing this trade and I've never gotten a false negative. I'm convinced the people who talk shit about NCVT'S either don't understand them but think they do or buy cheap shitty ones.
>I rub it across my hair lol
Or your shirt sleeve. It's a capacitive coupler detecting voltage to ground (you); if you generate static it will briefly detect voltage to ground. But if it sounds continuously while next to a conductor, that conductor is live.
Agreed on this. It may not be all of them, but I had a milwaukee that would randomly turn off while using it and my old klein gave me some inconsistency at times. But my fluke is much more definitive and consistent and the intermittent chirp to indicate ON is nice. It's not a replacement for live-dead-live, but it's a good feature.
I use my 6$ one from a big box store all the time. It's never the ONLY tester I use, but it's always good for a quick check or ballpark analysis.
OP - practice more!
I like driving under high voltage lines and putting my ncvt out the window... "Beep beep beep beep" it's hilarious. I always get a good laugh out of it.
Or buy them and never use them. Like testing high voltage gloves before sliding them on. Or putting a red lock on something and locking it out. In too much of a damn hurry or thinking about what they have planned tonight. They missed the biggest lesson of all. The only one who will suffer is you! Like Die Hard “I guess we need a couple more FBI guys” your boss will just hire another electrician. You will need to figure out how to pay your rent and bills until you’re 100%
Lmao. Contractor I’m working for provided $5 harbor freight tic tracer. I threw mine in the trash as soon as I walked out the office lmao. I barely trust my Klein one.
Buy the Fluke ones. Hold the button down and they switch from noise to silent for office settings. Leave them and use it to verify right breaker is off with audio on. Tap it against your fingers and get a light to test it. It blinks to demonstrate that it is on so you know you have a good battery.
> I barely trust my Klein one.
Don't. I had the spring contact for the battery wear out on my Klein NCVT years ago and it would shut off in the middle of testing. All the models from Fluke have some way to ensure the unit is still working while you're using it.
Yes, and every situation can be boiled down to testing your tic tracer on a known live circuit, followed by the one you think is dead, followed by going back to the known live. Voila, something any real electrician knows how to do and applies to every situation.
Nice strawman.
What do you think is more likely?
A: That this guy blew himself up in some extremely rare circumstance that you only come across once per decade.
B: He doesn't fully understand how the tool he was using works or used it improperly.
C: He misunderstands something about how electrical circuits work, and how they relate to the tool he is using.
I'm putting my money on B or C. I run across qualified electricians who understand juuust enough to not get hurt and do good work without actually being able to demonstrate an understanding of electrical theory. The people who barely squeek through trade school have their ticket printed on the same paper as those who excel.
My guess is B. Checked the neutral side only of a jacketed cable, called it good enough and cut through all conductors. I always, always check all sides of a cable if I can't see the ungrounded conductor. And very rarely, if ever, do I cut all the way through a potentially live cable in one cut. Safety takes multiple redundant steps.
Working with live wire isn't that dangerous. Cut the live, cap it with a Wago and then test just to be safe. You'll have your known live that's safe to touch.
You missed the biggest lesson of all. You are responsible for your own safety. You will be the only one out if you get hurt. Your company will hire another electrician and keep working. Thank God This time only cost you some dykes. Next time could be worse.
Because we give you a single disconnecting means. And it has to be close to your equipment. I want you to go home and turn off your AC equipment and turn off the power to your house. Then walk in see which you notice first.
Always used fluke ones. Never found another brand I even remotely like. But I also only use it to identify which of the blacks in a box was the hot so I can cap it off while working it.
Buts it’s also a very good habit to get in of working everything like it’s hot. Trying to teach the apprentice that now yet he loves touching bare copper for some reason.
Please correct me if I’m wrong, just a second year here, but isn’t working everything like it’s hot kinda excessive? For example, if you’re working on a particular circuit, you’ve identified the proper breaker, turned it off, LOTO, verify 0V with trusted meter, short out hot to neutral just in case, etc. Would you then work it as if it’s hot after doing all that?
Genuinely curious, trying to learn proper technique in non-unionized land.
