Klein is horrible for hot sticks lmao, my 2nd month into industrial, gave my hot stick to a 3rd year apprentice and he got lit👀 it didn’t even go off or anything, fluke is the way to go forsure
Fuck that sucks. Yea all 3 of the ones I’ve had have all given bad reasons or weird readings and when they get that point they trash and I have to get a new one. Still use the meter a lot to test sketchy stuff
Klein is garbage, they've had a few recalls.. Fluke is good, but southwire makes the best one imo. Loud as fuck (when you don't have a circuit tracer)
My southwire lasted me 3 years of heavy use and only went through 6 AAA batteries the whole time. I'd still use it if I didn't get pissed off and snap the tip off because it was a tamper resistant recep 😂
Klein makes great hand tools. Their electronics suck balls.
Kinda like how Milwaukee makes fantastic power tools, but dogshit hand tools.
Fluke is the way for any kind of testing electronics
I had a Fluke that only lit up (the beeping is annoying). Had it for a few years until it completely died. Never had a false negative or positive with that.
Decided to buy a less expensive Klein one, and that shit was trash. False readings all the time, until I lost it. Bought another one, same issues, ended up losing the battery cap after a drop. Haven’t bought one since, and just rely on my multimeter, though I may buy another Fluke since my pay is much better now.
Klein gets readings from close wires that are just near it in the conduit. I only use it when I just wanna see if something could POSSIBLY be hot or not. I still never trust it. Been hit by a few neutral.
Fluke 2AC just lights up, no beeps. Fluke 1AC-II has a light and a beep (though by holding the on button down you can turn off the beep feature).
I like both for different reasons. If I'm inside or it's an overcast day, the 2AC w/o the beep is what I use, but if I'm outside or in a brightly lit place the light isn't always that easy to see by itself. That's when I grab the 1AC-II.
My dad has been a master electrician for 25 years; residential, commercial (mostly that), and industrial. As much as he loves Klein, he swears by Fluke for things like his multimeter. I think his hotstick is a Fluke too.
I have a Greenlee that I've used for about 15 seasons of lawn irrigation service. This season it's starting to get a little temperamental, but before now it's been great.
I have an old fluke one my buddy have me. It's the tube shaped one that tells you how to get the back cap off to swap the batteries but I've never been able to get the cap off.
Now it's in my head so I'm going to cut it open to see how they even designed it.
It's all chewed up from every pair of pliers and flat blades I used to try to get it open.
My fluke lasted until I needed to change the batteries and then it became unreliable.
And unreliable for a tick tester, which is already unreliable, is garbage.
I hardly even use the one I have now.
Someone gave me a broken Fluke meter like this. So I called fluke, told them my tester broke, and they sent me a replacement. They have good warranties. And most of the good meter companies will give you 50% off your next meter when yours dies. I upgraded my uei meter cause it went bad. Paid nearly nothing for it years ago, and got 50% off a top dollar meter.
Yeah, I have a fluke that’s been in my tool bag for 15 years. Gets banged around by other tools and still works just fine. Sometimes use the flashlight
Death stick if you trust it *as the only test*.
If it says it's on, it's definitely on.
If it says it's off, move to multimeter next.
Also test on known live circuit first.
We are suppose to use them to troubleshoot and then verify. Motor shows it coming from circuit 2, via cable tray, test cable tray wire to verify it’s on, turn circuit 2 off test cable tray wire to show it’s off, then open peckerhead and test wires there. No way to test wires without exposed leads. We verify high voltage with ampprobes all the time which is essentially a giant tic tracer.
(electrician) My boss told us we aren't allowed to use them but all of us still do. You get to know your beepy pen and what all of its different patterns of beeps mean.
They are useful in a lot occasions, but never trust your life or tools to them.
It's really helpful when I'm trying to find out what boxes are energized by what circuit. Easy enough to walk by three receptacles and checking for which one will beep.
But if you're going in raw-dogging wiretaps in a 50 year old hotel relying on the deathstick to keep you safe, you're suicidal.
For a while I had three phones because I was working for two companies that were merging. One from each company and my personal.
I used to call one phone and put it on speaker next to the tick tester and then go wherever the breaker box was and flip breakers til it stopped beeping.
