Screwdriver with neon electricity tester

[Road_Hog]

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.

[Frank Erskine]

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.

[Bill Wright]

Nasty dangerous things. Avoid.

Bill

[ss]

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.

[Alan]

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

[Andy Burns]

I was happy to spend the extra £12.67

[Bill Wright]

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

[Mike Clarke]

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.

[Lobster]

What, you mean they're safe for Freemasons?

David

[Tim Streater]

a screwdriver with a built in resistor and neon?

[Andy Burns]

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

[Brian Gaff]

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

[Owain]

No, because it might have broken in the meantime.

You should be testing the tester, testing the circuit for live, then testing the tester again.

Except that neon screwdrivers are so hit and miss they're completely useless and all they can do is give a false sense of security.

Apart from when they fall apart in your hand.

They really should be banned. I'd rather work live and just be very very very careful about only holding the wires by the plastic bits.

Owain

[John Rumm]

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

[John Rumm]

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.

[Bill Wright]

Bill

[John Rumm]

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

[kent]

Can you recommend any gloves which will do the job but aren't too bulky?

[John Rumm]

Proper live working gloves are not particularly small and neat:

[kent]

Thanks. So not cheap for occasional use by a DIYer.