Most Affordable Torque Screwdriver? Draper Ergo Plus VDE Torque Screwdriver - Review and Demo
In this video we take a look at a very affordable VDE torque screwdriver set from Draper including a full demonstration of how it works.
Buy on Amazon UK (Affiliate) - amzn.to/3fUTuJ4
www.camerongray.me/
/ camerongray1515
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
05:58 - Tour of the set
15:33 - Using the Torque Screwdriver
24:52 - Using a Torque Screwdriver on a Socket?!
27:54 - Avoiding Over-tightening
31:53 - Conclusion
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You can find this particular set on Amazon UK (Affiliate): amzn.to/3fUTuJ4. Unfortunately availability in other countries seems to be pretty limited.
New regulations state that most electrical connections need to be torqued now.
Seems like a decent set. Personally I would never use a torque wrench or screwdriver to loosen anything. They have but one job as far as I'm concerned.
I bought this set to replace all my Stanley vde screwdrivers, hope it’s as good as the Stanley’s are
Thanks, now i have to go and buy this....
hi, i got the draper tools torque screwdriver kit, i'm great. As far as you know, can the VDE inserts with the hexagonal imprint be purchased separately? Thanks and congratulations for the video.
There are left hand threads (maybe not in the electrician field) but that's a reason for torque in both directions.
Wouldn’t it be nice if they had cared enough to use different and visually contrasting colours for all those different heads and sizes and the case ? They should have red highlighted that zero. Could have stuck a small led torch into it too. Thanks a real good revue. You should bend back (double up) the terminating ends of the single core non-stranded exposed end of the cable conductor so as to double up the conducting cross-sectional area screwed into the terminal.
I have a torque-reading (as opposed to torque-set) driver for bicycle maintenance, which came with a stern warning not to use it anticlockwise, lest it be damaged. I think it's because the needle that tells you the torque would peg at the beginning of the scale, which would probably either damage the needle or upset the calibration. This Draper one seems a bit more laid back; more of an "it won't work" instead of an "it will damage it".
I have the very same screwdriver, Draper have been around for about a hundred years and they are well known and respected for making high quality tool. Point 1 never go be one click when tightening the screw as you will ware out the mechanism, point 2 you should send it away for calibration after 5000 clicks. Point 3 never ever use the torque handle to loosen/undo the screws you will damage the torque mechanism. If you find it a bit to long you can get stubby blades. As for the socket’s having torque settings is pointless if you use your torque screwdriver on them you will probably feck the terminal screws . Don’t believe the hype about over tightening them it will not course any damage, under tightening is the big problem. What you say you normally do is tighten the terminal screws the push the socket back then pull away and check the screws haven’t loosened and give them a bit of a nip is the correct way. Good review though 👍and don’t forget you will need to have it calibrated every 5000 clicks.
Hi Cameron My set doesn't have the 2 cross slotted screwdriver heads specifically for breakers. You said you can buy them separately could you please provide a link? Love your channel by the way. Kind regards Brian Crooks.
Its called a PZ/SL bit.
Purchased this set last year, got a good deal from ffx, only £65 delivered including vat. I wanted one that didn't use a tool to adjust and went above 3nm, so that ruled out wiha and wera as well as many others. Draper don't really help themselves, the blister pack makes it look cheap, I know it serves many purposes, plus it also looks a bit fisher price, with the colours, my wiha and wera sets are both red and yellow and look expensive yet the draper looks cheap by comparison. Also the screwdriver blades have a semi round bit near the top, they look a bit cheap, if I was designing it I would have adopted a similar system to wiha or wera, that way you could use their bits as well, and pinch customers. Looks aside, it does the job and it ticked the boxes, and yes the case is a bit poor too, there's a bit of snobbery in us all😂.
I think the bits that you are calling slotted pozi are called ECX, or at least that is what Milwaukee calls them here in the US. Do you know if these VDE blades will work with any other manufacturer of VDE screwdriver? These looks very similar to my Wera VDE set, but I don’t have the torque version.