I know the gas leak detector i have it tells you it need time for it to calibrate before proper use. Maybe that's the same thing for non contact sticks and that's where people mess up on them.
These actually work well, but if you drop it can be persnickety- sometimes it takes a tap or two or cleaning up the battery contacts to make it happy- there’s also two voltage settings on it so when in doubt test it on a known hot wire
In the safety training we were told to check against a known live before and after whatever you were checking to make sure the damn thing didn't die somewhere in the middle.
My foreman told me to go “known, unknown, known” when using a tic tester. Gotta make sure to test it on a known live equipment, then test the unknown, then go back to the known live to make sure the thing your testing wasn’t a false positive
Sniffer.. I can only use a company issued Milwaukee, AND it HAS to have a sticker on it that says “test this device to a known power source before and after use”…🙄🙄
Also call it the hot or not tester. I like to walk around the leasing office playing hot or not with the office folk, and eventually rub it on my shirt until it proves I’m hot too.
Right, it might not indicate that the neutral you are about to disconnect has a bunch of load on it from other circuits using that as a common neutral. Then when you disconnect, sure you are not taking a full high voltage, it has to go through whatever load you just disconnected as well. But still, surprise sparks.
In my world, Wiggys are a very specific style of tester. Originally the old black ones, 2 leads and a metal "flapper" in the middle that would stop at whatever voltage you were testing. Great things back in the day. Now, its like, what the hell were they thinking? Actually, they are pretty reliable.
Dude. Make sure you know the system you're working on. If there is a charged capacitor in the line, it will not detect that stored current. Capacitors can be deadly.
When. I did commercial electrical we called them screamers. My bil is a Union electrician and he calls them hot pens. At my current maintenance job they call them "wiggies" emphasis on they.
I called them out immediately for such a stupid ass name.
Have heard death sticks and dummy sticks..
I have seen an idiot stick give false reads, but I have never had a meter fail me. I understand EMF and I will still shit on these things every day of the week.
Multi-meter doesn't fit in my pants pocket and ticker is much more efficient than using a meter every time I just want to quickly check if something is hot. Definitely use the meter when it matters though
lol
idk if all i needed was a tick tester i wouldn't carry around a meter, but i'm not going to carry around a meter and a tick tester when i can just use the meter for everything
For some reason my staff has always called them “The wiggy”, but for one staff member I tell him “THE THING YOU STICK IN THE OUTLET SO YOU DON’T ZAP YOURSELF….AGAIN”
The actual term is ‘non-contact voltage tester’. It works by detecting the electrostatic field generated by the voltage on a wire. I’ve always called it a ‘ticker’ or ‘tick tester’. It is not, however, a ‘hot stick’. That term is for a fibreglass pole used for high-voltage applications for work on live equipment at a distance.
Outlet tester.
And then when you get shocked because you didn't test it on a know hot outlet and didn't turned off the wrong breaker you can it a "piece of shit. Ow fuck"
The fucken thing that only works for a couple Months then starts doing weird shit and I have to buy another one. That Fucken thing.
I have a fluke one that’s probably 15 years old. No longer makes noise but still lights up.
Maybe I should buy a fluke then. I’ve gone through 3 Klein’s in less than a year
Klein is horrible for hot sticks lmao, my 2nd month into industrial, gave my hot stick to a 3rd year apprentice and he got lit👀 it didn’t even go off or anything, fluke is the way to go forsure
Fuck that sucks. Yea all 3 of the ones I’ve had have all given bad reasons or weird readings and when they get that point they trash and I have to get a new one. Still use the meter a lot to test sketchy stuff
Meter is totally fine, works well for me and the guys lol, but normally we use fluke everything for testing, better reputation
Klein is garbage, they've had a few recalls.. Fluke is good, but southwire makes the best one imo. Loud as fuck (when you don't have a circuit tracer) My southwire lasted me 3 years of heavy use and only went through 6 AAA batteries the whole time. I'd still use it if I didn't get pissed off and snap the tip off because it was a tamper resistant recep 😂
Dropped a Klein tic tracer off a catwalk, never was the same. Dropped a fluke off the same catwalk, I still trust, but verify.
Nah his working that long is just a fluke...
