There’s so much crap stuffed into a modern engine compartment, sometimes you have to take things apart just to reach the frickin’ battery — and then there’s not enough room to get your hands around the battery to pull it out. In this situation, a battery lifter can save the day. We’ve posted about EZ Red’s Top Post Battery Lifter, but how do you handle a battery with side terminals? You grab their side battery lifter.
Just guessing here, but it looks like EZ Red took the “light the darkness with your cell phone” trick to heart. Their flip light works just like that, brightening up your work area with 18 LED lights.
Both ethylene glycol and propylene glycol are clear, colorless, syrupy liquids that are used in antifreeze and de-icing solutions for cars, airplanes, and boats. For them to do their job, they must be mixed in the correct proportion with water. Too little antifreeze equals frozen coolant, big repair bills, and a ride in the company’s carpool — where you’ll meet all sorts of, um, interesting people. Too much can clog your radiator, leading to an overheated engine, big repair bills… You get the idea.
Lately a lot of folks in the midwest are depending on the mix in their vehicles to make sure they’re not trying to start a lump of ice in the morning. Hopefully they picked up one of these little gems and used it sometime recently.
I know. Most Toolmongers hate the “extreme” moniker. But hey — don’t you think it’s fair to call any handheld flashlight wih 30 LEDs just a bit extreme, considering that one to four generally gets the job done?
Besides the 30 LEDs, this light also features a rechargeable Ni-MH battery pack, which makes me just a little bit wary of the EZ-Red’s “Will not overcharge!!” claim. On the other hand, I like the idea of an LED-based floodlight for the shop. I’ve broken a couple of the old bulb-in-a-cage type lights and one fluorescent type. This light looks more durable.
For all of you out there who feel the need to carry around a weight belt on your wrist — the Super Wrist Mag is for you. (You know who you are.) The wrist mag claims to help lighten the project load by putting it on your wrist.
The concept is pretty simple: Take a wrist band and load 6 neodymium magnets into a sewn up pouch, the idea being that anything metal will be held fast to your wrist for easy access while you’re working. The only thing we noticed is… that large metal objects are held to your wrist while you’re working. Ouch!
By rotating the jaws around about 45 degrees from where they normally are, “Kiwi” pliers keep your hand and arm in better position to provide leverage when you’ve really got to grip something tightly. EZ-Red, their manufacturer, says this nets you a more powerful grip with less effort.
This weekend we ended up having to pull the battery out of a Porsche 944 S2 we’re working on, and it’s not exactly easy. The battery’s way in the back right near the hood hinges, and you have to lift it straight up out of a pretty tight little box; There’s very little room to get your hands in around it to lift.
This would have been the bomb, and I’m planning on ordering one for the next time I get stuck removing that battery. It’s a plastic handle with two adjustable “claws” that grab onto the battery’s posts to give you a nice handle for lifting and carrying.
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