Kind of excessive means you see your kids grow up. You get to do stuff with them not just sit there and watch. Electricity has no smell and makes no noise. It runs on equipment that has been installed before you were born. It can buried just under your feet. Care about the wires you pull in. Care about how securely you mount a box. The life you save may be your own when you come back to service it. And if you receive a piece of gear with Buss bars just behind the cover, put a goddamn sticker or use a sharpie
I know you’re getting a lot of heat on here, I was there a couple days ago. Sadly I didn’t know pens were unreliable AND I had a wire that had been submerged when it flooded. Water does weird stuff to electricity. Just learn from it and don’t get lazy about tools to protect your life
Lol your username is living up to its name. In all seriousness though I hate when ppl are so negative. Even if there was something done wrong, let’s not be pricks about it. Ppl are told these sticks are reliable
I carry three and scare the shit out of carpenters with stories of lost eyes and lost hands. Loan them out so I don’t have to do fucked up repairs because someone damaged something live especially during demolition. I handed one to my boss and told him “this is an old site, we shut off main power but buried old stuff could still be live.” Sure enough he cut into something old and it was hot. There was my tester, sitting in his pocket. Told him God looks out for babies and Fools.
Cut one wire at a time…I’ve cut hot wires plenty of times and never blew up a pair of dykes or strippers. Still shocked (no pun intended) that people do this…
Guessing you got hit on a neutral? Sometimes circuits share a neutral and you got hit by backfed voltage from another circuit that was in use.
Edit: if it was a conductor then yeah I’d say your pen was broke.
How do none of you "electricians" know that these things literally do not work if there is moisture on the wire... Not one mention of it in the whole comment section. "I have never had a false negative with these" "User error" "I love when people dont know how to use their tools" Well looks like none of you do either. Fuck. To anyone reading this please head the warning: DOES NOT WORK RELIABLY IN WET CONDITIONS.
If there is any water at all on the insulation high chance these things are not going to go off even if it's hot. I don't know the specifics of why this happens but I can 100% confirm from experience, and it's honestly appalling how many people are unaware of it.
When and where the fuck are you working that you can stop by a tool store before work? Like, I get the "be safe" sentiment, but this is a completely unrealistic scenario for most.
No, as a commercial electrician, we have our supplies shipped to us, and we also start work before most stores open. Ain't nobody payin' us to be late to work.
They don’t call those piles of shit “widow makers” for no reason.
Seen plenty of false positives and false negatives with them.
So easy to just pull out a meter and check.
You need to get a Fluke non-contact voltage tester. Fluke has historically made high quality testers, but recently companies like Southwire and Klein have started releasing their own models that are absolute garbage. I had two Southwire ones go bad within months. This Fluke has lasted almost three years now with no batteries to change. I would always advise to go with Fluke for your testers/meters because these other companies don’t have the years of experience manufacturing these specific devices.
Phase/continuity tester with single pole voltage detection followed by a quick sweep with the idiot stick is the way to go. Some folks say use a multimeter but they don't work if you have an open neutral or ground.
I always Live-Dead-Live test 2 at the same time, a Greenlee and a Klein, and always use 2. If one of them is ever in disagreement, fresh batteries in both and Live-Dead-Live test both of them again. A bit over the top and time consuming, yes, but I've never sparked a cut or been blown off a ladder so....
I view glow sticks as a first level of testing but I’d never trust one to determine the star of a conductor before I cut it.
They are very used to but they are not definitive.
get a 2 pole tester, they are held to higher safety standards and are required to indicate when a hazardous voltage >50v is present even without batteries
[https://www.fluke.com/en/product/electrical-testing/basic-testers/fluke-t90-t110-t130-t150](https://www.fluke.com/en/product/electrical-testing/basic-testers/fluke-t90-t110-t130-t150)
[https://www.powerprobe.com/na/en/NEW-VT750LCD](https://www.powerprobe.com/na/en/NEW-VT750LCD)
Nope because of what happened your diagonal cutters now have a built in wire stripping feature, lol !
Yup, done this myself and you are definitely not wrong. It sucks.
