Screwdriver with neon electricity tester

And won't get penetrated by a sharp bit of wire...

Reply to
Dave Liquorice
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Hmmm. I read the article in the DIY-wiki, sounded rather as if it had been written by a council jobsworth.

But then I'm not using such a device every day.

Reply to
Tim Streater

Doesn't it light up using your capacitance?

I've never had one not light up, even when I know I'm insulated by my footwear.

You are touching the little metal bit on the handle aren't you?.....

Reply to
Lieutenant Scott

I sometimes touch the live quickly by brushing it with my finger, so if it is live I'll just get a tingle. Or touch the live and neutral (or earth) together so if it is live then I'll just get a big spark and blow the fuse.

Reply to
Lieutenant Scott

work."

Looks like most electricians I've seen ignore this "law" then.

Reply to
Lieutenant Scott

Ones that won't let a sharp wire pierce through?!?

Reply to
Lieutenant Scott

Indeed.

Reply to
Lieutenant Scott

That is proof that you are a first class k*****ad.

Reply to
ARWadsworth

No, it's a good way to check, without requiring further tools, which are undoubtedly in a toolbox at the other end of the house.

Reply to
Lieutenant Scott

In message , Lieutenant Scott writes

You are joking of course, no sane person deliberately sets out to get an electric shock or to blow a circuit.

But joking about it is not a good idea, someone may actually take you at your word and try it.

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Reply to
Bill

Well it works well for me. Perhaps you should read more carefully, I use it to CHECK. Tripping the thing by shorting it isn't a good idea, as I have fuses, and I'd need to replace the fusewire! It's a good way to make it certain in my mind that I really did pull the right fuse.

Reply to
Lieutenant Scott

In message , Lieutenant Scott writes

Sorry, I did read what you wrote. You said "it's a good way to check" i.e. you were checking that you had isolated the circuit, you weren't sure otherwise you wouldn't have needed to check. Again now you are saying "to make certain" there are safer ways of making certain!! If you had said that you strapped L to E to ensure a trip if someone else turned the supply on then that may have been understandable. But NOT shorting anything to anything, just to check!

I wonder if you have ever had an occasion where the circuit was still live?

I watched a guy change a socket that was spurred off a ring in a kitchen one day, he was doing it live, not altogether a good move. The cable was left unterminated for a moment while he picked up the replacement socket. The bang and flash were quite spectacular when L&N shorted. 30A fuse wire takes a moment and a heck of a lot of energy to blow. Not something you want to play around with "to check".

Reply to
Bill

CHECK. Tripping the thing by shorting it isn't a good idea, as I have fuses, and I'd need to replace the fusewire! It's a good way to make it certain in my mind that I really did pull the right fuse.

Remember SIDE

S Switch off I Isolate D Dump E Earth

And THINK always.

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Reply to
Graham.

No, it is powerfully dumb way to check.

One day you will get the wrong circuit and short out one in a place with a high prospective fault current. The "spark" (or arc flash as it would be) will seriously mess up your day.

Here is the effect of a short on a fake 13A plug fuse (its contains fuse wire, but no sand to quench the arc):

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imagine that at the end of the cable as you touch those wires together with your bare hands.

Reply to
John Rumm

And if you are capacitively coupled to something live yourself, the potential difference across the neon and resistor is?

Reply to
John Rumm

Whyever not? That's what fuses and breakers are for.

I've seen a bigger bang than 30 amps. Vapourised copper everywhere. But 30 amps isn't that bad - especially if you're expecting it.

Reply to
Lieutenant Scott

to CHECK. Tripping the thing by shorting it isn't a good idea, as I have fuses, and I'd need to replace the fusewire! It's a good way to make it certain in my mind that I really did pull the right fuse.

I'm working with 240 volts, not HV! Death is very very unlikely, unless I'm up a ladder and fall a long way!

Switch off is good enough for me. Isolate is overkill, dump is irrelevant for AC mains, and earthing is just going too far.

Reply to
Lieutenant Scott

That wasn't what happened when I did it. The wires have to touch before you get the short, at which point they weld until the fuse blows in the consumer unit.

Reply to
Lieutenant Scott

Hasn't ever happened to me.

Reply to
Lieutenant Scott

I have. Or at least, light up too dimly to see,

Bill

Reply to
Bill Wright

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