Every month, we pick the top Ideas That Work submitted by you, ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR readers. These ideas can't be found in any code or guidebook and are only learned or devised through years of experience and thinking, "There's got to be a better way to do this!" Please remember, the ideas presented in this article are for consideration only. Before using such ideas, make sure codes and safety standards have been fully adhered to.

For a note on "game-changing ideas" from the Ideas That Work editor, Anton Mikec, click here.

Now, without further ado, here are this issue's Ideas That Work!

Staying charged up
Just about all of us use battery-powered tools on the job, since they are great and very powerful. The only problem is the need to bring spare batteries and chargers everywhere, and lugging them around can be cumbersome. To fix this, I mount my chargers onto a piece of ½-inch plywood with a plug strip. I only need to find one receptacle to power the plug strip, and
that
supplies the power to all chargers. Best of all, when I’m done I just unplug the power strip, grab the board and load it into the
truck.

William Marino
North Haven, Conn.

Tightening help
I often find myself trying to tighten rigid conduit fittings and can’t get them in the right position without them
feeling
loose and weak. The quickest remedy is to take a locknut and thread it on, all
the
way down on the threads of the pipe or fitting, and make a jam nut. Once you get your conduit fitting in the right position, just back the locknut up (tightly)
onto it. This has helped me more times while working in the field than I can count.

Stephanie Winland
Hertford, N.C.

Keep pilot bits intact
When you’re using a hole saw, the pilot bit often breaks once the teeth of the cup hit the metal surface. What I do is simply put a fender washer down while the pilot bit drills through, then remove the washer to continue. It takes two seconds and I have not snapped a pilot bit once when using this technique. I wish I had figured this out a long time ago!

David Stokey
Fort Myers, Fla.

IF YOU HAVE AN IDEA that has saved you time or money on the job, ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR ­readers would like to hear about it. Be sure to include a good photo of your idea—hand sketches are often hard to interpret. Note that some similar ideas are submitted by more than one person. In these cases, the one that is more clearly written and includes a photo is given precedence. Send your letter and photo to Jack Pullizzi, Ideas Editor, ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR, 3 Bethesda Metro Center, Suite 1100, Bethesda, MD 20814-5372, e-mail [email protected], or use the online submission tool at www.ecmag.com/ideasthatwork.

CASH AND TOOL PRIZES FOR WINNING IDEAS Each published author in Ideas That Work receives a $50 American Express gift card from ELECTRICAL ­CONTRACTOR. In addition, Southwire (www.southwiretools.com) will send the following set of electrician’s tools to each month’s first-place winner:

• Cable cutter
• Fish tape
• Long nose pliers
• Side cutting pliers
• Diagonal cutting pliers
• Pump pliers
• Screwdriver
• Wire stripper
• Crimpers
• Multimeter

DISCLAIMER: The ideas presented in this article are for consideration only. Before using such ideas, make sure codes and safety issues have been fully adhered to. ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR disclaims any liability from your use of these or any other ideas. ­ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR reserves the right to reprint the words herein at its discretion.