Recent content by Spacey_G

The slip-joint mechanism on these is really nice. Because of the way the channel is curved, they only adjust one notch at a time. In other words, when you try to go from notch 1 to notch 2, the geometry prevents you from overshooting and ending up in notch 3. Nice.

Snap-on extra long ratchets, DBE wrenches, spark plug socket, long-nose pliers, Ko-ken 1/4" flex ratchet, Proto 10-50 in-lb. and CDI 30-250 in-lb. torque wrenches, PB Swiss flatheads, torx and Phillips power bits.

theoldwizard1 - the poco guy who was out here last night mentioned a case where a few people in a neighborhood were complaining about flickering lights every day from 5-7pm. It turned out someone in the neighborhood was restoring a classic car and ran a welder between those hours. They...

Brief update: PoCo was out again last night around midnight, different technician this time. He pulled the meter and ran a load test again, this time finding nothing wrong. We chatted for a while and I described everything I've seen and what's been done so far. He seemed diligent and...

Thanks for the suggestions on asking the PoCo to install a logger. I didn't know that option exists. The issue seemed to progressively get worse over a couple of months and now happens almost every day. I don't think it would take long to show on a logger.

Thanks Steve. I don't know enough about transformers to say if this is a conceivable way that one could fail. But it's encouraging that you were having the same symptoms and a transformer replacement fixed it.

I've been having an intermittent issue with low voltage on one leg of my 200A/240V service. Initial observation was flickering lights and UPS devices switching between battery and line power frequently. I started measuring outlets and in the panel with a multimeter and found the following: 1...

I think the most important question when it comes to impairment on the job is...what is the risk that the substance use causes harm to someone? That's a combination of: 1. How often does an employee (a mechanic in this case) come to work under the influence and how impaired are they? 2. How...

It looks like the Snap-ons have a one-piece forged/machined tip. Knipex offers this style too (but not reversible) and IMO they're not so good. The forged tips bend easily. Snap-on might do it better. The Knipex ones that are shown in the video are the better version with music wire tips...

I'm in search of Wiha hollow shaft nut drivers with soft finish handles. These were available with red/black handles for the metric sizes and yellow/black for fractional. I believe they discontinued the metric sizes and changed the fractionals from the yellow/black to the new style red/black...

How many $150 hours have been collectively wasted, I wonder, because of fasteners dropped in unfortunate locations?

When folks suggest retorquing after X miles, does that mean 1. Loosen and then torque 2. Just put the torque wrench on and turn until it clicks. ? It seems like 1. just gets you back to where you started and 2. is not correct use of a torque wrench (aren't you supposed to gradually come up on...

Here is our communal drill/tap/bit drawer: Oh, that's a nice looking drill index...let's take a look inside: womp womp...

Slim jaw model is on the bottom: Yes, cleaning the stud helps. I think that getting the nut started with a wrench and then running it off the rest of the way with an impact backed up by a good pair of vise grips is faster and easier. Keep in mind this is a car that's been through ~10 New...

I was replacing the sway bar end links on my Subaru last weekend and used the 10" slim jaw Eagle Grips. Those end links are the type with an internal hex in the stud, so you're supposed to use a hex key to keep it from spinning as you back off the nut. The trouble is the end of the stud gets...