Mike Holt Enterprises Electrical News Source

New Fluke T6-1000 Electrical Tester

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Mike HoltElectrical safety is our key concern and I'm always looking out for information that will help keep the industry safe. The following article is about a new product which was brought to my attention and I felt it was worth passing along. I hope you find it has value.

FLUKE has developed a new product. Click here or on the image to watch the product demo. Here's what they say about it:

You can’t measure voltage without test leads
The new Fluke T6-1000 Electrical Tester

FieldSense technology lets you slide the open fork over a conductor and see the voltage level.1

Be safer: Measure voltage to 1000 V ac through the open fork, without test leads.
Be faster: No need to open covers or remove wire nuts.
Be more efficient: Simultaneously measure voltage and current.
Be everywhere: 17.8 mm open fork is widest in the industry; measure up to 200 A on 4/0 wires (120 mm2).

1 Requires capacitive path to ground, provided through user in most applications. Ground connection via test lead may be required in some situations.

• • •

Our Comment: We wonder if it can determine the difference between ghost and real voltages? We didn't see anything in the documentation that addressed that. We did see information that just like non-contact voltage indicators that this works on capacitance but unlike the non-contact indicators the person using this device has to put his finger on a metallic contact on the meter to read the voltage. It also said that in some cases, where the user is not grounded, that you need a jumper from the contact on the instrument to something that is connected to the electrical grounding system. We don't see how this device could put a load on the circuit to eliminate ghost voltage indication.

If anybody has any experience with this product, please give us your feedback by posting a comment - it could be of great service to our industry.
Comments

  • So while there has been a lot of negative about this meter I find it to be a great everyday carry meter. There was one guy on YouTube saying that with the Red test lead in the Hot side of the outlet that the back field sense will have 120 v on it. Which if you read it with another meter to ground it will say 120 v. Just like it will with any two meters connected that same way. Red lead in the Hot and the red lead of another meter to the black lead and the black lead of the second meter to the ground it will read 120 v.

    So that being said. When using the meter I place my finger on the back field sense and then with that same hand if I can I touch the box if its metal. Or I use my other hand and touch something grounded to get a more "true" reading. With test leads it says 123 v and with field sense properly grounded it will read + or - 2-3 v. Without it being properly grounded it could read + or - 5-10 v. From what I've seen personally. I have also done a video showing this and could do anther one if it would be something you'd like to see in action. I don't know all the logistics of it but the ground point is just a reference point. So that being said the field sense works the exact same way that a test lead would but it uses your skin to find that reference point.

    Shain Bowman  February 26 2019, 3:04 am EST
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