Wiring

[Andy Dingley]

Mate's house has one, thanks to some ham-fisted two-way switching.

Or maybe less of a ring, more of a "borrowed live"

[John Rumm]

Those screwdrivers with little neons are about as safe a licking your finger and using that!

(they routinely give false positives and false negatives, and can never be relied upon where there is doubt over a circuit being live)

A set of croc clip ends for your test leads can help greatly, or for that matter a long wander lead. If one can test on a dead circuit, then it is almost always preferable to working on a live one.

[Ronald Raygun]

Rubbish.

I don't think one has ever lied to me.

I dare say. But a neon screwdriver is still more convenient.

Where's your sense of adventure? :-)

[jgharston]

Or as my tenant's flatmate said: I've connected all the reds together and connected all the blacks together, and now I can't feel my arm!

JGH

[John Rumm]

True, I am exagerating - they will probably take longer to kill you, the only question is how much ;-)

Its usually easy to get one to light up on a floating wire that runs any distance alongside a live one.

I had one once... tested a cable end to see if the right fuse had been pulled. It did not light up. For some reason however I had a doubt and I wanted to make absolutely sure. So I touched the blade against an adjacent earth wire. Bang, flash, and the end of the screwdriver no longer resembled a screwdriver!

Convenient, does not equate with best or even good practice. Ask about, plenty of folks have been bitten by neon screwdrivers.

(I accept that as a fault finding aid, they are less dangerous than when used for safety critical measurements).

Alive and well, but it can find better ways of getting a fix!

[Dave Osborne]

No. It's not rubbish. Neon screwdrivers are widely regarded as dangerous and ineffective. We have an article in our own wiki highlighting the dangers of their use and, as they don't comply with HSE Guidance Note GS38, they are effectively "illegal" in the UK under the Electricity at Work Regulations. There are (credible, if unsubstantiated) stories of people who have died or been seriously injured through the misuse or mis-interpretation of these devices.

Fluke VoltAlert is a better prospect, but a two-probe tester is by far the safest option.

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[Man at B&Q]

You are Jerry and I claim my =A35.

MBQ

[ARWadsworth]

You save that for when you climb the ladders with the chandelier.