Milwaukee has been trying to expand its product line over the last year and to help increase their products, they launched a new volt detector. If you’re not familiar with a volt detector, all it really does is what the name implies, detects volts. These are very handy tools for a variety of applications. Such as if you are changing an outlet in your house. As always, you turn off the breaker. The tester is just a second way to make sure the power to the outlet is off.
Milwaukee’s new 2201-20 volt detector runs on a AAA battery. One interesting and cool feature is the work light. Besides using this as a straight detector, you can use it as a mini flashlight. The flashlight is supposed to be bright and uses an LED light.
The detector’s range is 90-600 VAC. We haven’t tested or even seen this in action so there are some things we don’t know. We are not sure how long a user will get on a single battery. With the added LED flashlight, even though the LED takes very little power, it might not last as long as other detectors. Also, on the back of the 3.5″ shaft of the detector is the power button. Not sure if this is a button you have to hold down the whole time or it is a click switch where once you press the switch, it stays on. If this is a click switch, does it have an auto shut off after a certain amount of time, so if it is in your tool bag, it doesn’t accidentally go on and kill the battery. Another uncertainty is the price of this detector.
