I lost the one I had years ago when I wired up a garage, I think I might have left it sitting on a stud in the wall and put plaster board over it when I lined it... that was the last time I saw it... one day someone will pull that lining off and find a handy socket tester.
👍😁 Yes, these have been spotted everywhere. Your review was able to scratch my itch, hence avoid running off to impulse buy 🤗 It "was" encouraging to see it was built more substantially than I would have thought for that price point. In that sense it seems worth purchasing, especially in lieu of my tried & true "wet finger" test 😨. Then again we run on 1/2 power over here 🇺🇸 so it's not as bad as it sounds. Cheers.
Thanks Steve! That receptacle tester has a large footprint. Mine is a Southwire 40010S-A and is smaller than that one. It isn't fancy but it does the job.
My new Habotest HT107E has an earth current of 1.67mA. This is a vast improvement on my old 3 LED basic socket tester MS6860E purchased from CPC Farnell. That is labelled 11mA 230V 50Hz, and has an earth current of 5mA. CPC still list this type.
Interesting Steve...GFCIs here in the states as I recall are supposed to trip when the current exceeds 5mA and above 5-10mA depending on your body size, conductivity etc. really begins to get into the painful and almost "can't let go" area if I'm not mistaken. You mentioned it may be a bit high, what is the standard where you are?
The standard trip current is 30mA for most RCDs/GFCIs in Europe. We have 10mA RCDs for specific applications but they are rarely used and usually retail for over £100. Similarly we have 100mA and 300mA RCDs but these are not for protection against electric shock.
The 30 mA is pretty high but it allwos easily protecting entire home. In Finland RCDs became mandatory on all sockets and lights (with the exception of fridge/freezer) in 2007. In the US they still are not mandatory everywhere because of the problems of nuisance tripping. We went in 10 years from no RCDs to full protection. The US started 50 years ago and still has no full protection. In the US they are electronic. In Europe those are banned as they are not voltage independent.
That design is actually simpler than what you described. The LEDs are just directly between the pins (with necessary resistors). That is why one (earth-neutral) is dark when it is OK. That kind of a deign is popular in the US and in Europe. In the UK the all three lights on version seems to be popular. I agree the three on is easier to read but the two lights version is easier to understand. Note they show missing earth on the right separately as that is the most common fault in the US, maybe not in the UK or Europe. In the US many change the sockets just to allow plugging three prong plugs without doing proper safety measures. I have always thought metal on sockets is a bad idea. Note is you press the button it puts over 30 mA to the earth. If there is no earth it will give a rally nasty shock if you touch the metal. Live and ground reverse is typically not real. It is more likely open neutral with a device plugged in another socket. it would be rare that anyone would miswire live and ground. The device knows only differences, not differences to the true ground so if line and neutral have same potential and ground not then it shows ground line reverse.This can happen if the neutral is open and gets voltage through some other device. That device of course would not function with open neutral.
on mine, the right LED is lit even though i haven't switched the socket on yet. And the other two on the left is faintly lit. WHen I switch the socket on, it shows normal wiring. Any Idea?
Perhaps I missed it but no measurement of voltmeter read-out accuracy?! Also, is there an easy way of adding a fine adjustment to the PCB that would allow the voltmeter to be 'calibrated'?
A few months ago my HT107D measured 200 volts which is very low. Then i sticked my Fluke multimeter into the same socket and it showed 229 volts. But other times the HT107D does measure it correctly.. I don't know what was up with the thing that day. But i wouldn't rely on it. This device is just to prove the correctness of your wiring, the volt meter function is just a gimmick.
Those are likely in a TT system. They do not function as normal RCDs but make the earthing system work. Alternatively they are for fire prevention. Each RCD should have a test button that is tailored to it.
Hello... if the trip test button is pressed, it will trip the 30mA RCD. My question is, the socket tester is to stimulate the Live and Earth connection. Is that correct?
..... And of course, no 'Neutral Ground' reverse detection. (Neutral/Earth) in AU P.S. AmazonAU are flogging these without AU plugs. (Expected to use a 'DeathDapter' I assume).
In Finland that would be illegal. You need to verify that the ground is really ground by touching a contact. If live and neutral are reversed and ground connected to line that does not detect it. It has no access to the actual ground.
It’s not an earth impedence test. It just leaks 30mA of current from live to earth, after which the GFCI detects that 30mA is not coming back via neutral, and shuts off the power. It’s a rough test that the GFCI is working, but it’s not a proper earth impedence test. Real earth testing devices are like 300 euros, they require 2 prongs to go into the soil outside and one lead onto the ground connection inside the house.
I lost the one I had years ago when I wired up a garage, I think I might have left it sitting on a stud in the wall and put plaster board over it when I lined it... that was the last time I saw it... one day someone will pull that lining off and find a handy socket tester.
👍😁 Yes, these have been spotted everywhere. Your review was able to scratch my itch, hence avoid running off to impulse buy 🤗 It "was" encouraging to see it was built more substantially than I would have thought for that price point. In that sense it seems worth purchasing, especially in lieu of my tried & true "wet finger" test 😨. Then again we run on 1/2 power over here 🇺🇸 so it's not as bad as it sounds. Cheers.
Thank you! I bought a similar device from a local hardware store quite recently. I wasn't aware of the safety issues so this was extremely useful.
