Best n worst ? Mus!t have or wont touch

[CAPTAINBIRDSEYE]

WHATS THE BEST THING TOOL OR COMPANY IN YOUR OPINION NEW OR OLD ???
ID NOMINATE CRAIG NICOL FOR CASE MANUFACTURER / COMPANY
BEST TOOL IS A HARD ONE BUT HEY CANT BEAT ROTHENBERGER SWAGERS FOR WHAT THEY ARE! BEST THING EVER SEEN WAS SEEING THE GOOD OLD HUSSMMANN INTERNAL BOOSTER PACKS ON R22 DISAPEAR !

[Brian_UK]

HI, welcome to the forum but please don't SHOUT.

[glenn1340]

Best tool? well the one that`s always been very close to me for fifty five years, it`s served me well but doesn`t get to much use these days. The next best is my Bahco adjustables.
Most usless thing, where do I start? How about cheap Allen keys. They`re always good for a laugh, rounding off on that awkward bolt. Oh and let`s not forget the old favourite, that pozidrive screwdiver you bought from that market stall, I right bargain for fifty pence.
Most usless equipment? I work on air compressors and if you ever come across an Ingersoll Rand Unigy air compressor just point and laugh.
The list of faults would fill a book thicker than the Bible.
To find any fault you need an interegator that costs £700 so a customer phoning in a breakdown can give no indication of any problem. Of course we know why that is, so only I/R dealers can work on them.

[freezetech]

my best tool although pretty new vulkan lokring kit worst tools cheap ones

[monkey spanners]

My favouite make of equipment is any that runs ok once i have either fixed or installed it

I have been accused of being a bit of a tool snob before... I can't stand those cheap chrome adjustable spanners, the ones that hurt your hands when trying to shift something, i'm not keen on those non ratchet crimpers either. CK screwdrivers as i just snap the ends of them, anything made by Rolson, Dewalt stuff (when they were Elu and Black and Decker they were much better) Britool seem to be going a bit rubbish since Facom bought them, I could go on and on

Favorite makes of tools, Makita, Britool, Facom, ITE, Yellow Jacket, Koken, Elora, King ****, Bacho, some of the Draper stuff is good, I have a few Sealey tools which have lasted well, Rothenberger, Rigid, Record, Rems, Fluke, Robin.......

I suppose really any tool that enables me to get the job done is a goodun

[Colin G]

you need to get your self a set of the rubber gripped roebuck drivers monkey spanners, there the dogs danglys!

[CAPTAINBIRDSEYE]

what bout best n worse who would you put in the refrigeration room 101

[Colin G]

what bout best n worse who would you put in the refrigeration room 101

as in person? and room 101 is that the naughty boys room?

[Andy AC]

My favourite tool is my makita 14.4v impact driver - awesome power from a very small unit, always put a big grin on my face . Love yellow jacket vac pumps, hate robinair leak detectors and cps r410a gauges - why have 5/16 connectors on the manifold block as well?

Andy

[monkey spanners]

you need to get your self a set of the rubber gripped roebuck drivers monkey spanners, there the dogs danglys!

Roebuck stuff is good too, i have a few of their sockets for working on my lorry, they used to do a special offer leaflet evey few months and they (Buck and Hickman) have a branch next door to Climate centre in newbury.....

*goes off to join 'tools anonymous'*

[monkey spanners]

what bout best n worse who would you put in the refrigeration room 101

I'd put some manufacturers technical people on the naughty chair, one manufacturer i have said i'd rather go sweeping the streets before fitting their kit again and another lost out on a vrf job due to them refusing to give info previously on fault codes

I have nothing but praise for Victor Ballard and Peter Bell at Climate centre and Andy Thomas at Wave

[Colin G]

Roebuck stuff is good too, i have a few of their sockets for working on my lorry, they used to do a special offer leaflet evey few months and they (Buck and Hickman) have a branch next door to Climate centre in newbury.....

*goes off to join 'tools anonymous'*

i normaly use buck and hickman but im a stickler for trailing the net for decent tools for bargains, best so far is 2 bacho 15mm jaw adjustables for 12 quid of ebay delivered brand new. Im a designer junkie when it comes to tools but it pays as all the good stuff i have bought over the last number of years is either still in my man bag, retired to the house tool kit or stolen!

as for room 101 can i put them mole gribs with the half moon catch thingys in there? as there as ****ing usefull as a chocolate frying pan!

