I've used a breaker finder for years. Mine can be a bit quirky. Today, it didn't trigger at all. That was ok. I was alone in the house and I just shut down the house and replace a couple of outlets.
But what I would really like is a finder that also transmits a RF signal over the air to indicate power as well as whatever tone it puts out over the line. That would serve as a backup to the tone for the cases where the tone doesn't work so well.
Anything out there?
Which one do you have and how is it supposed to work? The one I have plugs into a receptacle and a wand is moved over the breakers until it beeps. Sometimes it beeped on two breakers so I might resort to the "plug in the radio and see which breaker makes it go off" method.Quote:
Originally Posted by Roger Feeley
This article compares several, may be useful:
https://www.protoolreviews.com/trade...-finders/6659/
It makes reference to another article that describes how the testers work but I didn't look for it.
One thing I started doing years ago is write the circuit breaker number under the receptacle or switch cover when I trace one (or when installing new, of course) then update the chart if necessary. I haven't needed the tracer for a long time. Of course this doesn't work when I go to someone else's house or shop...
JKJ
I'd like one that injects the RF signal so I can trace the wire within the wall as well.
When I was at our local electronics dealer, one who caters primarily to professionals and businesses, they showed me a couple of options for wire tracing systems. Some would handle phone, ethernet, AC, etc. They were expensive or I would have bought one on the spot.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Bukovec
JKJ
John, I have an injector to trace low voltage stuff...it was gifted to me by a former employer and likely would be expensive to buy new today. Very handy sometimes. For 120v, I have the typical plug-in sender and wand reader. It's difficult sometimes with adjacent breakers like you mentioned as some of the wiring in "this old house" crosses over other wiring in close proximity a lot so there's bleed of the signal. Marking and documenting as you mentioned really is important! Of course, with a plug-in sender, one has to get creative when lighting circuits are involved... ;)
Roger and Bill, I haven't come across anything that does RF like you describe, but I've only ever looked at consumer-focused stuff. You may want to speak with an electrical supply house that caters to the trade to see if there are any options around that in the pro market.
Quote:
Originally Posted by John K Jordan
I use my phone and tablet. I have several email accounts for skype and facetime. I use my phone to skype my tablet. Set one near the circuit of interest (with a light or tester) and take the other with me to the service panel. If there is reduncancy in the tone, I can see the results.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Becker
Hmm..., my ancient tester came with a plug in sender plus an adapter that screws into a light socket plus another adapter with alligator clips - very flexible. You do have to be careful not to die by electrocution. I suspect their legal department decided the adapters were too dangerous to sell the average homeowner.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Becker
My favorite circuit tracer is a pair of walki-talkies and an assistant. This even works from one end of the farm to the other.
BTW, on new construction I do several things: make a good diagrams (both physical and logical) and keep them updated when I make modifications, take photos of the wires in the walls before they are covered to minimize guessing one day, keep the chart in the breaker box updated, and put the number of the circuit both under the receptacle/switch plate cover and inside the wall box where it can still be read if the plate is misplaced. In the shop I like to put the circuit number on the outside like I've seen in industrial installations.
Logical circuit diagrams are handy, especially on 3-way and 4-way lighting circuits, which is most of them in my shop.
I get out the label maker when things might be confusing to the next guy, such as this stuff in my DC/air compressor closet.
Attachment 368046
JKJ
I have a Klien ET300 that works very well to locate the correct breaker. I've used it at home and at our church and it has never failed to find the correct breaker. You have to scan every breaker in the entire panel once and then go over each breaker a second time without turning the unit off.
My experience with something like this was the outlet wasn't tied into the breaker box. In one house it actually went through an old fuse box that wasn't removed when the house was rewired.Quote:
I've used a breaker finder for years. Mine can be a bit quirky. Today, it didn't trigger at all. That was ok. I was alone in the house and I just shut down the house and replace a couple of outlets.
jtk
Mine is the kind where you plug in a tone transmitter and wave a receiver over the breakers. It usually works. I wonder if gfci electronics got in the way this time.
i like the idea of writing on the back of the plate!