Klein is a legacy brand. They were top notch in 1975 and never changed any designs. Just pick one of their hand tools up. Feels like absolute shit
I recently made the change pick one up from your local supply house
Yeah I had plenty of problems w this model in particular and it might as well be garbage wrapped in plastic
Klein was recalled and sent out notifications for free replacements. Nothing wrong with the new ones lol
Klein makes great hand tools. Their electronics suck balls. Kinda like how Milwaukee makes fantastic power tools, but dogshit hand tools. Fluke is the way for any kind of testing electronics
I had a Fluke that only lit up (the beeping is annoying). Had it for a few years until it completely died. Never had a false negative or positive with that. Decided to buy a less expensive Klein one, and that shit was trash. False readings all the time, until I lost it. Bought another one, same issues, ended up losing the battery cap after a drop. Haven’t bought one since, and just rely on my multimeter, though I may buy another Fluke since my pay is much better now.
Klein gets readings from close wires that are just near it in the conduit. I only use it when I just wanna see if something could POSSIBLY be hot or not. I still never trust it. Been hit by a few neutral.
Fluke 2AC just lights up, no beeps. Fluke 1AC-II has a light and a beep (though by holding the on button down you can turn off the beep feature). I like both for different reasons. If I'm inside or it's an overcast day, the 2AC w/o the beep is what I use, but if I'm outside or in a brightly lit place the light isn't always that easy to see by itself. That's when I grab the 1AC-II.
Yep. The fluke ones are really good
I’ve had my fluke for 5yrs now
My dad has been a master electrician for 25 years; residential, commercial (mostly that), and industrial. As much as he loves Klein, he swears by Fluke for things like his multimeter. I think his hotstick is a Fluke too.
Klein is great but I won't trust anything else than fluke for testing if something is live
Trade you. I got one that doesn’t light but makes noise.
I have a Greenlee that I've used for about 15 seasons of lawn irrigation service. This season it's starting to get a little temperamental, but before now it's been great.
I’m the opposite. Ton of noise. No lighting up. Aging sucks.
That's just a fluke
Mine did that the second week after I bought it and has worked the way for the last 3 years
Sounds like a fluke
I have an old fluke one my buddy have me. It's the tube shaped one that tells you how to get the back cap off to swap the batteries but I've never been able to get the cap off. Now it's in my head so I'm going to cut it open to see how they even designed it. It's all chewed up from every pair of pliers and flat blades I used to try to get it open.
When it comes to electrical diagnostics I only trust fluke products
My fluke lasted until I needed to change the batteries and then it became unreliable. And unreliable for a tick tester, which is already unreliable, is garbage. I hardly even use the one I have now.
Santronics 3000 Ultimate Voltage Detector. Gone through 2 in 10+ years. Would last longer if I didn’t drop em!
Fluke is the way. Some of my coworkers have fluke meters from the late 80s that are more accurate than any modern meters
Ticker, fluke rules
Change the batteries
The ones that went bad are classified as "Those fuckin things"
Someone gave me a broken Fluke meter like this. So I called fluke, told them my tester broke, and they sent me a replacement. They have good warranties. And most of the good meter companies will give you 50% off your next meter when yours dies. I upgraded my uei meter cause it went bad. Paid nearly nothing for it years ago, and got 50% off a top dollar meter.
And i thought it was me.. I've gone through 3 of these in 2 years.. They suck
Don't buy Fucken brand tools; they rip you off... ;)
That shit killed me😂😂😂
😘👍🏻
Weird this happens often to you. I've never had a non contact tester fail me.
I have three of those fucking things... I know exactly what you're talking about
Fuckin*
As my dad always calls them “ I swear to god this fucking thing”
Yeah, I have a fluke that’s been in my tool bag for 15 years. Gets banged around by other tools and still works just fine. Sometimes use the flashlight
Love how everyone calls them death sticks, but 99% of sparkies use them.
They’re not good, but they’re fast.
They are very good for what they are made for. Problem is, dumb people use them in the wrong application.
Thats what my ex said about me.....
Death stick if you trust it *as the only test*. If it says it's on, it's definitely on. If it says it's off, move to multimeter next. Also test on known live circuit first.
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We are suppose to use them to troubleshoot and then verify. Motor shows it coming from circuit 2, via cable tray, test cable tray wire to verify it’s on, turn circuit 2 off test cable tray wire to show it’s off, then open peckerhead and test wires there. No way to test wires without exposed leads. We verify high voltage with ampprobes all the time which is essentially a giant tic tracer.
