Ah, you mean the YouTube attentionwhores ?Most 'electricians' these days use an 18v impact to do consumer units , in fact the 18v impact seems to be used for pretty much everything
Discuss Do I need a torque screwdriver set? in the Electrical Tools and Products area at ElectriciansForums.net
Ah, you mean the YouTube attentionwhores ?Most 'electricians' these days use an 18v impact to do consumer units , in fact the 18v impact seems to be used for pretty much everything
If you are a cowboy electrician !!!!Most 'electricians' these days use an 18v impact to do consumer units , in fact the 18v impact seems to be used for pretty much everything
Way back a few years ago we had really bad 'proper' snow down here and nobody could get anywhere as it's all small roads that get gritted last, I had some housecalls to do, just 10 min maintenance type stuff and I seriously considered riding out on my then step-daughters horse to go and get to them, thought it would be a nice novelty piece for the local rag - 'the electrician that always delivers no matter what' kind of nonsense. Then all the Cowboy Electrician potential jokes occurred to me so I refrained!!If you are a cowboy electrician !!!!
Not so sure I'm with you on that one - a pet hate is when the casing wants to split on a device terminal when you actually properly tighten it, even by handYou'd have to really give it some with a screwdriver to damage a MCB
There is/was a local small plumbing company run by a few Asian guys, they had the advert line "Tired of the cowboys? Call the Indians" not sure that would be acceptable these days!Then all the Cowboy Electrician potential jokes occurred to me so I refrained!!
Probably not people cry at the smallest of things now. But smart nonethelessThere is/was a local small plumbing company run by a few Asian guys, they had the advert line "Tired of the cowboys? Call the Indians" not sure that would be acceptable these days!
Some of these comments are just crazy...
SJD made the best comment... BS7671 which we use to cover our butts, if something goes wrong we can stand up in court and say it was not our fault cause we followed BS7671.... In there it states that electrical equipment must be installed by manufacturers instructions.. If the manufacturer specifies a certain torque level then how will you tighten it to that exact torque level without a torque screw driver? If you dont use a torque screwdriver you havent followed manufacturers instructions, if you havent followed manufacturers instructions you havent followed BS7671, if you havent followed BS7671 then you dont have a leg to stand on...
As for the impact driver, I hope that was a joke, I have one of those fancy Makita impact drivers, I still can break a no6 screw sometimes on the softest of setting with a bit of a slip and too many dugga dugga's.. They are great for quickly putting up cleats or screwing into wood etc but are too powerful no matter what setting you have it on for a terminal screw and risk causing damage that you sometimes cannot see..
There has been some great videos on both these topics by efixx, check it out..
I am extremely confident fitting an mcb without a torque screwdriver. Extremely confident. As for the non compliance unless your an incompetent idiot who can't tighten a terminal screw or tightens it to the point it splits the breaker it's not an issue. Starting out as an apprentice he most certainly does not need a torque screwdriver yet.Some of these comments are just crazy...
SJD made the best comment... BS7671 which we use to cover our butts, if something goes wrong we can stand up in court and say it was not our fault cause we followed BS7671.... In there it states that electrical equipment must be installed by manufacturers instructions.. If the manufacturer specifies a certain torque level then how will you tighten it to that exact torque level without a torque screw driver? If you dont use a torque screwdriver you havent followed manufacturers instructions, if you havent followed manufacturers instructions you havent followed BS7671, if you havent followed BS7671 then you dont have a leg to stand on...
As for the impact driver, I hope that was a joke, I have one of those fancy Makita impact drivers, I still can break a no6 screw sometimes on the softest of setting with a bit of a slip and too many dugga dugga's.. They are great for quickly putting up cleats or screwing into wood etc but are too powerful no matter what setting you have it on for a terminal screw and risk causing damage that you sometimes cannot see..
There has been some great videos on both these topics by efixx, check it out..
I am extremely confident fitting an mcb without a torque screwdriver. Extremely confident. As for the non compliance unless your an incompetent idiot who can't tighten a terminal screw or tightens it to the point it splits the breaker it's not an issue. Starting out as an apprentice he most certainly does not need a torque screwdriver yet.
You might not need a torque screwdriver for day to day use, but I'd suggest you need one in your toolbox once you are completing jobs like consumer unit changes. So that you have the means to tighten terminals to manufacturer's specifications, even if you think you can do it accurately enough without.
Years ago, my college tutor told us of a court case, where an electrican was asked about the content of his toolbox, and it didn't include a torque screwdriver. He was then asked how me managed to tighten the terminals to the correct values. He had no defence. Don't recall the rest of the details (I think something caught fire).
To summarise loosely, because i don't have a screwdriver families will die? Thank god I don't get involved in domestic work I'd be a mass murderer by this stageWell done, the problem is still some muppet comes in after you and does not tighten it properly afterwards, this causes a fire in which the whole family die, it is found the fire was due to a lose connection, using building compliance certificate it is found that you recently installed the consumer unit..
You end up in the dock and the first thing they ask is "Do you have a torque screw driver"... Your answer is "No".... They show you the big blue book and ask "Do you know what this is?" You reply "Well yes its BS7671 18th edition"... They ask did you comply with BS7671 when installing the consumer unit?"... You reply "Well obviously yes"... They then ask "So how did you achieve the correct torque settings required by the manufacturer which is also part of BS7671 installing equipment to manufacturers instructions?"
You are going to rely on "Its alright judge I am extremely confident, I dont need to comply with BS7671 cause im not a complete idiot who cant tighten a terminal screw correctly, it must have been someone else after me."
My point is even if you have actually done a good job, the fact that you cant show you complied with BS7671 could get you in trouble..
I am not saying its the first tool an apprentice needs but as soon as they are fully qualified and the buck is stopping with them then I would say yes it is important just to cover yourself.
I have to say it is amazing how tight 2.5nm actually is and I bet you would be surprised how far off you actually are, and how inconsistent you are, I don't care who you are how long you have been doing it you cannot get the correct torque setting using your arm alone and as its basically now a requirement of BS7671 if you are not using one you are not complying with BS7671, if your not complying with BS7671 then are you not really a bit of a cowboy? Honestly for the cost just buy one and you will be amazed how much more you need to tighten some of the terminals especially the higher range 2.5-3nm, you really have to hold on and crank it.
I am not saying its the first tool an apprentice needs but as soon as they are fully qualified and the buck is stopping with them then I would say yes it is important just to cover yourself.
I've just started my training and am interested in what tools are essential when first starting out.
First year apprentices shouldn't be working unsupervised and certainly not on DBs. As such it's fairly apparent that they won't need a torque screwdriver this early in their career.
To summarise loosely, because i don't have a screwdriver families will die? Thank god I don't get involved in domestic work I'd be a mass murderer by this stage
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