Electrician's universal tool kit

A person in every profession needs a set of special tools. It is also necessary for a home craftsman or a professional electrician. The electrician’s set is small and large. The large professional set includes 70-90 hand and power tools in a durable fabric bag or compact suitcase. A screwdriver, electrical tape, knife – this is not all you need to perform a complex electrical installation.

Electrician’s suitcase

The set of tools is packed in a suitcase. The minimum set consists of 6 items:

a device that measures the voltage in the network;
dielectric screwdriver;
pliers:
insulating tape;
knife;
soldering iron.

In addition to these devices, an additional electrician’s tool is put into the suitcase. It includes the following devices:

ticks;
a screwdriver indicator for checking the presence of a phase;
a hammer;
pliers;
spanners;
multi-colored insulating tapes;
heat shrinkage.
The electrician’s kit in diplomats sometimes contains many items. With their help, electrical installation work of high complexity is carried out. These suitcases are designed for high-class professionals.

Electrician’s hand tool

To work in your own house or apartment when installing electrical wiring, you need a small wiring kit. It includes the necessary tools for an electrician: simple and special screwdrivers, knives, and pliers or pliers. To troubleshoot the network, special devices and tools are required. When choosing them, you should remember the features of each item.

There are 2 types of knives: special and additional. With a special knife, they remove the insulation from the wires without damaging the metal conductors. Additional is used for cutting electrical tape, dimensioning plastic parts that are used in electrical installations. The products are made in the form of a pocket knife, a clerical knife with a retractable blade, or a handle with a small and narrow blade.

You need simple and electrical screwdrivers with tips of different shapes: straight, cross-shaped, etc. They are equipped with handles made of dielectric material. If an electrician’s screwdriver has protrusions or bumps, it is more convenient to hold it in your hands. A special finger rest will protect your palm from electric shock. The insulating handle can handle voltages up to 1000 V.

There are 6 types of screw heads for screwdrivers. In the work of an electrician, a flat tool (SL), a cross tool (PZ or PH) are often used. The rest of the splines are rare. Flat tip screwdrivers are sized. In an electrician’s suitcase, these are 3, 4 and 5 mm. Cross – 1 and 2 mm. A set of electrical wiring tools with 1 handle and several replacement bits can be purchased.

A torque screwdriver is helpful. Often, during installation work, it is necessary to tighten the screws with a force measured by a dynamometer. In these cases, a torque tool comes to the rescue. This item is rare in the kit, even a multifunctional electrician’s kit does not always have it.

Indicator screwdrivers are a cheap tool for determining voltage. They are of several types:

having a neon light;
equipped with an LED lamp and a finger-type battery;
multifunctional.

The tip of the first screwdriver touches the wire, and the hand touches the contact plate on the handle. If voltage is present, the lamp will light up. The disadvantage is that it does not respond to a voltage below 60 V. The contact is touched with the second device, the light will light up when there is voltage. The advantage is the reaction to low voltages, the disadvantage is that you need to constantly monitor the performance of the battery.

The multifunctional version of the product is complex, it helps to determine the polarity, to find the wires hidden in the plaster.

Electrician pliers and pliers are included in the kit. They are convenient to bend wires, twist, support during installation. Combined jaw pliers with grooves help support different wire diameters. There are small wire cutters, but it is better to bite the wires with special wire cutters or side cutters.

The pliers have elongated, thin jaws that allow you to hold the wires in hard-to-reach places. A variety of tools are round-nose pliers. They have around worked part. They are used when forming loops of various diameters at the ends of wires. All items have insulated handles with palm rests.

When installing wires, you have to remove some of the insulation. This can be done with a knife, wire cutters, but better with strippers, which are included in some sets. You can buy it separately; a cheap Chinese-made tool will do the job.

Electrical measuring instruments

An electrician often has to make measurements with electrical measuring instruments. Among the measuring devices, an important place in the multifunctional set of an electrician is occupied by a multimeter – an electrician’s device for measuring the resistance of wires, the voltage in them, and other network parameters. In some places, it is impossible to bear the wires for measurements, they use a clamp meter. The cable is clamped with lugs, an inscription appears on the screen. For ease of use, there are combined multimeter clamps.

The insulation quality of the wires is measured with a megohmmeter. It consists of a dynamo that generates a potential of 500, 1000, or 2500 V. If you measure the current, numbers will appear on the screen corresponding to the resistance of the network. Current power, other parameters are determined using an optical, radiofrequency, or low-frequency wattmeter. The measuring instrument for an electrician is a voltmeter, with which the mains voltage is measured.

The number of items in a set is often complemented by a puncher. This wiring tool is used to make blind and through holes in walls, places for installing sockets, switches, junction boxes. The large professional set includes a screwdriver powered by a built-in battery. The master, in the absence of power, can tighten screws and nuts using additional bits.

Often, when laying wires, a chasing cutter is used. Without it, it is difficult to make grooves in the wall in which electrical cables are embedded.

Electric tool

Hand tools for electrical work are not enough to carry out the installation. The electrician’s tool includes a range of electrical accessories. The hammer drill replaces the hammer drill, but it has fewer functions. It can replace a screwdriver, but it is not recommended to use it for a long time.

LBM is an angle grinder, or grinder, capable of performing different functions: sawing brick, stone, metal, grinding surfaces.

The listed products are the minimum set of tools for work, without which it is impossible to achieve efficiency. Strobes are made with a chisel and hammer, but it takes a lot of time and effort.

Additional tools and materials

The electrician’s toolbox includes items without which you can change a burned-out light bulb, but you cannot perform other tasks. It is difficult, sometimes impossible, to install switches and sockets without electrical tape and heat shrinkage. With the help of these objects, the wires are insulated at the points of their connection. Almost everyone knows what electrical tape is, and heat shrinkage is a plastic tube of different colors. Inside, it has a material that sticks when heated.

A hammer is a versatile tool used by representatives of many professions. The electrician needs it at every stage of the electrical installation. You also need a tape measure to measure the length of the wires. For professionals, special clothing and footwear are important: rubber gloves and boots, goggles, uniforms that protect against accidental contact with live wires.

Ready-made kits

All the necessary tools are purchased separately or in a set. The universal electrician’s kit contains a professional tool for an electrician, but it is expensive. For homework repairing sockets, a small set will fit, including screwdrivers, pliers, pliers, electrical tape, a knife, and a multimeter. For more complex wiring work, you will need a screwdriver, wrenches, tape measure, stripper, and other items. In this case, you will need an expensive set in a plastic case or a sturdy briefcase.

The set should be selected taking into account the following requirements:

product quality;

safety;

price.

Preference is given to trusted manufacturers producing non-conductive rubberized products. The most popular kits are priced at $ 50-70:

Metal No 5;
HTS-BT49;
Jonnesway;
UniPro U-900;
Stern Austria;
Gerät PROFI;
Jensen JTK-67C.

The kits of the listed manufacturers include the necessary equipment, including multimeters, electrical tapes, and heat shrinks, cordless screwdrivers, and various types of pliers. It is advisable to choose a bag or suitcase in which a separate storage place is allocated for each item. When performing complex work, you will need a convenient transforming ladder and a vacuum cleaner to remove dust when working with a chasing cutter.

A well-chosen tool ensures the success of a competent electrician and electrician.

Another article on this blog that might interests you:

Electrician: What you need to know about the profession