[00:00:00] Ben Poulter: Over time as an electrician, your tool kit, it'll fill up with all sorts of different sorts of kit, but there's some you just need just to get going. In this podcast, I'm gonna detail five of them vital tools you need and a few added bonus ones at the end that will save you time, money, even maybe save your life. .

[00:00:21] This is Toolbox talks for electricians, the only podcast that helps you make your electrical business a lot better all the time. If you've worked as an electrician for a certain amount of time, or you are working as an electrician and you work with lads that have been on the tools for a little while, you'll know that there is a lot of tools that you can gather up that just make your life that a lot easier.

[00:00:48] I remember once there was this gecko grip, it was one of them tools that you put between like drywall lines. I bought it at a show. It was a brilliant bit of kit, but it didn't really take off cause it was quite handy in kitchens I thought. But I never see her around anymore. Some of these bits are kit that you acquire and they turn out to be pretty handy.

[00:01:09] But others, you absolutely just need, to get the job done. You need to be a decent electrician and this is what you're about to find out. and the first one's gonna be no surprise, A set of screwdrivers, not any screwdrivers. They've got to be insulated. Screwdrivers, you're dealing with electricity.

[00:01:27] You don't want to get a shock. Don't just get them screwdrivers. You get from the wholesalers down the road, you've got to be insulated screwdrivers. A proper set that's tested up to sort of a thousand volts to it that can save your life. The best sets are the ones with the interchangeable screwdriver bit, so the ins, insulated shafts on the handle.

[00:01:45] And although you don't always want to use it on a live install, it's always good to know that you're protected in case you do try and tighten up a screw that is live. And if you get a kit with an insulated screwdriver set, you get ones that fit them mcbs perfectly so you can get them nice and tight.

[00:02:01] And a lot of the sets, they come with a tork setting as well, so you know that you've got 'em up to the right sort of tight. I think they're one of them tools that once you get them you think, how the hell did I live without these? Another tool that we use every day, all day is a pair of cycles, again, insulated Cs, just to, not them normal ones that you get from anywhere.

[00:02:21] Decent, insulated, sidecars cuz they're gonna be chopping through cable well all day where terminating and nice and sharp. . And the thing is, nobody plans to cut for a live cable. You don't go in there, think wrong. I'm gonna chop , this insulation to bits with my wire cutters without turning it off. But it happens.

[00:02:37] You sometimes think it's dead and it's not. So it blows a bleeding hole in them. So wouldn't you prefer to have a pair of insulated side cutters where if you do cut for a live cable, you are not gonna get the shock? It's gonna be able to blow the fuse without having to earth through yourself. Cuz that's where you'll get the shock.

[00:02:55] For a decent pair of C is what? They're around 10 pounds in the uk. , with the amount , that you use them, you might as well get a couple of pairs, always get one with a bit of a backup, cuz site cutters are the type of things that they're hanging off your pockets all the time. So when you lose them, when you're climbing around in loft spaces or wherever you are running outside to turn the MCB back on to test, they're gonna fall out your pockets.

[00:03:19] It was a good idea to have a second pair just in case you do, cuz you'll, always use. The next tool is probably more for the customer than yourself, but you wanna get paid by it. So make sure your work looks lovely and straight and presentable. . So get yourself a decent little level. You have to get a huge one or anything like that.

[00:03:41] Just one that will fit in your tool bag. And you can make sure that the switches and sockets are always level, because when you're all finished and you're done and dusted and you're packing away and there's nothing worse, and that customer coming up saying, uh, excuse me, mate, but then sockets aren't straight.

[00:03:56] You're like, come on mate. It doesn't matter. They've just installed 10 sockets, three, two-way light switches and a cooker supply. You're worried about , the sockets not being leveled. It's all about presentation at the end of it, because the customer doesn't see what you've done behind the scenes, in the walls, behind the sockets.

[00:04:11] All they know is that it works and what it , looks like. So just get yourself a level to make it lovely and neat, and you'll be remembered for that. That electrician was a neat person, so you'll remembered for that. The next time that they need a sparky, the next tool that is an absolute must is a tape measure.

