Realistically, all our connections should be torqued down, all screwdrivers we use as electricians should be insulated, and honestly from having used various torque wrenches in the past, I'd like to see a set of insulated screwdrivers with a standard 1/4 inch socket on the back. Torque wrenches are a lot easier to use with a better grip on the torque setting device. In an ideal world I would like to see say a 100mm long mini torque wrench that interfaces with a set of insulated drivers, small and convenient enough to even use on a twin socket but versatile enough to use on a MCCB also!
I have a Sealey STS103 that beeps when you reach the required torque, I don't use it for work that needs certification but I have checked it with a torque calibrator and it's pretty much bang on. Because it uses a strain gauge rather than mechanically slipping it shouldn't have the 5000 use limitation.
That’s what the IET should be striving to stop all these porly trained 5 day wonder sparks from using impact driver’s for anything other than hanging a CU on the wall . But that’s never going to happen .
As an old regs electchicken (lol 😂) and never using torque settings I can see a lot of points for using them especially with how many screws I broke, snapped and generally abused it's something that I can really understand and accept the fact that there being used for especially the example of the EV charge point. Love the videos 👍
I sit on the fence a bit with Torque drivers. I see their use in certain applications, and I also see them being pointless in other applications. Until the manufacturers make the torque settings more clear on devices for many its not worth the time trying to look for a manual to find them or navigate a chart that makes no sense to work out what it should be (As me and 2 colleagues did the other day with a 100A contactor!). Also the price of the drivers need to come down substantially, Having them with interchangeable bits certainly makes them easier to keep maintained but the cost of some of them (like the one featured in this video) just puts people off especially when you have to get it calibrated etc. I have no issue with a handle costing maybe £40-50 but over £100 for a handle you only use to make final connections is steep IMO. I have a normal Wiha set which is fantastic but I wont be picking one of these up thats for sure. As for the animals who use dugga guns well, If I ever caught my apprentice or a contractor using one in a DB etc they would be kicked from site immediately, Just no place for that at all.
The thing is this tool isn’t VDE insulated, and neither are the bits for it. Now I know we don’t tighten screws on live terminals, but wouldn’t it be against the general good practice of using insulated tools?
Have we got a value of torque for swithes and sockets? I have done some experiments and with my driver I can torque swithces to 0.5Nm with 1.5mm cable and sockets to 0.1Nm with 2.5mm cable which I have found holds the cable well but does not dent the conductor to much. What do you guy's at E-Fix think? Would be nice to get your replies and maybe discuss this on one of your videos.
Has anyone actually done any testing on these torque values? Eg a DP Mini RCBO (and AFDD) has a value of 2.5nm for the busbar and 1.2nm for the conductors. However I am finding that 10mm T&E the conductors can easily come out, this is after flattening the conductors first with pliers, tightened to 1.2nm, wiggle the conductors a bit and then retighten. Then you have the 2.0nm value for neutral bar and earth bar. Have you had a look at the CPC from 1.0mm & 1.5mm T&E after tightening to 2.0nm? There is a lot of crushing going on and that’s even with the conductors doubled over.
I've been using a Sealey STS104 for a while now and it suits my needs very well, it doesn't click but it does beep. 1/4" drive which is good and it has a big handle so easy to get up to high torque values needed for MCCBs or solar inverters. The one thing I've had issues with is certain MCCBs which have deeply recessed 4mm hex screws that need doing up to 6nm. Trying to get bits that fit that is tricky (needs about 25mm clearance), and I've ended up putting a socket in to the torque driver and fitting my insulated Wera interchangeable bits in to it. It does make my a bit scared as I'm not sure they're rated for that much torque and it looks... pants. I did have a chuckle fitting a Huawei inverter recently which came with a small hex key and said "using the tool provided, do these terminals up to X.Xnm". Clearly they're relying on people having calibrated fingers.
I don't know how I've managed 35 years as an electrician without using a, torque driver/wrench, lol. I've used them as nessesary and will use them in the future if required. But at the moment if in need one, I use my icetool torque T-bar tool from my bike tool kit, lol it cost £20 and works perfectly from.5 to 9nm its not vde but neither is this one, but only use as appropriate and safe to do so. But with my sceptical head on, it just seems like more cost to the electrician to buy, keep tested and certified, for something that is on the whole a very small issue.
Thanks for repplying ... much appreciated.... however it would be nice to know the expenses for the calibration with p&p.....and may I add this device is not insulated compared to other wiha alternatives les expensive......hmmmmmm....security first.