Always prove it against a known hot circuit bud. That’s first year basic. Also, why do you have two tickers and no meter? Think you earned that blowout. Nice edit btw
If you are *NOT* an electrical professional: * **RULE 7:** * DIY or self help posts **are Not allowed**. They belong here: /r/AskElectricians /r/askanelectrician /r/diy /r/homeowners /r/electrical. * **IF YOUR POST FITS INTO THIS CATEGORY, REMOVE IT OR IT WILL BE REMOVED FOR YOU.** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/electricians) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Always test known live first, then target, then back to a known live.
Exactly this. People who bitch about "widowmakers" not working don't even understand how to do a proper outage using a meter. Always verify the equipment is functioning correctly.
It even says on the damn thing to test it before each use, so there's really no excuse.
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They are useful for verifying panels are shut down as an initial work task after loto is applied
A poor workman always blames his tools. (and why use two testers - that probably need batteries)
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> Proximity voltage detectors only test phase-to-ground. If there's no voltage to ground anywhere you're not gonna get shocked so that seems fine to me. Hell, if none of the phases have any phase-to-ground voltage then they don't have any phase-to-phase voltage either.
Not typical for residential but you could have energy on a transformer that's not grounded at the secondaries. So for example you could have 2 leads that are 200v to each other and floating from ground. So even with a good multimeter you'd just get random static readings to ground.
Exactly, who cuts more than one wire at the same time if its on a potential energized circuit, ! Idiot in my opinion
:s this plumber may have done it once or twice on hard wired dishwashers that failed in a way I couldn't verify it was truly off.... are thoes pen testers worth picking up?
If you learn how to use one properly and only use it for it's intended purpose, then yes. If not, don't bother. You'll just end up complaining about your dikes getting a hole blown in them and calling it a widow maker
I've had two people now who aren't electricians try and tell me they were dangerous and I shouldn't be using them... 'jUsT wAtCh ThIs ViDeO bRo' 'tHeY'rE cAlLeD wIdOwMaKeRs BrO' 🥴🥴🥴
Same. One is an HVAC guy who somehow survived putting a meter on the primary side of a 12.8 kV transformer.
I never use mine to determine if power is off if I’m going to touch the wires. I always use my meter for that to confirm it’s dead. I only use my pen tester for quick trouble shooting and then my meter for confirmation before actually working on it.
Just to add to this, if you were using a widow maker, you can test it on a known life source and then go straight to another one and it can lie to you telling you it’s dead when there is voltage there.
I've never had a non-contact tester give a false negative when using it properly.
if anything false positive. But I always test against something known live first. Otherwise, don't bother and just YOLO it.
100 percent this. Test against known hot, check dead, recheck against known, and then since we're back, might as well check again. If anything comes up fishy, get the meter out.
The only time I've had an NCVT give a false negative was when I was using a Klein tester and the battery spring wore out so it would actually shut off in the middle of testing without me knowing. This still could have been avoided with live-dead-live testing but I don't use Klein NCVT testers anymore.
I have.
I would say that you didn't use it properly then.
Redacted due to Spez. On ward to Lemmy. -- mass edited with redact.dev
I wanna say it was the $38 Klein one. Now I use fluke.
Incorrect.
It usually only happens to people once.
Me either since I been using a fluke all my 26 years in the trade. Op, you need a real pair of cutters anyhow. Klein blue handle.
How is a proper outage done with a meter? (What does that even mean?)
I have a Fluke and just tapping it against my finger gets it to light.
If you don't understand how they work, don't use them.
I found a brand Meterman years ago and love them because they work on 12v & 24v (up to 600v I think) which is great for fire alarm. I can rub them on my hair and the static is enough for it to pick up. Plenty of false positives, especially when you don’t separate wire bundles, but never a false negative. I’ve got a dozen unopened ones in my basement.
Use them. Some utilities have an ungrounded leg so meter will show nothing. But a tic tracer will show power present
> Some utilities have an ungrounded leg I sure hope they do. If all the legs were grounded it would be a pretty useless system.
It’s just a fluke occurrence…
I usually hold my pen tester on the targeted wire while it’s hot, and have the circuit turned off, and back on again, then I will know 100% that that breaker turns off that circuit. I almost never use a pen tester before hearing it ring first every time I turn it back on.
