To torque or not to torque that is z question

[Midwest]

Normal screwdriver. Never failed me yet

Phillips or Pozidrive? Or just orange juice and vodka with a slice & ice.

 

[Darkwood]

Don't get me wrong I ain't trying to scupper the thread here, I think the question is relevant, well to us older generation... the only torque critical equipment that manufacturers made in my mind was Schneider's power board MCCB where you tightened the plastic head until it snapped off which guaranteed the right torque. Other than that example, I haven't experienced any other equipment electrical specifying torque settings and the industry expecting you to buy torque set equipment.

 

[Pete999]

Don't get me wrong I ain't trying to scupper the thread here, I think the question is relevant, well to us older generation... the only torque critical equipment that manufacturers made in my mind was Schneider's power board MCCB where you tightened the plastic head until it snapped off which guaranteed the right torque. Other than that example, I haven't experienced any other equipment electrical specifying torque settings and the industry expecting you to buy torque set equipment.

For info on that please see London Fire Brigade, Emma Clancy, Certsure, NICEIC and all the other parasites that form our trades information Hub, as well as numerous Screwdriver manufacturers who have grown fat on flogging these torque tools.

 

[MJPD29]

Phillips or Pozidrive? Or just orange juice and vodka with a slice & ice.

It would be a pozidrive

 

[Pretty Mouth]

I find all this torque somewhat strange, we never had torque info' or tools pushed onto us back in the day, we just learnt what was about right and I have yet to return to any job because I under or over tightened a cable termination.
Is this just another money spinning exercise by the industry or do we really have masses of professionals making bad terminations?

I've been advised it's all about liability. Say there's a fire due to a consumer unit you fitted and you don't have a (presumably calibrated) torque screwdriver, then the manufacturer is off the hook and you're on your own.

 

[Midwest]

For info on that please see London Fire Brigade, Emma Clancy, Certsure, NICEIC and all the other parasites that form our trades information Hub, as well as numerous Screwdriver manufacturers who have grown fat on flogging these torque tools.

You are the top of the list of 'tool tarts'; go on buy one, keep it in the cupboard.

 

[Midwest]

It would be a pozidrive

Poor choice, I'd gone for the Russian.

 

[westward10]

Plus/minus driver.

 

[Pete999]

You are the top of the list of 'tool tarts'; go on buy one, keep it in the cupboard.

I had two sets Mate but flogged em

 

[ipf]

I've been advised it's all about liability. Say there's a fire due to a consumer unit you fitted and you don't have a (presumably calibrated) torque screwdriver, then the manufacturer is off the hook and you're on your own.

Might be nothing to do with connection, just a faulty unit.
Might be nothing to do with the driver, wrongly positioned cable.

Sales people haven't been trying to s*** you up, have they?

 

[freddo]

Modern products are so poorly designed and constructed, as well as being made of poor quality materials that torque levels are specified only so that the user doesn't over tighten the weedy, crappy little parts and cause damage.

 

[Pretty Mouth]

Might be nothing to do with connection, just a faulty unit.
Might be nothing to do with the driver, wrongly positioned cable.

Sales people haven't been trying to s*** you up, have they?

No, tutor. He pointed out that if you don't torque to manufacturer's specs, then it isn't installed to manufacturer's specs, therefore the manufacturer can wash their hands if it goes tit5.

As you rightly point out, could be a faulty unit, but then you're relying on forensic examination proving that. We see poor workmanship in our own industry all the time, can you be sure the same can't be said of other professions?

 

[ipf]

No, tutor. He pointed out that if you don't torque to manufacturer's specs, then it isn't installed to manufacturer's specs, therefore the manufacturer can wash their hands if it goes tit5.

How's that going to be proved?
Don't be taken in by all the bull****.

 

[Resu]

C for me too.

Torque settings were mentioned when I went in for the 18th. NIC representative reckoned if you over-tightened the breaker you could alter it's trip characteristics.

 

[rolyberkin]

The majority of faulty connections (bordering on fires) I have discovered have been where connections have just not been tightened at all , nothing to do with torque just been forgotten! I do have two torque drivers though, one I won the other I keep breaking the blades for (but that has been covered in another thread!)

 

[Pretty Mouth]

How's that going to be proved?
Don't be taken in by all the bull****.

I don't know, we need some scrote of a lawyer to answer that. I'd assume owning a torque screwdriver would go in your favour, but wouldn't prove conclusively that you'd used it, and that not owning one would probably go against you.

It is bullspit though. Wouldn't it be nice if we could just get on a do the best job we can without all the horsesh1t3 attached to it?

 

[The Ghost]

Personally I do use a torque driver. I am not confident that it is tight enough though when done with it. I find that the terminal is relatively quite "loose" if I can put it like that. Not exactly loose but I have tried feeling how tight it is with a normal screwdriver and you can get another turn without any particular effort. MK told me their sockets should be torqued to 1 which definitely felt loose!

 

[Pete999]

You are the top of the list of 'tool tarts'; go on buy one, keep it in the cupboard.

I had two sets Mate but flogged em

 

[Charlie_]

Would be an interesting exercise to compare one of our torque screwdrivers with say a snap-on torque wrench

 

[Midwest]

That reminds me; must get my set recalibrated or should I just buy another set