How much and how long does the batteries last? I think anything that requires batteries is a bad idea because sods law, your doing a call out or a job late at night n everywheres closed so there's no chance of getting the neich battery that's required
Great vid Joe as always. As Gary knows I've been using these Wiha torque drivers for quite sometime now. (see video of my second visit). Maybe worth mentioning......... I was always taught to always fully undo torque wrenches etc to help preserve the spring mechanism inside. At the price of these drivers be worth doing. 👊😎👍💙
Interesting, it looks like it is non VDE yet takes the VDE SlimBits. Can't see me justifying moving from the analogue driver to digital, until I break one of them or they fail a calibration. Do like the look of that Wiha torque wrench at about 23 seconds though.
Err - this is what 'VDE' means: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VDE People can make exchangeable blades which conform to VDE electrical safety standards in any mechanical format they choose, e.g. the very widely used ¼" hex size, or, shamefully, if they are disgusting money-grabbing ****s, some proprietary shape to force you into using only their blades with their handles. What exactly did you think you were asking about here?
@@anonnona8099 I'm not sure this person was asking anything, I didn't see a question. But I did see a perfectly valid point about how the itorque driver isn't VDE. Your link points to a disambiguation page, when you click through to Verband der Elektrotechnik page, there's nothing of use that seems to back up whatever it is you are arguing against. It's not just the blade that needs to be insulated (and therefore tested to a standard, if that was your point?). The *shank* (or ferrule - the part that holds the driver bit) needs to be rated / tested accordingly. Otherwise after a fair amount of use, a non-VDE shank can wear-away the insulation of the driver bit. So imagine you're an electrician who never needs to take the bit out of the driver (and so never inspects the end of the bit that's getting worn) and always assumes he can work on live safely with his VDE driver... he puts a VDE bit in a non-VDE driver and assumes he will be fine... boom - one day you get a shock. It could be a 4000V shock, a 50V shock, whatever. In your specific case it may well be fine, e.g. if you're a weekend warrior or you don't work on live... Just not true for everyone, so no need for a rant about proprietary fittings... if I were the manufacturer of a VDE approved insulated driver system I'd damned well make sure my bits couldn't be used in non-approved drivers, otherwise how can I ensure a quality guarantee over my products? Most commercial sparkies just pay the money... if you make hundreds a day why the hell wouldn't you spend a small part of that for some decent tools? The only ones who whinge about proprietary fittings or spending 100 quid on a VDE set are those people who don't actually make a living from it. Many apologies if I have completely misunderstood what you were trying to express, although perhaps your argumentative comment could have been a little clearer :)
@@MatSmithLondon I'm sure that, like most people, my comments could have been clearer. My basic point was that "VDE" (in this context) is all about insulation performance, voltage ratings, etc, and absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with physical dimensions, which the guy I was arguing with seemed to think.
Why didn't they just drill a hole in the thing so you can use the screwdriver shaft instead of the spanner. Why does it need a seperate shaft anyways? And why 3 drivers for such a small torque range?
I dunno about these. I'm primarily a maintenance engineer with mechanical and electrical knowledge but not a specialist in either. I've found that torque isn't always the best indicator of tightness. For a brand new installation it's good enough but I usually work on older installations in less than ideal conditions where screw threads might have been overtightened in the past, deformed, slightly corroded, even the condition and type of conductor (solid, flexible, tinned with solder, ferrule, multiple conductors) all have an effect that isn't taken into account by just the torque applied to the screw and I wonder if they might give a false sense of security. I like the feel of the screw driver and often the good old "snug plus a quarter turn, and test with a good tug" approach. But like I say, I'm not a specialist in these things, any thoughts on this from more experienced electricians? I often call in contractors at my place of work and never seen one use a torque screwdriver. Should that concern me also? Our yearly thermographic inspections and EICRs have always had excellent results.
Where can we get these things calibrated? My fear (although I am an acolyte) is monitoring ongoing accuracy... So generally I just replace them annually... But if I upgrade that might not be viable.
A video coming out soon will explain how to do a check on the torque accuracy and this is one example service: www.calibrate.co.uk/calibration/torque/about-torque-calibration/
There you go again with that word required. Get it into your head torque screwdrivers are not a requirement they are a recommendation, I don’t care what the IET amendment 2 definition for the word’s requirement and recommendation are the English dictionary says different, and I take there definition as the correct meaning , also if it was a requirement the it would have been included in amendment 2 ,and it isn’t . How much is that new screwdriver? More money than most people can afford . And why is it only eFixx that are pushing them? Trade skills 4U never even use them in there videos or even mention them. Neither does any of competent person scams it seems to only be eFixx GHS . Yes use them if you want but stop saying they are required , they are not. But who am I? To say i’am just a humble spark who’s opinion means nothing . Sorry Joe . Great video as always 👍
Okey doke. If you watch the video back at no point do I say that they're required. The definition of required and recommended is defined in BS 7671 because that's the definition the authors use to write the regs, ignoring those definitions means regs could be misinterpreted and installations not be compliant with BS 7671. We're releasing a video on this soon. I've explained in previous videos that while they're not mentioned in the regs they're heavily implied in places. Cheaper versions are available. Just because no one else mentions them doesn't mean they're a bad idea. I will continue to use them and promote their use, as I believe they can make a better and safer installation. Once again I have not said they are required. Thanks for commenting.