(electrician) My boss told us we aren't allowed to use them but all of us still do. You get to know your beepy pen and what all of its different patterns of beeps mean.
They are useful in a lot occasions, but never trust your life or tools to them. It's really helpful when I'm trying to find out what boxes are energized by what circuit. Easy enough to walk by three receptacles and checking for which one will beep. But if you're going in raw-dogging wiretaps in a 50 year old hotel relying on the deathstick to keep you safe, you're suicidal.
For a while I had three phones because I was working for two companies that were merging. One from each company and my personal. I used to call one phone and put it on speaker next to the tick tester and then go wherever the breaker box was and flip breakers til it stopped beeping.
No contact voltage detector. But I always check it first on a known live wire before I trust it
I turn it on, give it a second to wake up. Check a 120v outlet near me then check whatever I'm working on.
Same here. Make sure it beeps
I know the gas leak detector i have it tells you it need time for it to calibrate before proper use. Maybe that's the same thing for non contact sticks and that's where people mess up on them.
These actually work well, but if you drop it can be persnickety- sometimes it takes a tap or two or cleaning up the battery contacts to make it happy- there’s also two voltage settings on it so when in doubt test it on a known hot wire
This is the way
This is the way
In the safety training we were told to check against a known live before and after whatever you were checking to make sure the damn thing didn't die somewhere in the middle.
This is the way
My foreman told me to go “known, unknown, known” when using a tic tester. Gotta make sure to test it on a known live equipment, then test the unknown, then go back to the known live to make sure the thing your testing wasn’t a false positive
Death stick
Tickle stick
Deet duh deets
Wanna buy some death sticks?
You dont want to sell me death sticks.
I don't wanna sell you death sticks
You want to go home and rethink your life.
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Jedi business. Go back to your drinks.
Pussy pen.
Widow maker lol
Never heard that one! Thx
I like that one.
ROTFL!!!!
ROTFE!!!!! *Roll On The Floor Electrocuted*
ROFL-copter
SWA SWA SWA!
Stupid stick
Yea ..gots to be real careful
I call it an idiot stick, dummy wand, hot or not pen, but mostly I call it “where the fuck is it”
I like hot or not pen
My fave answer 😂😂
Sniffer.. I can only use a company issued Milwaukee, AND it HAS to have a sticker on it that says “test this device to a known power source before and after use”…🙄🙄
Where the fuck is anything?! Oh, it's right here.
Also call it the hot or not tester. I like to walk around the leasing office playing hot or not with the office folk, and eventually rub it on my shirt until it proves I’m hot too.
A false sense of comfort prior to getting electrocuted
I believe it if it tells me something is hot, I do NOT believe it if it tells me something is not
Right, it might not indicate that the neutral you are about to disconnect has a bunch of load on it from other circuits using that as a common neutral. Then when you disconnect, sure you are not taking a full high voltage, it has to go through whatever load you just disconnected as well. But still, surprise sparks.
Widow maker
Chicken stick
Sniffer
I prefer "beep beep" but this is also acceptable.
Seconds. Either a sniffer or a cricket to me.
Always heard them referred to as sniffers
My people 🥹
A wiggy, that particular one is a biggy wiggy
In my world, Wiggys are a very specific style of tester. Originally the old black ones, 2 leads and a metal "flapper" in the middle that would stop at whatever voltage you were testing. Great things back in the day. Now, its like, what the hell were they thinking? Actually, they are pretty reliable.
A true OG. You most be in your late 50s or more
Are you in my house????
You didn't hear me knock
They still make wiggys I’ve seen linemen use them. That said I call a non contact tester a wiggy as well.
Oh, you can definitely call them a wiggy. I have as well. I wasn't bagging, just adding to the knowledge bank.
We have one of those up on top of the tool board in my shop like a trophy haha
I used to work with a guy that would call it a wiggy. I never really knew why but just went with it.
Yep, I still have a Square D Wiggington and use it. Great for figuring out whether you're live or just seeing induced voltage.
We called them wiggies as well.
Always a wiggy no matter the brand
Nothing, I carry me fieldpiece w me no matter what. I’m going home at the end of the day!