As for your reversible torque driver, just think about something called Left Hand Thread! So it is well worth having this feature.
Remember that this is an electricians set for use primarily on CU's and the like which of course don't use LH threads.
The 2 screwdriver attachments your not sure of, the term name is called a plus+ minus- head. 😉
I have been looking for a set , i wanted the wera ones but just so expensive . My give this a go
I looked at the wera, and they have cocked up, because to get a full range of settings you would need to buy three handles, plus if you install Hager, the wera is no good as it only goes to 3nm, and Hager main switches need to be 3.1nm.
It probably torques to both directions in case there's a screw that is somehow threaded the opposite way, which is entirely possible, but rare I've seen it before, but only a few times in my life
You can not use it in anti direction as it will damage the torque mechanism
Haha, love the ‘I’m a bit of a snob’ comment: me too to be fair but I do think Draper get a bit of a dis-service sometimes, a lot of their kit is okay I think. I’ll deffo be looking into getting a set of these as my 20 odd year old apprentice Teng Tools gear is looking pretty sad 😂
They either own knipex or knipex own draper, can't remember which it is, and knipex are quality tools, but draper has always been pretty good as well
Draper is a German company now owned by Stanley
Just out of interest.. Have you tried comparing that torque screwdriver with the torque setting on a standard drill driver?
Interesting, could probably compare them to try and match some of the values up although a drill driver probably won't be calibrated in any way so the torque settings could very much vary over time or between drills even of the same model.
Drill drivers don’t have torque settings the number ring behind the chuck Is a step clutch. Nothing more
Drills don’t have torque settings it is simply a clutch that disengages the chuck when the drill meat a certain resistance . The is no way of comparing or matching it with a torque screwdriver or torque wrench.
Hi, how'a this screwdriver been going with you since making the video ?
I can't fault it, it's worked great although I'm only a DIYer so I'm probably not battering it as much as someone using it every day.
@@camerongray1515 thanks for your reply, i went ahead and ordered one should arrive this week :)
Dutch sockets mostly use clamps, you just push enough wire in and thats it. So no need to overtighten
Yeah, somewhat jealous of how widespread screwless connections are in Europe, especially given there's now even screwless consumer units which is where these torque screwdrivers are really useful. We're slowly getting there in the UK - screwless terminal blocks such as Wagos are becoming popular (literally all I'll use nowadays, I'll usually replace any screw connector blocks I come across with them), downlights often have screwless connectors (again, the only type I'll fit) and we now finally have a single model of socket with screwless lever connectors on the rear which is moving things in the right direction, but we need a wider range to be available (still no screwless options for switches or for non-white plastic/decorative accessories)
@@camerongray1515 almost all of our switches and sockets use screwless ones, it's literally plug n play, to get them out you can press the lever down which is annoying to do so i turn it like i would a wago, for consumer units i wouldn't wanna use wago options, i feel they really wouldn't handle high loads but that's my bias showing towards having things Nice and tight 🙈
Very good review. Is it still working fine for you?
Yep, still working fine, although bear in mind that I'm only a DIYer so it's not being used particularly heavily.
Dudes working to a higher quality than a lot of qualified electricians
Shame that the torque screwdriver isn't available as a separate item 😞
Like your video but don't hold stuff in your hand whilst screwing with the other. One slip and the screwdriver goes into and maybe through your hand ! One of the first safety films I was shown as a trainee in what was Post Office Telecoms !
"I'm not an electrician, but I do a bit of my own stuff" Scary.
I do things myself because I genuinely enjoy and have an interest in it, not in an attempt to save money. Before undertaking anything I spend an unreasonable amount of time learning the relevant regulations.etc. While I'm more than happy to get an electrician for more complicated jobs, I'm more than capable of doing more basic jobs myself (changing accessories/light fittings.etc)... Not all DIYers are bad, and likewise I've seen plenty of dreadful work done by electricians... In fact, whenever I've had contractors in, they've been nothing but positive about the work that I've done.
