Tools Of The Trade
Check out the tools below for the next level technician.
I’m a firm believer in having the best tools. I look at tools as an investment. The same way stock brokers invest in stocks. Although they don’t make money as easy and as passive as a stock would, they can make hard jobs become very easy. And that equals easy money. My favorite kind of money! Have you ever tried to break loose a jammed garbage disposal with a flat-head screw driver? I have and it was a pain in the rear. When I invested in a garbage disposal wrench , I was in and out of there in 30 seconds. Easy money!
I love shopping for tools online. It’s actually a weakness of mine. Knowing a new tool is on its way to my house rekindles a childhood feeling of waiting for Santa. At first I was iffy about buying tools online. I thought,”what if I don’t like it?” and “what if it doesn’t perform the way I thought?” But, I’ve never had one problem after I received them and used them in the field. Also, you can return the tool just as you would return something that you bought at a store.
You do want to buy from a known website though. There is a risk if you’re buying tools from a website that you’ve never heard of. That’s why I stick with Amazon. They have pretty much any tool that you can think of and at good prices. I can usually find tools a little cheaper on Amazon than I can at hardware stores around town. And most importantly, they have integrity with their return policy.
Below are links to tools that I’ve personally used and know will make your job easier. So, invest in yourself and get that easy money!
Tools For the Next Level Technician
Magnetic screwdrivers will save you a lot of heartache. There’s nothing worse than nearing the end of a repair and having the last piece of the puzzle slip off your non-magnetic screwdriver and fall into a cobwebbed abyss.
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Different sized channel locks are a must. Getting into tight quarters like a washer box with giant pliers can be difficult. And difficult is not easy money.
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I love my Klein magnetic nut drivers. Reaching through a bunch of wires that are criss-crossing like a bowl of spaghetti and having the nut fall off is really annoying. And annoying is not easy money.
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This WILL be the last stud finder you’ll ever buy or need. And, here’s the best part. It doesn’t need batteries! This little baby is a powerful magnet that stops and hangs on the wall whenever it runs over a nail or drywall screw. If you’d like to see it action, click on this YouTube tutorial video.
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I call this, the battle pack. It has everything you’ll need for power tools. Although I prefer Dewalt, you can find other brands that are a little cheaper. Milwaukee, Bosch, and Ryobi will get the job done.
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Digital is the future. Testo digital A/C gauges are awesome! Temperature probes go onto the suction line and the liquid line so that you can see your superheat and subcool right there in real time. It’s a fantastic time saving tool that will make you easy money.
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You HAVE to have a meter and know how to use it. This tool you’ll need for troubleshooting anything that uses electricity. Which will be almost everything that you’ll run across as a technician. Fieldpiece is a great meter that will hold up to being tossed around in the bag.
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This is my favorite tool in my arsenal. The M500 megohmeter. It can help you troubleshoot fan motors and compressors with ease. And it only has one button! One button to press and it will tell you, “good”, “caution”, or “bad”. Hello, easy money anyone? There’s actually a video of me using it here if you’d like to see a tutorial.
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The infrared temp gun. A perfect tool for when Mrs. Johnson calls and says that her oven isn’t reaching 450 degrees. That’s when I pull this little baby out, point it into the oven and squeeze the trigger. Boom! It says 453 degrees on the screen. I show it to Mrs. Johnson and strut out 30 seconds later like I own the place. It never fails and the resident never calls back about it.
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I don’t know why I waited so long to buy this tool. It’s fantastic! It makes installing a faucet or removing supply line nuts a breeze. I did a tool review video about this tool that you can watch here.
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A tub drain removal tool is a must have. Why you ask? Because you will come upon a tub drain that has missing crosspieces. Click on this video link to watch how I use this awesome tool. Just tap it into the drain with a hammer. Then, put your ratchet wrench into the hole and turn it out. Easy money.
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A garbage disposal wrench is a must have in the bag. I had to bend or break some of my good flat head screwdrivers while trying to break loose a jammed up garbage disposal before I learned my lesson and just bought this little baby. Here’s a video link of me using mine out in the field.
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Don’t you HATE it when you go to pull a toilet and the whole bolt starts spinning when you try to get the nut off. Well fear it no more! The jam bar has pulled me out of many of jams. 
You just put the bolt in between the 2 prongs and it will hold that bolt still while you turn the nut and loosen it. No more cussing out rusty toilet bolts!
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The dreaded “broken light bulb in the socket” work order. I finally got fed up with trying to dig light bulb bases out of their socket and bought a broken bulb removal tool. Sometimes I could get them out using 2 flat head screwdrivers. Most of the time though, it would fight me due to someone over tightening. This is a fantastic time saving tool.
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Us maintenance techs are always having to go into dark dingy places that would make even Freddy Kruger think twice about entering. And although I use battery powered flashlights where needed, 90% of the time I use a shop work light that has a cord for plugging into an outlet. Most of the time there’s an outlet around that I can use. It saves money on batteries and it’s like working in the day light. People ask how I get my work area so bright and this is how I do it. A drop light!
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And last but not least. The Klein tool bag backpack. I LOVE mine. I bought it 2 years ago and it still functions perfectly today. The apartment complex where I work has 3 flights of stairs, and lugging a heavy bag in one hand, while carrying parts in the other is not easy money. With the backpack, my hands are free to carry parts and a ladder in one trip. Awesome!
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