Tools & Equipment
Six months of daily use, mostly commercial service work and motor troubleshooting. Short version: it changed how I approach a service call, and I did not expect that. **What it does that other clamps...
Finally bought a Greenlee 555 after years of renting. 6-month honest review after about 40 commercial jobs: **What's great:** - Speed. I can do bends in 1/3 the time vs my old Chicago Electric manual...
Looking to upgrade my clamp meter specifically for solar and battery storage installs. Currently have a Fluke 376 FC (1000V CAT III) which works but the DC accuracy is underwhelming below 10A. The 39...
Experiment: for one year I ran M12 only for service calls, M18 stayed on the van for install work. Wanted to know where the line actually is rather than carrying both everywhere. **Where M12 was comp...
I've been using Klein D213-9NE for years and they've been fine. A master electrician on my crew uses Knipex 09 02 240 and swears they're dramatically better. The Knipex are about twice the price. Is ...
Our crew has been all-Milwaukee M18 for 6 years. Works great for most stuff. But we've been doing heavier conduit work (2" rigid and up) and the M18 Hole Hawg is struggling on the bigger sizes. A fri...
Tested both back to back on a 480V motor circuit last week. **Fluke 1507:** $650-700 street price. Test voltages: 50, 100, 250, 500, 1000V. True RMS auto-ranging, dielectric absorption ratio and pola...
I've been doing more industrial electrical troubleshooting and I need to start carrying a scope. I've borrowed shop scopes before but I need my own. Requirements: - Portable/handheld preferred (I'm i...
Starting a debate that never gets old: what's actually in your daily bag? Not your truck, not your big kit — just what you carry on your person or in a single bag to a service call every day. I'll st...
Did a panel trim-out on a 40-unit apartment complex this week — 40 QO panels, 2 days, 2 guys. Here's what I ran the whole time: **Power:** Milwaukee M18 FUEL 1/4" Hex Impact (2953-20), M18 drill/driv...
Genuine question, not a hot take. Over the last two years the amount of work I do with a bandsaw has dropped a lot and I think it is because the cordless track saw got good enough to take over the str...
First year apprentice saving up for my own bender. The foreman's Chicago Electric is fine for one-offs but I want something better for when I'm doing longer runs myself. Budget is around $300. I'm mo...