[00:04:28] It's gonna be something that again, hangs off your pocket all day long because there's always specific heights that sockets and switches that should be done in, the i e regs in the UK in new builds. So if you do an extension, then it's fine. You can follow suit with the rest of the house what it is.

[00:04:45] But whatever you do, wherever you do the work, you want to get them at the same height. You can't have a switch five centimeters out. , even two centimeters out, someone will notice, especially if they're looking along a wall or it's a nice replastered room and you're second fixing, they'll go, that's out.

[00:05:03] That's out a little bit. Or what I hate most is the down lights. As an electrician, you must walk through hallways in hotels or anywhere in shops or in people's houses, and you look how straight them down lights are. You think that guy's doing a good job? Or if they're wonky, you think, what a cowboy that is rubbish.

[00:05:20] And again, I suppose it's a good idea to have a couple of these cuz you cannot get along. Like I've tried doing a job before where you get a stick to get at a certain height, you need a tape measure, you're gonna have to get a couple. And when you leave in places, , if you leave 'em on site or you leaving in someone's house, a tape measure is handy to everybody so they won't give you back, especially if there are other tradesmen laying around and your tape measure is sort of a good one with a light on it or a magnet on it.

[00:05:45] They'll think that's a nice tape measure. I'm keeping that and they never give you it. Another vital tool that you are going to need as an electrician will be a. , and again, I'm gonna say an insulated hammer, a decent hammer. And it's not to be able to smash holes in the wall to fit your sockets in. That's what a lot of people think that we do.

[00:06:04] They think we just go up there, smash hole in the wall, and just stick a socket in there. No, there's a bit more precision to that. We'd like to be neat and tidy. I think presentation is key as an electrician, but the main thing that you're gonna use your hammer for is clipping. You're gonna be clipping those cables along, especially on long runs.

[00:06:21] You've gotta clip 'em these days. It's a new regulation. You can't just leave 'em free hanging in certain places, especially in floorboards, you've gotta have, uh, so many metal clips in there in case there's a fire and your cable hangs down. So have yourself a decent hammer. And when I say a decent hammer, , it's a bonus for every electrician to have your kit insulated because you're playing with electric.

[00:06:41] You don't know what's gonna be live. Sometimes someone might turn something on that you're not aware of and you'll be hammering away, and you don't wanna get a shock. Just have it insulated. It'll be a bonus for you in the long run. These insulated hammers, they're a little bit more expensive, but they're well worth it.

[00:06:56] So when you get it, stick your name on it. Either get a Sharpie and write your name on it, because again, if you're on site, someone sees this nice hammer and they think I want that, and everyone uses a hammer so they ain't gonna get it back. So in my opinion, they are the five must have tools to when you turn up on site or turn up to someone's house or turn up as an apprentice electrician that will make you look better and make you think about, I've got my own kit.

[00:07:20] The worst thing in the world is, I hate it when apprentices work with you and they, can I borrow this? Can I borrow that can hang about? It's, it's in my pockets. I use it all the time. If you just get the vital. Tools, these five tools that'll get you going through life. When you're starting out as an electrician, you'll be able to be a bit more independent.

[00:07:37] And as the approved electrician that you are working with, you are learning from, , they'll respect you a little bit more with your own kid, I guarantee you. And of course, there is a number of tools that always make your life a little bit easier as an electrician. And there's an extra two that I'm gonna tell you about here that can not only save your time, But guarantee you could save your life if used correctly.

[00:08:02] And with any fault finding job, you need to start somewhere, right? Is it live? Has the worry been damaged? So if so, where and how has that been damaged? Well, the first thing, if you are trying out on a socket, or even you can wire this up to a light, is get a socket tester. So they can find you folks straight away.

[00:08:20] . The more information you've got on a fault, the easier it is to find. So if a customer's done some DIY and maybe messed something up, a lot of the times, I tell you, it happens all the time. People go out and get these new sockets with USB on. and they have different terminals. So they put the two Earths in the end and don't do that.

[00:08:40] , The new USB sockets, they don't have a common bar in there. You've got to put the Earths in together. So basically they're splitting that ring, man. So if they do it a few times, A lot of them sockets have lost their earth. So they go, oh, this isn't working. That isn't working. Cuz a lot of electronics these days, they need the earth for the return.

