# voltage pen tester



## kubie (Oct 19, 2008)

do any of them even work?
i have purchased the yellow and a green kinds(cant think of the name) and they seem to work, but we found a wire and the pen always said it was hot, even when the power to the entire home is off and we even had the wire removed from the service.


what brands do you trust?


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## Tinstaafl (Jan 6, 2008)

Yes they work, but they're by no means infallible. They're very handy as a quick & dirty indicator, but when you really need to know for sure whether a circuit is live, use a meter.

Read this and you should understand much better what their limitations are.


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## Warren (Feb 19, 2005)

Rule number one for these testers is; always always always test first on a known live circuit. This will insure that the batteries are not dead. Don't ask me how I know this! These testers can be very sensitive, which is a good thing. We did a remodel job that had electrical heating elements imbedded in the plaster ceilings. This was done around here in the 50's once in a while. When you would raise the tester, anywhere in the room, to head height, it would beep. I love my testers. When doing a lot of demo like we do, they are invaluable.


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## boman47k (Oct 13, 2006)

This is the one I use to for my personal stuff. I would not trust it for isolating a wire if there are others nearby. As far as I know these are proximity testers. I have a couple of meters for isolating live wires and checking amount of voltage.

I don't understand your showing voltage when there is none. I have to close the pocket clip to calibrate this one before placing near a wire. I do sometimes think I am trusting this thing with my life, but that is true with the others too, if you think about it.

No idea what it would do if bat's in backward, if anything.


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## breid1903 (Aug 4, 2009)

*greenlee*

non contact voltage detectors. greenlee makes very good stuff. i don't know of anything they that is not top of the line. what do you expect here. these are not really good to tell you what you have but that you have it. in other words be careful if it activates. they work better to test if a circuit doesn't beep until you turn the circuit on. they work by picking up the electrical field. i have had this happen when a short to ground from someplace else was back feeding through the ground. if there are cables wrapped around each other they will show up on tickers. nothing is fool proof. keep one hand in your pocket. put a 2' jumper on wire and test it out in the air. test the boxes, the panel and the ground rod. test plumbing if metal. tv/cable and phone. if mobile home check skin. check everything in sight that will conduct electricity. are you the only one holding it? let someone else try it. last but not least put new batteries in it. you can have capacitor that's back feeding. you may heed to run a cord from a known source of power and test with a multimeter. you can laugh if you want but i'm 65 i've seen things that defied logic. lots. hey have fun. breid.............:rockon:


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## breid1903 (Aug 4, 2009)

*boman*

i have 2 like yours. when batteries are low doesn't work so well. mine doesn't work at all with batteries backwards. they miss contacts. i think they are great for telling me to be careful. breid..............:rockon:


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## griz (Nov 26, 2009)

480 sparky & RSelectric where are you guys????


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## reveivl (May 29, 2005)

Stick it in a receptacle or under a wire and hit breakers until it shuts up, then check with a meter. :thumbsup:


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## kubie (Oct 19, 2008)

we have a meter now and use it.


the pens i have would go off if you brushed against you leg or shirt


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## boman47k (Oct 13, 2006)

I read somewhere about a similiar problem. It was had something to do with the house next door and a shorted ground I think. This building share any pipes with anther building by any chance?

Btw, does the wire check live with the meter?


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## kubie (Oct 19, 2008)

boman47k said:


> I read somewhere about a similiar problem. It was had something to do with the house next door and a shorted ground I think. This building share any pipes with anther building by any chance?
> 
> Btw, does the wire check live with the meter?


dont think it shared any pipes.


we got the meter after we finished the job......it weird that the pen would go off even when the wire was disconnected. even the old knob and tube wires that were dead in the attic set it off.


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## boman47k (Oct 13, 2006)

Sounds like a faulty pen, but I am no sparky.


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## crazyboy (Nov 8, 2008)

They have their place. I'm a fan of the Klien ones. Have a light and auto shut off feature.


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## 480sparky (Feb 1, 2009)

I wouldn't trust any of them, especially with my life.

But infallable as they are, they do have useful functions.

