Saw a guy in Tampa almost fry his meter by not checking for power first

He was about to test a line in a crawl space with his Fluke and didn't see the old, live transformer box two feet away. I yelled just in time, but it was a real wake-up call about double-checking the whole area, not just the cable you're working on. How do you guys handle checking for hidden power sources in tight spots?

2 comments

2 Comments

wyatt7719d ago

Read a forum post once where an electrician swore by using a non-contact voltage tester as a first sweep of the whole area, even before getting the meter out. They said to wave it around pipes, other conduits, and the walls themselves in a tight space. Makes sense as a fast way to find stray fields you might miss just looking.

sagea889d ago

That method seems like a good way to get a false sense of security. Those testers can be fooled by induced voltage from nearby live wires, giving a positive reading on a dead pipe. They're not reliable enough to trust for a safety check. You should always prove dead with a proper meter on the actual conductors you're about to work on. Starting with a toy might make you skip the real step that keeps you safe.