when did the impact driver become the tool of choice to do terminals up ?

[Dustydazzler]

Pretty much every celeb sparks on Youtube and every celeb diy training video on how to do a board change shows the sparks using an impact driver

When did this become the norm ?

 

[Dustydazzler]

a Diyer doing their own board change could seriously mangle the terminations using an impact driver

 

[littlespark]

Not watched… but is it an impact, or a torque setting on screwdriver?

I think you can get torque adapters for battery drills/drivers that are as exact as the hand held torque drivers from WERA/ WIHA ….. which is the preferred method of tightening terminals

 

[snowhead]

a Diyer doing their own board change could seriously mangle the terminations using an impact driver

ANYONE doing a board change could seriously mangle the terminations using an impact driver.

An imact driver is not needed and is not suitable for small machine screws, it's designed for woodscrews into wood.
It rates equally with hammers for being mis-used, in fact it may top the list of mis used-tools, used by TOOLS.

If it must be a powered tool then an electric screwdriver with torque control, set to the correct torque.

 

[loz2754]

Deja vu anyone?

Impact Driver Vs MCB

Every big build I have had the pleasure to work on the last 10+ years I would say 99% of the sparks use their 18v impact to do the consumer unit connections Good practice as its fast and effective Or butchery and will lead to knackered switch gear

www.electriciansforums.net

 

[Avo Mk8]

There are electric screwdrivers, and there are impact drivers. Usually they are both settable for torque (hopefully calibrated!), but an electric screwdriver does not have an impact action, just a torque limiter.
To be fair, factory production lines have been using pneumatic or electric screwdrivers for years, and I wouldn't be surprised if our accessories and breakers are assembled with them. Products assembled by robots will be using such!

I think the problem is that some people use the wrong tool!

PS: interestingly most of the electric screwdrivers I've just been looking at (eg WIHA) seem be 3.00nm upwards rather than starting lower. The manufacturers preferred torque range (say 2.0nm upwards) is covered by the non powered products.
I guess many people go over 3nm anyway!

 

[pc1966]

I think the problem is that some people use the wrong tool!

Some people are a wrong tool!

Seriously, there is a world of difference between a production line power tool and a generic impact driver. I did not watch the videos but see one of the Milwaukie impact wrenches that is probably the same model that I have any it will happily mangle a M6 mild steel screw to the point of shearing the bolt even on the lowest setting. You might get away with running screws down but it takes only a moment to ruin the terminal.

I would fail anyone using such a tool. The manufacturer's instructions warn against it in most cases and most of those tools have no meaningful calibration of torque-limiting. Also the modern ones that do (like my drill-style Milwaukie driver) limit the motor current so there is huge inertial to be stopped - resulting in far higher peak torque than it is set for and very different from the tools that have a mechanical limiter (like my old Makita drill).

 

[UNG]

The misuse of the impact wrench in the tyre bay is one of my annoyances they run the wheel nuts / bolts on to overtight and then use the torque wrench that instantly clicks to confirm the right torque. I remember many years ago stopping to help a woman that had a puncture the wheel had been fitted a few weeks before and the standard wrench in the car wouldn't move the wheel bolts, I always have a long 30" breaker bar and a selection of sockets to fit wheel nuts in my vehicle so expected it to be easy to get the wheel bolts moving and it wasn't I ended up jumping on the bar and eventually got them moving I suggested she got some new bolts as they had been excessively overtightened and used a different tyre bay to get the puncture fixed if that was the way the one she had used fitted wheels

 

[freddo]

Last week I had to completely destroy a 3 pole MCB to get it out of a distribution board. I undid the screws (needed an impact driver) but the square clamps had turned hourglass shaped and firmly clamped the sides of the busbar fingers. I had to drill the MCB to remove most of it then I could access the clamps and turn them to free them. Not an easy task at all. I was not happy. A quick check and it appears all the MCBs in the board have been installed like this and are now effectively permanently installed. The only practical solution now is to replace the MCBs and pan assembly.

 

[Julie.]

