Wire Tracing Kits - What's Good?

bczygan · Mar 4, 2016

Is this one any good?

http://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/tls/5455850042.html

Will be tracing wires and circuits in a 40's era house with skim coat plaster over a thick old plaster based wall board.

Bill

klassenl · Mar 4, 2016

The best circuit tracer is a light on the end of an extension cord.

zmaxmotorsports · Mar 5, 2016

Ive never used 1 but the price seems reasonable enough. :dunno:

CNGsaves · Mar 5, 2016

klassenl said:
The best circuit tracer is . . .
. . . . RADIO with volume cranked up !!!

^ ^ ^ ^ Fixed it for ya !!!

frankush · Mar 5, 2016

Don't expect much and you won't be disappointed. All of them are finicky at best. I've used lots of them and the best results, for me, have been with the high end Amprobe circuit tracers. Very pricey, but mine has paid for itself many times.

bczygan · Mar 5, 2016

Thanks all.

I'll pass on it for now, even though I would like to trace exactly where wires go in the wall, which this is supposed to do.

For now I will use a radio and extension cord to check circuits.

Bill

LXCam · Mar 5, 2016

Amprobe makes the best but at around 7 bills it's too pricy for occasional use obviously. The greenlee units work great as well if you can find a deal on one. Also you might consider if you're just trying to locate a live circuit a good non contact voltage indicator.

bczygan · Mar 5, 2016

LXCam said:
Amprobe makes the best but at around 7 bills it's too pricy for occasional use obviously. The greenlee units work great as well if you can find a deal on one. Also you might consider if you're just trying to locate a live circuit a good non contact voltage indicator.

I've got one. I'll try it.

Bill

Richard Cranium · Mar 6, 2016

I have a couple of different kits,
One is for phone lines
The other one you plug into an outlet and then go back to the breaker box to find out which breaker it is on.
So no help on my end sorry

CJ7VFR · Mar 6, 2016

I use my wife. She has a pretty loud voice when she yells, so it works perfect. I tell her to stand in a certain spot, and yell down to the basement to me when the light/electrical device shuts off.

In all the years of doing this, she always asks me how come I can hear her yelling to me when we are doing circuits, but I never seem to hear her when she is just plain old yelling at me, even if she is only 5 feet away?

I just don't know...

Jim

Two Sheds · Mar 8, 2016

I have the Progressive, which is the same as the Greenlee. I think it is indispensable for finding wires in walls or in rat's nests. Works on communications and power wires (disconnected). The one on the Craigslist link looks like a good deal. Check the reviews on the Triplett.

RPH · Mar 8, 2016

Just bought a Fluke at Home Depot for $70. Haven't had much of a chance to use it but did some experiments with it. It will sense the signal from a foot away and the volume increases as you get closer. Need to chase the wiring in the old farmhouse I live in.

jeffmoss26 · Mar 9, 2016

I have a few....Progressive/Tempo, Aines, and Fluke. They all work well but I like the Aines toner the best, it's what at&t uses.

wyliesdiesels · Mar 10, 2016

bczygan said:
Is this one any good?

http://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/tls/5455850042.html

Will be tracing wires and circuits in a 40's era house with skim coat plaster over a thick old plaster based wall board.

Bill

I just bought one of these for an upcoming job.

Ill let u know how it works...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004M...340_QL65&keywords=zircon+breaker+id+pro+64058

LXCam said:
Amprobe makes the best but at around 7 bills it's too pricy for occasional use obviously. The greenlee units work great as well if you can find a deal on one. Also you might consider if you're just trying to locate a live circuit a good non contact voltage indicator.

Yeah down the road I plan on buying one of those...

RPH said:
Just bought a Fluke at Home Depot for $70. Haven't had much of a chance to use it but did some experiments with it. It will sense the signal from a foot away and the volume increases as you get closer. Need to chase the wiring in the old farmhouse I live in.

Is the fluke rated for line voltage or just low voltage communication cabling?

Which model did u buy?

jeffmoss26 said:
I have a few....Progressive/Tempo, Aines, and Fluke. They all work well but I like the Aines toner the best, it's what at&t uses.

I think most if not all of those are for low voltage and not line voltage...

jeffmoss26 · Mar 10, 2016

wyliesdiesels said:
I just bought one of these for an upcoming job.

Ill let u know how it works...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004M...340_QL65&keywords=zircon+breaker+id+pro+64058

Yeah down the road I plan on buying one of those...

Is the fluke rated for line voltage or just low voltage communication cabling?

Which model did u buy?

I think most if not all of those are for low voltage and not line voltage...

You can tone anything if the breaker is off.

My Old Tools · Mar 10, 2016

The Tripplet Fox and Hound works great for me. I found circuits that were never completed, bad connections, etc. You can trace the wire route behind sheetrock easily. Find all the plugs and switches on a circuit. Find the breaker for a fixture.

Wire Tracing Kits - What's Good?

bczygan

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klassenl

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zmaxmotorsports

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CNGsaves

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frankush

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bczygan

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LXCam

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bczygan

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Richard Cranium

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CJ7VFR

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Two Sheds

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RPH

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jeffmoss26

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wyliesdiesels

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jeffmoss26

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My Old Tools

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