Thanks Steve! That receptacle tester has a large footprint. Mine is a Southwire 40010S-A and is smaller than that one. It isn't fancy but it does the job.
Thanks for this - I suspect very few buyers of theses devices are aware of the potential dangers.
My new Habotest HT107E has an earth current of 1.67mA.
This is a vast improvement on my old 3 LED basic socket tester MS6860E purchased from CPC Farnell.
That is labelled 11mA 230V 50Hz, and has an earth current of 5mA. CPC still list this type.
In depth review..... great.... thanks!
Interesting Steve...GFCIs here in the states as I recall are supposed to trip when the current exceeds 5mA and above 5-10mA depending on your body size, conductivity etc. really begins to get into the painful and almost "can't let go" area if I'm not mistaken. You mentioned it may be a bit high, what is the standard where you are?
The standard trip current is 30mA for most RCDs/GFCIs in Europe. We have 10mA RCDs for specific applications but they are rarely used and usually retail for over £100. Similarly we have 100mA and 300mA RCDs but these are not for protection against electric shock.
The 30 mA is pretty high but it allwos easily protecting entire home. In Finland RCDs became mandatory on all sockets and lights (with the exception of fridge/freezer) in 2007. In the US they still are not mandatory everywhere because of the problems of nuisance tripping. We went in 10 years from no RCDs to full protection. The US started 50 years ago and still has no full protection.
In the US they are electronic. In Europe those are banned as they are not voltage independent.
That design is actually simpler than what you described. The LEDs are just directly between the pins (with necessary resistors). That is why one (earth-neutral) is dark when it is OK. That kind of a deign is popular in the US and in Europe. In the UK the all three lights on version seems to be popular. I agree the three on is easier to read but the two lights version is easier to understand.
Note they show missing earth on the right separately as that is the most common fault in the US, maybe not in the UK or Europe. In the US many change the sockets just to allow plugging three prong plugs without doing proper safety measures.
I have always thought metal on sockets is a bad idea. Note is you press the button it puts over 30 mA to the earth. If there is no earth it will give a rally nasty shock if you touch the metal.
Live and ground reverse is typically not real. It is more likely open neutral with a device plugged in another socket. it would be rare that anyone would miswire live and ground. The device knows only differences, not differences to the true ground so if line and neutral have same potential and ground not then it shows ground line reverse.This can happen if the neutral is open and gets voltage through some other device. That device of course would not function with open neutral.
on mine, the right LED is lit even though i haven't switched the socket on yet. And the other two on the left is faintly lit. WHen I switch the socket on, it shows normal wiring. Any Idea?
Perhaps I missed it but no measurement of voltmeter read-out accuracy?! Also, is there an easy way of adding a fine adjustment to the PCB that would allow the voltmeter to be 'calibrated'?
I think it was programmed calibration, so no user adjustable component.
usually accuracy not great, it design to differ 110v - 220v - 380v, For accurate measurement need voltmeter.
A few months ago my HT107D measured 200 volts which is very low. Then i sticked my Fluke multimeter into the same socket and it showed 229 volts. But other times the HT107D does measure it correctly.. I don't know what was up with the thing that day. But i wouldn't rely on it. This device is just to prove the correctness of your wiring, the volt meter function is just a gimmick.
@@Engineer9736 voltmeter function only to differ 220 and 110 volts is something broke. and to look badass.
even instruction tell it.
Here in Belgium we have 300mA RCD's. Do you think it would work to add 270 ohms in resistors to this to make the test button work for that?
Possibly, but be careful of the power dissipation in that resistor
Those are likely in a TT system. They do not function as normal RCDs but make the earthing system work. Alternatively they are for fire prevention.
Each RCD should have a test button that is tailored to it.
Hello... if the trip test button is pressed, it will trip the 30mA RCD.
My question is, the socket tester is to stimulate the Live and Earth connection. Is that correct?
It is designed to simulate more than 30 mA current imbalance on line and neutral
Thanks for the video =)
..... And of course, no 'Neutral Ground' reverse detection.
(Neutral/Earth) in AU P.S. AmazonAU are flogging these without AU plugs. (Expected to use a 'DeathDapter' I assume).
In Finland that would be illegal. You need to verify that the ground is really ground by touching a contact. If live and neutral are reversed and ground connected to line that does not detect it. It has no access to the actual ground.
Isn't this tool actually design to detect this fault. If live and neutral are reversed the first and third led should light up red.
What make would you recommend?
Many of the big brands have stopped making these because of the potential dangers. Socket and See is a fairly decent brand however.
@@sdgelectronics Great name 😂 thanks
Mine sometimes registers up to 267 volts.
What's RCD test
Residual current device, in the USA we call them GFI. The test creates leakage which should trip the monitoring device.
Earth fault loop impedance test for ~10£?!
Seriously?For 10£?
It’s not an earth impedence test. It just leaks 30mA of current from live to earth, after which the GFCI detects that 30mA is not coming back via neutral, and shuts off the power. It’s a rough test that the GFCI is working, but it’s not a proper earth impedence test. Real earth testing devices are like 300 euros, they require 2 prongs to go into the soil outside and one lead onto the ground connection inside the house.
@@Engineer9736
Have you seen the video?
@@yumbam5546 Of course. I'm not one of those who are solely on TH-cam for comments. What's your point for saying that?