Rounded screws, damaged cables and tired hands all cost installers time. Jason Cunningham at KNIPEX looks at four tools that make light work of the small jobs.
On most jobs, the time doesn’t disappear on the big tasks, it goes on the small ones: the chewed up screw, the conduit that has to be cut without nicking the cables inside, or the cable end that needs redoing because the strip wasn’t clean. These frustrations add up over a day and take a toll on your hands too, but the right tool can turn each of them into a quick job. Here are four worth making room for in the van.
For the screw nobody else could shift
It’s a familiar scenario: a rounded-off screw on a boiler casing or a stubborn bolt on a pump housing, usually tucked somewhere awkward. Heat, corrosion and the wrong-sized driver all play their part, and once the head starts to go, every extra attempt with a screwdriver makes it worse. Reaching for a big pair of grips often isn’t an option in a cramped boiler cupboard and drilling the screw out turns a two-minute task into half an hour.
The best approach is to stop as soon as the driver starts slipping and switch to something that grips the head itself. Compact gripping pliers such as the new KNIPEX TwinGrip XS are designed for this. At just 100 mm long with a slim head, they fit easily into tight spaces and the front of the jaws bites into worn screw heads while gripping from the side handles nuts, bolts and small round parts..
For cutting conduit without damaging what’s inside
Heat pump installations and plant rooms can involve corrugated conduit carrying cables and cutting it with a utility knife is a fast way to nick the insulation underneath. The trouble is that the damage isn’t always visible; it might only show up at insulation resistance testing, or worse, as a fault long after the job has been signed off.
The safest cut is made on the outer ridge of the conduit rather than in the trough, where the blade is closest to the cables. A dedicated cutter such as the KNIPEX BiX® CT56 is designed to do this, cutting many common corrugated conduits on the outer ridge so the cables inside stay protected. With its cutting insert removed, it also handles rigid plastic pipe, so one tool covers both jobs.
For wiring the bigger loads
As more installers take on heat pumps, EV chargers and other higher-demand equipment, larger supply cables are becoming part of the job. Stripping a 10 or 16 mm² conductor neatly matters more than it might seem. Scoring too deep with a knife can damage strands while a strip that’s too short can leave insulation caught in the terminal, giving a poor connection that may overheat over time. Too long, and bare conductor is left exposed.
It’s worth checking the strip length the terminal manufacturer specifies and sticking to it every time. A precision stripper makes that much easier: the KNIPEX Precision Insulation Stripper uses form-fit blades matched to 6, 10 and 16 mm² PVC-insulated conductors, cutting cleanly around the full circumference without marking the insulation. An adjustable length stop keeps every strip consistent which helps when terminating several conductors in a row.
For saving your hands on repetitive work
Cutting, gripping and stripping all day puts real strain on hands and wrists and much of it comes from the constant squeeze-and-open motion of pliers. Over years, that repetition can lead to aches and longer-term problems that are easy to ignore until they start affecting work.
Small changes help: using the right-sized tool, taking regular breaks on repetitive tasks, and choosing tools that do some of the work for you. Pliers that spring open on their own take some of the effort out of every cycle and the KNIPEX SpringLock Clip adds that feature to many existing KNIPEX pliers with Comfort Handles. It clips easily into the KNIPEXtend interface and a magnetic lock keeps the pliers closed in the toolbag.
Each of these tools tackles a job that installers face every week and they do it faster, cleaner and with less strain. It’s the kind of upgrade you notice from the very first awkward screw.
To view the full KNIPEX Autumn new product range, visit www.knipex.com
