Be warned !!! They really are dangerous !!

[Dazza1976]

As qualified electricians we all know we shouldnt use the neon screwdrivers to test if voltage is present, well the other day i learnt the hard way, and was lucky to come out unhurt.

I didnt have my approved voltage tester to hand, and being lazy and despite the warnings i decided to use my neon screwdriver to test if there was a voltage on a fused spur for an immersion heater. I put the screwdriver on the live terminal and put my thumb on the end, and before i knew it there was one almighty flash and BANG and sparks flew out almost like a fire work going off ! I **** myself and jumped back. The tip of the screwdriver had gone black and literally melted.

Amazingly i didnt get a shock out of it, but the fright was more than enough for me to vow NEVER to use one again, and i promptly threw it in the bin.

Have any of you ever had a bad experience using one ? It makes me wonder how they are allowed to sell them ?

 

[Phil]

thanks for the post mate, hopefully it may stop someone making the same mistake.
i have personally only ever used one to punch holes in plaster but know plenty that do use them for whatever reason.

 

[Hawk81]

did you maybe short out live to the earth on the switch plate. i have done that before. it would explain the flash and melted end on the screwdriver

 

[mogga]

these ruddy things should be banned BTW i take it the OP figured out that the circuit he was testing was indeed LIVE?? hope your ok barring the skid marks

 

[pmac10]

none as bad as that!, been doing some metal work one time and got called to a machine breakdown, my meter was in the workshop but had neon screwdriver in my pocket, probed the top of a contactor with it but didnt realise i had a metal shard stuck in the top of my thumb (i'm hard that way) and i bounced back a couple of feet, more to do with the pain than a shock ( not that hard!). its now used as a punch/drift/chisel and occasionally screwdriver

 

[accordfire]

Said it before, and no doubt will say it again.

They DO need to be banned. To me, it's as daft as using an uninsulated screwdriver on a live busbar.

I go through engineer's toolkits from time to time, and make no apology for removing neons, and stamping on them. Hard.

I doubt most of them are even rated insulated for use on mains voltage.

 

[jpmiff]

Hi
its the unsuspecting joe public who may have one and not fully understand what a lethal "electrical tool" they have in there tool box.
Very worrying

 

[nickblake]

i have always said sledge hammer but every tool kit you buy has one the manufacturers should be ashamed of them selves

 

[rocker]

I use them regularly as they are the perfect size for terminal screws in ceiling roses.

I have never used them for testing, and I wouldn't even entertain the idea. Just looks like a recipe for disaster to me.

 

[eskimo39]

I've just ordered a Wera Kraftform Kompakt VDE 18 piece screwdriver set to keep handy as I am sick of climbing into loft spaces/under floors etc only to find I have taken the wrong size driver. First this I did when it arrived was throw the neon tester away. I think including these in kits will start to put serious users off purchasing them as you are obviously paying a bit extra for them. Take note Wera!!!!!!

 

[jaresquire]

...I go through engineer's toolkits from time to time...

I wondered who it was!

 

[accordfire]

I wondered who it was!

Lol!

No apologies made, they're lethal accidents waiting to happen!

 

[jaresquire]

My late father used to give me neons as he came across them in tool sets etc, I'm not sure now if that was a good or bad thing!

 

[pennywise]

I would ban the glow sticks too whilst were at it, hate them almost as much as neons

 

[jaresquire]

A company I subbed for issued a glowstick to check that a solenoid wasn't powered before refitting to a gas-extinguishant system. I had to tell them it wasn't much use on 24V DC!

 

[Sintra]

At least the "glow sticks" are non contact and won't kill you if they go wrong.

 

[mogga]

by glow sticks Im assuming you mean no contace voltace indicator thinggys IMO these have their place ie for checking the number of socketrs on a circuit to check a twin cable for juice NOT as a definitive method but as an INDICATOR used properly and correctly these are a handy tool BUT if used incorrectly they can be dangerous i allways use my test lamps to confirm but glow stick saves having to unscrew fcus ect

 

[pennywise]

I usually use a plug in tester to confirm voltage at the sockets and whilst counting, it does the polarity at the same time. I still don't entirely trust them I have had it where cables are so tight to one another above the ceiling or passing through a joist that the glow stick lights up on every cable even the one thats dead

 

[sparky1502]

i am a trainee ad i cut through 10mm shower cable with uninsulated cutters if it wasn't for the rcd they would have been washing what was left of me down the grid...i learned one thing never take the advice of a plumber when he says its dead...the tool

 

[UNG]

I usually use a plug in tester to confirm voltage at the sockets and whilst counting, it does the polarity at the same time. I still don't entirely trust them I have had it where cables are so tight to one another above the ceiling or passing through a joist that the glow stick lights up on every cable even the one thats dead

How does a plug in tester confirm the neutral and earth are connected correctly and not reversed

With regard to the voltsticks I don't have a problem with them much better than a dodgy neon driver. The only useful function a neon screwdriver performs is as a hammer tester to check your hammer is working properly