Electrical Troubleshooting Made Easy! (+ GIVEAWAY)

#sponsored IDEAL @ideal_electrical

IDEAL SureTrace 61-946 Giveaway Rules:
How to Enter: Simply leave a comment telling us what you would use the circuit tracer for. (Only one entry per person)
Eligibility: The contest is open to U.S. residents only and you must be 18 years or older to enter.
Drawing: Once the video receives 200 entry comments, 100k views or 4 weeks after the video is made public, two random winners will be chosen.
Shipping Info: We will reply to the two winning commenters for shipping details. (We can only ship to the USA). The winners will have two days to provide shipping information. If after two days we have not heard from the winner, a new winner will be selected.
Contest Information: Backyard Maine will not be held responsible for items that may be lost, stollen or damaged during shipping.
YouTube is not a sponsor of this giveaway and viewers must release YouTube from any liability related to the contest.
Privacy: Shipping information gathered from the two winners will only be used one time for shipping of the circuit tracers.

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☑️ All links shared in video descriptions/comments are affiliate links that help support the channel with no extra cost to you.

⚡️ More Educational (Electrical Videos)

[BackyardMaine]

EDIT: One of the winners has not replied after 48 hours so a new winner was selected. It was @samoyervides6997. Congratulations Sam.

[rickdiego]

I own a townhome condo built in 1980. The Electrical system didn't have any problems until 2015 and then one day the tenant called me and said the upstairs electricity is out. I went to troubleshoot and spent probably 6 hours or more trying to locate the problem. The issue was a switch box close to the main breaker box which had four neutral wires with wire a nut and when the original electrician connected those wires one of the wires must have been just barely touching the others and it worked for about 35 years. When I pulled that group of wires out and unscrewed the wire nut it was obvious what was wrong and all I had to do was reposition the wires for a good connection and screw the wire nut back on. That tracing tool would have saved me 5 hours of anxiety.

[Dennis-ysho]

What an awesome opportunity you are providing. Win or lose, thank you. I have always been a DIYer and am the consummate perfectionist. I am newly retired and since I cannot sit still, have been offering handyman services … many of which are electrical. I have been working with electric for 50+ years. Right now, everything I am doing is mostly volunteer work … so people can see the quality of my work. Everything electrical is strictly by code and will never, ever take a shortcut. This type of tester has long been on my bucket list but simply stated, I just cannot afford to purchase one yet. G-d bless you and Ideal Tools!

[kevinsuitter]

My 89 year old father lives in a 110 year old house in northern Maine. The house has a lot of knob and tube wiring as well as a crazy amount of different fixtures and appliances sharing a circuit and things have to be turned on or used in a certain order to prevent tripping of circuits. I have been slowly trying to get things organized and labeled in some sort of recognizable and safe order. Last year I got a new 200 amp main panel installed to start out fresh….. this year during my Christmas trip I am planning on tracing out the circuits and rerouting as necessary to get things in some semblance or order. Your videos have been very helpful in this endeavor …. Thank you for your content!

[JonGillan]

I am a budding electrician with this being my second career in life. I changed careers to provide a better life for my family and pursue a life away from a desk. Your videos have helped me understand the trade, from your tips and tricks, to code comprehension, and much in-between. Just starting out, i do not have the funds for the most effective tools and i have had to choose my tool purchases carefully. I would use this as a more effective and less disruptive means to isolate circuits during home projects for customers and general troubleshooting. Thank you for continuing to share your wealth of knowledge, John!

[ElectroAtletico]

Going up and down the stairs, while checking for short circuits, is getting harder everyday. Now in my late 50's. That looks like an amazing product. Well done IDEAL!!!

[nexusfx]

Home and small business owner here. Being able to identify where I have bad splices in my house is something I’ve been trying to do for a while now. I just had a Square D QO panel put in, but had 3 circuits trip repeatedly because of bad splices. I would love to not only use this myself, but also for my clients who have electrical problems. Despite not being a licensed electrician, your videos have been ones I always watch to learn more about. Your video about GFCIs and how the magnetic fields from the line/load cancel each other out have given me the greatest “Woah” feeling ever. Thanks.

[VaHKGuy]

My house is nearly 100 years old. For about 10 years, I've had several dead outlets, but couldn't trace the faulty breaker. I'd re-label my circuit breakers plus I'd diagram my wiring & electrical routing.

