Gardner Bender GRT-3500 Outlet Receptacle Tester & Circuit Analyzer, Indicates 5 Wiring Errors, Easy Read Chart, Comfort Grip, 120 VAC , Black

Everything Okay

Very useful. It actually tells you what the problem is.

The product is indispensable for diagnosing outlet issues. Throw one in your tool kit and youll always be ready to find the problem. The light readouts are printed on both sides so no matter how your plugged is installed you have an instant diagnosis.

It gave me a mis-diagnoses, confirmed by an electrician. I moved into a newly constructed house, and none of the outlets in the dining room had power. I was unable to easily determine who the electrician was that apparently screwed up this new wiring job, so a different one from another company was called. He inspected while I was gone at work and left me the message that the outlets are perfectly fine. I assumed he fixed them, but they still did not work. I then used this GRT-3500 tester before calling him back, and told him it indicated a reversed HOT/GROUND. He insisted here is no problem with the outlets. I told him my wife and I both insist there is, and so its two against one, but I can call neighbors over to confirm if he needs a bigger head count. He came over the next day and demonstrated to me that his cheap tester (whatever it was) indicated no problem. I demonstrated to him that my drill would not run when plugged into the outlet. He pronounced that my drill was defective. I again repeated my original complaint to him that many other devices will not work in this dining room, and my wife has the same experience, yet we can take the same devices and they will work when plugged into outlets in other rooms. So he set aside his cheap meter, went to his truck and came back with his $400 meter and proclaimed that there is indeed a problem. Doh!! I then further opined that IMO the electrician probably did not mis-wire 4 outlets in a row, so the problem would most likely be in the breaker box. He went into the breaker box and found that the neutral wire for the dining room breaker was simply not hooked up, and so this conflicts with the indication from my GRT-3500. So the GRT-3500 did indicate a problem, but did not give the correct diagnosis, so it is of limited use. I will be researching to see if I can find a better tester, and will post back here if I manage to find a good tester. BTW the electrician also found a loose wire in the breaker box that went to a living room outlet that was working most of the time but would quit sometimes. And as soon as the electrician left we found that the outlet in the upstairs bathroom that had worked okay was now not working, so I suppose I will open the breaker box and just tighten all screws, because apparently the first electrician did sloppy work and the second electrician is sloppy also if he did not check all the set screws for tightness while he had it apart; he works like he is putting out a fire, all in a hurry... are all electricians like that? It seems to me that a tradesman can choose speed or quality in his workmanship, but not both. I would prefer an electrician that would make quality his mind-set, rather than speed.

Some receptacles are installed upside down which make the unit hard to use & read.

Had a nagging problem in one of two GFCI circuits in the house tripping on a regular basis for no apparent reason. Used this to identify a reversed hot/ground lead in one of two bathroom GFCIs. Restored the appropriate connections and problem solved. Alternative would have been a $100 visit from our electrician. The device itself appears well made, only issue I have is that the GFI tester is a bit hair trigger, so I inadvertently tripped the circuit once or twice before I got a feel for it. Good buy, great value

Handy tool and it works great!!

lo estoy usando y si me funciona bien

Worked as intended - Shipped quickly