How to find a circuit breaker - How to trace a circuit - The Electrical Guide
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- čas přidán 8. 09. 2024
- This video unboxes and demonstrates the use of my new Klein Tools Digital Circuit Breaker Finder with GFCI Outlet Tester.
The Klein Tools ET310 is a digital circuit breaker finder used to locate the correct circuit breaker in a panel to which an electrical outlet or fixture is connected. The Transmitter is connected to the electrical outlet or fixture in the circuit while the receiver is used to scan the breakers in the circuit panel. The Transmitter also features a GFCI outlet tester.
- Quickly and accurately locate the correct circuit breaker in a panel corresponding to the circuit to which an electrical outlet or fixture is connected.
- Tester consists of two parts: a Transmitter, connected to the electrical outlet or fixture and a Receiver, used to scan the panel to locate the correct breaker
- Receiver delivers clear visual and audible indications when the correct breaker has been located
- Operates on 90-120V AC circuits
- Transmitter incorporates a GFCI outlet tester to inspect the wiring condition at the electrical outlet and test GFCI devices
- Transmitter docks in the Receiver for convenient storage as a single item when tester is not is use
Always shut off power before you do any electrical work.
Find this tool here:
www.kleintools...
or
www.homedepot....
Now offering 1 on 1 virtual tutoring on the Canadian Electrical Code book 2021 or trade school classes.
Email theelectricalguide@gmail.com for inquiries.
I bought this one last month to test all the outlets, switches and lights in my daughter’s house. The previous owners did quite a few renovations to the house. I knew by looking at some of these renovations that they were not to code. The #6 circuit breaker kept tripping at least once a week.
So I went over and made a schematic of all the outlets, switches and lights. I found that there was 17 devices running off that one circuit breaker. And a few others had maybe 2-3 devices. I had to rewire a few electrical devices. It’s been 4 weeks and no problems…so far. But this Klein tool was a great help. I also bought a few accessories for testing the lights and the older two prong outlets. This is definitely worth it money. But don’t forget, it take a little practice and patience as some times you will get a false reading.
Thank you for sharing your story. A+ dad here folks! Glad you were able to master the device and it's quirks and put it to use!
These two tools in one package I need. Interested in tracing out all the circuits in my house to see what is going where, and as a second year this will be a "fun" task to tackle for the simple fact of learning!
Thank you for sharing this video and explaining how these tools work 🔥
Yesssss that does sound like a fun task. You got this!
Keep in mind that IP40 doesn’t offer water resistance. The first digit in the IP rating indicates protection against solid particles, while the second digit represents protection against liquid entry. In this case, the device’s safeguard against tools and small wires greater than 1 millimeter is denoted by the “4”. However, the “0” signifies a lack of protection against water ingress. It’s understandable why this could be confusing, especially with the water droplet symbol next to the IP code. I wanted to raise awareness to help prevent any unfortunate accidents. This video provides valuable insights!
Love this added bit of info, thank you!
My instructor (pre apprenticeship) just showed us this tool today, super cool. Hope all is well, your videos helped me during my program!
Yeah this thing can be pretty handy if you know how to use it. I teach pre-apprenticeship - what college are you going to? Thank you for the positive feedback!
I like it thank you, but one thing I would’ve love for you to show us is the turn breaker off and check the outlet
I know this is two years ago but... THANK YOU !
@abdrywallrepairspecialist5184 Thank you for the positive feedback!
Good video. Thanks for demonstration
Thanks for the positive feedback👍
To verify the circuit after using the tool, I shut off the breaker and then check to see if the receptacle in fact does not have current.
The circuit doesn't have to be off. Just plug in the device into the outlet you're looking for and use the wand at the panel side to try and locate the breaker for that circuit. I think maybe the proximity tester might be easier to use, jam it into the smaller of the vertical slots in the outlet and flip breakers off until it stops beeping. czcams.com/video/34ODFi4jDKE/video.html
@@theelectricalguide Thanks for the clarification.
Thanks!
Thank you.
I'm glad you found this helpful.
Demonstrate how to trace and match multiple short circuit on one harness
Will the 310 also work on circuits with a GFCI receptacle? Do all "finders" work on GFCI receptacle circuits?
