Essential Electrical Tools for Every Electrician 2024

Bill Lyons

If you’re going to earn a living as an electrician, then you’ll need to have access to the right tools and materials. These will allow you to work to the best possible standard, while keeping yourself and others safe.

Compared with certain other professions in construction and renovation, being an electrician doesn’t require a significant outlay in equipment. What matters is that you bring in tools of the right quality, and that you’re able to get the best from them.

There are a select few hand tools that most electricians will use on a daily basis. These include wire strippers, pliers, and screwdrivers.

Wire strippers, naturally, are used every time an electrician wants to make a connection, usually within a plug socket. Screwdrivers are necessary for driving those connections home, and for enclosing electrical devices, plugs and sockets. You’ll be using a combination of Philips and flat-head screwdrivers.

Finally, a selection of pliers can be very useful. Needle-nose pliers will allow you access to tight spaces, while adjustable pliers will make it easy to deal with a variety of tasks. Choose a pair that is made from high-carbon steel, or some similarly durable material. You’re going to expose the teeth of the pliers to considerable pressure, and you don’t want them to wear away.

Other consumable items, like the electrical grommet and the wall plug, will come in useful almost every day. Make sure that you have a decent supply of them.

A number of power tools stand out as incredibly useful for performing everyday electrical tasks. You’ll want a cordless drill, both for mounting devices into walls, and creating holes through which you can thread cable. You’ll also need an oscillating multi-tool, which is great for creating neat little square holes in drywall, and a reciprocating saw to deal with timber framing. An impact driver is also worth considering: it will provide the torque required when you need to do a lot of screwing in a short time span.

Being able to measure electrical signals is critical when it comes to troubleshooting. You’ll need a multimeter, which is used for testing wall outlets and devices, a voltage tester, which can be used to quickly determine whether a circuit is continuous, and a circuit finder, which will allow you to identify where cables are hidden.

All of these items are crucial. If you don’t know where the voltage is, then you can’t hope to correct the problem – and you might put yourself at risk.

Electricians should wear insulated gloves, to protect themselves against exposure to currents. They should wear safety glasses to protect themselves against stray sparks, and fireproof clothing. Heavy boots can also be advantageous.

When selecting safety equipment, you’ll want to make sure that it doesn’t encumber you. If you can’t move your fingers freely, then the chances are that you’re (ironically) compromising on safety.

If your electrical tools aren’t in good condition, then they might end up causing you problems. Test all of your equipment regularly, and make sure that you can recognise when a replacement is necessary. By storing your tools properly, you’ll extend their lifespan. This is where the right storage box can be very useful.

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