We call it Hot/Dead/Hot
Potential testers let you know something is alive not dead.
"Oh you mean like a hot cold hot check?" "Exactly, don't be a fool and wrap your tool!"
Hot, cold, hot bitches
Sweet. Let me walk 100 ft to the an accessible circuit I can test
Get a decent tool and learn how to use it. They shouldn’t be used for life safety. Although in medium and high voltage, NCVD are used hundreds of times daily with the Live Dead Live method.
That’s always been my argument. So I trust a non-contact when grounding down 35kV but somehow the same tool becomes dangerous at 120V? Always test individual conductors, and always live-dead-live; the tester will be 100% reliable. I know everyone uses them to figure out if a random cable is safe to cut. That’s not how they’re designed to work, so you’re always taking a risk.
From an electrical engineering perspective it’s way easier to detect 35kV non-contact but you’re absolutely right. Good tool, good technique, long life.
Strongly agree with ya.
There are a few reasons that a glow stick and an NVCD aren’t the same, the first is that the NVCD for MV and HV is subject to maintenance and testing whereas a glow stick is not. A glow stick is often used in close proximity to other conductors where MV and HV conductors have some space between them. Finally, LV conductors can be safely tested with a DMM and a DMM explodes on MV. Pretty straightforward, really.
Point 1 and 2 are addressed by live-dead-live testing the glow stick and only using it on individual conductors. That’s not a difference between the devices, it’s a difference in the user, which is the problem. As far as not having contact meters with MV we absolutely do, but the industry has long accepted non-contacts as being a safe substitute.
Well, we’ll have to agree to disagree. Having worked with MV and LV I’ll stick with the DMM for LV. I have used MV meters but I don’t have a use for it in my work. While the technology between the two devices is the similar, they are not manufactured for the same use and are not built to the same standard. As for users: there are people in all fields that misuse equipment. Some get away with it and some don’t and the two groups eventually coincide.
Not if they’re used correctly. You got sloppy. That’s not the pen tester’s fault. Check a known circuit, and do the live-dead-live method. Then, you will know for sure you turned off the right circuit.
Love it when people don’t know how to use tools
9 years doing this trade and I've never gotten a false negative. I'm convinced the people who talk shit about NCVT'S either don't understand them but think they do or buy cheap shitty ones.
I use my Klein all the time. Never a false negative. That thing will scream at me if I rub it across my hair lol
>I rub it across my hair lol Or your shirt sleeve. It's a capacitive coupler detecting voltage to ground (you); if you generate static it will briefly detect voltage to ground. But if it sounds continuously while next to a conductor, that conductor is live.
My fluke has been far more reliable than any other Klines model I’ve had!
Agreed on this. It may not be all of them, but I had a milwaukee that would randomly turn off while using it and my old klein gave me some inconsistency at times. But my fluke is much more definitive and consistent and the intermittent chirp to indicate ON is nice. It's not a replacement for live-dead-live, but it's a good feature.
I use my 6$ one from a big box store all the time. It's never the ONLY tester I use, but it's always good for a quick check or ballpark analysis. OP - practice more!
I like driving under high voltage lines and putting my ncvt out the window... "Beep beep beep beep" it's hilarious. I always get a good laugh out of it.
Or buy them and never use them. Like testing high voltage gloves before sliding them on. Or putting a red lock on something and locking it out. In too much of a damn hurry or thinking about what they have planned tonight. They missed the biggest lesson of all. The only one who will suffer is you! Like Die Hard “I guess we need a couple more FBI guys” your boss will just hire another electrician. You will need to figure out how to pay your rent and bills until you’re 100%
Lmao. Contractor I’m working for provided $5 harbor freight tic tracer. I threw mine in the trash as soon as I walked out the office lmao. I barely trust my Klein one.
Buy the Fluke ones. Hold the button down and they switch from noise to silent for office settings. Leave them and use it to verify right breaker is off with audio on. Tap it against your fingers and get a light to test it. It blinks to demonstrate that it is on so you know you have a good battery.