They should all work with gfci receptacles. Some have a button like this one that trips the gfci for you. I used it recently to find the gfci receptacle that was feeding a non gfci receptacle. Was pretty handy,
I had a short somewhere the Man who came just used this handy devise. If I had one I could have saved the 600 dollars😮. But met a Nice guy I would call him again if I need to. But this tool is cool was my light wiring on ceiling that cause the fridge to stop working.
Expensive way to find out about this tool 😅 glad your problem is fixed though 👍
Thanks what about switch to the breaker??
I'm assuming this will NOT find where an un-energized wire goes? This needs for the outlet or wires to be energized? Thank you
Skylark cool name, My father in laws boat is named SkyLarkin😂
For wires that are not energized use the continuity setting on a multimeter. You can attach the wires in question together at one end and use the continuity setting on the meter to find a tone on the other side of where the wires are. Example: attach the white and black if your circuit at the plug or switch and put your meter leads one on the neutral bar and the other lead put from breaker screw to breaker screw until the meter beeps at you. Good luck! Turn the panel off first 👌
czcams.com/video/N7kJNxQYmf0/video.htmlsi=pyT_SBMzH_GbHXOE
@@theelectricalguide Thank you very much for that info, that makes sense and didn't occur to me, I guess if I get nothing then maybe the wire is capped off somewhere and doesn't go to anything, which is kind of scary because it was energized at one point. SO!, very interesting and a coincidence you would mention your father in laws boat, I have my name "Skylark" not just because I love the car but because I own a "Skylark" Correct Craft boat, very rare! drives on the left, shifts on the dash, and has a gas pedal on the floor! which makes it very interesting to drive in waves if you can imagine! They made a Mustang and one other! Here's one, wish mine was in this shape, czcams.com/video/Z0J6PSdD8AI/video.htmlsi=QW76GeCoCnlQ7IaZ
Will this work if the circuit breaker is bad
Can you use the receiver to see if a nearby but separate outlet is on the same circuit by putting the receiver probe tip near the other outlet face?
That may work, if it's wired upstream then for sure.
Does this find a breaker that keeps shorting out but doesn't get tripped to the off position?
Sounds more like a loose neutral than a tripped breaker. If it trips it will stay tripped and you won't have to use a device to find it - it will be in the middle position, nor on or off and needing a reset. The plug in portion of this tester can detect for disconnected neutrals by plugging it into the outlets around your house but because plugs aren't the only things using the neutral you may not find it even that way. Hope that helps.
What if power is out and trying to locate breaker?
New toys are always fun! Also side note, if the wires in an old house are to short when you go to replace an receptacle, you can just pigtail it right? Sorry for asking so many questions .. Summer holidays so my teacher hasn’t got back to me lol
Hey, yeah you can pigtail them. Check out my timer switch video to see how pigtails are done properly. I encountered a few really short wires in installing that timer and was forced to extend them with pigtails. czcams.com/video/Eu4wiM1M3mY/video.html
Always happy to answer viewer questions! Keep wondering!
You need to make sure you do not have too many outlets on the circuit or you could burn your house down. If you mess with the wiring and do it wrong, the insurance company can deny your claim.
can the tester and transmitter work while the main power is in off position?
Yup!
The instructions say You're supposed to run the device across the panel twice. The first time to learn the panel and the second time to find a breaker panel attached to the switch
Years ago I bought another brand of circuit finder, total junk, now I bought this one and it’s not a whole lot better. As a retired electrician I can say that I have never seen any electrician ever use one of these on a job site. Probably because a real electrician labels panels correctly, but having said that it would be a handy tool if it worked most of the time. Unfortunately half the time I use mine I get absolutely no red signal and the other half of the time I get multiple red signals. Now from my own observations I can say that if the inside of your panel was wired by puke-in electrical and looks like a dog’s breakfast it’s not going to work very well. Sure I could clean up the mess, but I was hoping this being a newer device would hopefully not have the same issues as the one I bought 20 yrs ago.
I agree this isn't something used much in commercial, but it's great for residential. With a little practice it has proven quite reliable over the years. That being said, this is a fairly cheap one, you can get some pretty awesome expensive ones for commercial use that I have also used but they work in a similar way.
