Remember the last time you did electrical work around the house? Maybe you installed a ceiling fan, put up a new security light, swapped in a dimmer switch for a toggle, or perhaps you tackled a more ambitious project like adding a new fixture. I can pretty well guarantee the first line in the instruction sheet said words like:
Oh, sure. That's easy for the engineer who designed your new toy to say: he's probably posted a blueprint on the inside of the door of his breaker box; a tiny map showing the location of every fixture, switch and outlet in the house, everything carefully labeled with the number of its circuit breaker. If you're like everyone else, though, the breaker box is probably labeled with cryptic little notes like "mr bth ot," "dck lts," or "sara's bdrm" - and the only Sara you know is the intern at work. If you're really unlucky, the breaker isn't labeled at all.
So, how do you find the right breaker without having to reset every digital clock in the building? There are lots of ways...
• You could plug in a lamp on a long extension cord.
• You could plug in a radio and crank Katy Perry up to eleven, and wait for her to shut up.
• You could use a helper with a cell phone, asking him or her after every breaker you snap off, "Still on?"
I've been there, I've done that; and along the way learned that the breaker is always at the opposite end of the board from where I started. Think about it: Did you save the instruction book for resetting the clock on the stove?
Well, there's a far easier way to do this: use a circuit breaker finder, like the digital model from Klein Tools. This simple device will make short work of finding correct circuit breakers for (almost) any outlet or fixture in your house, and is so simple you don't need an assistant or a cell phones.
2) Take the receiver to the breaker box. Run the receiver down the entire stack of circuit breakers: this is a sort of "warm-up" step to condition the sensor. Ignore any flashing lights or beeps. It's important to position the receiver correctly: perpendicular to the panel with the power button pointing UP.
3) Make a second pass following the same pattern, with the receiver in the same position. The receiver - which operates on a 9-volt battery - detects the signal and verify the correct breaker by beeping and illuminating a green arrow. Once you've located and flipped the correct breaker, the transmitter stops working and you will not receive either the visual or audio signal - if you see or hear anything, you tripped the wrong breaker.
4) Head back to the transmitter. As a further safety precaution, the LED should be dark now that the circuit is dead.
Long parallel runs in the wires for two circuits could induce false signals in the other circuit. Always verify that the power has been cut using a voltmeter or other means.
You'll need an adapter to use the transmitter on an incandescent light fixture. I use an ancient adapter that changes a light socket to a two-prong outlet.
To use the transmitter on a fluorescent fixture on bare wires, you'll need to fiddle with alligator clips.
Anyone who works with electricity will tell you, "Use a voltmeter or circuit tester to be absolutely sure that you found the right breaker!"
I've used a circuit breaker finder in four different houses, including one whose breaker box had no labels whatsoever. They're not foolproof: sometimes I've thrown the adjacent breaker instead of the correct one, especially when they're packed into the breaker box. It's still a helluva lot better than turning off power in half the house while you're on the hunt, though. This is one tool of which I am almost certain, "Try this: you'll like it!"
PLUS: Find a circuit breaker fast without an assistant.
MINUS: can still be fooled
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: Anyone who ever went bonkers looking for the right circuit breaker will love one of these.
"Turn off the power to the circuit before starting."
So, how do you find the right breaker without having to reset every digital clock in the building? There are lots of ways...
• You could plug in a lamp on a long extension cord.
• You could plug in a radio and crank Katy Perry up to eleven, and wait for her to shut up.
• You could use a helper with a cell phone, asking him or her after every breaker you snap off, "Still on?"
I've been there, I've done that; and along the way learned that the breaker is always at the opposite end of the board from where I started. Think about it: Did you save the instruction book for resetting the clock on the stove?
Well, there's a far easier way to do this: use a circuit breaker finder, like the digital model from Klein Tools. This simple device will make short work of finding correct circuit breakers for (almost) any outlet or fixture in your house, and is so simple you don't need an assistant or a cell phones.
How it WorksThere are a lot of these on the market, but here are the instructions for a Klein ET300. If you have a different model, the instructions WILL vary...1) Breaker finders come in two parts. The first is a transmitter that plugs into a 110-volt outlet. If there's power to the circuit, an LED lights: note that the outlet has to be hot (power on) for the transmitter to work. Microcircuity inside the body pumps a signal into the circuit. |
2) Take the receiver to the breaker box. Run the receiver down the entire stack of circuit breakers: this is a sort of "warm-up" step to condition the sensor. Ignore any flashing lights or beeps. It's important to position the receiver correctly: perpendicular to the panel with the power button pointing UP.
3) Make a second pass following the same pattern, with the receiver in the same position. The receiver - which operates on a 9-volt battery - detects the signal and verify the correct breaker by beeping and illuminating a green arrow. Once you've located and flipped the correct breaker, the transmitter stops working and you will not receive either the visual or audio signal - if you see or hear anything, you tripped the wrong breaker.
4) Head back to the transmitter. As a further safety precaution, the LED should be dark now that the circuit is dead.
Warnings
Long parallel runs in the wires for two circuits could induce false signals in the other circuit. Always verify that the power has been cut using a voltmeter or other means.
You'll need an adapter to use the transmitter on an incandescent light fixture. I use an ancient adapter that changes a light socket to a two-prong outlet.
To use the transmitter on a fluorescent fixture on bare wires, you'll need to fiddle with alligator clips.
Anyone who works with electricity will tell you, "Use a voltmeter or circuit tester to be absolutely sure that you found the right breaker!"
Final Notes
I've used a circuit breaker finder in four different houses, including one whose breaker box had no labels whatsoever. They're not foolproof: sometimes I've thrown the adjacent breaker instead of the correct one, especially when they're packed into the breaker box. It's still a helluva lot better than turning off power in half the house while you're on the hunt, though. This is one tool of which I am almost certain, "Try this: you'll like it!"
Summary
PLUS: Find a circuit breaker fast without an assistant.
MINUS: can still be fooled
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: Anyone who ever went bonkers looking for the right circuit breaker will love one of these.
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