Voltage still detected after rcd had tripped? why could this be...

[srl-8]

Hi all,

I have install a RCD fused spur on the end of line feed to a bathroom lighting circuit. Thus protecting the bathroom with rcd.

I tested the rcd (manually via the push 'test' button) and it killed the lights and fan as expected.

I used my volt stick to confirm that the cables were dead, but to my surprise , The voltstick was telling me the there was voltage still present. How could this be?

My understanding was that with the RCD tripped, it should kill all power on the load side of the spur, .

Any ideas????

Thanks

 

[7029 dave]

They are the first point in our process, then comes out the Drummond/ volt meter.

 

[PEG]

...This debate is circular,as approved test gear aside,ADDITIONAL equipment is at the testers discretion.Surely folk cannot be "against" a device,only its' particular use in any one instance. Personally,i chose to give my volt-stick type yokes away,but only because i got a Megger dcm330,which had a built in volt detector in the head of it,and i prefer devices which have more than a single function.It has proved to be a VERY useful item of equipment. Condemning chaps for ownership of volt-sticks is pointless,WITHOUT knowing what they do with them.Even if it is amusing the children...When i was a teenager,i worked on a local farm,where the owner,and his son,would use divining rods to grid out any proposed land drain,before we got the excavator out.All i know,and science has helped to form me,is,it worked. I reckon you would still have a fight on your hands,to convince the son,not to continue with those rods,before each dig....just off to "throw the bones",to see what my future holds...:thinking:

 

[eddieboy]

My voltstick once picked 'live' current on an earth. It must have been due to eddy currents.

 

[Jurassic Sparks]

A Steinel its prone to giving a signal on cables but often through inductance

Out of interest what AVI do you use? My fluke t150 would of indicated the live wire by just putting the 1 probe on to it.

 

[richy3333]

Hi all,

I have install a RCD fused spur on the end of line feed to a bathroom lighting circuit. Thus protecting the bathroom with rcd.

I tested the rcd (manually via the push 'test' button) and it killed the lights and fan as expected.

I used my volt stick to confirm that the cables were dead, but to my surprise , The voltstick was telling me the there was voltage still present. How could this be?

My understanding was that with the RCD tripped, it should kill all power on the load side of the spur, .

Any ideas????

Thanks

Really!?
A voltage stick is not appropriate in this situation. You may as well wave your dick around to indicate voltage.

 

[Pete999]

Really!?

That's what he said

 

[dingledong]

But is that what he meant

 

[dingledong]

Really!?
A voltage stick is not appropriate in this situation. You may as well wave your dick around to indicate voltage.

Now I have seen and done the wet finger test but never ever seen the wet dick test but I'll give it a go

 

[Pete999]

Now I have seen and done the wet finger test but never ever seen the wet dick test but I'll give it a go

Now Now lets not get smutty.

 

[Jurassic Sparks]

Its been done
see here for full instructions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F0aVb8ulJc

 

[Lucien Nunes]

I agree that they are only truly 'safe' in the hands of experienced sparks who know what not to use them for. Horses for courses. But they can be exceedingly useful and quite reliable if you know their foibles.

A few of us here often work in the dark, in silence, under pressure and/or up high structures, so something that will fit in a pocket and lights up clearly is a bonus. A non-contact indicator is a must. How else would you find which of 12 runs of flex is faulty, at which end and whether it's the line or neutral that is O/C, in darkness and without opening any connectors? 12 seconds with a voltstick, impossible with a DMM or MFT.

I gave one to an electrician in Russia 20 years ago. He had never seen anything like it and was delighted with it, but immediately understood what it could and couldn't do. I expect he still has it.

 

[Pete999]

Its been done
see here for full instructions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F0aVb8ulJc

Filth utter filth but funny all the same lol

 

[HappyHippyDad]

I got one given by a rep in a wholesalers a while back. I waved it over a damp piece of wood in the rear storage yard of a pub I was working on. It indicated it was live.
I threw it away.

Christ!! I'd throw a live piece of wood away as well Trev!

 

[Deleted member 72666]

I agree that they are only truly 'safe' in the hands of experienced sparks who know what not to use them for. Horses for courses. But they can be exceedingly useful and quite reliable if you know their foibles.

A few of us here often work in the dark, in silence, under pressure and/or up high structures, so something that will fit in a pocket and lights up clearly is a bonus. A non-contact indicator is a must. How else would you find which of 12 runs of flex is faulty, at which end and whether it's the line or neutral that is O/C, in darkness and without opening any connectors? 12 seconds with a voltstick, impossible with a DMM or MFT.

I gave one to an electrician in Russia 20 years ago. He had never seen anything like it and was delighted with it, but immediately understood what it could and couldn't do. I expect he still has it.

I doubt it very much Lucien as the early RS/MK models available at the time broke as soon as they were dropped on the floor as they always seem to land tip down first which resulted in a broken tip.

 

[richy3333]

Christ!! I'd throw a live piece of wood away as well Trev!

Totally irresponsible. Nobody should ever throw away their wood if its live and in their hands