Of the trades, plumbing is both respected and feared. You can’t argue that you have tradesmen good at this job, or Pros who would rather do anything else. Our plumbers tool reviews target professionals and help them know which new products are helpful in real-world jobs. We cover power tools like the Milwaukee M18 Force Logic brushless press tool and Milwaukee M12 ProPEX installation tool. We also test hand tools such as the Ridgid Close Quarters PEX crimp tools and the BernzOmatic Quickfire Torch. Then there are articles which over important topics like comparing copper piping vs PEX tubing. How We Do Plumbers Tool Reviews Our plumbers tool reviews frequently use professionals who do plumbing jobs every day. Put a new tool into their hands and you find out very quickly if it holds up. Plumbers may have a lot of patience when tracking down leaks, but they don’t tolerate a bad tool for long. Some of the best experiences we have involve handing these Pros new hand tools designed to save time. When they work, we see huge smiles (and they see dollar signs as they save time on the job). That’s a big win for everybody.
Cutting in-place soil pipes might be an unpleasant job but it doesn’t have to be difficult. All of these methods work, other things being equal, but soil pipe access might eliminate some of them. The age and condition of the pipe might affect the method you use for cutting it as well (it gets even more […]
Plumbers have favorites and go-to’s when installing new plumbing or performing repairs. Piping options include PVC, CPVC, copper, and PEX tubing. Knowing a little about each helps you understand the difference between CPVC and PEX tubing or copper. On top of that, the debate between CPVC vs copper vs PEX rages on for reasons from price to ease of […]
Milwaukee and Uponor Team Up To Change the ProPEX Game Milwaukee Tool and Uponor have partnered up again to improve the consistency of ProPex installations. The Milwaukee M12 Fuel ProPEX Expander, due out in December, ups the ante with a brushless motor. It also includes three different Rapid Seal heads to cover 1/2″ through 1″ […]
The redesigned Milwaukee M18 Fuel Hole Hawg (2807-20) boasts more power and speed than its excellent predecessor with a shorter tool length and just a skosh (0.3 pounds) more heft. Our crew loves the Super Hawg we’ve used for years but having a smaller Hawg is certainly an advantage. Here are the details! Pros Highly […]
Klein Borescope Unlocks Android Potential The Klein ET16 Borescope pairs a 9mm digital camera to a 10-foot armored gooseneck cable. It also includes USB-C and micro-USB connections for viewing the image on most Android smartphones and devices. We like compact camera heads and good flexibility. Klein seems to have hit both with the ET16—and at […]
Many tools accomplish their work with finesse and precision. In fact, that’s often why we choose to use them. Every once in a while, however, we need a tool that gets the job done with brute force. We need the big, mean, junkyard dog kind of tool. That’s the hawg—specifically, the Milwaukee M18 Fuel Super Hawg […]
Clean Cuts in Seconds The Knipex Tubix Pipe Cutter caught our attention this week and looks like a fresh take on an old idea. The lightweight magnesium tool lets you make clean, one-handed cuts in 1/4″ to 1-3/8″ copper, brass, and stainless steel pipe. It also gives you a built-in tool for deburring fresh cuts […]
We caught a sneak peek at a new Bosch Cordless 18V Band Saw in this month’s Popular Mechanics magazine. It looks to be a very compact unit that sports an ergonomic grip and weighs much less (just 7.7 lbs including the 18V battery) than comparable products from Milwaukee Electric Tool (about 10.5 lbs). For overhead use – common in electrical work, this is going to be an amazingly advantageous tool. The 18V lithium-ion battery sits above the handle, rather than below it, giving it a weight-forward feel and aiding in vertically-oriented cuts. Like most 18V tools, the Bosch Cordless Band Saw has a safety switch that needs to be pressed before the trigger releases to power the saw.
Aside from references to the popular 1987 movie Predator, how thermal imagers work hasn’t gotten a lot of mainstream attention. In the past several years, dropping prices have seen their increased use in troubleshooting. There’s a good reason for that. Thermal imaging has always been in transition. A lot of recent technological changes have really […]
As a remodeling contractor, I learned early on that containing remodeling dust and keeping that dust out of the non-remodeled portion of your client’s home is often more important than the quality of your work. It’s a fact that construction transports fine dust particles into parts of your home that are not being worked on. […]
