M
montybaber
At work this week and I noticed the Lockwells van turn up and four boxes of 5ft tubes come out of the back along with many ballasts, end caps etc etc....
Before I could pretend to go home sick
I was told my weekends work was to get the lighting up together in one of our factories 
not the most interesting of work and a real pain in the arse considering the ceiling height etc.
Got to it early saturday morning and just to make things worse the personel lift had been blown up and nobody had owned up to it!! so ladders only all weekend!!
I was given a volt-pen (or whatever its called) some time ago and I had thrown it in my alternative tool box (full of obscure tools I dont use much like bushspanners, bladerunners etc) and never thought id use the thing.....ever!!! im quite old school really my fluke voltmater/ammeter and multimeter have always been good to me so why risk my life with a yellow pen!
so first fitting tubes look good but have to be a bit optimitistic this early on but new tubes dont even blink at me so I drop the fitting, every fitting has a plug and socket connector inside (great idea in theory) but whatever monkey had wired them VERY badly with live strands that get you every time you go near them!!! so gauntlets on (a must have IMO) and change the ballast (never the same so lots of rewiring!!).
The next fitting I have a brainwave and before changing the lamps I got my voltpen and waved it around the end caps...wahoo lights up red so almost certain its the tubes....and it was!!
Might sound stupid but to change the tubes involves once up fifteen ft stepladder take down diffuser, back down steps put it somewhere back up steps remove tubes, back down steps, new tubes back up, they dont work back down etc etc so this little pen come be usefull after all
next fitting no red glow at end caps so drop fitting and first chk supply, now normally this is a pain as its down to get tester back up and ballancing on top rung using both hands to test supply but not with my new friend clips on jacket wave it around and wayhey red glow we have juice wave it up to fuse and thats where it ends! fuse gone!!!
next fitting no glow at ends no glow at supply!!! up into roof space and about ten thousand tips of conduit with flex emerging into kliks which one could it be???? easy! wand out (easylol) and wave it round every one til I find one not lit up find klik has been unkliked!!!
anyway moral of the story this little yellow wonder must have saved me 8hrs work in one weekend and that is impressive!!! wouldnt ever replace my voltmeter but for this job alone it has paid for itself
anyway if your still awake by now heres a bit of totty at the end so you wont hate me
Before I could pretend to go home sick
I was told my weekends work was to get the lighting up together in one of our factories not the most interesting of work and a real pain in the arse considering the ceiling height etc.Got to it early saturday morning and just to make things worse the personel lift had been blown up and nobody had owned up to it!! so ladders only all weekend!!
I was given a volt-pen (or whatever its called) some time ago and I had thrown it in my alternative tool box (full of obscure tools I dont use much like bushspanners, bladerunners etc) and never thought id use the thing.....ever!!! im quite old school really my fluke voltmater/ammeter and multimeter have always been good to me so why risk my life with a yellow pen!
so first fitting tubes look good but have to be a bit optimitistic this early on but new tubes dont even blink at me so I drop the fitting, every fitting has a plug and socket connector inside (great idea in theory) but whatever monkey had wired them VERY badly with live strands that get you every time you go near them!!! so gauntlets on (a must have IMO) and change the ballast (never the same so lots of rewiring!!).
The next fitting I have a brainwave and before changing the lamps I got my voltpen and waved it around the end caps...wahoo lights up red so almost certain its the tubes....and it was!!
Might sound stupid but to change the tubes involves once up fifteen ft stepladder take down diffuser, back down steps put it somewhere back up steps remove tubes, back down steps, new tubes back up, they dont work back down etc etc so this little pen come be usefull after all
next fitting no red glow at end caps so drop fitting and first chk supply, now normally this is a pain as its down to get tester back up and ballancing on top rung using both hands to test supply but not with my new friend clips on jacket wave it around and wayhey red glow we have juice wave it up to fuse and thats where it ends! fuse gone!!!
next fitting no glow at ends no glow at supply!!!
up into roof space and about ten thousand tips of conduit with flex emerging into kliks which one could it be???? easy! wand out (easylol) and wave it round every one til I find one not lit up find klik has been unkliked!!!anyway moral of the story this little yellow wonder must have saved me 8hrs work in one weekend and that is impressive!!! wouldnt ever replace my voltmeter but for this job alone it has paid for itself
anyway if your still awake by now heres a bit of totty at the end so you wont hate me
shes your missus too!!??!!
