SLC21/WK1: Introduction to Basic Electrical Hand Tools & Measuring Instruments.

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Hi everyone,

First of all, thank you @mahadisalim for organising this interesting contest. It's really important for everyone to improve some basic domestic installation skills as this knowledge is useful for our day today life. Thank you for this clear lesson with instructions which is structured well as it can be followed by anyone without any prior knowledge. I'm an electrical engineer in profession, but I must confess I get very less opportunities to deal with these kind of works as I'm more in to designing. So thanks for the opportunity to practice some basics.

Identify the electrical tools in the picture and mention the name and function.

Cutting Pliers

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This is one of the main tools, which every electrician should have. Cutting pliers are basically used to deal with wires. That means this tool is very useful in cutting wires sharply with the insulator and also to remove the insulation some times. This tool has only the ability to do cutting using two sharp blades.

Combination Pliers

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This is very useful tool as , combination pliers has the ability to cut the wires and also it can be used to grip the insulation and remove it. And also this can be used to attach two conductors properly and also sometimes we can use it to attach small lugs ( small sizes ) to fix them tightly to the conductor.

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Soldering iron

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This is commonly used by electronic technicians than electrical technicians. This tool is basically used for soldering circuits using lead. One should have a very good skill to solder small electrical circuits properly. It's a skill which should be developed with lot pf practice. It's a very useful tool which is used to repair many domestic electrical items. The operation principle of soldering iron is simple. There is a tip which reach high temperature, which helps to melt lead which can be used to repair circuits as lead is a very good conductive metal.

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Long-Nose Pliers

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This tool is useful when we need more precision gripping than the combination pliers. It's very useful to electricians to handle low gauge wires and small conductors. Also this is very useful as it can reach small spaces. This tool also got some cutting ability but specially designed to use when we need precision gripping.

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Flat screw-driver

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This tool has an edge with a flat end. It can used only with the screws which has a top with a line / horizontal shaped indentation. It can used to both tightening and loosening of screws. There are many types of flat screw-drivers available depending on the application.

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Star screwdriver

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This tool has an edge with a cross-shaped end. It can used only with the screws which has a top with a cross-shaped shaped indentation. It can used to both tightening and loosening of screws. There are many types of star screw-drivers available depending on the application.

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Adjustable Wrench

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In Sri Lanka we usually use the term spanner for this tool. The specially of this unit is it can be adjusted according to the bolt size we need to loose or tight. Keeping a spanner in ur tool box saves lot of space as we do not need tools for different bolt size.

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Allen key

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Some of the domestic applications come with bolts and screws with a top with hexagonal indentation. So these tools are specially designed for them. These tools have a special L shape. They are very useful and a valuable addition for your tool box.

Multimeter

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The word "multi" says it all. We use voltmeters to measure voltage (V) , ammeters to measure current (A) and Ohm meters to measure resistance. Multimeter is a one unit which has the ability measure any of the above measurements. And it comes with many ranges for each measurement which helps to take a very accurate reading. This tool is more useful to me when I'm working with repairs in automobile electrical system.

Suddenly, the power supply to your house has been cut off. As an electrician, do the following:

Okay, I'm going to start the work as per the instructions.

Check the presence of electricity in your home with a neon tester.

I selected a shocked outlet at my home to follow this first session. This is an old 5A socket outlet which is radially connected directly from the distribution board.

My neon tester is very old and it was with me for many years. Still working fine. Now I can confirm there is power to this socket outlet.

Measure your home supply voltage with a multimeter.

The standard voltage of Sri Lankan utility grid for single phase supplies are 230 V / 50 Hz. And also + or - 5% for voltage is allowed in Sri Lanka by public utility commission of Sri Lanka. So we can see a 240 V value, which is within the acceptable range, but little high side.

or What is the supply voltage of your home? Name the electrical devices in your home.

Now the actual supply voltage is 240 V according to the voltage reading of the multimeter. We are basically using single phase electrical devices such as fans, washing machines, refrigerator, air fryer, toaster, air conditioner etc.

Complete the electrical wiring of a multi-socket and show us step by step.

I see the socket outlet design used in Sri Lanka is different from one used in the above course. Different countries have different designs.

The installation is simple in this design. Left side is for the neutral wire, right side for the live and the top one is for the earth.

Write your opinion about safety and precautions in electrical work while doing homework.

I think the first thing is if you are not an experienced person on electrical repairs best thing is to consult a person with technical qualifications.

And we must be very careful to remove the power from the mains before starting the repair. It's very important, there are some high end power repairs where we need to keep power during the work. But in these domestic installations we can always remove power and do the repair.

And other thing is we need to use the right tools. As this course teaches, using the neon tester is a good practice. It will save you from live contacts, so you can very easily identify them and avoid them.

Always wear some good shoes when doing the maintenance, if there is any contact accidentally, it will reduce the damage.

Be careful when doing repairs in wet environments as water is a very good current conductor.

Final one is always think about the danger while doing the repair. This will make you safe. Current is not something we can challenge, we have to use it carefully.

I'm really interested in this course and waiting for the next session. I also like to invite my friends to participate this important contest : @vishwara , @a-lass-wonders , @pushpika. Thank you again.

-Vimukthi Vithanage

About The Author :

_{Vimukkthi Vithanage (@besticofinder) is an Electrical Engineer and a Lecturer by profession , crypto enthusiast and a person who always values his freedom. He loves traveling , teaching and to spend time with his friends. A good reader and a good listener. He currently works in Faculty of Technology , University of Sabaragamuwa , Sri Lanka and also as a freelance SEO service provider. He writes on different topics related to his daily activities. If you like his writings , don't forget to show your love with an upvote and leave a feedback to show more love. And a resteem will be a great encouragement for his work. Feel free to contact him on discord anytime . He always love to make new friends.}

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