The misuse of the impact wrench in the tyre bay is one of my annoyances they run the wheel nuts / bolts on to overtight and then use the torque wrench that instantly clicks to confirm the right torque. I remember many years ago stopping to help a woman that had a puncture the wheel had been fitted a few weeks before and the standard wrench in the car wouldn't move the wheel bolts, I always have a long 30" breaker bar and a selection of sockets to fit wheel nuts in my vehicle so expected it to be easy to get the wheel bolts moving and it wasn't I ended up jumping on the bar and eventually got them moving I suggested she got some new bolts as they had been excessively overtightened and used a different tyre bay to get the puncture fixed if that was the way the one she had used fitted wheels

My biggest bug bear as well.

They must be as thick as two short planks to do this - but they all do it!

I haven't been stuck like this, but that's mainly because when we have anything done on any of our vehicles, we immediately release each nut and re-torque it correctly.

By chance the first time we started to remove it with the standard in-car jack/wrench and couldn't shift one!

Ended up with a 1 metre breaker bar with a length of pipe on that to release the wheel nuts.

Hence why we release and re-torque each time now.

 

[littlespark]

Do any circuit breaker manufacturer actually state on their instructions not to use impact?
They do have torque settings.. but is that enough to say these so called sparks are not following MI?

 

[Petej999]

Deja vu anyone?

Impact Driver Vs MCB

Every big build I have had the pleasure to work on the last 10+ years I would say 99% of the sparks use their 18v impact to do the consumer unit connections Good practice as its fast and effective Or butchery and will lead to knackered switch gear

www.electriciansforums.net

BUTCHERY, Cowboy practice

 

[snowhead]

Yes, L-S, from the video linked above,

 

[LukeD]

I have a 10.8 Festool "kitchen fitters dream" drill. ITs not impact . Impact is a joke to use .But a normal drill with good adjustment is Ok I think. You just have to do a test run and note what setting on the drill matches a Torque screw driver

 

[littlespark]

Yes, L-S, from the video linked above,

So if you’re using anything other than a hand held torque screwdriver, or adaptor, then you are not following manufacturers instructions…

And I know many of us use the feel of our right hand to tighten things up…. But how close to the stated values can a right hand get
(Yes, I also know some of us are left handed… I am myself, but could never find a left handed screwdriver)


I have a WIHA torque driver, which has increments marked every .2 nM…. But values are normally a full nM or on a .5

So I have sit halfway between 2.4, and 2.6 for example for 2.5

 

[pc1966]

You can get electric screwdrivers specifically designed not to over-tighten terminals such as this:

E-screwdriver, starter set speedE® I electric

Product description Anyone who spends much of the day fastening screws knows how much time it takes and the considerable strain it causes to wrists…

www.wiha.com

But not cheap!

 

[littlespark]

You can get electric screwdrivers specifically designed not to over-tighten terminals such as this:

E-screwdriver, starter set speedE® I electric

Product description Anyone who spends much of the day fastening screws knows how much time it takes and the considerable strain it causes to wrists…

www.wiha.com

But not cheap!

Yeh… I’ve got one. Hardly been used.

Would be good on second fixing an entire house, just running up the 3.5 screws

I got the SpeedE, not the SpeedE 2 which has a bit more power.

 

[swaRRR]

If you pay attention you can use them to get them almost tight and then nip up with a hand driver but personally i'll only untighten with an impact and only when it's something like eg a new isolator being fitted, i won't untighten when it's already got a termination in it. Dunno why it's just a little time saver.

 

[GBDamo]

Pretty much every celeb sparks on Youtube and every celeb diy training video on how to do a board change shows the sparks using an impact driver

When did this become the norm ?

It's more a case of using a impact driver as a powered screwdriver. Tighten to the point the cables are held then run down with the torque driver.

It takes a lot of strain of the wrists.

Now, I know some will never accept it but its not really all that controversial. You can rip the guts out of an MCB terminal with a hand held screwdriver, you don't because you don't over tighten them, exactly the same with an impact. You just don't rattle them.

 

[LukeD]

It's more a case of using a impact driver as a powered screwdriver. Tighten to the point the cables are held then run down with the torque driver.

It takes a lot of strain of the wrists.

Now, I know some will never accept it but its not really all that controversial. You can rip the guts out of an MCB terminal with a hand held screwdriver, you don't because you don't over tighten them, exactly the same with an impact. You just don't rattle them.

Its how a impact works.... its not smooth or subtle .It smashes its way until its stopped . Drill has far more control and less chances of damage