A look inside the Cliff Quicktest mains connection unit.
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- Опубликовано: 18 фев 2016
- The Quicktest unit has been around for a long time, and is used in electrical and electronic workshops to safely connect power to electrical equipment that does not have a plug. Note that the device is only intended for people with good electrical awareness.
It has a very strict isolation system whereby lifting the lid to access the terminals completely isolates the live and neutral connections.
Connecting the test wires is done via "piano key" type connectors that grip the wires securely when released. The connectors are colour coded with the standard European flex colours with the earth/ground key being solid green as opposed to striped green and yellow.
Since I get asked about this item a lot, here are some links to the manufacturer and suppliers.
Cliff Plastic Products:- www.cliffuk.co.uk/products/too...
US supplier:- www.newark.com/cliff-electroni...
(Suggested by RUclipsrs SolarDrew and Kasey Norman.)
UK suppliers:-
Rapid Electronics:- www.rapidonline.com/cables-con...
CPC:- cpc.farnell.com/cliff-electron... 
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And now the Re-assemble, I bet it takes longer to put back together. Thanks Clive for yet another good video.
In the late 60s I worked for Labgear, a factory making TV signal boosters and other TV related stuff. Every test bench had one of thesequicktests often called a mouse or rat trap! not sure why, it just was. One of the childish things we would do (well I was only 16/17 at the time) was to place a thin piece of solder between live and neutral and close the trap. When the workers arrived in the morning they would turn on the master power switch to each bench followed by a bang and a puff of smoke. Followed, of course by howls of laughter from the test department. Still makes me laugh when I think about it today!! Sad really.
I love those stories. Where I worked in the 80s and 90s in the service dept of a high end HiFi shop in the West End there used to be a man who stood outside to sell newspapers with his dog, we would wire a super tweeter up to a signal generator, stick it up to a vent and make the poor mans dog go apeshit. Which it did.
Oh and we used these too, except they didn't have that silly neon.
Also followed by breathing in lead vapor...
Wife surprised me with one for Christmas! I guess she wants me to stick around.
Ah yes. We called them Keynecters back in 1968. That was a nice trip down memory lane. Awesome. Many thanks my friend.
+Raymond Earle Biggest surprise was finding that they still make and sell them. I think I have one of the keynector units somewhere too.
They are awesome.
+Raymond Earle The Keynector was from Electronic Brokers and it may have been the first. The switch and fuse were in a flip-open section at the top which locked the keys when closed.
There's an advert for it in Wireless World or September 1969 here, page A85:
www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Wireless-World/60s/Wireless-World-1969-09.pdf
£1-10s-6p. Sorry I took so long. I was drooling. Wireless World. I couldn't afford it on my wages. So i used to badger my boss until he gave me his to look at. Practical Electronics. Practical Wireless. Elektor. Etc. Once a month me and my mate would have a readathon in my bosses front room. Eric my boss was a Genius. Thank you for bringing him back to mind my friend.
I dig the fact you supply a link to this stuff regardless of whether or not you get a cut from a sale. I think we would get along as neighbors.
Simplicity is always the best made I've discovered in life. Keeping it simple can save so many lives. Thanks B.C.
Thanks, Clive. I bought one after viewing one of your clips, and I am very happy. It is quite expensive, but there you go... They might consider replacing the neon glow light by a small LED, but that might come in time... I might do that myself one of these days... In fact, there is a design shorcoming relative to opening the lid. If the device is not bolted onto a table, it is difficult to open the lid with one hand, and when you struggle to use your other hand, there is a slight possibility for a finger to touch a live lead... The solution is to add a small base that protrudes in front (wooden base for instance) that makes it easier to open the lid...
Yes, that's the problem I've been thinking too with this otherwise quite great little box. It doesn't look like it is easy to open with one hand in case of some emergency.
After seeing you use this in previous videos, I bought one for myself a few months back. Very handy for repair work, or any temporary mains connection.
I do really like how the live is next to earth, so in case of it being bridged, it trips the RCD/GFCI, and it even has a slightly larger gap for added isolation compared to the neutral and ground.