In a perfect world everything is done right the first time, labelled correctly and so on but that's rarely the case in this world haha
Yeah but if the outlet has no power? How do I verify using this tool??
What if its a circuit that doesnt have an outlet on it? Like a dishwasher or light fixtures
Both of those things have visual signals that they’re off. Have someone stand beside the light that’s on or the dishwasher that’s on and watch for the lights to go out on the light/dishwasher. Then you’ll know whoever is at the panel flipping breakers found the right one. 👍
@@theelectricalguide of course but was asking if your your doing it alone and didn't want to run back and forth to the panel 20x
@@BOSS_805 There are some other more expensive tools you can buy for tracing circuits but they're potentially $1000+ the old fashion 2 person method is the easiest and cheapest :)
How far can you transmit to the receiver?
1000ft
will this tell you if there are 2 outlets in the same room are on the same circuit without going outside to the breaker box?
I had the same question and so I tested it and I was able to plug into one and then test each hot wire after removing the cover and found the outlets and switches in a circuit.
Does it work if the power is off?
No, need a toner for that. Different tool.
Can this be used to find the circuit breaker on an outlet with no power? And how would you trace an outlet that might be getting its power from a gfi outlet? The outlet is not working and pressing the reset on the gfi has no effect.
You need power for this device, you can purchase more expensive circuit tracers to find without power. Your GFCI that won't reset is either without power or defective. Maybe go around your house looking for another GFCI that's tripped? Backyard, front porch, bathrooms, kitchens.
Can you use the kobalt non contact voltage tester for this?
I'm not sure that one has circuit tracing? Depends on the model I guess.
Will it find the neutral wire too ? If so, can you explain?
No, it only lights up on the hot one.
Do they work if you turn off power or you lost power from that outlet?
No.
Receiver works off battery.
Transmitter / tone generator needs 120V power from the outlet.
@@mikemm60 Have a similar device, If you flip the breaker off the transmitter loses power which is confirmation that you have found the correct breaker for the outlet that you just plugged the transmitter into. As you show you can get false positives (beeps) from other wires. flipping off the suspect breaker is 100% confirmation that you "identified" the right breaker!
mine beeps on anything giving false alarms only
How do you find circuit breaker to a light switch?
The easiest way is not to use one of these tools but instead just flip the light on and turn breakers off until the light goes out. Best done with a partner. If your light doesn't work and that's why you're trying to find the breaker for replacement you can turn the switch off, take the light mostly apart and use one of these tools czcams.com/video/34ODFi4jDKE/video.html to identify if the wires are live - also best done with a partner.
Turn on the switch (and the light it controls). Get the $16 Klein fixture adapter kit and replace the bulb with the plug adapter. Plus into the adapter then scan at the panel as usual.
@@kwolson59 you are smarter than the guy who made the video. Thank you
@@kwolson59 Thanks for the tip. What if the fixture is led with no bulb?
U have to calibrate it first!
Cost for the tool?
I got it from The Home Depot for $49.99 last month.
expensive@@papatutti59
ok good
Seems u don't know how to properly use the device... U are supposed sweep the panel one time to calibrate the device and make a second pass to find your breaker
This device gives erroneous results. It will give a positive response on multiple circuit breakers. Buyer beware.
Indeed, I kinda show that in the video. The positive responses are weaker though, you’re looking for a solid loud bright signal not a quick beep or two. This takes a little practice, but after using it a bit I’m able to reliably find the circuit.
You need to run it across your panel slowly to pinpoint the exact breaker. Instructions take 30 seconds to read. Works flawlessly for those who enjoy learning.
Make sure using it on single phase systems. 3 phase systems it's a lot harder. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it's useless.
What’s with the gloves?😂
Part of my channels look hahahaha
You need to read the instruction manual before publishing a video on how to use it.
For the price this thing is terrible, and they make it so hard to return after the 90 day window.
PO💩 buyer beware ask me how I know 😢
Obviously very unreliable.
It takes getting used to for sure, but for the price it's pretty decent. Thank you for your feedback!
Demonstrate how to trace and match multiple short circuit on one harness
I'm sorry I don't understand your request. This can not find short circuits.