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- So after a recent large shipment of tools
from Wiha, we were like a bunch of magpies
as we dove into the box to see if we could
replace some of those historic tools we've got in our kit,
with new, updated and better versions.
And you believe you've done exactly that Gordon?
- Yeah this volt detector from Wiha.
Top of the line Gary. Now I would've normally
called this a voltage stick.
- And I'd call it a voltage pen,
and I've got my original one here.
But we're just gonna stop you there.
There is no way that we are suggesting that
these devices should be used in replacement for
safe isolation.
Safe isolation, we'll use an approved voltage indicator,
to GS38, a proving unit and the appropriate locking off kit
and procedure in order to identify circuits,
safely isolate it, and safely work on it.
However, we believe this can perhaps be that
exploratory look at a system, and maybe indicate
one or two things to you.
So to prove it, when I take my voltage pen stick,
or voltage indicator or whatever you want to go with
and take it down towards a live cable,
we can see my end is now a little red.
- A bit like E.T.'s finger Gary.
- Okay yes I'd , like to go home as well.
(laughter)
And yours does what?
- Okay so the first thing I like about this,
this just feels better.
Nice ergonomic grip if you're gonna be
wondering around all day, this has got a better feel to it.
There's a power-on indicator.
So at least I know that actually the device is powered on
and, yeah battery's working so yeah.
Go near to the cable and,
bingo I get a red light as well Gary.
- Wow how it's improved.
So you're saying you turn yours on and it tells you it's on,
and when you get near something that's live it goes red.
- [GORDON] Yeah, but this has got a tiny little probe.
- Okay.
- So I can get into there. So yeah, final hour.
Nice roomy U.K. plug but if that were an American plug,
you might struggle to get in there.
- I might do, and it won't bother me that much.
Okay so what we're suggesting there is that,
you can turn yours on.
- Mhmm
- What if you don't turn it off Gordon?
- Well the green light will stay on and eventually
it will go off when the battery has run out.
- Okay, so ergonomically, let's have a feel.
- Yeah.
- So ergonomically that fit..
Yeah you're right I agree with that, yep.
And I do like the tip and all the rest of it
so when we find...
Yeah there we go.
But that's not really trumped me has it?
- Okay well, let me back in time
sense you like talking old school.
- This is old school.
- Gary likes going back in time.
What was your first car?
- Austin Metro, green.
- Austin Metro. I had an Austin Metro as well.
White, D77NUG if it's still on the road, let me know.
(laughter)
Did you have wing mirrors on both sides?
- Two wing mirrors, yeah either side yes.
- Two wing mirrors? Did you have a head rest?
- Both chairs had head rests.
- The dashboard, we all had switches there,
were they all populated, loads of switches?
- Even to the point where I added an extra
REV counter in mine.
- No see I didn't have any of that.
It was like that switch panel was empty.
It was like, "look at what you could've had,
if the original owner, I was probably the third owner,
had spent more money on the car."
- I even added a subwoofer and base speaker
onto a partial shelf I had to make myself Gordon.
So that wasn't standard either.
So where are you taking us with this story then?
- Okay so this is the, this is my Austin Metro.
- Okay.
- But you clearly had the gear version if you were
in the Ford world they call that the gear.
And clearly the empty panel from this,
there's some room in here for some other features,
in the gear version.
- Okay.
- We get those extra features.
- Okay, so go on and talk me through what this one's got.
- Okay so we got the first extra feature you get,
you get a torch.
- Okay, no torch here, okay.
- I switch it on
- Okay,
- A buzzer.
- Okay so we have a noise.
- And now I go near the cable,
- Okay, this is gonna be impressive isn't it?
- And I get closer to the cable,
(beeping speeds up).
And now if I go into the circuit,
(beeping rapidly).
- Okay, so and and?
- So the voltage range is increased on this,
so the non-gear version go to about 90 to 1,000 volts.
This goes from 12 volts to 1,000 volts AC, AC only.
- What if I leave it on?