[Voyager]

Roebuck stuff is good too, i have a few of their sockets for working on my lorry,

Halfords 'Professional' socket sets are pretty darn good.
I'm still using a set I bought 10 years ago, had to replace a few sockets lost along the way, but the ratchet drivers are as tough as they come.

Some of the older B&Q stuff is actually pretty good too. I've been using an 18v Hammer Drill/Driver for more than 4 years now. My son has had his Bosch drill/driver repaired TWICE in 3 years !

*goes off to join 'tools anonymous'*

Is there a branch near me?

[coolhibby1875]

bought two 12" shifters 12 years ago still look brand new and work a treat,cost a few bob, but money well spent. Best cases i,m,o linde monaxis, worst cases, Smeva vision Waitrose serve overs!

[CAPTAINBIRDSEYE]

worked in london for 14 years and id put the whole place in room 101 hey hey

[Magoo]

Hi Captain.
every service tech's best tool should always be a set of service gauges.
magoo

[Colin G]

Halfords 'Professional' socket sets are pretty darn good.
I'm still using a set I bought 10 years ago, had to replace a few sockets lost along the way, but the ratchet drivers are as tough as they come.

Some of the older B&Q stuff is actually pretty good too. I've been using an 18v Hammer Drill/Driver for more than 4 years now. My son has had his Bosch drill/driver repaired TWICE in 3 years !



Is there a branch near me?

boc are doing a deal on bahco socket sets just now, the largest set is going for 99 quid 106 piece

[Silhouette]

The best tool has got to be your brain! The worst tool is any that won't do the job it was designed for!
I work for Space on the projects side and they have been good to work for for the last 8 years but the best was TH Wathes, as an apprentice, they worked on a wide variety of equipment and this gave a really good grounding in refrigeration and AC that has done me well for the last 28 years! The worst was Ryan Jayberg out of Wimbledon!

[freezetech]

im thinking of buying a set of digimon gauges anybody know if their worth it or not

[CAPTAINBIRDSEYE]

biggest letdown ever to the industry has to be the demise of hussmann service n installations surely the pet shop boys would agree what a sin lol

[750 Valve]

Best tool - my 10 year old fluke 16 multimeter - we have been through a lot together, it may get a little jealous at times of my clamp meter but it knows where my heart lies

Worst tool - most CPS stuff, their guages, leak detectors and vacuum guages are all rubbish!

Best cases: Kysor Warren (Austral) D6 cases

Worst cases: Anything manufactured by Frigrite

[750 Valve]

double post - oops

[coolhibby1875]

agree with 750 cps stuff is rubbish!!

[Josip]

Hi,

the same for me in bold was a little lazy to write down all again

Best tool? well the one that`s always been very close to me for fifty five years, it`s served me well but doesn`t get to much use these days. The next best is my Bahco adjustables.
Most usless thing, where do I start? How about cheap Allen keys and cheap screwdrivers. They`re always good for a laugh, rounding off on that awkward bolt. ........

Best regards, Josip

[sparkatan]

Once bought one of those Controls Pumps from Dean & Wood. What a piece of crap. Didn't do what it was described to do. That was 10 years ago.
Cannot believe they are still selling them!
(Having thought about it though, yes i can)

One of the best tools, the Fluke T5-1000

[bill1983]

best screwdriver: snap on T handle ratchet, close second bosch li-ion drill driver.
best spanners: snap-on flank drive combi set followed by any Bahco adjustable
best manifold set: yellow jacket titan
best vac pump: yellow jacket or robinair, not the current cheap copies.
best leak detector: javac or y.j difficult to split.
worst tool anything not built to last for 10 years or more, ie cps, refco, ck, dewalt draper etc. nothing worse than a tool that lets you down just when you really need it.
best supplier:NRW Bradford; worst Dean & WOod leeds or any hrp (we can get you one on thursday)
best cases George Barker especially p54l mobiles, worst is anything built without service engineer input eg nuttalls, surfrigo frostrol etc
best company Walkers pre 1989
worst wathes manchester
This could go on forever but it all makes interesting reading
Best tool ever, my km differential thermometer, accurate, multiple probes and never lets me down. The one i bought as a backup in case the first one ever fails is still in its original box for over 10 years. Calibration checked every 6 months without fail. probes replaced as needed. touch probe invaluable.