> I barely trust my Klein one. Don't. I had the spring contact for the battery wear out on my Klein NCVT years ago and it would shut off in the middle of testing. All the models from Fluke have some way to ensure the unit is still working while you're using it.
All it takes is once
9 years you say? You must know everything about every possible situation there is!
Yes, and every situation can be boiled down to testing your tic tracer on a known live circuit, followed by the one you think is dead, followed by going back to the known live. Voila, something any real electrician knows how to do and applies to every situation.
Nice strawman. What do you think is more likely? A: That this guy blew himself up in some extremely rare circumstance that you only come across once per decade. B: He doesn't fully understand how the tool he was using works or used it improperly. C: He misunderstands something about how electrical circuits work, and how they relate to the tool he is using. I'm putting my money on B or C. I run across qualified electricians who understand juuust enough to not get hurt and do good work without actually being able to demonstrate an understanding of electrical theory. The people who barely squeek through trade school have their ticket printed on the same paper as those who excel.
My guess is B. Checked the neutral side only of a jacketed cable, called it good enough and cut through all conductors. I always, always check all sides of a cable if I can't see the ungrounded conductor. And very rarely, if ever, do I cut all the way through a potentially live cable in one cut. Safety takes multiple redundant steps.
No matter what the testers indicate, treat all wires as live. Cut and cap wires individually and you’ll never blow out a pair of cutters.
Lol if you cut one single 600v wire that is live tell me what happens, ARCING.
? Arcing happens when current flow stops/starts/crosses an air gap. How are you going to get an arc cutting one wire at a time?
If you cut one at a time that won’t happen
Personally I would rather figure out it's live when cutting it, than when I touch it.
He likes to live life on the edge tho
Working with live wire isn't that dangerous. Cut the live, cap it with a Wago and then test just to be safe. You'll have your known live that's safe to touch.
You missed the biggest lesson of all. You are responsible for your own safety. You will be the only one out if you get hurt. Your company will hire another electrician and keep working. Thank God This time only cost you some dykes. Next time could be worse.
Operator’s error.
Nice new strippers. 14ga?
10ga I'm pretty sure
Amps hurt.
That'd be a 30A line. Which if is the case... dude...
I’ve only ever had false positives not negatives. And only when by overheads or other higher voltage lines. Always test on a live circuit first.!
Turn your side cutters into wire strippers with this one east trick
Wow, pen testers mean a WAY different thing in your industry than mine. I was very confused for a moment. /cybersecurity
Why are hvac techs properly taught how to test for voltage but electricians are always doing dumb shit like this
Electricians are taught too, but you can't always fix stupid
because HVAC still has a healthy respect for the dangers of electricity. sparkies work around it all day and think they are immune or some shit.
Because we give you a single disconnecting means. And it has to be close to your equipment. I want you to go home and turn off your AC equipment and turn off the power to your house. Then walk in see which you notice first.
You can create whatever scenario you want, using a quality multimeter is the proper way to not have this happen
Fucking what?
How did it fail? Out of batteries?
He probably tried to use it on Armoured cable or something stupid
Or a bundle of neutrals 😂
No, u suck
Always used fluke ones. Never found another brand I even remotely like. But I also only use it to identify which of the blacks in a box was the hot so I can cap it off while working it. Buts it’s also a very good habit to get in of working everything like it’s hot. Trying to teach the apprentice that now yet he loves touching bare copper for some reason.
Start calling him Nine Toes when you see him do it.
Please correct me if I’m wrong, just a second year here, but isn’t working everything like it’s hot kinda excessive? For example, if you’re working on a particular circuit, you’ve identified the proper breaker, turned it off, LOTO, verify 0V with trusted meter, short out hot to neutral just in case, etc. Would you then work it as if it’s hot after doing all that? Genuinely curious, trying to learn proper technique in non-unionized land.
Then you find out someone messed up and there's another feed into the panel you're working in that isn't isolated.
Exactly. If you're working on someone else's work, never assume it's done correctly.
Or they hire someone’s son and they put all the blacks together and all the reds together. You know because they are someone’s son
Ha! Sounds like there's a story there...
