Changed my mind on using a torque screwdriver for panel terminations

I always thought it was a waste of time compared to just going by feel (you know, the old 'tight enough' method). Then I had to redo a whole 42-circuit panel in a new apartment building because of a few loose neutrals that caused intermittent faults. My boss showed me the spec sheet from the breaker maker, and it said 25 inch-pounds. I borrowed his Wera torque driver and tried it. The difference in how solid and even every connection felt was huge. It took maybe an extra 15 minutes total, but I'm sure it saved a callback. Do you guys use them for all your terminations now, or just on certain jobs?

3 comments

3 Comments

dianam199d ago

Yeah, my buddy had a similar wake-up call. He was working on a commercial kitchen rewire and kept having issues with a bank of ovens tripping. He finally caved and checked the torque on the main lugs, and they were all over the place. He said using the driver made everything feel uniform, no more guessing if one was tighter than the next. Now he swears by it for any load over 30 amps, says it just takes the doubt out of the job.

tessaperry9d ago

Man, I've probably guessed wrong on torque more times than I've guessed right on anything.

anthonynelson9d ago

Still seems like extra steps for most jobs. Got by fine for years without one, just using good sense.