• Author Author: kmikemoo
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Multicomp Pro Non-Contact Voltage Tester vs. Christmas Lights

kmikemoo

To a man with a hammer, everything looks a nail.          To a man with a non-contact voltage tester... anything energized needs to be checked.

As part of roadtesting the Multicomp Pro Non-Contact Voltage Tester, I couldn't resist trying it out in a few non-roadtest applications.  Here is one.

 

 

Yes.  The string is repaired, ready for next year.

  • I had to break the non-contact voltage tester out again this pre-holiday season.  Eight lights in half of a 100-light string had flamed out.  They are supposed to fail shorted but we all know that this does not always happen.  It worked like a charm - again.  I'm beginning to hate fairy lights just a little less - now that they are easier to fix. Laughing

  • in reply to 14rhb

      Unfortunately, I still use the old school hammer drill and bits.  I don't drill into masonry very often so I can't bring myself to upgrade.  Great question though.  It really got me thinking because, like you said, I've destroyed a lot of masonry bits in my day.

  • in reply to colporteur

    It ought to as it doesn't need a completed circuit to work.  At low voltages it needs high frequencies - at 14V, >= 100Hz would be best so in reality not that high!  You could pump any varying signal through the track I would think.  Unfortunately, I don't have any train sets, or Scalextric, to try it out.

  • in reply to 14rhb

    "...Do you know if there is a proper name for them?..."

    Rawlplug jumper chisel or Rawlplug tool I think.

     

    "...although the hitting end did eventually round it over..."

    I think there was an outer handle available for them to prevent mushrooming of the struck end and prolonging the life of the chisel but perhaps seldom used.

  • in reply to Andrew J

    Still handy to have one. They are good for other tasks e.g. to break a small hole in a concrete pad without damaging a large area by chain-drilling around the section to remove. Or like I mentioned, making a water feature where the pre-drilled stone was £45 at the garden center and a bigger non-drilled one was only £5.

     

    My SDS has a rotation stop so I've got a concrete breaking chisel to go with it. The trouble is I get a bit to ambitious forgetting this is only a DIY tool and not a road-breaker, and often get the chisel stuck in the ground image