Solving the Battery Tool: Is TSUNODA the solution? Share Experiences!

[00:00:01]How do you folks Doc here with Last Best Tool and I'm kind of interested in the collective wisdom of of all of you and that is I'm looking for one tool to add to my power banks. I've got a bunch of these they're in all my vehicles. I've got always got them handy especially in Montana winters. I mean those dark months you end up using these more than you'd like whether it's for my own stuff or helping somebody else out whether it's a snowmobile, an ATV, you know, some small thing like a snow plow or a snowblower. Um obviously cars, off-road vehicles, you name it. And having one of these handy is great, but a lot of times, you know, if I'm not in charge of the situation meaning it's my vehicle, I know what's going on, you know, this is maybe what I've got and I would you know, want to help out. It's also better to use these than um the traditional kind of jumper cable simply because of all the electronics in a lot of other people's vehicles because you know, I'd hate to bust something. But anyway, this one's great. This is a GP4000 from Gooloo, an outstanding tool, but I'm interested in this side here. So, what usually is in these things uh is well, you've got the uh adapter here, kind of a power port. Does anyone ever use these? I mean, I carry it around and I've never ever encountered a need for one. Um but the main thing is there are these great big clamps and then the connector for the power bank. But what I often find is when I'm coming up onto the the need to use a power bank, there's something else. And usually it's either requiring a screwdriver or it's requiring a pair of pliers. Now, I would love to throw a nice pair you know, like these Snap-on battery pliers in here. However, these are primarily for one size. They work great on a 10 mm, but sometimes I've run into all kinds of weird things cuz it's surprising what people do. Um but I also want to be able to hammer on stuff because the hammer is probably one of the more popular tools to solve battery problems.

[00:01:59]Um I wish Snap-on still made this one.

[00:02:02]This is actually You can see that right there. This has been on my channel many times. It's a Snap-on, one of the vacuum grips, but it is a slip-joint battery plier, which allows you to literally grab something a little bit smaller.

[00:02:18]That's often one of the issues with battery pliers, but you get this nice parallel grip. And I'm not sure, you know, it's the best solution, but um a lot of people or a lot of kits, you know, have a 10 mm, but this aftermarket one just does not work. Um I thought, "Good. Maybe it's perfect time for a Leatherman." But usually this isn't going to work. It does have the screwdriver because a lot of times there's, you know, screw contacts, especially in snowmobiles, ATVs, um you know, smaller machines.

[00:02:49]Um I thought, "Well, what about a little pair of pliers?" Hmm, I don't know.

[00:02:54]Bigger pair of pliers? Pair of the uh classic gorgeous needle nose? That's We're getting there. I'm maybe onto something. What about a little bit larger pair?

[00:03:04]Um but remember it's going to live in here. It is going to be in this whether it ever gets used or not. Um and then I thought, "Well, what about a larger one like the Workpro?" This might be a solution because I could grab this stuff. And sometimes if there are contacts that have screw connections, you can grab them as well, you know, and twist them. You know, there's some good hammer properties to this. Then I thought, "Well, what I really wanted was an inexpensive pair." You know, this this is a little on the pricey side, this Snap-on one, but this Icon triple joint. And what you want often is brute force, grabbing cables, grabbing insulation, grabbing bolts or what's left of the bolt because many times when you're at this point, you know, helping somebody out, that you know, it's either super corroded or somehow all ground down, you know, from using the wrong tool or who knows what or it's a 50 years old, but I thought about dedicating a pair of these in here, but they're pretty big.

[00:04:02]And then I thought, you know what actually might be the solution? And these just appeared a couple days ago, these Sonoda pliers, but they're the thin ones because that allows you to get in here.

[00:04:14]So, maybe this is the solution and they're a triple joint and, you know, there's some hammer quality to it for pounding maybe these back on.

[00:04:25]I think this might be what's going to live in in my battery case. I wish it was bright orange. Maybe I'll spray paint it.

[00:04:33]That's what I really need. But this might be ideal. Now, what would make it even better is maybe a screwdriver or a bit holder on the end. Maybe there's a reason for a new tool. If you're watching, Sonoda, maybe have a little quarter-inch hex bit holder there so you could fix things and turn it into a battery plier.

[00:04:54]You know, these are pretty pricey. I have all kinds of these. They came in They come in different sizes, but a lot of times they don't work because look how thick that is. So, when you're trying to reach down, you know, like here, you know, I'm I This is Look at how much of the bolt I'm able to grab, just barely on anything. And if that's worn or I don't know what They make these out of lead or something years ago. They were just all rounded off, but this thing, you know, I'm getting Look at that.

[00:05:26]Really good coverage and I can grab that pretty well and if I need to, you know, grab something great big, I can do that to keep those jaws parallel.

[00:05:36]So, this might be my ideal battery plier.

[00:05:40]I'm I'm thinking that, but I'm also throwing this out to you. What do you think, um, you know, in order to fix uh battery issues that I have no idea what I'm going to run into. And that's why kind of the collective wisdom here.

[00:05:55]I've run into a bunch of things, but there's seems to be an unlimited number of issues that it could come up. So, what tool? And when I say a single tool, yeah, I could throw a screwdriver in or I mean, it just gets I'll I'll go back and get a tool kit from the car if I need one.

[00:06:12]But what I'd like is just to have one thing. And what spurred this is I was working on an ATV and it was out in the field and I just grabbed my jump box and went out there.

[00:06:20]And I couldn't get the contacts uh fully seated because the screws had loosened up. So, then I had to go get a screwdriver, but the screwdriver didn't fit right in there. So, then I went back and got a wrench. I mean, what I wanted was one pair, probably of something exactly like these, and I could have solved all my problems. You know, whether I'm reaching down, you know, on the inside of a battery case. A lot of times the terminals are, you know, pointed towards the front or the side.

[00:06:50]Things are corroded and everything's rounded off. You know, this, I think, even though I've never used it for that, might be the perfect solution. What do you think? And what other kinds of issues have you run into? Um, obviously, I've mentioned the hammer, the screwdriver, the pliers. Is there anything else? I thought about wire strippers, crimping. That's getting back to going to the car and getting the the full tool kit. But what I'd like is to be able to count on this thing, you know, when I walk up to a situation, I should be able to solve it. I don't have to go back somewhere. And sometimes it's a ways away or sometimes I just give this to somebody who's about to make a road trip. Here, take this. And get a phone call, they're trying to do something, and I'd be able to tell them, you know, what? There's a pair of pliers in there, grab them.

[00:07:38]So, these might be it. The bent nose, uh thin one and then maybe in bright orange, safety yellow, something like that.

[00:07:49]Let me know your thoughts, but I think this might be the solution. But I'd I'd also like to know what other problems you've encountered. What other, you know, tool is essential that you could keep you could stage in this kit. You know, you're paying 100 bucks for a good one of these or more.

[00:08:05]So, tossing a, you know, a $24 pair of pliers in there, 23 bucks, um, is not a huge ask, especially if you use these things often. And it'll get to you to the point where you're just going to go ahead and tighten everything up.

[00:08:19]You're not just going to jump the battery. You're actually going to make sure that everything's uh, connected well.

[00:08:25]So, anyway, let me know your thoughts.

[00:08:27]Let me know your experiences and let me know if you've already solved this riddle by including a specific tool in your jump box.

[00:08:37]With that, Doc out.