Hi Clive I've been using a similar device for 32 years quick testing etc. Still use it daily in workshop. It's a "SAFEBLOCK" with a trade mark "Rendar" I was given it by the boss at a small pump manufacturing company in Walsall where I worked making looms. Will send photos. Many thanks for the great videos. Cheers.
Big Clive.. I just ordered one of these because of you. Lots of fun to be had for many years with this little beauty. Thanks mate! :)
Just received mine yesterday. already used it a couple of times. i appreciate big clives safety conscious approach. not getting hurt will keep motivated to keep interested. not so with me drone. ask me why. anyway, thanks clive for showing us this great device. cheers
Finally gave in and spent the money on one of these. For those like me who are outside the UK, the suitable fuses seem to be the Bussman C180/TDC180 series :)
MK plug top too! You can tell by the distinctive shape and ergonomic design. Also has push in strain relief and wrap around screw cap connections for L, N, and E. As far as I am concerned, the best UK 240V mains plug ever made. Pretty much every time I would put a plug on any appliance, particularly high current stuff like washing machines, tumble dryers, 13 Amp extention leads, electric heaters and the like I would use one of those. And also as mentioned elsewhere in the comments, as a long time serving electrical tester, I would always have an RS 'Safebloc' connectors like the one shown here for 115 V AC 60hz, 115 V AC 400hz, 240 V AC 50hz, 24 V DC 10 A, and one hooked on the end of a large 3 phase sack barrow mounted variac. The fact that all the terminals on the 3 phase variac were only covered by a piece of crumbling paxolin board, taped on with masking tape was by the by! Great stuff! 😀 Thanks for the reminder Clive.
Mine is on it's way! Ordered one last week after my friends found there was a safer alternative to my death/suicide lead. Expensive but I won't need to replace it.. ever.
Thank you for answering about what it is.
I’ve got mine back in the early 80s but it called branded as safe block and the conductors are bear metal but covered when the top is closed. Very useful tool to have.
I've had mine for over 30 years and it's been incredibly useful. Still looks like new too! I remember my friend's girlfriend enquiring as to the point of it: "why don't you just fit a plug?" she said. At which point she was promoted to plugfitter-in-chief and after a short deliberation promptly resigned her post. 🙃
When I worked for Dixons in the eighties we used these to test appliances, which in those days did not have fitted plugs. They were eventually banned for safety reasons but they were very handy indeed.
Used a similar device for many years, before UK regulations demanded a fitted mains plug, when I worked for a "Major'" electrical retailer, and needed to demonstrate TV's/ Radios/ etc to customers - an invaluable piece of equipment . In those days we referred to it as a "Safe - Block"
I'm getting one of these, Clive. Just to be silly, it will be the QT-3 3Φ version, since it will be useful for the 3Φ variac I've had for the past 30 years. Far safer that mucking about with screw terminals.
I bought mine a week ago, and wired it, this is very handy. Thank you.
I finally purchased one from Newark for $47.67 total. I have it connected to a variac. I love it. Well worth the price. I ordered some 5 amp fuses since the tests I'll be going are on low current devices.
A great idea, but with quality issues. I bought the 3 phase model a year ago figuring that I could use the 2 extra circuits for my bench's 12Vdc power supply. I ended up having to use the 2 extra circuits for AC because the screws stripped on the blue and brown even though I did not overtorque them. I have 30 years experience in electronic repair and know how much torque to use.
A refrigeration engineer , i was friendly with in Coventry ( so friendly the sod still owes me £80 ) , set up a house party , ( about 20 years back ) , as he ' d run out of plugs for light ' s & amps etc ..... go round to wiring things into mains sockets using nails ....... & insulation tape . All was going " fine " , ' till , turn on one of these death traps were turned on , there was an all might bang .......... & the base cone of a borrowed base speaker attempted to escape across the room ....... we went down the pub & scrounged half a dozen plugs ............. it was a good party ........... & the music was not too loud !
This is one of your tools that I have always wanted to know about ,thank you..