- And if you leave it on after 4 minutes,
the voltage detector goes off for 15 minutes on the torch.
- So it turns itself off?
- It turns itself off.
- Okay so I can't (mumbles).
So okay, so ergonomically, let's have another feel
it feels exactly the same as the other one, okay.
Does it beep when it comes near people as well?
- Yeah, well all these things do, yeah.
With your electrified personality Gary.
(laughter)
- Back to you. Okay so some people don't like a buzzer,
okay so example being...
I can see that it's live, no buzzer needed.
- Okay, so if you get...
Yeah okay the buzzer can be quite annoying.
- There are other things that can be quite annoying as well
that are difficult to turn off.
- So if I switch that on, and get a little flash of the LED.
- Okay, and what's that gonna indicate to me?
- I can switch the buzzer off.
- All right, okay so no buzzer needed but
you'll still get that,
the LED's stroking up the screen itself yeah?
Okay.
Is that live or not?
- So I've now powered this up,
- Yeah.
- Without the buzzer,
- Okay.
- And Now I've just got the little LED bar graph
that goes up there.
A bit like one of those old graphic equalizers
your probably had on your car stereo.
- I had, just a little one, and if I left it on,
it actually drained the battery,
so I'd get up in the morning and have to jump-start
me Austin Metro in order to get to work.
Is there any other features about it?
Okay so that's some extra features about it.
I see we've got a small indoor swimming pool here,
that I take has been filled with that, refreshing,
the electrical industry with the old, Taplin Springs.
- Yeah, with some water?
- Why do we got, like were you gonna start
putting out electricity.
- A fine bit on this. It is waterproof, the I367.
- Is there gonna be a large opportunity for electricians
to be volt finding say, underwater with their volt pen?
- Well, gotta find that out, I don't know if a volt stick
works if it's actually underwater.
- Okay, so (mumbles).
Just drop it in you don't care it's waterproof, okay.
So that's gone in there.
- The power light's still on.
- I'm just gonna leave mine over here for a moment,
if somebody used it in the future.
Okay, so it's IP rated?
Okay so it still just about works yeah?
- It still works, it's fine, it's all good.
- Okay so well, I don't know why we'd need to be
testing cables under water, but lets see...
Should we put a little more of that tap water in there
just to make sure we have enough in there.
Okay so let's drop the cable in.
- Okay so I'm going along the cable,
- Okay, so it doesn't work under water then.
- No it doesn't work under water,
and I suggest it's probably, yeah, it's
probably not a good idea to be
doing electrical work in the pool.
- No, not when it's full of water.
So okay, that's good in case we're on a building
so whenever we drop it into more onerous conditions.
So we're saying we've improved the voltage stick
I've had for 10 years, I noticed there was only one of those
and I don't own it, I still own this one,
is that how we're gonna play this game out yes?
Okay, I don't mind that, yeah that's all good.
So, in summary then, obviously that one there
has got more features that this one here.
This is probably a almost alike for like replacement
of that, do you agree?
- Yeah.
- Yeah and I think you're right, ergonomically
that feels better in the hand than that one.
It's got a power-on button, but of course
there is a chance that we leave it on
and obviously the improvements are made on your one.
- Yeah, it's good.
I mean you see a lot of these updated versions
sometimes they have dual mode to do, but I think
that little bar graph as you go closer is, uh yeah.
- So if we to take that towards say a three-phased
distribution board, obviously we're gonna see that
as we're going towards 400 volts except it's gonna
shoot up really quickly to that voltage range.
- It should go berserk.
- Those you guys toward our lives.
So as always, we'd love to hear your comments
so if you've got a voltage pen that you're
quite proud of using in the electrical industry,
not for safe isolation obviously,
but as part of your maybe exploratory inspection of
an installation for fault finding,
please make sure you leave those comments below,
and maybe we'll get a chance to have a look at the
volt pen, voltage stick, or voltage indicator,
that you comment below on in one of our next videos.
Until then, we'll see ya.
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