The major drawback to that device, aside from the fact that it tells way more than you need to know, is that it uses batteries. In time you will acquire a great deal of equipment that uses batteries and some need charging. Why add to the mix? Replacing batteries during a Home Inspection is not only inconvenient it is a major time waster.
The key to making money in this profession is efficiency. Changing batteries during a job is not efficient.
If you read the manual it does a simulated load test, not an actual load test, as the device used 3 AA batteries and does not have the power to do an actual load test.
So does Ideal’s Sure Test. They all do simulared testing. Batteries have nothing to do with it. An actual load test would require a carbon pile capable of dissapating the heat generated.
I’ve used a hair dryer and a plug in volt meter to simulate the VD.
I’m sure that was reliable. NOT!
Curious why that wouldn’t work? High watt resistive heating element seams like a decent method.
Party of the second part doesn’t like party of the first part so party of the second part is always trying to egg on party of the first part into an argument.
Yes simple actual load method without any sort of simulated load. Might not be 100% accurate down to a volt but it will demonstrate when there is considerably voltage drop on the circuit.
I once had a scenario where the voltage at the receptacle in a dressing room with the blow dryer running dropped down to about 107 volts which explained why the lights were dimming. Not to mention the heat output of the blow dryer went down quite a bit.
I’m guessing there was a negative response to my post from someone I have on ignore. Since I don’t see those I don’t respond to them, therefore they’ll be no discussion or arguments.
That is an accurate statement.
..or any explanations! @rmeier2 is very poor on theory so he is dismissive of disagreements because he can not rationally explain his position.
The only people doing any “egging on” are the two that comment on it.
My comment was dead on.
Not a reliable method. You would think a Master Electrician would have better tools.
. . . and you needed to measure that to determine an unacceptable voltage drop? That’s pretty lame. Not to mention his “story” changed from the post I commented on.
He didn’t use a hair dryer to “simulate” a voltage drop. He observed a voltage drop in a dressing room when the hair dryer was used.
Did it? Why did the lights dim? Y’all just eat up anything he tells you , right. Try thinking a little bit.
I use a Klein Tools RT390 Circuit Analyzer as my primary GFCI and outlet tester. It has capabilities to perform load testing and voltage droop up to 20 amps. It also looks great in pictures for my reports, very clear display with clear information. i.e. huge letters saying missing ground or reversed polarity.
I only use the load testing/voltage droop feature when I see an outlet which appears to have scoring or darkened marks that may indicate something plugging into it exceeded the load rating of the outlet, had a loose plug, or the plug was pulled while having a heavy inductive load applied. I check the droop only to see if the damage is superficial or if we are seeing a deeper problem with a high resistance receptacle connection. This feature has been a good go/no go for me on questionable outlets. Is it just superficial or do we need to replace the outlet?
You can always default to just saying its a bad outlet that needs to be replaced, but I like to have a complete answer with supporting indications like a tool reading.
And that would be a huge mistake, IMO.
The “bad outlet” may be the ‘result’ and not the ‘cause’ of the issue.
Never WAG an issue, and never prescribe a repair, except for a referral for eval/repair.
Refer any “concerns” to a qualified tradesperson for determination and correction.
That’s liable to be wrong because I have insufficient training and am unable to do further testing!
Yeah, so I thought we were all CPIs here and I didn’t need to break it down into exactly what I write for a comment on a report. I was trying to keep the conversation about the original discussion involving load testing. I had assumed we were all at a level where we would understand that and I would not need to spell it out.
Obvioviously recommending it for further evaluation and correction by a licensed contractor.
Personally, during an inspection, I would not insert any tool into a scorched receptacle.
Is a fork a tool?
so You do not investigate scorched outlets ???
