breaker finders operate at a different frequency then most wire tracers, this is so they don't trace past the breaker and usually shunts when it hits 240 volt loads, try finding a breaker with a wire tracer, while it is possible it can many times be frustrating as you will seem to pick up the signal on many of the breakers and trying to find the right one can be a pain, also since most wire tracers use a self powered transmitter turning the breaker off that you think is the right one will require a trip back to the other end to confirm, this is what makes a breaker finder worth while, as the transmitter is powered by the circuit and turning off the breaker will stop the signal.
As wire tracers well the two I have are worthless for this purpose as they don't pick up the signal very far from the wire, only if you get real close will it trace it and as I said it has to be powered from the circuit you are tracing, there are some dual mode tracers that will do both and if they work well it would be a good buy, but all I have is a Sperry kit, and a green lee, while I also have another green lee that will trace live or dead circuits but without any adjustment for the signal it would be worthless for finding breakers (it has an automatic adjustment) my older one had a adjustable signal level and was so much better and it also would do live or dead circuits up to 600 volts as this one does, the newer ones do have a cat rating I think mine is cat III rated, I also have a underground locater, that I can use as a directional finder as it is very directional in picking up the signal, it works great when you need to follow a wire through a house (and doing underground locates too) but do not use it on live circuits as it is not made for it, it has a cat IIII rating up to 1kv but it will bite the dust if connected to live conductors, as we had another one that was hit with 480v that smoked the transmitter (don't even want to talk about the know it all that did this)
Also remember many times some tracer transmitters also put an audio signal out that can be picked up by a telephone toner receiver (the kind that phone techs use) I have two of them, and using them in conjunction with my tracers can really make a difference in tracing, so some times you got to be creative and think out of the box, just do not ever hook up a toner to a live circuit!!!
if you do have a toner kit try it out on finding any dead circuit you might be surprised to find it can be easier to follow the conductors if not in conduit, another signal source can be a simple radio output, connect the speaker wire to the conductor (dead) you want to trace and use the phone toner receiver, it uses what is called a AM (amplitude Modulation) detector diode that will detect any AM type of signal, rub the detection end of it through your hair and you will hear the static, put it near any speaker wires or even a phone wire that is in-use and you will hear the conversation.
I hope this can open up a few minds to realize we have many options to trace wires but finding the right breaker when shutting down the wrong circuit is not an option, a good breaker finder is the best tool to use.
