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

Not much to say about a GFCI tester. A little less bulky than some. Solidly built. The neon lights are easy to see from all angles. The test button trips my GFCI. The big win is the price. Some dealers sell the same thing on Amazon for 3x the price. Sometimes without the test button. Every home owner and RV owner should have one in their toolbox. Maybe more than one as they seem to disappear in the night.

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)

The fine print is a little hard to read. I had to use my phone as a magnifying glass.

Easy to use and simple to understand

It gave me a mis-diagnoses, confirmed by an electrician. I moved into a newly constructed house, and none of the outlets in the dining room had power. I was unable to easily determine who the electrician was that apparently screwed up this new wiring job, so a different one from another company was called. He inspected while I was gone at work and left me the message that the outlets are perfectly fine. I assumed he fixed them, but they still did not work. I then used this GRT-3500 tester before calling him back, and told him it indicated a reversed HOT/GROUND. He insisted here is no problem with the outlets. I told him my wife and I both insist there is, and so its two against one, but I can call neighbors over to confirm if he needs a bigger head count. He came over the next day and demonstrated to me that his cheap tester (whatever it was) indicated no problem. I demonstrated to him that my drill would not run when plugged into the outlet. He pronounced that my drill was defective. I again repeated my original complaint to him that many other devices will not work in this dining room, and my wife has the same experience, yet we can take the same devices and they will work when plugged into outlets in other rooms. So he set aside his cheap meter, went to his truck and came back with his $400 meter and proclaimed that there is indeed a problem. Doh!! I then further opined that IMO the electrician probably did not mis-wire 4 outlets in a row, so the problem would most likely be in the breaker box. He went into the breaker box and found that the neutral wire for the dining room breaker was simply not hooked up, and so this conflicts with the indication from my GRT-3500. So the GRT-3500 did indicate a problem, but did not give the correct diagnosis, so it is of limited use. I will be researching to see if I can find a better tester, and will post back here if I manage to find a good tester. BTW the electrician also found a loose wire in the breaker box that went to a living room outlet that was working most of the time but would quit sometimes. And as soon as the electrician left we found that the outlet in the upstairs bathroom that had worked okay was now not working, so I suppose I will open the breaker box and just tighten all screws, because apparently the first electrician did sloppy work and the second electrician is sloppy also if he did not check all the set screws for tightness while he had it apart; he works like he is putting out a fire, all in a hurry... are all electricians like that? It seems to me that a tradesman can choose speed or quality in his workmanship, but not both. I would prefer an electrician that would make quality his mind-set, rather than speed.

Handy tool and it works great!!

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.

Excelente and a good price

The product is indispensable for diagnosing outlet issues. Throw one in your tool kit and youll always be ready to find the problem. The light readouts are printed on both sides so no matter how your plugged is installed you have an instant diagnosis.

This one was one of the lowest cost outlet testers I could find. It doesnt have any fancy gadgets but it does what it is intended to do. I really dont think I will need another one since it seems sturdy enough. I am not an electrician so I cant comment on specs, but this is great for us DIY people.