Fluke 1AC II VoltAlert - Non-Contact Voltage Detector Pen CAT IV 1000V

Very handy

Coming from the day of real instruments and ye olde neon screwdriver,, I was rather reluctant to put my trust in this item. What ultimately persuaded me was the name of Fluke.... not cheap, but they do make top quality kit and have their name and reputation to protect.But... do take NOTE: This unit is designed to work up to 1000Volts. It's lower detection limit is about 200 Volt. If you are trying to use this unit below 200 Volt it will not warn you !!! Instead... look at the Fluke Volt-stick which goes down to 90 Volts and might be more suitable for working on our standard UK 230-240 Volt Ranges. It is for sale here on Amazon. This the VoltAlert will work on 230-240 but I would not trust my life on it. It would be ideal if you deal with 3 Phase stuff.It works as stated and will alert you if it senses voltage within its detection range. (200 Volts and UP) To be brutally honest... I still tend to grab a multi-meter to verify that the line is dead or alive... or even an old fashioned neon tester. At 74, old habits die hard and having been almost electrocuted at the age of 11... I was taught a hard hard lesson that electricity can and will kill, IF you mistreat it. The fluke unit now lives in my toolkit... and I do use it... but to be totally frank... I just cannot get myself to trust it 100%. DO NOTE: This does not reflect negatively on the unit... it probably reflects negatively on me.... but having made it to 74 years old... one near electrocution is enough for me... I only survived because the ground was bone dry and voltage was only 110V. it took them over 8 minutes to cut the line and by that time I had long stopped screaming. Treat electricity with the respect it deserves... I most certainly do these days. That ensures that as Dr. Spock used to say: Life Long and Prosper ! <Smile>Albert

Easy to use

Fluke is Always good kit very useful for a quick test for voltage present lights up with audible sound but not a replacement for a good voltage meter

These are an excellent safety check and one that could save your life. We use them on ships (I'm a Chief Engineer) all the time because every engineer can have one in his pocket on him at all times for a quick double check before any work is done.It does not of course remove the need to follow proper procedures including isolation permits etc. if you work in an industrial environment but as a final test it's a great tool.They can be used as fault finders as well especially in areas where you have a lot of cables and you are looking to find the dead/live one. It's hard to describe just how much cable is around an offshore construction ship which is diesel-electric. You are literally surrounded by it all your waking hours and being aware of the status of cable is very necessary.Is it entirely fool proof? No. I certainly would not rely on this as my only means of determining if a cable was live or dead. I use this as the last step before I commit to grabbing a previously energised piece of equipment post isolation and testing.It's fairly robust which, makes is ideal for having on your person whenever working.Overall, a cheap means of perhaps keeping yourself from making a serious mistake.

I received my Fluke VoltAlert (an 1AC-E II European one in April 2014 from Amazon) in a padded envelope with nothing more than a basic text instruction sheet. I was not disappointed with the lack of a box or proper packaging, but I was a little surprised.WARNING: To be fair the device is not intended for use by people unfamiliar with mains voltage wiring, so if you're expecting an illustrated manual on how to use it and are unsure - you SHOULD be calling a qualified electrician. Mains voltages kill and bad wiring can start fires.The BATTERY COVER is removed by squeezing the yellow part of the pocket clip and sliding the grey part away from it in the direction of the probe tip. I add this since there is no indication in the instruction leaflet on how to replace the batteries. It's very stiff, but at least unlikely to fall off accidentally.Naturally to check it's working it is the correct practice to test the device on wires you know are live first each time, immediately before using it to test wire you suspect or expect to be live. However, my VoltAlert is quirky. Sometimes it won't trigger when touching a wire supplying mains AC voltage to my monitor or amplifier UNLESS I use the left side of the tip. Yet oddly at other times the probe tip and all of the front part of the cone work.As you might expect, I have to check wires pretty darn thoroughly to be certain I am not dealing with an unexpected live.This fine level of detection has its uses. It is able to discriminate between adjacent wires in a lighting fixture, for example. On the other hand it will not find a wire through plasterboard in a month of sundays, but that's definitely not what the VoltAlert is for. This replaces an electrical screwdriver not a stud/metal/AC/Pipe wall detector. The tip of the VoltAlert needs to be very close (e.g. 5mm) and more frequently touching the cable sleeve to get a reading.To Sum Up: It works, but for goodness sake learn its quirks well before relying on it. So because of this caveat, I give it four stars.

Amazingly simple and I can have this on me without feeling I have it.Will beep and glow on detection of ac where you touch the tip. You can silence the beep with a tap of a recessed button and just have the red glow if you are needing to be quiet, say in a studio or someplace like that.Will pick up wifi as a positive if put near a router as an ac signal because the radio wave is ac I guess but it's not an issue for me - i just pointed it at everything to be sure for review.You can trace live cables from outside appliances in most cases so you can avoid getting a jolt.Always be safe with high voltages and turn off at mains if unsure.

It does the job but can't help but feel abit underwhelmed by it. Had a cheapo one that I've used for many years. This fluke one isn't very sensitive and takes longer to find the live wires. Old cheapo one had a gauge that lights up more as you get closer to the line conductors.