ELECTRICAL TOOLS AND MATERIALS

Electrical Tools and Equipments

Pliers are available with both insulated and uninsulated handles, which are used in
handling and twisting wires. The handle insulation is not considered sufficient protection
alone. Other safety precaution must be observed. Common types of pliers are:

Slip joint Diagonal cutting Side cutting

Retainer ring Long nose Snap ring

Screw drivers come in various sizes and shapes. They are used to drive and pull out
screws. They are made of insulated handles with either sharp and square tips. The width of
the screw driver should match the width of the screw slot. Common types of screw drivers are:

Standard type Phillips Offset

Wire puller (fish wire) is used to pull wires into the conduit or raceway.

Conduit bender is a tool used to bend rigid metal conduit.

Drilling Equipment is needed to make holes in building structure for passage of wires and
conduit in both new and old installation, indoor or outdoor wiring. Common types of drilling
tools and equipments are:

Electric drill Auger brace Hand drill

 Gimlet Drill bits Masonry bit

Soldering tools are used in making splices and taps connections of wires.

Soldering iron Soldering gun Blow torch

Hammers are used to drive and pull out nails. They are made of either hard steel or
plastic. Common examples of hammer are:

Claw hammer Ball pin hammer Mallet (Plastic or rubber

hammer)
Measuring tools and instrument. The electrician uses the following measuring tools to
measure value of voltage, current and resistance, wire length, opening sizes of wire, conduit
and other items.

Metric rule Wire gauge Veneer caliper

 Multitester Voltmeter Ammeter

Galvanometer Micrometer caliper Clamp meter

Megger Phase Sequence Tester High Potential Tester

Sawing and cutting tool. Two of the commonly used saw are:

Hack saw Keyhole saw

Electrical Materials

A. Wires and Cables

 Wires are those electrical conductors with 8 mm America Wire Gauge (AWG) size no.8
or can be smaller.
 Stranded
Stranded wirewire

AWG no. 8

 Cables are larger than wires. They are either solid or stranded.

Types of Wire and Cable Insulation

Insulations Letter Type

Weather Proof WP
Slow Burning SB
Slow Burning Weather proof SBW
Rubber – Code Compound R
Heat Resistant RH
Moisture Resistant RW
Moisture and Heat Resistant RH – RW
Latex (Regular) RU
Latex (Moisture Resistant) RU
Mineral (Metal – Sheated) MI
Thermoplastic Compound
Thermoplastic T
Moisture – Resistant Thermoplastic TW
Moisture and Heat Resistant Thermoplastic THW
Thermoplastic and Fibrous Outer Braid TBS
Thermoplastic and Asbestos T
Varnish Cambric
Standard Black
Heat Resisting V
Paper
Solid Type
Oil – Filled
Oilastati
Untreated
Treated
Asbestos
Non – impregnated A and AA
Impregnated AI and AIA
Asbestos – Varnished – Cambric
Outer Asbestos Braid AVA
Lead Covered
Cotton Braid Covered AVB
Silicon Asbestos SA
B. Electrical Boxes

Boxes are made of steel and nonmetallic materials(plastic). Metal boxes are made of #14
heavy galvanized steel and available in four principal shapes: square, octagon, rectangular
and circular.

Utility box Octagonal box Square box

Circuit breaker box Panel box Safety switch box

C. Fuses and circuit breakers

They are electrical protective devices which are used to prevent short or over circuit.
They are available in different sizes and shapes. The common types are:

Circuit breaker
Cartridge fuse Knife blade fuse Plug fuse
(Three-phase type)

D. Switch

It is an electrical device which is used to turn ON and OFF the circuit.

 Flush type Tumbler type

E. Fittings and accessories

These are some electrical materials which are commonly used to fit wiring devices
during wiring installation. The following are some examples of these materials:

Insulated staple Condulets Porcelain tubing

Electric tape Sand paper PVC fittings

Metal clamp Double clamp Male plugs

 Connectors Coupling Liquid Tight Connector

Locknut and Bushing Wire Bushing Wire Connector

MEASUREMENT
SYSTEM OF MEASUREMENT

A system of measurement is a set of units which can be used to specify anything can be
measured.

These are common units of measurement used in making layout and installation of
electrical materials.

