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

Some receptacles are installed upside down which make the unit hard to use & read.

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.

When I first looked at this tester in hand I did not understand why the label legend only showed red and white indications. I had to use an infrared light to see which indicators on the label were supposed to be yellow. I have normal color vision. The yellow color is printed too lightly to discriminate it from the white indicator legends. It looks like several other brands of tester sold here at Amazon have the same kind of label. The yellow color shows up fine in the product photo but not so well in real life. Putting that aside, the tester seems well made. The GFCI test function works fine. The prongs are a bit thicker than they should be and the tester does not want to plug in without exerting a bit more pressure than for most plugs. The prongs, even the ground prong, are solid metal. I will find a yellow marker or something similar to try and touch up these faded little yellow symbols. It is disappointing that an otherwise fine product is marred by this sort of manufacturer carelessness. If this problem is not an issue for you, I recommend this tester. Its cheaper than most and built very solidly. I want to be able to understand at a glance what the lights are telling me. Ill be returning this and getting the more expensive (but legible) Amprobe tester instead.

I have literal owned over a dozen of these. They work great, are easy to read, and most importantly are the easiest I found that insert into the TR (tamper resistant) outlets. I am a home inspector so I use this on a daily basis, so over 100 times a day 5 days a week for work. They last anywhere between 2-6 months at most. They are cheap enough but carry several in my bag since I never know when it will fail. So good for the homeowner but not so good for professional daily use.

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.

Does not have a gfi button on the black version. Otherwise works well. Good buy.

Nice and easy to use to make sure your outlets are working and safe to use! Haven’t had a false response since using

I use this on my state job to test all kinds of receptacles. The gfi tester works well and the lights are nice and bright. Very reliable piece of equipment! Good for electricians and also those who are learning how to do receptacles at home! :)

Fácil de usar , buena calidad y muy útil

Not that it got the most love and care but after a few uses the ground prong snapped off in the outlet. But I fished it out and it fit snugly so I gave it a try and it worked. Then I added a dab of super glue and its been fine. Wish theyd make these audible with a non-annoying sound so you didnt need to walk back and look if testing a circuit (dont tell me a radio as the convenience is its small). That would also help find it when you (well, I) leave it somewhere.