Circuit Breaker Finder

It used to be that you’d need two people to figure out which circuit breaker switch controlled which outlet in your home or office. One person remained in the house at the outlet and the other person went out to the garage or wherever the circuit breaker box was. The person at the breaker box would then flip each switch manually and yell, “Is that it?!” while the person inside would look to see if a lamp plugged into the outlet turned off or not. With the Reed Circuit Breaker Tester, not only can you do the job by yourself, but you can do so much more quickly. You simply plug the sending unit into the outlet, go to the circuit breaker box, and point the sensing unit at each switch. When it beeps, you know you have the right circuit. If multiple switches trigger the beep, you can adjust the sensitivity of the sensing unit down until only one switch beeps. The sending/outlet unit also has a secondary function that tells you if the outlet is wired properly and can even test GFCI circuits.

I used to identify circuit breakers the way my ancestors did: by plugging something in, running to the panel, and flipping switches like I was playing some high-stakes electrical version of Wheel of Fortune. "Is it breaker number 6? No? Try again!" And if you think I labeled my panel correctly the first time... you must think highly of me. I appreciate that, but no. Enter this glorious device: the R5500 Circuit Breaker Finder. Or, as I like to call it, The Breaker Whisperer. Using it is almost suspiciously easy. Plug the little transmitter into the outlet, take the receiver to the panel, slowly wave it around like you're conducting a séance, and beep beep beep—you’ve found your breaker. No more guesswork, no more turning off your fridge when you meant to shut off the bathroom lights. The buzzer and LED are like a small celebration every time you get it right. It’s oddly satisfying. The adjustable sensitivity wheel makes you feel like you're fine-tuning a piece of spy tech. I'm not saying I wore a tool belt and pretended I was defusing a bomb, but I'm also not not saying that. Bonus: it also tells you if your outlet wiring is sketchy. It checks GFCIs too, which is great because I never remember what those buttons do, but I press them anyway like they’re part of some ancient ritual. Now I can press them with purpose. Overall, this little tool saved me time, frustration, and the deep existential doubt that comes from flipping breakers and praying you don’t shut off your router mid-email. Highly recommend for DIYers, homeowners, and anyone who’s tired of playing electrical roulette

The Reed R5500 Circuit Breaker Finder is easy to use. The initial setup to check for connection to the plug was simple and straightforward. I really like the ability to be able to find the connecting wire in the basement ceiling based off of where the finder was plugged in. This will allow me to easily rewire our kitchen island to its own breaker. The problem or issue I found was that the reader is very touchy when checking the box. I knew what breaker was plugged in, but the reader kept going off when on either breaker above or below the proper one.

I was working on a major bathroom/hallway remodel that required me to relocate some wiring along with terminating and extending some lines. This house was built in 1908 and has seen its fare share of remodels over the years so I was having a hard time determining what breaker went to what line. After a bit of practice and going back and forth from the plug to the breaker this was a life saver. I'm not a fan of getting shocked so having this helped me quickly identify what breaker to turn off and what lines were still hot. It has a sensitivity meter on the handheld part that was useful as well. When you hover over the breaker that corresponds to the plug it will beep beep beep. It will sometimes beep at the adjacent breaker, but if you use the sensitivity adjustment it will then only beep at the active breaker. The plug portion provides you with a quick visibility light up if you wired it correctly which is helpful as well. With the help of this tool, we got the project completed safely and all the breakers relabeled for easy use in the future. Even if you're not doing a remodel, I would recommend this tool set to help you correctly label your breaker box.

This thing is great! if you're ever working on an outlet in your house, be sure you have the right breaker turned off. It's easy to do with this circuit breaker detector. Once it's plugged into any outlet you can go to your breaker box and point the white end of the probe to each circuit breaker. It'll beep when it detects the same circuit your transmitter is plugged into. There is a sensitivity dial on the probe that you can use to really isolate the circuit. I used to have to plug in a radio and play it as loud as it would go so i could hear whether or not it turned on or off in from the basement. This is much easier. You can also use it to test GFCI outlets. It has a button to press to simulate a circuit breach and your GFCI will switch off. If it doesn't, something's wrong with your installation of the outlet. Just plug it into the GFCI outlet you're going to be working on and it'll light up with a code telling you problems with the circuit depending on the code of the 3 lights you get.