Finding a switch leg in box, or an open neutral for instance.

But given they are about 75% reliable, I'd still get out a real meter when in doubt.


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## dkillianjr (Aug 28, 2006)

I had that red GB one first, then a greenlee after that that just broke (I spilled a can of stain on it:laughing. I was at my electric supplier the other day and was gonna pick up the klien, he said they have had a bunch of them returned. I ended up picking up the fluke one. 


It seems very high quality you can touch a wire that is right next to a hot wire and it will detect the one that is hot. My other testers would beep if they were within two inches of anything live! So I recomend the fluke:thumbup: 

http://us.fluke.com/usen/Products/Fluke+1AC+II.htm



Dave


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## boman47k (Oct 13, 2006)

Imostly use mine to double check that a circuit is not live when I throw the breaker when working on a rec. 

In the wall going into my dining room from about where the switch for the dining room is on the other side of the wall in the dr, I run my pen up the wall and within the space of those 2 studs and get signal. I don't understand this unless when it was wired someone used excess wire in the stud cavity. There should be nothing there but a switch leg or wire feeding the switch. All the wall rec's are run from under the house. Just thought I would throw that in there as I would not know anything about it if I did have the pen and it did work through the rock.


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## rselectric1 (Sep 20, 2009)

griz said:


> 480 sparky & RSelectric where are you guys????


:laughing: We're always lurking. Truth be told, I never owned one of those pens, nor would I trust them.

I could easily find myself becoming complacent and trusting the pen too much. I like solid contact when testing.


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## boman47k (Oct 13, 2006)

I mentioned a reading about problem similiar to this having something to do with a house next door somewhere, maybe here. Ring a bell with any of you sparkys?
I may be talking out of my butt, but my head does not know better.


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## rselectric1 (Sep 20, 2009)

boman47k said:


> I mentioned a reading about problem similiar to this having something to do with a house next door somewhere, maybe here. Ring a bell with any of you sparkys?
> I may be talking out of my butt, but my head does not know better.


Zinsco or Bubbles posted an informative bit about this a few weeks back. (Cant remember which, or the title of the thread, but I think it's in the electrical section somewhere)


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## Tinstaafl (Jan 6, 2008)

boman47k said:


> I mentioned a reading about problem similiar to this having something to do with a house next door somewhere, maybe here.


Yeah, that was here. But it had nothing at all to do with voltage sniffers. As I recall, it was a ground loop thing of some sort, and it wasn't a phantom reading.

For those who haven't, I'd really encourage you to read the link I gave in post #2. I think it was Bubbles who first brought it to our attention here.

If you understand anything at all about how capacitance works, that article will give you a good basis for understanding just how much you should (and shouldn't) rely on sniffers.


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## woodchuck2 (Feb 27, 2008)

rselectric1 said:


> Zinsco or Bubbles posted an informative bit about this a few weeks back. (Cant remember which, or the title of the thread, but I think it's in the electrical section somewhere)


X2, i am sure someone will post the link as it was very informative. As the others have stated nothing beats a meter but these testers do have a purpose although they should never be trusted.


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## rselectric1 (Sep 20, 2009)

Found it-it's called "voltage sensor limitations" by Bubbles.

Tin had the target article link here all the time. Check the thread for discussion from our forum though.

Sorry for the oversight Tin


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## MarcD (Sep 18, 2009)

I use a Fluke volt alert it has a really high sensitivity compared to others but i mostly use it for switch legs and double checking I got the right breaker off. Always try to use my meter​


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

They are beyond handy, I have Greenlee ones, they have one that detects low voltage AC too.


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## BuildersII (Dec 20, 2009)

kubie said:


> do any of them even work?
> i have purchased the yellow and a green kinds(cant think of the name) and they seem to work, but we found a wire and the pen always said it was hot, even when the power to the entire home is off and we even had the wire removed from the service.
> 
> 
> what brands do you trust?


Interesting. I've had them pick up feedback on a ground wire before, but never from a wire that's been fully disconnected from all service. Was it a neutral or ground you were picking that signal up from?


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