If you can't afford a torque driver it may be time to put your prices up! Just saying. Plus plenty use an impact driver which costs more so it's a bit of a moot point. Torque driver isn't going to be as expensive as replacing that afdd you just shagged by overtightening now is it...
Near the end of the video you clearly say that as time moves on the requirement for torque settings will become more stringent. Your words not mine. And like I said in previous comments I am not saying we should use torque screwdrivers and I have one myself. I am just saying that they are not a requirement, they are a recommendation. Also the IET should not be making up there own definitions for words that are already defined in the dictionary. And I do agree with you that they are a good idea and can make for a safer installation, and I will also continue to use mine when I need to the same as testing RCDs I will continue to test at 1/2 1 and 5 times I Delta N Oh and no disrespect intended to you Joe or any one else.
Nope, I said the requirement for AFDDs have become more stringent. And the IET aren't making up definitions of words they're clarifying how the words are applied in the context of the document.
@@efixx nope at point between 5:47 and 5:49 you clearly say the requirement for torque settings will become even more stringent , and I even put my hearing aids in to make sure I heard correctly. So let’s just agree to disagree and leave it at that
Totally agree, lot of stuff driven by companies looking to make a profit, not just for safety, over £200, then calibration, then batteries, and non vde
Nobody is forcing you to buy it. In the UK, the industry has a problem with cowboys who have zero understanding that over-tightening can be as dangerous as under-tightening. I mean - how many times have you seen stripped out screws which can't be used again in a CU? If you've never seen it, then I'm impressed. So don't you think a little control and education to prevent that (given mistakes can cause loss of life) is a good thing? Too many stories of people losing their lives in electrical fires, this is the 21st century.
Flippin heck..how much and how heavy... I don't want digital either... nor a screwdriver that weighs so much I have to wear braces on my work pants. My first motorbike didn't cost that much either ....
I LOVE power tools and hand tools. I have practically every tool. Not just for electrics, for plumbing and bricklaying etc. But… But this seems a bit daft. Having to use a wrench to set the torque setting on a screwdriver should be the first clue this is a stupid idea. If screws should be set to a torque, change the head a small hex head and use a torque wrench. This is reinventing the wheel….
Erm, the spanner is just to give extra leverage really. There's places a torque wrench is perfect but a screwdriver with a Pozi head is perfect for consumer unit terminals in the UK. 😊
1) The wrench is to provide extra leverage. You don't need it, if you are superman. Have you ever hit a pipe wrench with a hammer to make something budge? Same concept. You wouldn't say the pipe wrench is a stupid tool, just because you need to hit it with a hammer sometimes. 2) Are you disputing the need for calibrated torque screwdrivers altogether, or just this particular model?
I don't claim to have the right torque setting built into my wrist, I just don't care about it. Snug it up and be done with it. It doesn't really matter.
Err - this is what 'VDE' means: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VDE People can make exchangeable blades which conform to VDE electrical safety standards in any mechanical format they choose, e.g. the very widely used ¼" hex size, or, shamefully, if they are disgusting money-grabbing ****s, some proprietary shape to force you into using only their blades with their handles. What exactly did you think you were asking about here?
I know what VDE is. The Wiha bits are called VDE slim bits - VDE is part of the name of the bits. I was asking if they fit this non VDE torque screw driver, or if the holder could be exchanged to the Wiha VDE rated one that fit their (proprietary) bits.
I have now gotten the answer elsewhere. The bits don’t fit the holder supplied snugly. It is however possible to fit the Wiha VDE labeled torque bit adapter.
@@anonnona8099 I see your point, but most VDE bits are some kind of proprietary form factor. I don’t know if this is a money grab, or if it is a requirement of the standard to make sure the whole completed tool (I.e the complete screw driver including bit) is VDE rated. Probably a bit of both… :)
@@arvidbjorkstrom6554 No, 'VDE' is not part of the *name*, any more than if they conformed to some other standard and were sold as 'BS EN slim bits', or 'DIN slim bits', or 'UL slim bits'...
£134 yeah not a crazy price considering what it's intended use is that said as a jock spending money is always a touchy subject 🏴🤘 aha wht the hell it's only money 😢🤣
I was looking at ones of these but was struggling to find a supplier that I could get blades from. Any ideas? I would prefer to have the blades rather than use the bit adaptor if possible