I was excited to receive this circuit breaker finder, as I have seen these before and thought it would be a great tool for future electrical work. The unit appears to be well-made, but it did not perform as described in the instructions. Tried the tool multiple days on different circuits, but was never successful in it detecting the breaker, even on those that I knew were the correct one. Adjusting the sensitivity knob on a known breaker, and then scanning the rest of the panel often gave false results, and sometimes it would not even detect the correct breaker that I had initially set the sensitivity. The module that plugs into the outlet is a nice tool for checking for wiring issues at the outlet and also for testing GFCI breakers, but the main purpose of this tool to detect a breaker remotely from the transmitter did not work. Not sure if I just have a defective one, but it is not at all a reliable way to find a circuit breaker.

The Reed Instruments R5500 circuit breaker finder is a reliable tool that comes with a 9-volt battery wrapped in plastic in the battery compartment. To use it, remove the battery from the battery compartment, unwrap the plastic, and plug it in. The instructions are straightforward, but ensure you use the correct orientation as shown in Item 4 on Page 6. During testing, gradually reduce the sensitivity to pinpoint the exact breaker/fuse, making small adjustments and retesting all breakers that may have emitted a tone during previous tests. This method helps eliminate false positives experienced at higher sensitivity settings. The breaker finder worked the same testing an outlet 6’ of wire away and 150’ of wire away. The receptacle wiring tests included in the plug-in module are a useful addition, and the GFI test works like the test button on GFI receptacles, creating an external ground fault to test the outlets.

This is a Great quality circuit breaker finder, easy to use, powered by 9V battery, and has adjustable sensitivity. I was up and running with this in less than two minutes. Simply unpackaged it, plugged in the 9V battery that it came with, and I was off to the races. You are also able to do a GFCI circuit test with this (will trip the circuit). To find the circuit breaker that your plug is connected to, simply connect the plug end into any outlet in your house, Then go to your circuit breaker panel, turn the pen device on, and adjust sensitivity till you hear beeping at your source. I found this to be extremely accurate with the sensitivity dialed in just a little bit past the on position.

The Reed Instruments Circuit Breaker Finder/Receptacle Tester 2 Piece Kit # R5500 is easy to use. Plug the Receptacle Tester into a GFCI Outlet and you can tell from across the room if the circuit is good (two big green LEDs lit up) or bad. The three big LEDs diagnose eight circuit conditions. The fault chart is printed big enough on the front of the Tester so you can actually read it. Press the Red GFCI Test Button to trip the GFCI circuit. The Tester is also the Transmitter for finding which receptacle is connected to which Circuit Breaker. Plug the Transmitter into a receptacle and go to your Breaker Box with the Circuit Breaker Finder. The Finder is a handheld antenna powered by a 9V battery (supplied). Holding the Finder Horizontally, roll the thumb switch to turn it on. Slowly scan the breakers one at a time while adjusting the sensitivity of the Finder by rolling the thumb switch. You'll quickly become adept at rolling the thumb switch and scanning up and down until only one breaker sets off the LED Blinking/Audible Beeping. It's that simple. This diagnosed in a few minutes a couple of GFCI related issues that have eluded me for a long time. 5 Stars.

This is a tool that once you have it, you wonder why you didn’t get it when you bought your first house! It is super easy to use and intuitive. The 9-volt battery is included, just not installed. Super easy to use, plug the receiver into the outlet, point the ‘gun’ at the receiver until it blinks/beeps and then go to your panel and slide it down the breakers until it beeps. I have a complicated electrical layout at my house. I have a 200amp main panel, a 100-amp subpanel that is wired to a transfer switch to an external generator. I rewired most of my house, so I knew whether the circuit tester was correct. Well, in every instance it was correct. It works properly on my 200amp main panel with a single 20amp breaker. It worked on my 100amp subpanel on a double pole 20amp breaker that was not wired through the transfer switch. It also worked on a double pole 15amp breaker that was wired through the transfer switch. Finally, it worked on a single pole 20amp breaker that was wired through my transfer switch. I WISH I had this when I bought my current house because the previous owner did some seriously messed up wiring. If I could give it 10 stars I would and that is from an advanced DIY electrician. If you are going to a house warming party, bring this instead of a plant!