Plumbing & Gas Heating Engineering: Essential Tools
Plumbing and gas heating engineering are types of professions that are quite technical. Every worker associated with these professions has to face numerous challenges like pipe fittings in inaccessible areas, leakages, water heater issues, clogged drains, and much more.
To do these challenging tasks more accurately, workers need a broad list of essential tools. Each tool in the list has its worth and proves to be quite relevant in performing a certain task.
With time, as more and more technical issues arise, the list of the required tools gets longer. Therefore, whether you are a beginner or a skilled worker, you cannot survive without tools and it is pertinent to maintain your tool kit.
Having a proper tool kit not only helps you do your work efficiently but also reflects your readiness to deal with any emergency. Below is a list of some essential tools that every plumber or gas heating engineer must have.
Key Tools for Plumbing & Gas Heating Engineering
Allen Keys:
Allen keys, also known as hexagonal keys, are one of the important tools used by gas heating engineers. Usually, nuts and bolts of pipes, cylinders, taps or showers have hexagonal shapes. Moreover, at times, these hexagonal nuts are very small so in order to tighten or unscrew such 6-edged nuts, Allen keys remain quite effective. Allen keys come in variable sizes to tackle different screws/bolts. Generally, they range in the size from 1.5mm to 10mm. Nevertheless, keys of larger size (19mm-22mm) are also used often.
Blow Torch
Gas leakages are the common problems that gas workers usually have to deal with. Usually, due to a small crack or some space left during a pipe fitting, minute gas leakages occur that become difficult to detect.
In such cases, a blow torch is a tool that proves very helpful for gas engineers. It acts like a litmus test that immediately indicates whether there is a gas leakage. By using a blow torch, one can confirm whether a gas pipe is properly sealed.
Contrary to this, if a gas engineer has to do some sort of soldering or heat pipes for moulding; blow torches come in handy for this purpose. In brief, a blow torch is simple, convenient, lightweight and easy to use, and an important tool.
Screw Drivers
Probably these are the most basic and essential components of any tool kit that remain useful in every other pipe fitting. Whether you are a plumber, a gas engineer or an electrician, without having screwdrivers you cannot complete your daily tasks.
These screwdrivers vary in size and shape and assist in opening different screws present in various fittings. So, having a set of standard-sized screws completes the essentials of a toolkit.
Electronic Gas Leak Detector
In many appliances, accurate measurement of gas leakages is important to precisely detect the leakage amount. In such cases, gas engineers and plumbers rely on modern instruments like electronic gas leak detectors. An electronic gas detector uses electromagnetic waves to detect a gas leakage with built-in gas leakage sensors. Therefore, for recording valid readings, an electronic gas detector is a key component of the toolkit.
Cordless Combi Drill
Drilling is a phenomenon that every engineer or plumber has to encounter. To carry out this task without hassle, rechargeable drilling machine remains very significant. Whether you have to make a hole or open tough screws within minutes, a drilling machine can do the job nicely.
Gas Meter Box Key
Usually made of plastic, a gas meter box key is one of the most important tools in the kit of a gas engineer. These keys assist in opening your gas meter easily for any repair or maintenance. It is a basic yet important tool that you must not forget to keep.
Radiator Key
Sometimes, heating systems like boilers develop pressure in them that needs to be released. In such cases, a radiator key is the only helpful tool with which you can release the additional pressure in a boiler. Moreover, a radiator key is universal which means you only have to buy a single key for all gas heating operations.
Gloves
Working barehanded on gas and sanitary fittings is not a safe activity. Germs, mud, sludge, etc. can contaminate your hands, which is unhygienic. Additionally, pipes require a firm grip on them during the repair. These are the factors that demand having a set of heavy-duty gloves for plumbers and gas engineers.
Mole Grips
Also known as locking pliers or vise grips, mole grips prove to be very helpful when you have to open or tighten bolts. These pliers maintain a firm grip on bolts and act as a third hand. So, if you have to work alone, then having a set of mole grips is quite an essential tool to keep in your kit.
Drain Down Hose
Gas appliances have complicated piping that needs to be drained out for repair. This requires some effective tool that can do the task effortlessly. A drain down hose is the best tool for this purpose. With a drain down hose, gas engineers can swiftly drain down any heating system in no time and complete their work efficiently.
Inspection Camera
Plumbers and gas heating engineers have to monitor complicated pipe systems that are usually inaccessible, so an inspection camera is a must-have tool for them. It takes important visuals from small pipe twists and helps engineers detect the exact point in pipes that needs repairing.
Needle Nose Pliers
This type of plier has elongated but small endings that assist plumbers in cutting, twisting or tightening bolts in narrow areas.
Hacksaws
Not a single pipe fitting is possible in plumbing or gas engineering without cutting. That’s where a hacksaw appears to be very important. With hacksaws, plumbers can cut a desired length of a pipe and ensure accurate fitting. These hacksaws are very important tools and quite easy to use; no tool kit is complete without them.
Pipe wrenches
Sanitary pipes require tight fitting to avoid any leakage. That’s where pipe wrenches work successfully. They are the largest wrenches that a plumber may have. Pipe wrenches always work in combination, which means you have to use two of them: one for holding a pipe and the other for tightening the pipe. Pipe wrenches come in various sizes and lengths to suit the desired use.
Leak Sealer
It is another necessary component of your tool kit. A leak sealer is a useful sealing paste that assists in blocking leakages from joints, curves or any other part of the pipe. It can be used for both cold and hot pipes.
Yellow Silicone Tape
Yellow silicone tape is made of silicone gel and a special rubber compound. It is self-fusing in nature which means it fixes itself to join surfaces permanently. This silicone tape is a multi-purpose tape. It can be used to:
- Repair Leak Pipes
- Seal Pipes
- Insulate Cable Sheets
- Repair Vacuum Hoses
And for many other purposes, this silicone tape turns out to be very useful.
Qualifications
Last but not the least, having specialised training in your profession is a non-physical tool that always comes first, whatever your profession. If you’re a certified plumber or a gas heating engineer, having proper training can help you do every task quite professionally. Moreover, you must have your registered ID card whenever going for any repair.