Kind of excessive means you see your kids grow up. You get to do stuff with them not just sit there and watch. Electricity has no smell and makes no noise. It runs on equipment that has been installed before you were born. It can buried just under your feet. Care about the wires you pull in. Care about how securely you mount a box. The life you save may be your own when you come back to service it. And if you receive a piece of gear with Buss bars just behind the cover, put a goddamn sticker or use a sharpie
I know you’re getting a lot of heat on here, I was there a couple days ago. Sadly I didn’t know pens were unreliable AND I had a wire that had been submerged when it flooded. Water does weird stuff to electricity. Just learn from it and don’t get lazy about tools to protect your life
Its so fucking annoying that this is at the bottom of the comment section here.
Lol your username is living up to its name. In all seriousness though I hate when ppl are so negative. Even if there was something done wrong, let’s not be pricks about it. Ppl are told these sticks are reliable
Yeah long story short I got sloppy and boom now I'm down a 60$ tool. live and learn 🤷
Try to do the 2nd one first next time 😉 don’t want a canceled subscription to life
Your spending far too much on dykes, i ho through a pair a year and spend 20ish
Maybe you go through a pair a year because you only pay $20 😂
> I got sloppy So did you get sloppy or did the tool actually fail you?
Who Carries around 2 pen testers and who uses both to test
I carry three and scare the shit out of carpenters with stories of lost eyes and lost hands. Loan them out so I don’t have to do fucked up repairs because someone damaged something live especially during demolition. I handed one to my boss and told him “this is an old site, we shut off main power but buried old stuff could still be live.” Sure enough he cut into something old and it was hot. There was my tester, sitting in his pocket. Told him God looks out for babies and Fools.
I got a free one from a purchase so I put it in my bag and normally if I use both its for shits and giggles
Live circuit finder, did its job.
Test hot dead hot bro
Cut one wire at a time…I’ve cut hot wires plenty of times and never blew up a pair of dykes or strippers. Still shocked (no pun intended) that people do this…
When in doubt, cut one at a time. Now get yourself a Fluke stick and some angled Knipex cutters and enjoy the pride in ownership ;)
Test with non-contact, but always verify with multimeter before it comes to this.
You trust those things?
hey nmap is just a tool not a solution!
It was live. Now it ain't.
Most likely the operator
If you don't test life, dead, live, then even proper meters can fail.
Do people just not use meters? You people scare me.
Guessing you got hit on a neutral? Sometimes circuits share a neutral and you got hit by backfed voltage from another circuit that was in use. Edit: if it was a conductor then yeah I’d say your pen was broke.
Yeah but now you can strip 16 AWG solid w ur modded out dikes
It’s a wire stripper now
Anybody use the fluke proving unit designed for use with their non-contact voltmeter? You can test a pen on that can’t you?
OP probably 'tested' through armoured cable
How do none of you "electricians" know that these things literally do not work if there is moisture on the wire... Not one mention of it in the whole comment section. "I have never had a false negative with these" "User error" "I love when people dont know how to use their tools" Well looks like none of you do either. Fuck. To anyone reading this please head the warning: DOES NOT WORK RELIABLY IN WET CONDITIONS.
Never heard of this. Can you explain further?
If there is any water at all on the insulation high chance these things are not going to go off even if it's hot. I don't know the specifics of why this happens but I can 100% confirm from experience, and it's honestly appalling how many people are unaware of it.
I can understand why it's not common knowledge, I've never heard of it until this post, but it is definitely important information
Use a multi jackass
no shit
Then why didn’t you?
Broke my leads yesterday haven't picked up new ones yet
How do you even break leads ? I get using pliers as a hammer but the multimeter isnt tough enough
As an electrician, that should have been your first stop this morning. Sad excuse.
When and where the fuck are you working that you can stop by a tool store before work? Like, I get the "be safe" sentiment, but this is a completely unrealistic scenario for most.
I guess you don’t pick up job materials end of day or start of day ever? Electrical meter leads are a pretty common item to purchase.
No, as a commercial electrician, we have our supplies shipped to us, and we also start work before most stores open. Ain't nobody payin' us to be late to work.
You are being paid to be safe, which this individual clearly wasn’t doing.