[00:08:58] So they're saying that socket doesn't work. It does work. If you've changed it and you've wired it wrong, and you've not only wired it wrong, it's. Pretty dangerous to be honest. If you've got no Earth and you are plugging some into it, definitely like if it's a heater or something and that hasn't got on earth, that could build up static maybe.

[00:09:14] I don't know. There's a lot. I don't really like to leave any property without an earth. You loop that tester. You do check it to make sure it's done right, but you can find this out straight away. Rather than having to even take the front of the socket off, just plug this little tester into it. A socket tester can save you time and money right away.

[00:09:34] It's like a little socket test too. A lot of people call them a Martin Dale and he's got the L e D lights that flash to tell you what the problem is and then it will give you an idea of where to start, what direction to point you in, where to look to see where that fault is, see if you wanna go that step further, look a bit more professional.

[00:09:55] Grab yourself a socket tester. There are about 20 quid, but there's another one you can get as well. Well, to help you in any installation sort of thing. When you go to work onsite offsite in domestic premises, commercial industrial is sort of how quickly can you test to see the cables live? . Some of these people say they lick their fingers and they hope for the best.

[00:10:16] Well, I'll tell you now, that'll only happen once. You'll lick your fingers and if that cable's live, especially if it's a four 15 voltage cable from free phase, you're gonna be hitting the roof. It's gonna blow your head off like it. How do you know that cable's not protected with the right mcb? So it's not, maybe not gonna earth.

[00:10:31] It'll kill you. Never do that. Never lick your fingers to see things alive. I've seen people do it. I can't believe it sometimes what they do. But you, you'll end up getting the shock of your life or you'll be dead. It won't. It won't happen twice. That's the thing. You must have maybe been there before that.

[00:10:44] You go to someone's house and the customer will say, oh yeah, we've had that cable put in two years ago around the extension. Done. I don't think it's live. Okay, you don't think it's live, but end of the day, mate, I'm gonna test it. Cause I don't wanna be playing around with it. If it is still live end of the day, I don't wanna get a shock.

[00:11:00] No. Electrician does want to get the shock, but if you're working with an electrician, I guarantee you, if you ain't outta shock yet, it'll am sooner or later. Something will happen where I've blown holes in my fingers by accident when I was apprentice that was wiring up a DC power battery. But these things happen.

[00:11:18] You get shocked as long as you learn from them and think, right, next time I'm gonna be safe. Isolation, and don't try and do shortcuts. This is the thing, this is the whole reason some people get shocked, they think can't be asked to jump downstairs and knock that MCB off. because if you get a shock, you'll be screwed the rest of the day.

[00:11:35] It'll blow hole in your finger or you'll get a shock and you'll be disorientated. It'll be fainting. It'll be a nightmare. Trust me, shocks aren't cool. So another little thing you can carry in your pocket, you can see why these electricians, trousers,, say have these big flappy pockets and pockets. All over pockets are a bonus.

[00:11:50] Even when you get them shorts, you get the shorts on of all these pockets, so you can put more and more kit into 'em and walk around all day. So you've got everything on you, but fiddle in pocket. With a little volt stick, a little vault tester where you can just touch the cable to see if it's live.

[00:12:05] It'll beep or a light up, and it'll tell you, right? That's live. So then you know you've gotta do something about that. You're not gonna start playing with that cable until it's turned off. Now, a volt stick, it won't tell you whether it's got a live. Well, it'll tell you it's got, if it's live, it might be four 15 volts, two 30 volts, even 12 volts sometimes.

[00:12:23] But it won't tell you if it's got a neutral or an Earth. It's just a little indicator to say, Hey, that's live. Don't grab the end. Don't cut through it. Basically, there's a live cable in there. It's dangerous toed. Do something about it. . Now you can be the best electrician in the world, and if you are, I'm pretty sure you've probably got a pocket full of these tools wise listening.

[00:12:43] But without the skills and knowing else to use them, they can be useless. So that's why I'm building a community of electricians online that can help each other grow their business all over the world, that we can all learn from each other to be bigger and better. So if you'd like to join that community, I'll leave a link in the show notes.

[00:13:03] So jump inside and I can't wait to see you on the inside. Till next time.