The Most Dangerous Electrical Tool

I have been using these for 50 years without any issue. The are 2 rules : 1. If the screwdriver lights up the contact point is live so take proper precautions. 2. If the screwdriver does not light up, do NOT assume the contact is dead.

Back in the Eighties when I was training as a Theatre Technician, one of our lecturers had got a shock through a 400 volt neon tester. It SAVED HIS LIFE. While handling a lantern that was running on one phase, it shorted onto the motorised truck that it was mounted on. The truck was on another phase. The tester melted, and every hair on his body burnt off, but he lived. Because of that tester.

One of these may have saved my life. My son had a non working 13A socket in his house. I checked it with a multimeter and it showed as dead. I used one of these screwdrivers and it illuminated showing it was live. On further investigation I found the earth and neutral were both disconnected somewhere leaving only the line connected.

You hear people saying they're dangerous and/or unreliable all the time, but are there actually any reports of anyone ever heing harmed by one of these? I've been using them all my life and have no intention of stopping. They are incredibly useful and I would trust one of these over a contactless volt tester any day.

I think these things are quite safe unless visibly damaged (i.e. insulation compromised) or if the bulb broke somehow. Which is why when I want to make sure a circuit is not live I am using this device on a live circuit just beforehand to verify that it is working properly.

I have been using my device for more than 50 years. It has never failed, never broken anywhere, never had any foreign matter intrude into it and has always worked. Yes it can be hard to see the neon at times but it has always shown me when a wire or contact is live to mains voltage. Your fears may be sound scientifically but the chance of it happening is extremely slim. Using the bared-ended metal spikes of multimeter probes is far more awkward and way more dangerous.

This tester is no more dangerous than any other tester. You are talking hypothetically, that can be said whatever you use.

I was trained to use a Drummond test lamp first and foremost. I also used a neon test lamp extensively, never got so much as the slightest tingle while using it - ever ! The likelihood of a foreign metal object falling into the body of a neon tester or the ingress of water into same is very remote.

First used these over 50 years ago. You can get quality ones (screwfix etc), which are waterproof and tough. If you understand how they work. they can be handy. There are not designed for "Testing", only for indicating there's a voltage present. They can also pick up Disconnected earths/cpc s and neutrals in a circuit if you understand how mains electricity works. They do have the they drawbacks, but what would expect for a couple of quid. Billions have been sold with few issues! I wouldn't use them in my job as an electrician.

Using a multi meter might lead you to believe that a circuit isn't live when only the neutral wire is isolated while the live wire is still live. The good thing about a mains tester is that you use yourself to replace the neutral wire and avoid depending on it. At least, that's what I can come up with, correct me if I'm wrong. I'm not an electrician.

Neon screwdrivers have saved the day many times. Volt sticks are a liability, All I ever hear is .. damn thing sling it in the skip ,there is a neon in my box.

I recently purchased such a device and will definitely take extra care in future knowing what to look out for now in terms of how it might fail. I think working on 240V and using this device, even if it failed, would at worse give you a nasty zap. I did also purchase one of those plug-in mains testers and it immediately helped me solve 3 potentially dangerous wiring faults that had been in place for years in my home. I would totally recommend to use one of these if at all possible over and above the mains tester featured in this video as it can give you vital information immediately without even having to dismantle anything or directly expose you to any kind of danger.

Good instructional video for newbies, I've been using these devices for 56 years, and recently purchased a multimeter about 3 years ago, It has the capability of doing everything I need, It comes in a box with a stand and carrying case, and a lighted LED screen that will power off in a few minutes if not used, I purchased it from Amazon for about $6 or $7, and It works very well. subbed. 🇺🇸

There is another danger. In the form of a virtual look-a-like 12V version used as car test lamp with a lead that comes out of the top of the screw driver to clip to ground in the car.. The two tools often co-exist in cheap tool kits. Looking so similar its possible to absentmindedly put the 12V test lamp into a 240V wall socket. A potentially very dangerous mistake.

I believe I had the first of this type of tester and it worked fine. That was quite a while ago. Now I use an absolutely safe current tester I made myself to test outlets and detect the presences of wiring within walls.

while i agree that these should not be used for proving live/dead conductors, and for a quick indication a non contact tester will suffice. i use 1 for finding the live wire as normal sockets here dont have a defined live and neutral side. and for my old lathe to run in the right direction i need to know which is which ( and yes i'm setting up a cee socket so its always correctly hooked up later on havn't had the time and space to do so yet ). do you have any insights on how to cheaply identify the live conductor?

I have two with no problem for years , very useful with things that may or may not have current like fuse testing

Had these types of screwdriver for decades,never had or heard of anyone getting hurt !!!!!! I will continue to use myn. Also most deaths are when the mains goes across the chest, hence why your told to keep one hand by your side when testing. The ironic thing is ,that using possible damaged probes, one in each hand for measuring, is far more dangerous,as it put the mains across the chest. . Scare hype for nothing pal.

Hi. I was interested in your saying the red probe on a multimeter should be put into the COM. I did a search and other sites say the black probe goes into the COM. So who is right?

And you forgot a big problem, one I experienced once and that definitely convinced me never to use it again. The capacitive coupling between your body and the ground may not be enough to light the neon bulb! Once I wanted to intervene at home on a roller shutter switch located in height, I cut only the circuit of the roller shutter but there was also another cable for a lamp passed in the same places but on another circuit breaker. FYI, I’m on a fiber stepladder (not aluminum ), I take my test screwdriver, no light on all the connectors, I start to work until I take a discharge on the connector pair of the lamp cable. Being above ground on a non-conductive fiber stepladder, the neon bulb was not lit. I repeated the test and it is only by getting closer to the wall of the house or the floor that the bulb began to light...