Neon / Mains Tester Screwdriver – Good or bad?

Alanp

I used to plug a lamp in the socket, turn off the fuse, check the light is out, then turn it on , check it’s on, then turn off again, check it’s off, the chances of the lamp being faulty are slim, I don’t use neon testers, instead I use a volt stick, a multi meter is a good idea too, when I was a sparky, my colleague said if you are insulated, you won’t get a shock if you touch a live wire, he then went on to prove this by touching a live wire, he kept his other hand by his side, and had rubber soled boots on, he didn’t get a shock..but I wouldn’t recommend doing that…!

Risteard

Simonon77 said:

Risteard said:

Simonon77 said:

Risteard said:

paperclap said:

Didn’t know you could pick these up this cheap!

So, multimeter or the plug socket tester?

Is there a preferred?

A GS38 compliant approved voltage indicator.

You will likely also need a proving unit.

Or for someone who is going to do very occasional home work on the odd socket, a multimeter is fine

I'm afraid the HSE wouldn't agree with you.

How many people doing DIY jobs at home really care about the HSE ? Common sense can work a lot better than slavishly following rules

It has nothing to do with slavishly following rules. Many people using equipment such as multimeters don't realise the potential risks associated with this, including the risk of explosion.

ThisIsWeird

ashe said:

I am a complete fanny when I do any electrical work and always try and avoid touching the wires but sometimes it feels unavoidable.

Yes. I, too, try and avoid touching bare wires, unless it's unavoidable such as when peeling back insulation to expose fresh wire. In such cases, my 'paranoid' test-touch of the bare wire is an assurance that I won't discover it is somehow live when a craft knife is half buried in the cable.

Obviously I isolate circuits and sometimes turn off the full power, and obviously I test this using the usual equipment - a test screwdriver or meter. My 'test-touch' is an absolute tobersuretobesure, and done with the confidence that the power is off. It's just a "if something weird has gone wrong, then I wish to know with a millisecond of whooops, and not with a bang or argh."

CSI_Yorkshire

ThisIsWeird said:

ashe said:

I am a complete fanny when I do any electrical work and always try and avoid touching the wires but sometimes it feels unavoidable.

Yes. I, too, try and avoid touching bare wires, unless it's unavoidable such as when peeling back insulation to expose fresh wire. In such cases, my 'paranoid' test-touch of the bare wire is an assurance that I won't discover it is somehow live when a craft knife is half buried in the cable.

Obviously I isolate circuits and sometimes turn off the full power, and obviously I test this using the usual equipment - a test screwdriver or meter. My 'test-touch' is an absolute tobersuretobesure, and done with the confidence that the power is off. It's just a "if something weird has gone wrong, then I wish to know with a millisecond of whooops, and not with a bang or argh."

I know of some companies' procedures that include, even after the "prove dead with appropriate tester" etc., a "poke it with a stick" clause to see if anything sparks.

binao

GDB2222 said:

FreeBear said:

Those neon screwdrivers are dangerous - If the resistor fails in short circuit, you can potentially get a lethal shock from the contact on the end. The non-contact testers can not be relied on to give a definitive yes/no.

Use a multimeter to check for voltage between live/eath, neutral/earth, and live/neutral. A socket tester is handy to check that the socket is wired up the right way round.

I agree that the neon screwdrivers are not a good idea.  In theory you could get a lethal shock. But, in practice, take a couple of precautions and they can’t give you a shock even if faulty:-

Wear trainers and gloves.

Don’t touch anything else.

Haven't read the complete thread but,

Neon screw driver 
Rubber gloves
Multi meter 
Socket tester 
Megger
Common sense 

Aware, e g,  some peeps think a ring main has to have 30A protection each end.

Most important, WOODEN STEPS.

Finally,  leave it to the experts.

ThisIsWeird

Is there a professional sparky on here who has not received a mains voltage shock at some point?

Hmm, didn't think so

Risteard

ThisIsWeird said:

Is there a professional sparky on here who has not received a mains voltage shock at some point?

Hmm, didn't think so

Having received an electric shock in the past doesn't guarantee that the next one won't result in electrocution or burns.

ThisIsWeird

I'm just saying, I bet even most pros, having carried out a reasonable (but clearly not complete) level of diligence, will still likely see them receiving the odd bolt.

So my tobesure test remains awesome

ashe

Section62 said:

ashe said:

If the unit is off at the consumer unit, what is the actual risk out of interest? Is it just that someone may have flicked it back on or can consumer units somehow not actually turn the power off?

I always turn the entire unit off rather than just that circuit as you never know what things are connected to - e.g we have some lights that spur off some plug sockets in the bed room. 

The risk, as implied by the second part of your post, is turning off a circuit  which you think is the right one, but in reality the point is part of a different circuit.

In an environment where there are other people there is also a risk of the power being turned back on by someone else, which is why 'lockout' devices are available.

Turning the consumer unit off may be helpful if there is doubt about which circuit needs to be isolated, but that in itself can be a false sense of security as the "main switch" might not isolate everything, and in some cases there may be more than consumer unit.

This is why it is important to de-energise the circuit(s) you will be working on in a way which allows them to be positively tested for dead, rather than using a method which relies on chance.  (e.g. the method involving observing that a light 'bulb' has gone out could be that a plug-top fuse or lamp has failed by pure coincidence)

Thanks - to clarify though if doing work in your own home, and confident no-one else is working on the consumer unit, and you're not doing anything like opening the back of a CRT TV and touching things that might have stored power, its generally safe?

e.g I know my home only has one consumer unit, and everything goes off when I flick the two main switches, although I flick the individual circuit switches as well. Are there other steps I should be doing, or is that overkill?

I do have a multimeter, but it isn't a £200 one and never got round to learning how to use it as shortly after getting it I read on a thread in here that if they're not up to certain standards, they're risky as well so didnt fancy using it to touch anything live. 

My current approach is I plug in a socket tester, turn the switch off at mains, then use a voltage detector to confirm nothing live where I am working. I then try avoid touching anything bare wire unless it cant be helped. I do worry when turning things back on though in case I've accidentally wired a live cable up to a metal light switch (not intentionally, but like something is loose and the earth has come away - unlikely I know!), so wouldn't mind knowing how to use the mustimeter to give piece of mind. 

For most major things I get an electrician in but lot of things like replacing a socket or putting a light in I am more than willing to have a go, but want to be armed with correct knowledge at all times. 

Simonon77

Yes, if you know you only have one consumer unit, and you turn off the main switch ( so cutting all power to the house ) you can be pretty sure everything is off, after all that is what they are for.

For it not to be someone in the past would have had to have added wiring between the meter before the unit, which would be very unlikely.

If you couple this with also testing the socket, and then testing the wiring when you take the cover off you can be 99.9% sure there is no electricity in the circuit. 

Despite what some electricians will tell you, you don't need hundreds of pounds of test equipment to work safely on the electrics as long as you are sensible.

Even if you do get a shock, it is unlikely to kill you ( I have had plenty ). You are a lot more likely to get killed driving your car to the shop than from changing a socket.