Klein Tools 15′ Glow Rod Set Review

Manufacturer:
Model: 56102
Price: $44.32
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Electricians use fish sticks (not the deep fried kind) or glow rods when they’re looking to pull wire from a crawlspace or from one open cavity to another. It’s a wonderful solution for easily identifying whether or not you’ve struck the right location when drilling a new entry point for 12/2 or other electrical wire, or when needing something a bit stiffer than Jet Line that can be sent “upwards” from below. It’s also tons easier to manipulate than steel fish tape over shorter distances. If you’ve ever done electrical work, it’s likely that you’ve used a threaded rod system, but Klein’s 15′ Glow Rod set is particularly nice in that it has the added advantage of drawing attention to itself in the wall cavity through the use of luminescent rods. 

What we liked about the Klein Glow Rods was how easily it was to attach them together to get up to 15 feet of reach into a wall cavity. As we were going from a second story to the first floor in a 1920′s electrical remodel project, this was of utmost importance. While a fish tape would have worked, the ability to work the stiffer and less curl-prone glow rods were preferred. From below, in the crawl space, we were able to send one rod up the wall and then, when it was inserted, attach a second glow rod to the first, allowing us to extend a full 10′ into the wall cavity and thus pull cable and multi-line to our light switch locations. Activating the rods was as simple as leaving them out for a while before putting them to use. The natural light got them glowing in no time.

We did note that the Klein Tools Glow Rods use a machined thread that is rather dense in pitch (TPI). This caused us to have to be a bit more careful when threading the rods together, but it also made it hard for the rods to come apart once we hand-tightened them sufficiently. The connection points tended to be a tad wobbly until the last bit where they tightened up nice and locked together securely. Over time this felt like it might lead to cross-threading, though this never once occurred in our use of the glow rods.The kit also included a bull nose attachment and hook attachment which can come in handy (and we used the bull nose attachment nearly all the time).

You typically don’t want to rotate a fish stick or glow rod while it’s in the wall, but the threading of these rods makes it a lot harder to accidentally unscrew them during use. They tend to stay together once their joined.

Overall, our use of the Klein 15′ Glow Rod Set was a very productive experience. The rods helped us to locate and pull wire more quickly, were easier to spot in crawl spaces and dim drop ceiling areas, and really allowed us a way to quickly and and efficiently pull both wire and pull string through our newly-created electrical box cut-outs. The rods were a welcome addition to just using fish tape and multi-line. In measuring and ranking Performance, these rods earned a solid 7/10. If the threaded connection points were a tad more robust, our one concern, they’d score even higher. They work well and are an above-average solution for pulling and pushing wire and have some features that we found absolutely critical and helpful. For Value, these glow rods are priced right in line with the competition, if not a tiny bit under offerings from other well-known brands. For that reason, and their convenience, we edged them just above average and gave them a 6/10 rating. If you need fish rods/sticks/glow rods – check these out, they will certainly do the trick.

Specs

• Luminescent rods
• 3/16″ diameter x 5′ L
• Extremely flexible
• Threaded connectors
• Bull nose attachment
• Hook attachment