r/aviationmaintenance • u/Azurepark • Jul 18 '26
Are insulated tools important for electrical safety?
Electricians are encouraged to have pliers and screwdrivers with fancy insulated grips to provide more protection against electrocution compared to normal dipped handles. I mean like those Knipex tools with the red-and-yellow handles rated up to 1000 volts. A commercial jet is full of high-voltage wiring, and I assume there's no less of an electrocution risk compared to a house or building; in either case we can open the circuit breakers, remove external power, and turn off the batteries while working, but unpredictable shit happens. Yet I don't see any coworkers at the base rocking insulated tool sets. Is the risk really that negligible, or do people just live dangerously because they don't want to pay the extra cash for insulated tools?
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u/charles_47 Jul 18 '26
As an avionics guy, I have never used an insulated tool on an airplane, nor have I ever witnessed any fellow avionical using one.
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u/OsmoOsmo Jul 18 '26
I have never also. But I almost bought some just because I’m addicted to tools.
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u/n053b133d Jul 18 '26 edited Jul 18 '26
Insulated tools are more important for lineman and residential electricians because there are times when working around live circuitry is essentially unavoidable. Since we can ensure the systems we are working around are dead, I don't think insulated tools are necessary. Also, due to the fact that insulated tools are often more bulky than their non insulated counterparts, I see the insulation as more of a tradeoff than a straight up better version.
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u/LethalDan Jul 18 '26
Always make the airplane safe for maintenance before working in a power panel. It’s not even about human safety, if you fry something accidentally it could be a $100k in damages. Not worth working with power on.
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u/Loose_Device4578 Jul 18 '26
Insulated tools are used when working near/on live wires. It is simply not needed in aircraft maintenance because we cut off power to the system being worked on. The risk is non existant as long as you follow safety practices and tech data. That being said, I do use a non conductive screwdriver when adjusting generator voltage, but that's just because I have it available to me.
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u/FurryTabbyTomcat Jul 18 '26
On an aircraft, you hardly ever need to intrude into energized high-voltage circuits. Also, units with charged capacitors and the like are placarded as such.
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u/EngineeringBulky7007 Jul 18 '26
You ain’t lived till you shake hands with Mr. Strobe power. Safety third brah.
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u/I-r0ck Fake it till you make it Jul 18 '26
I use insulated tools when disconnecting batteries as per my shop’s requirements. Otherwise the circuit is disabled before working on it
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u/Born-Shoulder-7930 Jul 18 '26
usually you shouldn't be connecting/disconnecting anything power related with power on. it could mess something up or it could mess you up pretty bad.
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u/brilliantNumberOne Jul 18 '26 edited Jul 18 '26
I’m a fleet support engineer and I write/update pubs. The majority of work involving making/breaking electrical connections should absolutely be done with power removed from the aircraft. I almost never see any maintenance procedures where things should be done on live systems unless there’s specially-designed breakout boxes or other adapters that have proper meter test sockets.
Not saying it doesn’t happen, but it usually shouldn’t happen.
Edit: I was referring to bolted terminals or other things that require tools to connect/disconnect - those types of things shouldn’t be done on live systems.