Fluke 1AC-A1-II Volt-Alert AC Non-Contact Voltage Tester

I work in a remodeling business, and this is an indispensable tool. I repeat, indispensable. The tip simply lights up when you touch it to the "hot" side of a Romex wire, instantly telling you if a wire is live or not. "Is this switch/receptacle that I'm about to take apart and work on/touch hot??" Well, now you know. It is important to use it for what it's designed for. It will not tell you if there is an open neutral or anything of the sort, so it's only good for minor troubleshooting (you'd need a Knopp, or something more specialized for that). If anything, it will err on the "hot" side. I.E: It will occasionally tell me a line is hot when it isn't (if there is allot going on in a box, or near dimmers etc.), but I've never had it tell me a wire was NOT hot, and get zapped by it (unless you touch the neutral side of a romex, but that would be your fault for not checking both sides of it! : )

So, for everyday work in the remodeling world, tracing wires,... Read more

Fine quality tool typical of Fluke.

The switch on this tester is much better than that found on the Greenlee tester. I am often working in cramped, dark areas and require a solidly built tester that doesn't suffer from inadvertent switch movement-a problem with the Greenlee and similar devices.

This tester, like every other non-contact (NC) tester I have used, will occasionally provide a "false positive" indication. This is often caused by an errant voltage present on a cable which is laying near an energized cable. This is due to inductance is is probably unavoidable with a NC device.

This is one of the best tool investments you can make-absolutely essential for electrical, plumbing, remodeling, or demolition. Work safely; always test it on an energized conductor and verify proper operation before use on unknown cables.

Highly recommended!

I use this tool fairly often and it has proved to be reliable and consistent. I like it that it has a visual and an audible signal. I have owned maybe 5 or 6 of this style of non contact tester. This one works the best, is the most solidly built, is the prettiest, and it has been in my tool boxes in the hot sun for over a year and it has not melted, like ALL the others. Even if it was $50 it would be well worth it.