CS550A Circuit Breaker Finder

Since Amazon often mixes products, this review is on the Sperry Instruments CS550A Circuit Breaker Finder. I understand Sperry's paper conservation efforts but they really should include a little something more in the package to avoid all the 1-star reviews. While some tools calibrate automatically, you have to calibrate the CS550A manually. With the transmitter plugged into an outlet (or light socket adapter ASIN: B002DN6QX2) and the pistol grip receiver switched on and trigger firmly held in, slowly pass over the center of breakers top to bottom, left column, then right, until there's no more beeping from the receiver. This takes mostly two passes but sometimes just 1 or even 3. Then, release the trigger and slowly scan over the center of the breakers again with the trigger released. Don't be tempted to pull the trigger during the final scan! The black arrow will point to the correct breaker. A really handy feature is you can turn the breaker off and listen for absence of the transmitter beep to verify you have located the correct breaker. Using this procedure, I got NO false positives and the tool (with one exception) always identified the correct breaker. Often I had a hard time believing the tool, however, by actually turning off the identified breakers and listening for the absence of the transmitter beep to verify, I located a total of 8 mislabeled breakers out of 24! Great job electrician and shame on the city inspector. No wonder I was so confused every time I worked on something electrical! The one breaker the tool had trouble identifying was the one I was most interested in identifying. I guess I've now identified what's on it by process of elimination! This circuit has a home theater, a TV, a cable modem, a WiFi router, a VOIP box, 2 network switches, an HDHomeRun tuner, 4 Western Digital NAS drives, a Synology NAS drive, a remote start fireplace, ceiling lights, nook light, porch light, and several wall outlets with fans plugged in. The tool did identify this breaker from the nook & porch lights and from the outlets located furthest from the electronics. I'm sure it would have done better if I'd have wanted to shut down the NAS drives but then I'd hoped to avoid that by purchasing the tool. Observations: 1) The tool has trouble with heavily loaded circuits. Unplug heavy loads (fans, heaters, hairdryers, etc.) and turn off any incandescent lights that might also be on the same circuit you're testing. 2) The tool seems to remember the previous calibration setting. You have to turn it off and recalibrate each time you move the transmitter. 3) The tool seems to remember the previous calibration settings even if you just flick the power off and back on. It works best if you switch it off, go move the transmitter, switch back on, and recalibrate. 4) OK, it's cheap plastic and you have to furnish your own 9v battery but it cost just over $20 and it works great!

While some tools calibrate automatically, you have to calibrate the CS550A manually. With the transmitter plugged into an outlet and the pistol grip receiver switched on and trigger firmly held in, slowly pass over the center of breakers top to bottom, left column, then right, until there's no more beeping from the receiver. This takes mostly two passes but sometimes just 1. Then, release the trigger and slowly scan over the center of the breakers again with the trigger released. Don't be tempted to pull the trigger during the final scan! The black arrow will point to the correct breaker. A really handy feature is you can turn the breaker off and listen for absence of the transmitter beep to verify you have located the correct breaker. Using this procedure, I got NO false positives and the tool always identified the correct breaker. Often I had a hard time believing the tool, however, by actually turning off the identified breakers and listening for the absence of the transmitter beep to verify. Observations: 1) The tool has trouble with heavily loaded circuits. Unplug heavy loads (fans, heaters, hairdryers, etc.) and turn off any incandescent lights that might also be on the same circuit you're testing. 2) The tool seems to remember the previous calibration setting. You have to turn it off and recalibrate each time you move the transmitter. 3) The tool seems to remember the previous calibration settings even if you just flick the power off and back on. It works best if you switch it off, go move the transmitter, switch back on, and recalibrate. 4) OK, it's cheap plastic and you have to furnish your own 9v battery but it cost just over $20 and it works great!

