Job-Tested, Electrician-Approved: Josh Pitre’s (@josh_is_in_phase240) Go-To Tools
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Let’s face it—when it comes to getting the job done right (and without losing your sanity), the tools you use really matter. That’s why we sat down with Josh Pitre (@josh_is_in_phase240). He’s been putting some of Rack-A-Tiers’ top tools through their paces on real job sites. From bending conduit like a boss to tracing circuits with pinpoint accuracy, Josh gave us the lowdown on which tools are making his work smoother, faster, and way less frustrating.
Bender’s Friend
Rack-A-Tiers: Let’s start by going over a couple of our most popular conduit bending tools. How has Bender’s Friend been working for you lately?
Josh: I love Bender’s Friend. I mean you can pretty much heat up and bang out perfect prefab 90s every single time. It’s a very efficient tool. I’ve used it on the underground for the fire station that I’ve been working on for stub ups and various walls inside and out of the building.
Rack-A-Tiers: So, it makes the job go a lot smoother?
Josh: Yeah, definitely. It reduces the amount of couplings that I have to put in my underground conduit runs to limit all the different failure points.
The Heat Tank
Rack-A-Tiers: Keeping with the bending theme, what do you think of The Heat Tank?
Josh: I’ve used The Heat Tank a lot too and it’s very fast and efficient. It works great with almost any heat gun, and it doesn’t take too long. I’m running a lot of three-quarter and one inch PVC, so it usually heats it up in about a minute to a minute and a half, which is almost no time to make 90s and offsets. It’s lightweight too, which makes it even better.
Rack-A-Tiers: And you’re using it on the same kind of jobs as Bender’s Friend?
Josh: Yeah, in conjunction with each other they work they work flawlessly. I have them side-by-side. They’re a great combo.
Bends Faster with The Heat Tank
Pulse Tracer
Rack-A-Tiers: Pulse Tracer is a newer tool that a lot of people have been really excited about. How have you been using it?
Josh: The Pulse Tracer is definitely a revolutionary tool. A lot of the time with other tracers you might pick up signals from other circuits, so it can make it hard to pinpoint the exact circuit that you’re trying to find. Unlike with the Pulse Tracer where you put the amp probe on the different wires to see the fluctuations and the amperage on the circuit you’re trying to find so you can nail it down to the exact circuit.
It’s not often that circuits are going to be pulsing like that and giving you all kinds of fluctuating amperage readings so it’s a good tool especially if you have one panel, you’re trying to pinpoint circuits in. It might get a little time-consuming when you have multiple panels because you do have to take the covers off but if you’re in one single panel it’s a great tool to have.
Pipe Viper
Rack-A-Tiers: Going back to the pipe bending theme for a second, tell us about the Pipe Viper and how it simplifies bending for you.
Josh: That was one of the first tools that I ever got from Rack-A-Tiers. I’ve used it quite a lot. I use it on the fire station just because it was quicker to slide the spring inside of all the home run pipes to bend the 45s rather than sitting there and heating all of them.
I really do like the Pipe Viper if you’re trying to bend small kicks and conduits, especially if you have a bunch of them that you’re trying to do at the same time for turning up into an electrical room. It’s great when you have no electrical around the site to plug heaters in so it’s a great backup plan. Heat’s always going to be the main way to go when it comes to PVC, but the Pipe Viper is a great alternative.
Clip Whacker
Rack-A-Tiers: Are there any other Rack-A-Tiers tools that have been game-changing that you want to give a shoutout to?
Josh: The Clip Whacker is another really good tool because it’s really hard to get bang-on straps onto the purlin sometimes. With a pair of lineman’s you end up hitting your finger a lot and it hurts, and it sucks. I like it because I just slide the bang-on strap in the little bar and one whack with a hammer and it’s on there. There’s no fighting it and twisting the strap all over the place and missing it with the lineman’s.
Save Your FIngers with Clip Whacker
Job Site Game-Changers
There you have it—straight from the job site to your screen. Josh Pitre’s tool belt is a Rack-A-Tiers greatest hits album, and for good reason. These aren’t gimmicks—they’re legit time-savers and finger-savers (looking at you, Clip Whacker). If any of these tools sound like something that could make your day go a bit easier, it might be time to give them a whirl. Don’t forget to use PHASE10 for 10% off your order.