Linear measures

1. English system:

The English system of measurement provides the creative way on how people can
measure by themselves. For example, people measure shorter distance on the ground with
their feet. They measure long distances by their palms which is equal to a yard.
 Inch
 Yard
 Miles

2. Metric system is a decimalized system of measurement. It exists in several variations with

different choices of base units. Metric units are widely used around the world for personal,
commercial and scientific purpose.
 Millimeter
 Centimeter
 Decimeter
 Meter

English units and each equivalent

 12 inches = foot(ft)
 1 foot = 3yard (yd)
 1 yard = 36 inches

Metric units and each equivalent

 10millimeter (mm) = 1centimeter (cm)

 10centimeter = 1decimeter(dm)
 10 decimeter = 1meter

English to metric equivalent

  1 inch = 2.54 cm
 1 foot = 30.48 cm
 1 yard = 91.44 cm

The centimeter graduation

.5mm 1mm 10mm or 1cm

The graduation shows that every digit is .5mm

How to read the cm graduation:

 First graduation is .5 mm
 Second graduation is 1mm
 Third graduation is 1.5mm
 Fourth graduation is 2mm

If the graduation reaches 10mm, it is equivalent to 1cm.

The inch graduation

0 1/8 1/4 3/8 1/2 5/8 3/4 7/8 1 inch

1/16 3/16 5/16 7/16 9/16 11/16 13/16 15/16

How to read the inch graduation:

 First graduation is 1/16
 Second graduation is 18
 Third graduation is 3/16
 Fourth graduation is 1/4, then follow the given scale above.

The inch graduation in a steel rule:

Converting the unit of measurement from English to metric and vice versa

Example:
1. 24 inches = ________ cm Cancel the common unit and apply cross
Since multiplication.

24 inches = 2.54 cm
1 inch

24 x 2.54 cm Perform the indicated operation.

1
Therefore: 24 inches = 60.96 cm

2. 5 feet = ________ inches

Since
5 feet = 12 inches
1 feet

5 x 12 inches
1
Therefore: 5 feet = 60 inches

OHMMETER SCALE
How to read the meter scale of the multi tester
To read the resistance range of the multi tester, the given table below will be used. The
unit of measurement to be used to determine its resistance is ohm.

Range 0-2 2-10 10-20 20-50 50-100 100-200

Range x1 0.2 0.5 1 2 5 20
Range
2 5 10 20 50 200
x10
Range x1k 20 50 100 200 500 2K
Range
200 500 1K 2K 5K 20K
x 10k

VOLTMETER SCALE

Voltage scale

Range Value/div
Range 10V 0.2V
 Range 50V 1V
Range 5V
250V
Range 20V
100V

Voltage scale

PEC PROVISION ON ELECTRICAL METALLIC TUBING

INTRODUCTION

A rigid metal conduit is a type of wiring installation which is designed to lessen or

eliminate fire hazard and electrical accident. The following rules and regulations on the use of
electrical metallic tubing should be observed:

A. Application

Electrical metallic tubing may be used for exposed and concealed work at the same
condition with rigid metal conduit. EMT protected with enamel should not be used on the
following conditions:

a. subjected to mechanical during or after the construction

b. Cinder fill
c. hazardous location
d. exposure to corrosive fumes and vapor

B. Sizes

Electrical metallic tubing has smooth surface inside diameter. Its standard length follows
the gas pipe which is 10 ft. and a diameter from ½ inch, ¾ inch up to 6 inches.

C. Location of some corrosive fumes and vapor

a. meat packing plant

b. tanneries
c. salt storage plant

D. Under wet location

 Electrical metallic tubing can be used provided the water is prevented in entering the
conduit. The support, straps and other fitting must be approved for the purpose.

E. Number of conductors in tubing

The number of conductor for every single run of EMT should follow the given table :

Maximum Number of Wires in Trade Sizes of EMT

Wire size
mm2
(size in AWG)
Trade Size of EMT
1
½” ¾” 1” 2”
½”
2.0
(#14 AWG)
4 6 10 25 41

3.5
(#12 AWG)
3 5 8 21 34

5.5
(#10 AWG)
1 4 7 17 29

8.0
(#8 AWG)
1 3 4 10 17

14.0
(#6 AWG)
1 1 3 6 10

(Reference: Interior and Exterior Wiring and Troubleshooting, pp. 135-136 by Feliciano Agpaoa)
F.

Connector Coupling Adapter

Locknut Elbow Condulets

Assembly

Thread less coupling and connectors used with tubing should be tight and should be
provided with waterproof type fitting if will be used in wet location.

G. Types of EMT fitting (Reference: Interior and Exterior Wiring, pp. 137-138 by Feliciano Agpaoa)

H. Type of EMT utility boxes and fitting

Utility Box Octagonal Box Clamps/Straps

I. Number of bends of EMT

The code requires a maximum of four adapter bends (360) for every one run of tubing.
J. Types of bends

The following illustrations show the different kinds of bends used in the installation of
electrical metallic tubing.

Obstacle

Elbow bend 90 Offset bend Saddle bend

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K. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Goggles Helmet Gloves