Voltage detectors

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I've tried them all. And by far,,,the most reliable and safest has been the greenlee gt11. It might give you a false positive,,,,,,,,,but it never, ever gives you a false negative. Every other one I've tried will lie to you in a dangerous way.
 
I like the Greenlee GT-11 also. It is a little bulky to carry in your pocket, but like Mcclary's Electric said, it is very reliable and it detects voltage as low as 50VAC. Fluke is a good brand to.
 
mcclary's electrical said:
I've tried them all. And by far,,,the most reliable and safest has been the greenlee gt11. It might give you a false positive,,,,,,,,,but it never, ever gives you a false negative. Every other one I've tried will lie to you in a dangerous way.
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I'm sorry, but under the right conditions all non-contact voltage testers can give a false negative and none should ever be used as an indication that the circuit is safe to work on.
 
iwire said:
Under the right conditions all contact voltage testers can give a false negative. :confused:
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Highly unlikely when tested before and after testing the subject circuit unless the user has no idea of what he is doing. With the non-contact type there are a number of factors that will limit the capacitance so that the non-contact tester will give a false negative. Standing on a insulating ladder may give a false negative with a non-contact tester as will trying to test a cable that is wet inside.
 
don_resqcapt19 said:
I'm sorry, but under the right conditions all non-contact voltage testers can give a false negative and none should ever be used as an indication that the circuit is safe to work on.
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I agree,,, and I always test with meter if I'm gonna touch it. There may have been a tiny exaggeration there. It should have said 99% of the time it is accurate. Touching the wire you are testing with your opposite hand can give you a false negative like bob said standing on a ladder insulating you from ground can do it too. I just said never because it lies far less often than others. IMO
 
Fluke has a more recent model I see a home depot. It runs $14 in NJ it works real well, only problem is the top breaks off real easy. It has a clip on it lik a pen, and if you clip to your pocket or pouch and pull it off quickly it breaks off.
 
Interesting of the different preferrences. I will say that my GB has NEVER not light up when there WAS power, but it has lit up when there was NOT any power, basically a false reading. But even with that it still helps with me in doing work faster, its just a 'go or no go' type tester. If i have belief its a false reading of hot, then I get out the meter to be sure.

Like others said, you can be touching another hot and get a false reading, or you can be checking some 3 wire romex and the inductance from one of the other wires can cause a reading on the one that is not hot. You have to really seperate them.
 
don_resqcapt19 said:
I'm sorry, but under the right conditions all non-contact voltage testers can give a false negative and none should ever be used as an indication that the circuit is safe to work on.
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Don I couldnt agree more I feel dont be so lazy and carry a propper tester at all times. I take constant ribbing because I carry a tester on my toolbelt 24/7. If you want to be an electrician carry a tester. A non contact definitely has its place but not to trust your life with.
 
ActionDave said:
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Seriously though it does work when I'm up on a ladder. Why would it not?
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The following is from a Fluke document.
Capacitive voltage detectors
have certain limitations. Correct
operation depends upon
the capacitance between the
detector?s barrel and ground
(normally through your hand
and body). If this path is broken
for any reason, the detector
probably won?t work. For
example, if you?re standing on
a wooden ladder, the capacitance
between your body and
ground will be much less than
if you were standing on a concrete
floor. To help avoid
incorrect detector readings,
find an installation ground that
you can touch when using the
voltage detector. Remember, in
a series circuit, the smaller the
capacitance, the greater the
voltage drop: there might be
too much voltage drop from
you to the floor and too little
across the detector. The detectors
will also have a certain
minimum voltage to turn on. In
our wooden ladder scenario,
the detector might not turn on
despite the circuit being hot.
By similar reasoning, the
detector cannot detect live
conductors inside a grounded
metal conduit.
For best results always hold
the detector by the body and
remember to keep your fingers
away from the tip of the
detector.
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