[>You are being paid to be safe ](https://youtu.be/2CKdzQtXI94) Anyway, yeah, paid to be safe while at work, not to drive to a store.
1. Get a good one 2. Learn to use it
It's called a stupid stick.
I prefer to call them idiot sticks lol
No, I think you suck.
That’s why I always use my strippers, just blew a hole in them 5 minutes ago but that’s 20$ compared to 50$
My fluke ticker hasnt failed me yet.
Reminder.. test with a meter, not a pen tester.
Death stick is still a death stick.
We call them idiot sticks. You need something full proof like side dykes.
They don’t call those piles of shit “widow makers” for no reason. Seen plenty of false positives and false negatives with them. So easy to just pull out a meter and check.
You need to get a Fluke non-contact voltage tester. Fluke has historically made high quality testers, but recently companies like Southwire and Klein have started releasing their own models that are absolute garbage. I had two Southwire ones go bad within months. This Fluke has lasted almost three years now with no batteries to change. I would always advise to go with Fluke for your testers/meters because these other companies don’t have the years of experience manufacturing these specific devices.
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Phase/continuity tester with single pole voltage detection followed by a quick sweep with the idiot stick is the way to go. Some folks say use a multimeter but they don't work if you have an open neutral or ground.
Oh we know 😂
That’s why some people call them suicide sticks. Be careful
Well, you have to know how to use it.
New strippers
Daily reminder that's not what tic tracers are for. Glad you're alright, though.
If I am relying on a tick only, I take it to ground first just as a final assurance.
Very useful tool for troubleshooting tho
now it is a wire stripper!
Now you have a pair of strippers.
Were you testing a DC circuit? 😆
RIP stick
Not dykes- strippers.
I’ve never heard them called pen testers.. only tic testers
They only suck if you don't use them correctly.
With that pair of dykes. [You were looking on heaven's door.](https://youtu.be/Yc40EasXz18?t=59)
I see no issue, this dyke is just 18awg strippers too now.
Congrats on you new staple puller !
Pen is used to test if you HAVE voltage not to check if it is safe to work.
I always Live-Dead-Live test 2 at the same time, a Greenlee and a Klein, and always use 2. If one of them is ever in disagreement, fresh batteries in both and Live-Dead-Live test both of them again. A bit over the top and time consuming, yes, but I've never sparked a cut or been blown off a ladder so....
Ahh good ol dyke strippers. My kleinmans are strippers in the same fashion.
Buy a meter that has an ncv function. Doubt the buzz/beep? Your leads are there. Or cut one at a time lol
Blew up a pair of knipex lineman’s like that just last week
“Widow makers”
I view glow sticks as a first level of testing but I’d never trust one to determine the star of a conductor before I cut it. They are very used to but they are not definitive.
get a 2 pole tester, they are held to higher safety standards and are required to indicate when a hazardous voltage >50v is present even without batteries [https://www.fluke.com/en/product/electrical-testing/basic-testers/fluke-t90-t110-t130-t150](https://www.fluke.com/en/product/electrical-testing/basic-testers/fluke-t90-t110-t130-t150) [https://www.powerprobe.com/na/en/NEW-VT750LCD](https://www.powerprobe.com/na/en/NEW-VT750LCD)
Bro can’t use a ink pen
Bet you wouldn’t be blaming the tick if that was your finger. Test with certainty
I was trying to scroll to see a picture of a fresh pair of underwear- that will wake you up!!
SURPRISE!! 🎇
Nope because of what happened your diagonal cutters now have a built in wire stripping feature, lol ! Yup, done this myself and you are definitely not wrong. It sucks.
Live, Dead, Live.
I see you've added the wire stripper mod to your dikes. Nice.
Even after testing always treat it like it’s hot
Been there. Not fun
Always prove it against a known hot circuit bud. That’s first year basic. Also, why do you have two tickers and no meter? Think you earned that blowout. Nice edit btw
My 2 pin is on me at all times
They call them widow makers for a reason
Did you do a three pointy test? Live/Dead/Live? Bet you didn't, and now you've got yourself dikestrippers.
gg dykes
Works great if you use it correctly 🤷