My parents are in their 80s. My dad hasn't kept up with his breaker either. So, I'd sort that out.

Lastly, I have many neighbors who need the same help.

This years marks 20 year cancer free anniversary. I'm grateful to be alive. I'm 100% into doing for others.

Thank you for your channel.

[garyfrechette]

It's a wonderful tool! I have 2 200 Amp panels right now that have several mislabeled breakers due to years of changes without correct markings. This tool would be a wonderful aid in getting this job done.
And thanks for offering us the opportunity to win one. BTW, I live in Maine, too.

[niceguyDoug]

John, thanks to you and Ideal for this offer. I've got two homes to troubleshoot, my son's and mine. My son's home is only 25 years old, but he been remodeled twice by previous owners. Many of the breakers seem to have multiple receptacle, lights, and (on one circuit) a whole-house humidifier. They can't run the humidifier at the same time with a toaster or other high-draw appliance.
My home is 100 years old, and some of the wiring is still cloth-covered. It was originally a 2-circuit home, , one for each side of the house. While the actual service has been updated to 200 amp, some of the wiring has questionable connections and overstuffed electrical boxes. While i have the ability to troubleshoot these issues, , i lack the hardware, so one of these Ideal testers would give both families peace of mind, and guarantee our safety.

[jimharris]

Retired electrician still do volunteer work to seniors who can't afford it. I don't have a meter like that---enjoy your cast---Jim

[StephenGates-bm]

Greatly appreciate the education about circuit tracing. We just purchased a new home and there are several electrical lines and switches that I need to determine what they are connected to and/or not connected to. A circuit tracer will be the perfect tool.

Thank you for the education!!

[wallyk]

We just bought a house in Northern maine and it's practically impossible to get a professional out here so I've had to learn on my own but there was alot of extra wiring and circuits put in and i have no clue what goes where so i would absolutely learn everything about that tool and use it a ton. Thanks for this video 👍👍👍👍👍

[JamieHitt]

My mother's house has an almost unusable 2nd floor due to wiring issues. Electricians have given estimates far beyond her ability to pay. I have the skill to make the electrical updates/repairs. But I don't have the testing equipment I would need. This would serve that purpose. I would also volunteer it's use for our church and community building. Both of which are in need. If I were to win the give away, I would use this to help anyone I can and never charge them a dime. You have my word.

[bobschlotterfishing]

That is an awesome tool, I have fixed up a few homes in my life this would make things sooo much easier to figure out what circuit breaker turns off a specific room, or outlets. So many times i find panels not labeled or incorrectly labeled . Thanks for the in depth video.

[TheUrbanGent]

I am in my apprenticeship right now and it’s going well. This tool would definitely take my game to serious highest. It versatile and multi tools in one. I also started this program to change my current situation and change my life around for my son I didn’t find my confidence until I started this program and your channel. You have helped me out tremendously and I appreciate you.

[TomFarrell-pz]

Big fan of you channel! I'm a retired electrical engineer and an amateur woodworker who is always modifying my shop, including adding and moving the electrical outlets. The SureTrace circuit tracer would sure be helpful! Great idea, and kudos to the engineers who designed it!

[billt]

I do a lot of work on electrical in finished homes and BACKYARD MAINE videos have helped me
Get the job done right. I find john has a way of explaining thing so I can understand them. This tracer from IDEAL would made my life easier and my day more productive. I really like the products from IDEAL I have a lot of them. If I see something I need I reach for IDEAL. Thanks John for all of your videos, I hope they keep coming.

[sergioflores]

Good evening. Im looking for a job as electrician apprentice in MA. I’m hoping this will be very helpful when the time comes. Thank you so much for your time, your videos are a good way for me to review what I learned in school, especially when you go over the NEC codes. Good night

[BackyardMaine]

Hello my friends.. I wanted to let everyone know that there was a scammer in my comments last night posing as me telling people they won and trying to get personal information from them. I have removed the scammer from the channel but please be careful about who you respond to. The scammer was using the same logo but the name was BackyardMaine1 not BackyardMaine. Also always look for the little gray checkmark to the right of my channel name. Sorry about this issue which is outside my control. I will pick the winners at random tomorrow Monday, September 23rd. I will notify the winners and also leave another pinned comment. Good luck.