Very convenient devices Clive.... they are very safe to use and make life easy in a test bench environment. I don't think you pointed out though the one thing to be careful about ....
You pretty much can't get to any live contact with the lid open or closed BUT the back two slots can be accessed with DMM probes and will tell you the voltage your'e working with if for instance you have it connected to a Variac.
Loose wires, wire cut offs that fall in this slot can be live so don't grab at them. (Probably never happen unless you're very messy at work but is still something to be aware of)...
Just watched your video on the LED lights from Ebay, nice use of the LEDs as a bridge rectifier, innovative.
We had ONE of these in the Physics Laboratory of my Alma Mater, Maynooth University in the 1970's. It was just used whenever a device was missing a plug top.
The Black, Green and Red is MUCH nicer than the yuck European colour scheme I think.
My own unit arrived safely about 3 weeks ago in Brown, Green and Blue.
When I did my TV & VCR repair apprenticeship, back in 1991-1993 ish, we used the _"Safebloc"_ version of this. :)
Thanks for the link. I tried buying one from a UK ebay seller and he basically called me an idiot for wanting to use a 220v appliance on 120v, and refunded my money. I still think its hilarious that so many people think that the US only has 120v, when we have 220v as well.
+Zach Demand Oh I forgot to add. Don't be fooled by the substitute on the right side of newarks website. It says $54.04, but that is just for the euro cable, the quicktest unit is not included. That's got to be the biggest rip off ive ever seen.
Hi Clive I use to have a quick connect back in the 70's and it was the same arrangement apart from the keys, the one I had the keys was decent quality chrome crocodile clips with the lower half screwed down to the bottom of the enclosure ho yeah and the hinged top was also in black and a different shape than the red top. Ho do I miss it!!!
Nice video about it. I've got myself one a while ago.
I found something with it worth mentioning though.
I got mine with the European (shuko) plug fitted to it. The way the cable was terminated and connected inside though, didn't instil a lot of confidence. There were no proper wire ends crimped onto the stripped wires, and a lot of the actual strands were broken. The connections were loosely tightened...
Now, I might be a nit-picker but I'm not sure if that's what you want in a device that is likely to be moved or handled a lot and is reasonably expensive for what it is.
I redid the cable and crimped wire-ends to the stripped parts of the wires. I tightened the screws a little better as well...
I expected a little better for the price-point, that's all. :)
Got one through Amazon a few months I do a lot of testing & it comes in handy saves putting a plug on things then having to cut it of again if they fail
I remember my Dad having one of these, and that was at least 30 years ago. His didn't have plastic latches but the basic design was exactly the same.
I just use a "suicide cord" (a line-cord with fuse in the line)... BC thanks for showing us how this device works and whats inside...safety is important for anyone working on open, live equipment, but even more important for him with the European voltages... BC, please remember to get the piano key colors right when reassembling...we wouldn't want you to get them wrong, and possibly spill your "white wine-like peasant beverage" at the next live test!
I have a few of those. They are amazing. I wire mine to a C form plug because I live in Russia and we have EU plugs and to ensure that it is always the right way I used this kind of plug
We used to use these when I worked for the Co-op technical services, we dealt with rental TV and Videos. We also had prooving blocks for our meters which I don't see much of these days
The black Bakelite Safebloc, marketed by Radiospares, turns up on Ebay every so often, some later ones seem to be ABS plastic, no neon indicator. The factory and lab benches had these at each position, isolation transformers fitted. I have two on the electronics bench at home, very useful indeed. The bench is a drop front desk, with new interior, lab power supplies, Variac underneath, soldering station, audio amps and speakers, radio, and the vital coffee cup holder.........
Really surprised that it didn't get outfitted with a warm white LED yet.
I used to have a really old version of one of these with uninsulated metal clamps for the conductors. Don't really believe it mattered but it's nice to know they're insulated now. A bit safer than the choccy block hanging on the end of a bit of cable with a plug on the other end! (Although I've seen B.C. using something similar,)
Mine is a "Safebloc" from the early '70s . Similar to this, but no neon, the terminals are three metal alligator clips, and the lid does not have the spring bias.
