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

I was playing my electric guitar in my basement a couple months ago when I felt a mild tingle in my hands. After reading up and considering getting my amplifier repaired, I decided to spend a few bucks on a tester first. I found out that despite having three prongs, none of the outlets in the basement are grounded. If I knew that before I bought the house, I would have made the seller fix it. This tester works great, is easy to read, and is very inexpensive.

Works great when it can actually get plugged in. I upgraded an outlet to a tamper resistant (TR) GFCI outlet, and it wouldnt open the shutters. Ill have to try using it connected first to a 3 prong male/female extension cord that will actually go into the outlet. (Purchased Aug 2017)

It does what it suppose to but you need to use it with a non contact voltage detector as a 2nd tester. All these type of testers does the same thing. Some better than others and this one does a great job but none detects if the plug is a reverse bootleg (reverse polarity with the ground connected to the hot line). It will show as correct but it really isnt. Thats where you need a non contact voltage detector. A reverse bootleg will have the entire receptical electrified/hot and using a voltage detector will beep when you get close to the receptical when it should only beep when you stick it to the hot slot. If this happens call an electrican to fix it or fix it yourself if you know what you are doing.

Very easy to use and quickly tell you if you have wired an outlet correctly. a must have tool for every tool box.

PROS: 1. Good quality 2. Works great 3. Good price CONS: 1. The little reference circles on the indicator label are WAY TOO SMALL. It is very difficult to distinguish which circles are white vs. which ones are yellow. There simply is not enough contrast, given the tiny size of the circles. 2. Can be a bit difficult to remove from some receptacles, due to a grip design that is not quite as good as the Ideal tester, which has a deeper contoured grip. I would highly recommend this tester If you have excellent vision and can tell the difference between the white and yellow reference circles on the label, without having to use a flashlight & reading glasses. Otherwise, I would pay a bit more and get the Ideal tester, which has easier to read reference circles, although the text (smaller) is more difficult to read on the Ideal.

Works great. Price is not bad either. The only drawback is with the indicators lights. But it does not take a rocket scientist to figure it out.

Orange and white circles, at the very small font it is shown in, is nearly impossible to discern from each other except in perfect lighting. Almost makes this unusable.

Works as expected Very simple to use and easy to understand

This is a good idea, but the materials are probably poorly assembled or improperly assembled. I tested this for reverse polarity in both positions. I connected the tester to a NEMA 5-15 to NEMA 1-15 (non polarized) adapter so I could test the reversal of polarity in a safe manner. But to my dismay the red indicator never turned on once, in reversed and correct position. The red pilot light is totally dead. The indicator however, does properly identify open and correct ground. For what thats worth. I was suspicious of this tester as I heard a small jingle in the tester, but I paid no mind at first. I am glad I tested it to make sure it was in working order. I think Ill just pay a tiny bit extra for a non contact voltage tester. But not from GB. Update: received a replacement that also was not able to detect reversed polarity. Do not buy this product, it provides a false sense of security. But a non-contact voltage tester instead.