Model CS-550A CIRCUIT BREAKER FINDER I intended to write an unfavorable review because it doesn't work more than about 20 feet from the transmitter. Then I read the Amazon review by William G. Finley. Search the Internet for the "OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS Model CS-550A CIRCUIT BREAKER FINDER" PDF. Read Step 4) LOCATING A CIRCUIT BREAKER". It worked great after I followed the instructions. Four stars for neither an intuitive tool nor clear instructions. This is Step 4 from the online instructions: "4) LOCATING A CIRCUIT BREAKER (figure 3): 1. With the transmitter plugged into an AC outlet to go the circuit breaker panel and open the cover. 2. Turn on the receiver and place target on the tip firmly against the first circuit breaker in the panel. 3. Press and hold the calibration switch while moving the receiver across the circuit breakers. 4. When the receiver responds to a circuit breaker stop movement until the receiver stops responding, then continue moving the receiver to the next breaker. 5. During the calibration process the receiver may respond to more than one of the circuit breakers in the panel, each time this occurs wait for the receiver to stop responding before moving to the next circuit breaker. 6. After scanning all the circuit breakers in the panel release the calibration switch and rescan the circuit breakers. 7. Only one breaker will now produce a response in the receiver. 8. While continuing to hold the receiver against this breaker turn off the breaker, this will remove power to the remote transmitter and the receiver will cease producing a response. This confirms that the transmitter is no longer receiving power. 9. Turn off receiver; additionally this resets the calibration circuit if another scan is desired. 10. Always confirm that power to the outlet has been removed by noting the absence of sound and light when in the presence of the transmitter. 11. Unplug transmitter when not in use

I watched the video and read the instructions on the website. Put in a new battery and tried it out. It only worked on a couple of outlets, but didn't even beep to calibrate on the rest of the outlets. Transmitter worked fine, but receiver wouldn't make any sound when dragging it across the breakers. Even in the garage where the outlets are directly across from the breaker panel about 15 feet. Squeezed the calibration switch tightly like the video recommended, but no luck. Too bad. The only 2 outlets it did work on were both on the same breaker. Don't know why, but I'm sending this thing back.

This unit worked much better than the previous one I had. You just plug in the sender, go to the electrical panel, pull the trigger and start sliding the nose of the unit down the circuit breakers. When you get the beep... beep, release the trigger a little bit and slide up ant down the nearby breakers. Repeat until you get beeps only on 1 breaker and that is the circuit the sender is on. If you are trying to trace a light socket you will need a converter that you screw into a light socket and then plug in the sender. It is much easier than it looks. I could have done it 3 times in the time it took to write this review. If the sender does not beep, you probably have a circuit that has already blown the breaker, go look at the panel for a breaker that has half moved to off. Reset it by pulling it all the way to off then to on. If it blows again, get an electrician.

I've used it before with some success, but it's not as simple as it looks, especially in a panel crowded with half-sized breakers. Oh wow, they CHEAPED-OUT by not including written instructions with the unit -- instead, there is a printed note in 4 point font directing you to go to a website and dig around looking for the instructions! They don't even list the proper URL! The instruction, when you find them under the tab, "Technical Data" are 3/4 of a short page, folded in confusingly with another language. They could fix the instruction-sheet to be clearer, you know? They could make the path to the instructions clearer. They could make the device better and reliable, but as it stands, it is only a so-so effort, with minimal engineering behind it. That is how to see the company: home of sorta-working junk, instructions not included. Since working with potentially LIVE ELECTRIC CIRCUITS is a matter of LIFE & DEATH, be certain that power is off on your circuit: Test a meter first on a live circuit, then shut the circuit off, or turn off the whole panel if you can. Lock out the circuit or the panel: put tape across it and a note saying you'll die if it's turned on! Then test Hot to Neutral, Hot to Ground, AND Neutral to Ground! Make sure they are dead, no current! Then you can be certain! UPDATE: I managed to narrow downd the possible breakers my mystery circuit COULD BE to one of two. It would not resolve which of two it actually would be, so I had to try first lne, I guessed - wrong - then the other - finally, the right one. It was my intention to save time. Failed in that respect. And to be certain, and I'm reasonably certain now. Thing is it react to 4 breskers, two more strongly, and two apparently on the fringe. I guess I was looking for a professional result. Maybe this tool was designed, carefully, to work in a range of uncertainty because of the price-point? Neither breaker of the two inficated more strongly. I tried to make it work better by recalibrating at the panel and at the satellite. Didn't help. Added a star, now ★★★ / 5 for 'sorta good.'

Worked great and is a perfect inexpensive solution to the occasional need.

I agonized over which circuit breaker finder to buy. I read the reviews and watched the YouTube videos. I finally decided on the Sperry and so glad I did. It was spot on and saved me significant time. I have an emergency generator and some circuits are controlled by the breaker box while others are controlled by the transfer box and labeling is not that great. I will agree with other reviewers that the process seems a little quirky (and may not be intuitive for some) but if you follow the steps correctly this device is very accurate. I watched a YouTube video twice before I started. This eliminated any confusion I had after reading the downloaded instructions. I do recommended picking up a screw in adapter for testing light switches (via the light socket). My outlets were on different circuits than the lights in the same room. This one’s a keeper.