Hi, where could I get one of those screwdriver sets that you use in your videos? Thanks.
back in the 80's circa 1987 I had a bench tester set up for hairdryers like the princess, Avanti etc that woman spend a lot of their life's under or did, we used similar QT's to power up the Dryers memories
I worked in a factory (a good while back now) where these were standard items in the test benches at the end of the production lines. One job involved assembling the automatic shutters on motorised through-window air vents, which then had to be checked for correct operation by powering up via a 'Safe-Bloc' unit -- black version of this with different key colours. This was as per this one, just attached to a power cord plugged into mains.
It would have been quite possible to stick a screwdriver into the live socket at the back of the unit, so I wouldn't say that these are completely safe. The test benches had cabinets with a door interlock that prevented the tester from livening the product until it was inside the cabinet. I'm not sure how this sneaked past the health and safety people.
The test lab I worked in did not use this type of device, though. You want any wiring to be checked and signed off by a second person, least you blow up a sample product (and/or test equipment).
Excellent, thanks for the US link.
Nice to see you using an MK mains plug, sad that that MK no longer make them. They were beautifully designed and so easy to wire up and less prone to overheating with the large area of contact in the terminal posts than lesser plugs with their tiny little screws.
+Donald Sayers umm the plug in the video looks like a MK "safetyplug" which is still listed on MKs website and still seems to be available from a number of distributors. www.mkelectric.com/en-ar/Products/WD/PortablePower/PlugsandAdaptors/Safetyplugs/Pages/646.aspx uk.farnell.com/mk-electric/646whi/plug-safety-13a-white/dp/107754
I stand corrected.
I love the terminal connectors in this unit. Does anyone know where you can buy these terminal connectors?
I could see two holes on the inside, is it also wall/bench mountable?
Why is the neon connected between the live and the neutral? Wouldn't it make more sense to connect it between live and earth, so you have visual confirmation that the earth wire is connected?
I use a single phase and a 3 phase quick connect were I work. They work very well for what I use them for.
I remember seeing these in Shops like Dixon's as a child. I don't recall when the requirements changed for all consumer products to have plugs fitted; bit I vividly remember very few consumer products being fitted with a plug back then. If ever you wanted to try a product out, the shop would pull one of these devices out. :)
These can now be ordered through the Newark website listed above in either the US/Canada or UK/European version for about $35.00 plus $8.00 shipping in the US. That is really no bad at all and a much better option either using a cord with clips on it or using wire nuts to secure wires together. Eventually I'm going to get one of these to replace my alligator clip test cord I control with a light switch for my electrical testing.
For foreign countries another easy way instead of bare without a cable is with the socket for a standard 3 pin IEC (eg PC) lead. Can find one of them easy wherever you go so great if you need to test equipment and travel around the world [far safer than one of these and an adapter for each county].
One of the first things the UK guy new guy at work did was import one of these. For whatever reason they are not sold in many parts of the world
Thanks, a very useful device, I'm gonna get me one.
Please Clive. What is that tool with the blue handle that you use to push out the plastic pin? I want one!
Oh, and does the American and Canadian version have an "H" rather than an "L", since they call the live wire hot?
It was from a set of hex drivers.
Doh!
I've always assumed these were a global thing, they are so handy!
My father is a retired electrician and I now have his old one of these. I think it's made of bakelite! Useful tool though over the years.
+Choppington Otter If it's black with all-metal connectors it's a Safebloc from the late 70s or early 80s. Mine's branded RS Components and I'm trying to remember who the maker was.
Edit: It was Rendar and there's a used one on eBay UK ATM.
+Graham Langley my Dad's got a Safebloc too, they're a great bit of kit. ..
We had safeblocs on our lab benches at work - all black bakelite, but exactly the same design. Simple, safe and effective.
We used to have these 50 years back, but they were called Rendar Safebloc. You can still Google that name for pics and eBay auctions.
The old ones were black with white keys with letters on L live N Neutral E earth, great for use as a test without needing a plug.
