Welcome to my J.A.M. (Just Ask Mike) Session, a weekly column where I answer your basic electrical questions. If you’re a newbie who’s never plugged in a shore power cord (or ask – what’s a shore power cord?), or wonder why your daughter’s hair dryer keeps tripping the circuit breaker, this column is for you. Send your questions to Mike Sokol at mike (at) noshockzone.org with the subject line – JAM. This week I discuss the recall of some Klein NCVTs (Non-Contact Voltage Testers).
Klein Tools Non-Contact Voltage Tester Model NCVT-1
Hazard with the Klein NCVT:
The on/off button can remain depressed during the power on or power off cycle, causing the tester to work improperly. Consumers testing electrical sources could fail to be warned of the presence of live voltage if the tester is not properly operating, posing a shock hazard to the users.
Remedy:
Recall date of the Klein NCVT:
Units:
About 1,690,000 (In addition, about 67,800 were sold in Canada.)
What you should do…
Call Klein Tools at 800-527-3099 from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, email at ncvt1support@kleintools.com or online at www.kleintools.com and click on “Safety Recall Information” at the bottom of the page for more information.
OK, everyone. Remember that electricity is a useful and powerful force, so we all need to pay attention to safety precautions while using it.
Let’s play safe out there….
Mike Sokol is an electrical and professional sound expert with 50+ years in the industry. His excellent book RV Electrical Safety is available at Amazon.com. For more info on Mike’s qualifications as an electrical expert, click here.
Join Mike’s popular and informative Facebook group.
And you don’t want to miss Mike’s webcasts on his YouTube channel.
For information on how to support RVelectricity and No~Shock~Zone articles, seminars and videos, please click the I Like Mike Campaign
##RVDT1621;##RVT1005
I was concerned about this until I located the date code which ends in G5. Mine is several years old.
Thanks for the info. I have a NCVT-3 which is not on the Klein Tools recall list but the NCVT-5 is also on the list. I have a hardware store and didn’t hear about the recall from a supplier but did from you!
Always test your tester. I check my NCT on a known hot socket before checking with it.
Yes, that’s absolutely right. Always test the tester first….
Yep, in the electrical world it’s called the live-dead-live test. Simply test something that is known to be energized first, test the circuit that your working on and then go back to the known live circuit. This method should be used with any electrical instrument being used to test for effectiveness of power off before working on it. Even though my guys used lockout- tagout on electrical breakers, if they walked away to get parts for an extended time, overnight and etc they were required to recheck the breakers and to go through the live-dead- live test again. Sometimes you only get zero chances with electrical shocks!
Exactly right. I had this drilled into me in the mid-70’s when I was being trained by OSHA to help keep our plant electricians safe. A decade or two later I remember testing a high-voltage power supply on the repair bench to make sure it was dead, then looking down at my meter only to discover one of the probes wasn’t plugged in all the way. Luckily I didn’t put my hands in the circuit, which would have been deadly. After that I always did a Live-Dead-Live test every time.