@@camerongray1515 As long as you're knowledgeable for the tasks that you're doing. However, for every 1 DIYer that is good, there a 100 dangerous DIYers. Even if a DIYer does almost everything correct and the work looks good, there could easily be 1 thing that they've not been taught/learned, which could be very dangerous. You may know your limitations, but the Dunning-Kruger effect applies to the majority. I test and inspect electrical installations for a living (Domestic, Commercial & Industrial). I've come across far too many DIY jobs. Even very simple, but dangerous examples. Such as swapping a 1G light switch for a metal one. All the connections were sound and tidy. Looked good. But the metal was not earthed. That can cause death. With all due respect, I think it should be illegal for electrical work to be carried, without being inspected and signed off by an Approved Electrical (not a basic Electrician).
Another example: Light fittings had been replaced with metal ones, CPCs connected in. Not tested with an MFT. No CPC continuity at all for any of the lights. Dangerous. ---------------------------------------------------------- Worst example: I got called out to a domestic property, where they could smell burning and hear crackling. The owner of the house decided to disconnect the kitchen light, so that it could be plastered. He had connected live and neutral together. Instead of fuse wire through the BS3036 fuse, there was a nail. So it would not blow. The cable it fed, ran through the majority of the house, getting hotter and hotter. Melting and it was so so so close to setting fire to the whole house. You know what the saving grace was? The cable literally exploded inside of the consumer unit, into 2 separate copper cables. When it exploded, the piping hot melted PVC also melted almost every single other cable in the consumer unit, for all other circuits.
Those are definitely valid issues, however for my stuff I know to earth any exposed metal and actually own an (admittedly relatively basic Dilog 9038P) MFT and have used it to check CPC continuity on anything I've worked on, plus also using it to test things like ring continuity.etc. That situation with the nail is definitely bad, although obviously I wouldn't do such a thing and understand the wiring of a 3 plate lighting circuit so I wouldn't make such a mistake - although very much agree that that can be confusing to some DIYers who assume they can just swap a light over without understanding it, especially when the new light only has L, N and CPC terminals. Although, even I have seen my fair share of issues on installs done by and signed off by electricians: - In my place the oven was wired into an FCU that didn't have a flex outlet so the flex was crushed between the FCU and the edge of the backbox. - None of the metal backboxes on the original plastic light switches were earthed, CPCs were just connected in a terminal block at the back. If a live conductor had come loose and touched the box, the screw would have become live. - When I first moved in I did get an electrician to add a new circuit in to feed my network equipment - He shoved a Hager MCB into my Legrand board that didn't even clip onto the DIN rail so was just floating attached to the busbar. Meanwhile I sourced the correct Legrand MCB and swapped it in. - My parents had electricians install downlights who had notched a cable under the joist and filled it without doing anything to clip the cable in place which later must have sagged down. My mum saw a bump in the ceiling and sanded it down - sanded right through a live cable. - And don't get me started on how often I've seen things like inner cores hanging out of downlights... Ultimately, it all comes down to the skill of the individual person and not what they chose as a career path. I work in the technology/IT sector, and Dunning-Kruger very much applies there too. There are an absolute tonne of completely incompetent people out there who think they know everything, however likewise there are a tonne of people who are completely self taught who do amazing work.
Could you speak a but faster mate
Lol-too fast?
Just waiting for the 'best' sparky to mention that you 'shouldn't be doing your own electrics'...
I'm surprised nobody has complained yet to be honest! Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of respect for good electricians and would definitely hire one for work beyond my skill level, but given the standard that I've seen from some well rated professionals (and the amount of issues I've found that have been in this place since new), I just trust myself to take time and effort to do everything properly rather than have someone come in and rush things, especially when it comes to relatively basic jobs.