Why did electrician use a light?

Question

electrician from power Co came to change my moms meter the other day. I saw he plugged in a kinda light thing into a spare wall socket while he was working. What was this gizmo?

Answer 1

To change out the meter, he had to turn off the power going to it.  To make sure everything was wired correctly when he was finished when he turned the power back on he wanted to see if the light would come on.  also by having the light on he was draining electricity from the house meaning he could watch the meter run a little to make sure everything was working as it should.

Answer 2

its a tester to see if the electricity is ;;live;;  

Answer 3

It is a tester to check if power on / off

Answer 4

Almost right, Skib.

He DID use the tester to make sure the power to the house was actually off and that "cheating" didn't happen. Cheating occurs when folks try to power their house with an extention cord from a neighbor. Don't laugh, it has happened more than once.

When he was finished with the new meter, he checked the tester to make sure the power was back on.

Answer 5

He was using a Martindale Electrical Tester

This has three lights on the front of the little screen which light up to show different situations.

Firstly, if all three light are on, it shows him that the power is back on and there are no faults.

Secondly, If the middle and right hand lights only come on, then he can see that there is a Neutral fault.

Thirdly, if only the right hand light comes on, then that shows that he has the live and earth wires reversed.

Fourthly, if only the left hand light comes on, then that shows that the live and neutral wires are reversed.

Lastly, if only the middle and the left hand lights come on, then that will indicate that there is no earth connected.

Answer 6

it could be a currant tester...or some sort of dummy load to test the circuit breakers

Answer 7

t.rex 80 is the right one. When a supply is disconnected it has to be confirmed that the polarity is correct when reconnected, and that there are no earth or neutral faults. I work in the supply industry, and this is a very important test. It was not to see if the meter worked, they only use neon lights, which don't take enough current to operate the meter, and it can be ascertained the power is on by turning on a light!

Answer 8

An electrical tester. It tests if the outlet has power. At least that is what it sounds like to me from your description.