# southwire recall



## dawgs (Dec 1, 2007)

More south wire Chinese junk. A volt tick is only my first check. My second check is shorting the wire to the box. I only use a volt tick on small 120v loads. Meter on larger stuff.


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## Majewski (Jan 8, 2016)

I think the stuff they are pumping out currently is cheap to say the least. Just wanted to share.


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## Anathera (Feb 16, 2016)

Is anyone really surprised though? Our Lowes got rid of Klein for southwire because the Klein kept getting stolen, what a terrible business plan


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## Majewski (Jan 8, 2016)

Anathera said:


> Is anyone really surprised though? Our Lowes got rid of Klein for southwire because the Klein kept getting stolen, what a terrible business plan


Yup! Lowes all around the midwest seems to have the junk now.


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## nbb (Jul 12, 2014)

I have not, and will not, ever buy a Southwire tool. I am glad bLowes moved out the good tool makers to stock this junk, as I got some pretty good Ideal and Greenlee stuff for cheap when they did. Lowe's electrical department has never been great for material, and when they started stocking these crap tools, there is absolutely no reason for an electrician to step foot in one. Home Creepo ran away with the gold on supplying the trunk slamming electrical market in my humble opinion. Having been in it 2 years ago.

Lowes is a glorified Wal-Mart. Many locations I have been to cut their electrical sections down to fit in more cleaning products. Don't even get me started on Kobalt vs. Husky.


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## derit (Jul 26, 2015)

In my region Ideal, Fluke, and Knipex are gradually returning to the shelves at Lowes.


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## TRurak (Apr 10, 2016)

I tried to be frugal and bought the Southside linesmans pliers once....... It was once too many ..... Never again


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## Brownsfan (Jun 15, 2015)

derit said:


> In my region Ideal, Fluke, and Knipex are gradually returning to the shelves at Lowes.


Knipex? I saw Fluke and Ideal bit not Knipex. I actually like the ideal crimper they sell. What's funny is the Made in USA IDEAL stuff is only like $2 more than the equivalent south wire crap right next to it. When Lowe's closed out Knipex I bought a bunch for cheap. I got the linesman pliers for $15 . The angled cutters for $20. Needle nose for $8. I got the 7" ,10" and 12" alligators for less than $50 for all 3. Oh almost forgot about the mini bolt cutters I got for $25. There is a few more but can't remember right now. I am pretty sure I got one of everything they sold except the insulated tools. Plus I got the Fluke 113 meter for $20. I sold it for $80. I didn't like it.


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## Somewhere_401 (Apr 7, 2014)

Brownsfan said:


> Knipex? I saw Fluke and Ideal bit not Knipex. I actually like the ideal crimper they sell. What's funny is the Made in USA IDEAL stuff is only like $2 more than the equivalent south wire crap right next to it. When Lowe's closed out Knipex I bought a bunch for cheap. I got the linesman pliers for $15 . The angled cutters for $20. Needle nose for $8. I got the 7" ,10" and 12" alligators for less than $50 for all 3. Oh almost forgot about the mini bolt cutters I got for $25. There is a few more but can't remember right now. I am pretty sure I got one of everything they sold except the insulated tools. Plus I got the Fluke 113 meter for $20. I sold it for $80. I didn't like it.



--

Knipex has been available in all the Lowes I have been to in Canada since they opened. I have not seen this Southwire crap at the CDN stores, just the US ones.

When people first commented on here about the clear-out pricing on Green-Lee, Ideal etc. I kept going almost every other day to my local big blue store just to be on the hunt. 2 years later, nothing. Still Green-Lee, Ideal etc. 

Granted the cheaper tools have a place, but safety should never be one of them. If someone is only likely to use the tool once or twice, $ 15.00 vs $75, its an easy choice. Using it every day/ week/ month, $75 seems like a good choice.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

Somewhere_401 said:


> --
> 
> Knipex has been available in all the Lowes I have been to in Canada since they opened. I have not seen this Southwire crap at the CDN stores, just the US ones.
> 
> ...


Cheap tools are for those who's life and or livelihood do not depend on them. Cheap china crap is fine for weekend warriors fixin the mailbox or junior's tricycle.


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## Big John (May 23, 2010)

The last thing I want is to have to fight a tool while fighting to fix something.

