Electrical circuit tracer

lhfarm · Dec 30, 2010

My son moved into a house (built in the 1990s) and most of the breakers aren't marked. I want to buy a circuit tracer and I see they run from $40 to hundreds of dollars. I'm hoping there is one in the $40 range that might work, since I don't see a long term need.

Anyone have have experience with these or recommendations?

Thanks,

chopped · Dec 30, 2010

I searched HD for mine and couldnt find it it was yellow in color and worked very well I think this one replaced it.
Klein Tools Digital Circuit Breaker Finder - ET300 at The Home Depot
Just be sure to double check that you find the right one also (breaker)

forgeblast · Dec 30, 2010

the electrican we use said his trick to to put something loud like a drill in an outlet that you can hear from the panel and flip switchs, he said if you have two people you can do a house fast

captaincrab55 · Dec 30, 2010

forgeblast said:
the electrican we use said his trick to to put something loud like a drill in an outlet that you can hear from the panel and flip switches, he said if you have two people you can do a house fast

Use a long extension cord to keep the drill in a central location so both can hear it... Cell phones & 2 way radios help too.. Harbor Freight Tools sells a circuit tester that will do OK for what your doing...

CurlyDave · Dec 31, 2010

I have used the Harbor Freight Circuit Breaker finder and it was right every time.

I have used a drop light and a 100' extension cord to do the same thing and that works also. Keep the light at the panel and plug it in to the outlet under test.

Be aware, electricians sometimes put the lights in many rooms on one circuit, which is separate from the outlets in those rooms.

I always like to have no more than one room per breaker, sometimes even two breakers per room if it is a large living room, or an office/study with lots of electrical gadgets.

hr3 · Dec 31, 2010

Before you go to all the bother have you taken the panel cover off yet,, Lot's of electricians leave a piece of wire jacket on the wire going to the breaker so it can be marked later... Sometimes they just forget to do it,,

lhfarm · Dec 31, 2010

hr3 said:
Before you go to all the bother have you taken the panel cover off yet,, Lot's of electricians leave a piece of wire jacket on the wire going to the breaker so it can be marked later... Sometimes they just forget to do it,,

Haven't done that, but will. This is a big house (two story, full finished basement). With lots of computers running, I'd prefer not to start flipping switches, although I know we will have to do that for lights. One side of the panel door has "outlets" marked in the top slot and arrows down the the rest. The other side does have breakers marked.

Think I'll pick up one of the suggested testers. I'll report back when I get this done.

Thanks,

Craig Clayton · Dec 31, 2010

In the electrical code it states that evey circuit must be marked, in the house market that never happens. Industrial standards are heavily inforced,but there is still poor marking standards. For a house a radio is nice set to something LOUD. If you use a drill and it jumps and snags a carpet thread ( been there ) get the idea. Half a the loads are easy to figure out just from the panel all 2 pole breakers that are large current ratings ususally do stove dryer etc. 15 amp 2pole kitchen. That only leaves 15 amp single and arc rated for bedrooms.
Craig Clayton

Egon · Dec 31, 2010

Lot's of electricians leave a piece of wire jacket on the wire going to the breaker so it can be marked later...

There are commercially available numbering systems or tags for marking electrical wires.:thumbsup:

kennyd · Dec 31, 2010

lhfarm said:
I'd prefer not to start flipping switches, although I know we will have to do that for lights.

You can get a screw-in adapter so the test will plug into standard bulb socket, just make sure the switch is ON while testing.

They look like THIS, HD or Lowe's will have them.

chopped · Dec 31, 2010

kennyd said:
You can get a screw-in adapter so the test will plug into standard bulb socket, just make sure the switch is ON while testing.

They look like THIS, HD or Lowe's will have them.

Goodness i had no idea they were worth so much Ive thrown quite a few out over the years.
On another note I also have a notebook and mapped out each room and then you can either trace them all or add them to the book as you go. Either way in the future its good to look at the "map" and know right off what numer breaker it is..

podagrower · Dec 31, 2010

Craig Clayton said:
In the electrical code it states that evey circuit must be marked, in the house market that never happens. Industrial standards are heavily inforced,but there is still poor marking standards. For a house a radio is nice set to something LOUD. If you use a drill and it jumps and snags a carpet thread ( been there ) get the idea. Half a the loads are easy to figure out just from the panel all 2 pole breakers that are large current ratings ususally do stove dryer etc. 15 amp 2pole kitchen. That only leaves 15 amp single and arc rated for bedrooms.
Craig Clayton

Doing it by yourself with a radio is very easy. Turn off all the circuits, plug in the radio, then turn them on one at a time until the radio comes on. Leave that circuit on, then walk around and find out what receptacles and lights are on that circuit. Turn off that circuit and go to the next one. It takes a little time at first, but goes faster as you eliminate circuits.

As Craig stated, 2 pole breakers will feed 240v items. Typically 30a for water heater and dryer, 40 for range, 20 for well pump. If you have 15 and 20 amp circuits, the 20's will typically feed the kitchen, dining room, and washer, with the 15's feeding bedrooms, family rooms, and lighting.

If you want to find 1 outlet without turning everything off, a circuit tracer can help, but it's not something I would invest in to use once.

robs660 · Dec 31, 2010

The klieg tester from hd works great. They have an accessories kit that will let you screw into sockets or attach to loose wires. I use a p touch to mark the breakers and have a detailed list in an excel spreadsheet.

hr3 · Dec 31, 2010

There are commercially available numbering systems or tags for marking electrical wires.

Duhhh..

Steve_Miller · Jan 2, 2011

Walmart.com: Zircon CF12 Circuit Breaker Finder: TV & Video

Willl · Jan 2, 2011

podagrower said:
Turn off that circuit and go to the next one. It takes a little time at first, but goes faster as you eliminate circuits.

a circuit tracer can help, but it's not something I would invest in to use once.

I gota agree with this guy. I've got 2 of those tracers and it was just easier to do without them.

Hint, draw up a map of the house showing outlets and light switches first.
Label each breaker w/ a number, then label your outlet/switch 'map'.

You can change the numbers to 'names' later.

ruralNearDallas · Jan 2, 2011

Kudos to the electrician who did my house
Lots of outlets
Empty breaker slots
Very neat and labeled panel

Two things
Switch that seems to do nothing
Bedroom switch controls porch light

But those things could have been in the SOW.

joe48 · Jan 2, 2011

ditto curly Dave.
I use and recommend the HF circuit tracer, works great can't beat it for about $20.
I've been rewiring and tracing a bunch of circuits this weekend, upgrading the kitchen while remodeling. Nice because you can identify each outlet or light right to the breaker w/o turning stuff off/on , and the mapping is also a very good idea, especially for years down the road. I also write on the outlet box or wire to the box w/ marker, do the same at the panel too.
Also the loud radio works great too if you don't have the circuit tracer.

Obed · Jan 3, 2011

Barry,
My wife and I just went through the same exercise in our new house. Several of the breakers were mis-labeled. In addition, other breakers were labeled ambiguously. So I stood at the breaker panel with a pad of paper and cell phone while my wife plugged a small battery charger with an LED light in each outlet. I flipped breakers while she watched the LED on the charger to see when the outlet lost power. Figuring out the lights was faster. My wife turned on all the lights in an area. Then I turned off breakers while she told me on the cell phone which lights went out. It took us a couple hours to completely document 3 floors in a large house.

In our case, a circuit tracer would not have sped up the job.