Was not anything listed for the 110/120 Volt power supply testers.
Is there a version of this available in the US?
(NOT considering UK eBay sellers due to insane shipping cost nor newark due to silly high price)
Yes, it's in the description.
The fact that you had that message at the end... Has anyone ever had the idea of cutting the plugs off their tools and using this? Why on earth would anyone do such a thing?
RS part number: 458-926, a google search will show the block is available from suppliers all over the world. The RS model is made by Cliff Electronics, don't know about the others.
several similar items. Also the Safebloc and the Keynector
A useful tool fro those times when the power you are testing with is Mains.
I have one of these at my bench as well, but with north american color code. got tired of using my old test lead whic\h was a cord end with marettes...
You can get one with the US and Canadian color codes, but only from the first supplier listed..
would be great if there was an overhang over the hinge so it could be opened easily with one hand with it not bolted down to a surface.
They also used to be used lots in places like Dixons and the electrical departments of department stores/supermarkets. That was back when TVs, hifi and the like came with bare power leads and no mains plug fitted.
And those were very much semi-permanent connections, all the TVs in the shop were connected with them 24/7
+Andrès Peña because back before the 1990s in the UK that was how electrical appliances were typically sold. I don't know if that was different to the rest of the world.
I love it ! Why couldn't I have found this years ago. Thanks Clive...
I came across an old Practical Wireless - Nov 69 advertising the type I use, called a "Keynector" or "Safe Bloc" very similar to your quick connect, however, in 1969 it cost 39/6 + 3/- p&p, just under £2 in todays' money :) I have a pdf of it, but don't think there is any way to attach it to my comment?
In Germany (and other European countries) you can flip the plug, so the normaly neutral contact would get live and vice versa.
That would also mean you'd have an unfused live connection. (The fuse is only on the normal live side). So there really should be a version with two fuses.
I use a "suicide cord" - a 2-conductor extension cord with the socket end cut off and replaced with insulated crocodile clips (red for "hot" and black for "neutral"), and an inline rocker switch to turn the power on and off to the device under test. It works, but it's not as nice as the Cliff Quicktest block, and I need to be very careful to examine the state of the rocker switch before plugging it into the wall outlet.
To be fair it's a relatively expensive alternative to a plug for general use.
+Timothy Sherratt Not when you are testing lots of items that do not have a plug as standard.
+bigclivedotcom I was referring to the caveat on the lid about not for permanent use.
I have seen electrician on the job site stick bare wires straight into a wall socket.
(in Canada)
+Wil Hobbs I feel like an ... even electricity in Canada is more polite
+Wil Hobbs Yep I do that too - no need expensive stuff, if you are careful you are not gonna get shocked. Besides, not a single outlet in my house is grounded.
Hi Clive thanks for the video!!
I see the drawing has gone from your hand,was it hard to remove?
+Radio Ham No. It came off with methylated spirits no problem.
I use a 1:1 transformer for that. It's also a lot safer. If you accidentally touch a phase, nothing happens.
I use it for repairs and measurements, too.
You can also use 2 identical transformers and connect the low voltage sides for separation.
edit: I mean real heavy transformers with a lot of copper inside.
have you ever started takeing something apart without unpluging ?
My brother swore by them, he used one for years, he is a radio ham so allways fiddling with stuff :-)
I in the other hand just make do with a 3 way chunky chocolate block terminal jobbie on a 3 foot cable, it works :-).
I like the mk plug you have there, looks like the one with brass fluted capped nuts and the two bits of nylon for the strain relief :-)
+zx8401ztv hehe i save my old mk plugs like scrooge! the black ones are like gold dust. i always used to tin the wires for fitting to this type of plug, ahh the old days! now pretty much everything has a plug these days i sold my quicktest a fair while back.
+zx8401ztv I just opened it to check. It is! I hadn't even clicked with that. It does show how old the unit is.
+jusb1066
You sold your quicktest!! i will send you to the dungeons for your disrespect of such a usefull device ha ha :-D :-D
Some of the older plugs are better made, that one on the end of clives quicktest are really nice, i bet they dont make them any more.
