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Is there a circuit breaker locator tool that actually works?

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Is there a circuit breaker locator tool that actually works? Frank B Denman 11-04-2007
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Posted by Frank B Denman on November 4, 2007, 6:44 pm
I've got a Sperry CS-500A that is essentially useless. It is never able
to narrow its detection to a single breaker.

Would appreciate recommendations for a better tool, if one exists. The
budget is ~$100.

Thanks!

Frank

Frank Denman
Denman Systems
(please remove the x from my email address)

Posted by hallerb@aol.com on November 4, 2007, 7:55 pm
> I've got a Sperry CS-500A that is essentially useless. It is never able
> to narrow its detection to a single breaker.
>
> Would appreciate recommendations for a better tool, if one exists. The
> budget is ~$100.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Frank
>
> Frank Denman
> Denman Systems
> (please remove the x from my email address)

i just plug a radio into the outlet or lamp i want to kill, and turn
off breakers till i find the one I want,

for safety I intentially short any device before touching it just in
case


Posted by Terry on November 4, 2007, 8:38 pm
On Sun, 04 Nov 2007 16:55:52 -0800, "hallerb@aol.com"

>> I've got a Sperry CS-500A that is essentially useless. It is never able
>> to narrow its detection to a single breaker.
>>
>> Would appreciate recommendations for a better tool, if one exists. The
>> budget is ~$100.
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>> Frank
>>
>> Frank Denman
>> Denman Systems
>> (please remove the x from my email address)
>
>i just plug a radio into the outlet or lamp i want to kill, and turn
>off breakers till i find the one I want,
>
>for safety I intentially short any device before touching it just in
>case

That is not a good idea for hospital work. :)


We use a Greenlee circuit tracer at work. The trick, I learned, was
to hold the sensor parallel to the buss.

To be really sure, after we locate the breaker, we have an apprentice
plug a drill in the circuit and cycle the trigger. You can see the
pulse with an amprobe.


Posted by =?ISO-8859-15?Q?Tekkie=AE?= on November 4, 2007, 10:05 pm
hallerb@aol.com posted for all of us...

> > I've got a Sperry CS-500A that is essentially useless. It is never able
> > to narrow its detection to a single breaker.
> >
> > Would appreciate recommendations for a better tool, if one exists. The
> > budget is ~$100.
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
> > Frank
> >
> > Frank Denman
> > Denman Systems
> > (please remove the x from my email address)
>
> i just plug a radio into the outlet or lamp i want to kill, and turn
> off breakers till i find the one I want,
>
> for safety I intentially short any device before touching it just in
> case
>
>
Still pulling this shit huh hollerbutt...
--
Tekkie GRIP = Get Rid of Incumbent Politicians

Posted by Paul Franklin on November 4, 2007, 8:27 pm
On Sun, 04 Nov 2007 15:44:12 -0800, Frank B Denman

>I've got a Sperry CS-500A that is essentially useless. It is never able
>to narrow its detection to a single breaker.
>
>Would appreciate recommendations for a better tool, if one exists. The
>budget is ~$100.
>
>Thanks!
>
>Frank
>
>Frank Denman
>Denman Systems
>(please remove the x from my email address)

I've used a few different ones. The GB Instruments Get-1200 I have
now is the best so far, but...

I would say I get the right breaker on the first try about 2/3 of the
time. Maybe 75%. If you have half inch breakers or duplex breakers,
it's almost impossible to pick the right one with certainty, because
they are both connected to the same leg within inches of the breaker.

It's a difficult technical problem. You are trying to identify very
small differences in signal strength from breakers that are all
connected together very close to where you are trying to measure. The
only thing that gives you any chance at all is that every other
breaker connects to the opposite side of the line.

HTH,

Paul F.





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