Basic electrical work is an important homeowner skill. Knowing if a circuit is on or off, and where it goes are essential! Two great inexpensive tools let you know right away!

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There are many basic electrical tasks that are perfectly suitable for a homeowner to tackle. Whatever your skill level, it’s NEVER advisable to work with a live circuit. With these simple and inexpensive testers, you can work safely with the circuit safely turned off.

The first is a simple non-contact tester. With this device, you only have to get in close proximity to a live circuit for it to tell you that power is present. That means you don’t need to actually take off any switch, outlet, or light bases before seeing if power is there.

Like anything you buy, there are various qualities you can buy, with corresponding price points. These testers are available at home improvement retailers, electrical supply houses, and of course, online. When looking for one, the product name is a voltage detector.

Here's one from Home Depot:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Klein-Too...

The second is a receptacle tester. This handy tester has prongs on one side that fit into a standard grounded receptacle. Depending on what you buy, you can get one that will test a GFCI circuit as well, by “tripping” the circuit to test that the protective features of the outlet (and others attached to it) are operating correctly. With or without that feature, these types of testers display a series of LED lights that, depending on the color of the lights and which ones are illuminated, tell you if the polarity of the plug is correct and if all terminals are connected properly or (not).

Here's a source for a receptacle tester:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Power-Gea...

As a bonus, we’ve also mentioned another tester that you may want to consider adding to your electrical work toolbox. This is a circuit breaker locator. This allows you to determine what outlets are connected to which breaker in the breaker panel. It works by having a transmitter plugged into an outlet. Then, the receiver unit is passed across the face of the breakers in the panel. When the signal from the outlet/transmitter is sensed, the receiver will sound. What a time and step saver - and a boon for those working solo. To buy one, ask for a Circuit Breaker Locator/Finder.

Here's a link for one of these units:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Klein-Tools-...

For basic electrical work that is doable for many homeowners, making sure the circuit is off before beginning work is a fundamental and required first step. These great tools make it efficient to test for voltage and allow you to safely JUST DO IT YOURSELF.

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