High-Quality, Reasonably Priced Testers
Klein's new line of testers helps you locate the right circuit breaker and verify the voltage of your outlets.
If you’re going to work on wiring, you need to be able to locate the right circuit breaker, cut the power, and then verify that the power is off. When you’re done, you need to make sure your work is correct. Klein’s new line of affordable, high-quality testers can do all these things. Always check operation on a live circuit and make sure the tester’s body and leads or cord are in good shape before using them.
Klein ET40 Voltage Tester$15 This voltage tester uses insulated probes (with steel tips) on short leads to measure both AC voltage (12v to 240v) and DC voltage (1.5v to 24v). It has a ladder-type display, with LEDs that light based on the voltage. The LEDs are bright enough to see in direct sun. It’s great for testing AC voltage at both 120v and 240v switches, devices, and receptacles. It’s also good for checking voltage from landscape lighting or transformers. It uses two AAA batteries and shuts off after a couple of minutes to save battery life. It also has a low-battery indicator. |
Klein RT310 Outlet Tester$40 This polarity tester checks regular 120v receptacles for open ground, open neutral, open hot, hot/ground reverse, and hot/neutral reverse. It also tests AFCI and GFCI functions. It’s powered by three AAA batteries, includes an auto shutoff, and has a 9-in. cord with a plug so you can test outlets that aren’t easily accessible. Notably, it can tell if the outlet has power, even if both the neutral and the ground wiring are interrupted. No other outlet tester has this capability |
Klein ET310 Breaker Finder
$40
The breaker finder helps you determine the circuit supplying an outlet. The transmitter unit plugs into the socket and sends a tracing signal down the wires, and the receiver allows you to identify which breaker feeds that wire. The transmitter runs on 120v and also checks the polarity of the outlet. The receiver uses a 9v battery, has an auto-shutoff feature, and is more accurate than any finder I’ve used in this price range. It won’t trace a dead circuit, and sometimes it takes experience to narrow down which of two breakers is the right one, but for the price it can’t be beat.
Cliff Popejoy, an electrical contractor in Sacramento, Calif.
Photos: Cliff Popejoy
From Fine Homebuilding #294