+bigclivedotcom
They are nice plugs, i allways liked the terminals.
Like i said to jusb1066, i dont suppose they are made any longer.
Some of the new plugs are just shit, i would not trust them with 12 volts let alone 240!!.
Now you just need to remember to put a link to this video in every video, where you use it. But don't worry, the questions about it won't end at all. Don't think about "just" putting a link in the description. Too many people are too lazy to read it.
Thanks, just ordered one. The cheapest I found in Australia is from Element14 for $57.
I looked this thing on Amazon and they retailed for $71.54 U.S. or 57.38 pounds. Quite more than I expected.
You're looking in the wrong place. I initially looked on eBay for one out of curiosity and found them to be quite expensive but if you look on the website listed as suggested, you can get one for under $45.00 USD.
I couldn't wrap my head around how these actually worked. I was thinking those knife connectors were live and that you could shock yourself if you touched them. But now I get how it works :) Thanks!
I use one of these almost everyday at work.
+Alan Bacon Why? Its nothing more than a termporary "plug in" adaptor for direct wired fixtures. Couldnt you just use a meter?
I repair broadcast equipment for a living. I use it for testing power supplies mostly. Nothing permanent at all.
So is this basically a piece of equipment of which you connect the 3 insulated wires in an appliance's wire, to use instead of buying a plug and wiring it, for testing?
+Henry Southall It is not for permanent use, as he said. But yeah you can do that if you want.
As a cheap alternative one could simply use a set of spring-loaded Wago Lever Clamp Terminals. Works just as well for quick testing.
The least expensive US supplier I could find (Newark) still has the quicktest with US wire colors for $60 if you buy one and $40 if you buy 20. However, I did find a shop (cloudfree) reselling them for $48, so I bought one from there. They specialize in non-cloud-based "smart" devices but the owner must be a Clive fan since the quicktest is otherwise quite out of place in their shop.
this device is one of the best things humanity ever invented
i use one as a plumber its good to test things before the sparky
You know, I think it's actually cheaper to have the UK version shipped stateside than to order from a supplier here. I'll have to look into it more, but I'm not at mains voltage yet in my electronics journey.
I picked up a used one of these the other day for the grand sum of £8.
No neon indicator, but Not really a issue :)
Looking for the weak spot in this device for someone accidently or foolishly giving himself a mains shock I can only think of him sticking a suitable strip of metal into the mains side knife socket. Our mains 13A plug sockets prevent this happening by incorporating shutters that only open when the longer earth plug pin is inserted. I suppose incorporating similar shutters into this device for extra safety would just be silly considering it is intended for professional use only ?
+meandmymouth not really a lot of point in guarding the knife sockets when the whole point of the device is to connect arbitrary bits of wire to the mains. This device should only be used in suitably controlled environments where everyone is aware of the hazards of electricity.
I'd love to have one of these, but I can't seem to find a USA version
+Glenn Martin I commented before I watched the video. I'll check out Newark Electronics. Thanks :)
that is a very useful testing unit. But its probably a good think that its not so common. I can see it getting misused for a "Semi permanent" use. You can almost see the lawsuits here in the states.. I can see someone overriding the fuse and pushing way too many AMP's though the connector. Its bad enough i seen houses where People just push bear romex wire into a outlet. To wire say a ceiling fixture. Scary But for a bench top testing.. Its Brilliant..
It's £25 in the UK which equals $32
So how is $60 "actually a good price"?
bought one too
Glasgow city council workshop?
It's funny how often I hear (paraphrasing) "This might be a bad idea..." on this channel :)
Thumbs up :)
Alex
the metal poles which connect to the lid seem easy to touch though
+Maurice Kontorowitz They only make electrical contact when the lid is closed.
Got one too, use it more times than I care to admit ;-)
Hmmm I can get one of these for around Au$80 + postage - I thought that was too much, but if they went for US$60 in 2016 maybe that's not so bad after all. I do a lot of lash up work so one of these would come in handy.