The mark of a good tool is one you never have to think about: It always works.


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## Brownsfan (Jun 15, 2015)

MechanicalDVR said:


> Cheap tools are for those who's life and or livelihood do not depend on them. Cheap china crap is fine for weekend warriors fixin the mailbox or junior's tricycle.


I see some of the guys I work with and they have bags and vans full of cheap Harbor freight crap and struggling cutting or stripping wires or screwdrivers slipping and camming out. All the while saying hey it's works shy spend more. Well now you made my job harder because I have to go back in behind you and now have a stripped screw or rounded bolt to deal with getting to the bad connection I have to fix because you used crappy crimp tools.


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

I'm not defending Southwire but only an idiot would trust ANY touch tester. To be sure you test it with a real meter. Any electrician with half a brain (which aptly describes me) knows that.


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## dawgs (Dec 1, 2007)

99cents said:


> I'm not defending Southwire but only an idiot would trust ANY touch tester. To be sure you test it with a real meter. Any electrician with half a brain (which aptly describes me) knows that.


Why not? Check it on a known live circuit first. Most people don't use a volt meter properly anyway. Accordingly to NFPA70E, you are to verify your meter before each use. That means if your testing a 3-phase circuit, the meter needs to be verified each time.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

Brownsfan said:


> I see some of the guys I work with and they have bags and vans full of cheap Harbor freight crap and struggling cutting or stripping wires or screwdrivers slipping and camming out. All the while saying hey it's works shy spend more. Well now you made my job harder because I have to go back in behind you and now have a stripped screw or rounded bolt to deal with getting to the bad connection I have to fix because you used crappy crimp tools.


Oh it can be painful to watch a co worker struggle with cheap tools trying to do something. But having a quality item at hand to work effectively with is also a learned professional skill. A guy that wants to be paid and treated like a master of his trade craft should be beyond garbage tools.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

dawgs said:


> Why not? Check it on a known live circuit first. Most people don't use a volt meter properly anyway. Accordingly to NFPA70E, you are to verify your meter before each use. That means if your testing a 3-phase circuit, the meter needs to be verified each time.


I used to check my tick tester on the coffee maker everyday before it went in my pocket, part of the routine.


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## Big John (May 23, 2010)

MechanicalDVR said:


> I used to check my tick tester on the coffee maker everyday before it went in my pocket, part of the routine.


Rub it on your arm and the static will make it sound off, or just touch the nearest cord or fluorescent light.

I've used then pen style tick testers up to 600V. We use the stick-mount style up through 230kV. 

I wouldn't dream of using a non-contact without doing a live-dead-live test every time. That said, I absolutely trust my life to those things if used correctly: I can honestly say that never once in thousands of tests have I had one fail to detect voltage when used carefully.

But, by the letter of the law, they are not an OSHA recognized means of voltage detection.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

Big John said:


> Rub it on your arm and the static will make it sound off, or just touch the nearest cord or fluorescent light.
> 
> I've used then pen style tick testers up to 600V. We use the stick-mount style up through 230kV.
> 
> ...


I'd never use it as sole verification of voltage but that said the one I've had the longest I can tell you what voltage is present by the volume and distance reference of the unit.


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## Brownsfan (Jun 15, 2015)

MechanicalDVR said:


> Cheap tools are for those who's life and or livelihood do not depend on them. Cheap china crap is fine for weekend warriors fixin the mailbox or junior's tricycle.


The thing also with Southwire is they are NOT cheap price wise. They are basically Klein prices and Klein knock offs . It looks like they took all Klein tools and copied the look. Basically to try and get people to buy them because they look familiar. They are expensive crap China tools.


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## Majewski (Jan 8, 2016)

The stuff I see in lowes really feels like generic crap. I've purchased a few doodads out of curiousity......cheap quality.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

Brownsfan said:


> The thing also with Southwire is they are NOT cheap price wise. They are basically Klein prices and Klein knock offs . It looks like they took all Klein tools and copied the look. Basically to try and get people to buy them because they look familiar. They are expensive crap China tools.


I've seen them in Lowes and agree on the knock off engineering but when I say cheap it's normally about cheap quality. I've picked up some things from Harbor Freight that have far outlived their intended purpose.


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