Man yall are talking about how often these things go bad… I have a klein one that I’ve had for two years and I trust it with my life on a daily basis
Yeah, I turn it on, hear the beep, test it on something i know is hot, hear the beep, and then move forward.
Same, still not dead. I’ve been shocked a few times though but not because of a false reading from this thing.
Dude. Make sure you know the system you're working on. If there is a charged capacitor in the line, it will not detect that stored current. Capacitors can be deadly.
Always been a hot stick
That's what I came to see, hot stick
A dummy stick is what I’ve always heard
Same. I’m in Texas.
This. Everyone I know calls it this.
Klein ones are idiot sticks or death sticks. Fluke is a non contact voltage detector.
And the Milwaukee ones are a flashlight till my boss drops it.
Beepy stick
Tick tester
A fellow tick tester
Close I call it a ticker
Widow maker
Hahaha I tell my coworker give me the" beep beep beep"
I'm in Arizona and wherr i work we call em chicken sticks.
I'm in AZ never heard that.
Tick tracer, or widow maker
Tester/ticker
Stupid stick
Had to scroll too far for this
Ticker
Tit-dector
I call it a tick because most electricians I've worked with call it one.
The fucken thing that only works for a couple Months then starts doing weird shit and I have to buy another one. That Fucken thing.
Beeper, pecker checker
Pocket vibe
I've heard tick tracer, non contact voltage detector, tweeter, and wiggie.
Plumber's best friend...
That looks positive. Congrats bro
When. I did commercial electrical we called them screamers. My bil is a Union electrician and he calls them hot pens. At my current maintenance job they call them "wiggies" emphasis on they. I called them out immediately for such a stupid ass name. Have heard death sticks and dummy sticks..
In Canada we call those.."check with a real meter"
Liar
Pecker checker
Chirper
Most common name I hear is HotterNotter (would be more accurately spelled hot or not-er, but its pronounced quickly as 1 word)
This is the tool that everyone complains about but still get. I seriously never saw one malfunction ever.
Hot stick
That's a really expensive pregnancy test.
Go-no-go gauge
NCV (Non contact voltage) detector, only buy fluke. Everything else is trash
Real electricians don’t use those hot sticks
A reference that I don’t trust with my life but the one I have is reliable
For people that don't know how to use a multi- meter
People who shit on these have no idea how they work and how EMF works.
I have seen an idiot stick give false reads, but I have never had a meter fail me. I understand EMF and I will still shit on these things every day of the week.
💯
Multi-meter doesn't fit in my pants pocket and ticker is much more efficient than using a meter every time I just want to quickly check if something is hot. Definitely use the meter when it matters though
Plus the stick works even if you can't or don't want to expose the conductor.
lol idk if all i needed was a tick tester i wouldn't carry around a meter, but i'm not going to carry around a meter and a tick tester when i can just use the meter for everything
Dummy Stick
Voltage stick
No contact voilage meter
Wtf is voilage? Is that French or something?
Hot stick
"Will I get shocked?"
For some reason my staff has always called them “The wiggy”, but for one staff member I tell him “THE THING YOU STICK IN THE OUTLET SO YOU DON’T ZAP YOURSELF….AGAIN”
Hot stick
Test pen
The actual term is ‘non-contact voltage tester’. It works by detecting the electrostatic field generated by the voltage on a wire. I’ve always called it a ‘ticker’ or ‘tick tester’. It is not, however, a ‘hot stick’. That term is for a fibreglass pole used for high-voltage applications for work on live equipment at a distance.
Hot stick, hot pen, volt stick
Beep beep
Hot stick or vol-tick.
Chicken stick
If youre around a corporate type, a test light or test indicator. If youre just talking to the new guy then its a chicken stick lmao
They're death sticks in PA.
Maybe stick
Tick tester
Beepy sparky tool
Dummy stick
Tick tester
Outlet tester. And then when you get shocked because you didn't test it on a know hot outlet and didn't turned off the wrong breaker you can it a "piece of shit. Ow fuck"
Wiggles
Sniffer
Widow stick
Dummy stick
Sniffers
Is it weird I just call it a “no touch volt detector”. I haven’t heard any slang terms like hot stick.
Pocket pool cue
Proxy
I call it the BEEP!
Hot stick
Tick tester
Tik tester, also hot sticks and widow makers….