Need new solenoid tester

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Mule

Mule

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Location
Oklahoma
Square D's "wiggy" is a tough one. Dont use mine all the time but got it on the van. Its handy when your trying to decide if your seeing induced voltage or the real thing by putting slight load on it....

SAFETY.....always remember these are low resistance testers, and they are DANGEROUS on 480v IMO......I will not use mine on 480 even though its rated for it....I personaly knew a IBEW jman that was burnt to crisp by the arc flash, God rest his soul.....
 
C

Cow

Senior Member
Location
Eastern Oregon
Occupation
Electrician
I'm real pleased with my Knopp and probably use it 90% of the time for troubleshooting.

Mule said:
SAFETY.....always remember these are low resistance testers, and they are DANGEROUS on 480v IMO......I will not use mine on 480 even though its rated for it.
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That seems a little extreme, I use mine on 480v more than anything. Plus the Knopps are Cat 3 rated now too.
 
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J

jim dungar

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PE (Retired) - Power Systems
Mule said:
Square D's "wiggy" is a tough one.
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Past tense should be used.

The Wiggy (TM) has been retired. I wonder if mine, from '76, is a collector's item now?

You need to get something rated at least CAT III.
 
Fulthrotl

Fulthrotl

~Autocorrect is My Worst Enema.~
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ishium 80439 said:
My trusty old Vol-Con was, shall I say "liberated" from me by some poor soul who must have been in dire need for a beat up, years old $50 tester. DMM's certainly have their place but for bread and butter stuff I need to get another solenoid. Any opinions? (HA!)
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fluke 12.

out of production, but you can still get new ones around. it puts a 2k ohm
shunt load on the circuit under test. imagine a wiggy on steroids.

shunt load can be switched off for sensitive measurements.

it's what fluke made before they decided to come out with a new meter every
36 hours. when they discontinued them, i bought a brand new one, still in the
box in the garage, for a backup when mine dies. as mine is 16 years old now
and going strong, i figure that will last long enough. it'll even do logging with
a timestamp for minimum and maximum.

http://us.fluke.com/usen/products/Fluke+12.htm?catalog_name=FlukeUnitedStates

here's one new in the box on ebay.... $85

http://cgi.ebay.com/Fluke-12-Multim...5|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:0|293:1|294:50
 
I

ishium 80439

Senior Member
Location
Denver foothills via the Horn of Africa
I also want this tester to read continuity. The link to the Knopp meter did not look like that was and option. One reason (besides induced voltage readings) that I like solenoid testers is that you can feel if there is power right away when testing something; you don't have to take you eyes away from the test subject to look at the readout and you don't have to wait for it count up.
 
kbsparky

kbsparky

Senior Member
Location
Delmarva, USA
Get another Vol-Con?
61-076.jpg


Less than $46 on ebaY check it out here.
 
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LarryFine

LarryFine

Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
Location
Henrico County, VA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
ishium 80439 said:
I also want this tester to read continuity. The link to the Knopp meter did not look like that was and option.
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That's correct. I have a Vol-Con, but I don't use it. I find a two-use tester confusing. Is the light due to continuity or a low voltage?

One reason (besides induced voltage readings) that I like solenoid testers is that you can feel if there is power right away when testing something; you don't have to take you eyes away from the test subject to look at the readout and you don't have to wait for it count up.
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Same here. I want a tester that only responds to one thing. Plus, there's the CAT-III rating as a bonus.
 
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ishium 80439

Senior Member
Location
Denver foothills via the Horn of Africa
zog said:
Read my safety FAQ's, all covered there. http://forums.mikeholt.com/showthread.php?t=99114
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Thank you for that. I looked at it briefly and will read it more thoroughly but it basically seems that the categories have to do w/ fault current. The closer one gets to the source the higher rated tester one would need. For anyone doing any type work w/ commercial services (and probably resi also) a minimum CAT III tester is needed to prevent catastrophic failure of the tester.

Does that sum it up accurately?
 
electricalperson

electricalperson

Senior Member
Location
massachusetts
ishium 80439 said:
Thank you for that. I looked at it briefly and will read it more thoroughly but it basically seems that the categories have to do w/ fault current. The closer one gets to the source the higher rated tester one would need. For anyone doing any type work w/ commercial services (and probably resi also) a minimum CAT III tester is needed to prevent catastrophic failure of the tester.

Does that sum it up accurately?
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cat 3 or 4 is what you should get. i believe all fluke products are 3+
 
I

ishium 80439

Senior Member
Location
Denver foothills via the Horn of Africa
One question about the Fluke. In the link nemo provided it infers that it will register ghost voltage and tries to spin it into a good thing. Am I reading that correctly? That is one of my biggest problems w/ DMM's. I have a Fluke 336 for when it is needed but I do not like to use it for most troubleshooting applications.
 
W

wptski

Senior Member
Location
Warren, MI
ishium 80439 said:
One question about the Fluke. In the link nemo provided it infers that it will register ghost voltage and tries to spin it into a good thing. Am I reading that correctly? That is one of my biggest problems w/ DMM's. I have a Fluke 336 for when it is needed but I do not like to use it for most troubleshooting applications.
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Nope, it isn't a high impedance tester like say the Fluke T5 is, so it provides enough of a load and ghost voltage "won't" show up.
 
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