Veto TP5B Setup and Review
Tp5b Tool Pouch Review
I am a big fan of Veto bags, and the Tp5b is no exception. My initial impression upon first opening the packaging that this arrived in was that it was much larger than I had thought it was going to be. Most of the other tool pouch offerings by Veto Pro Pac are much smaller.
I think that the Tp5b tool bag is just about the perfect size for your daily run and gun service tool bag. It fits just enough for all of the neccessities, but there is not enough room to add a all of the other rarely used tools you don’t need to carry around most of the time.
(Yes, I am very guilty of this in almost every other tool bag that I have ever owned)
What I Like
Hard plastic waterproof polypropylene base that extends up keeping bag dry when set down in wet environment also allows bag to sit up right without tipping
Perfect size - Holds just enough and keeps weight down to a minimum
Pocket sizing and layout is very useful - no problem fitting a vast assortment meters, hand tools etc
Quality components, leather, denier nylon, heavy duty stitching
Open Top Design
5 year warranty
What Could Be Better
Expensive - Veto Pro Pac bags are spendy, but you get what you pay for
Handle Chain could be thicker, I’ve heard complaints of the chain links coming apart after extended use. Should not happen on an expensive premium tool bag
Made in China - bags are already spendy, but I would be willing to pay more for an American made product.
The handle makes for an easy hanger to store your bag in an easy to reach location, and avoid knocking it over
If you are looking for a small everyday bag, I think that you should seriously consider the Tp5b by veto pro pac. I’ve gone from carrying an extremely heavy and overloaded Tech Xl to a smaller Tech MC, to now an even smaller Tp5b. The weight savings alone are well worth it, especially when the equipment being worked on is a long ways from your work truck.
Typically on a service call or maintenance, I find myself grabbing this Tp5b and a set of Smart probes. This setup allows me to take care of 90% of the items found on most maintenance and service calls. Once the problem has been identified, parts quoted etc. I can return with any and all additional tooling a may need to complete the job.
If you are interested in picking one up for yourself, you can find current pricing on Amazon. I Also have all of the tools linked below if you are interested in picking any of them up for yourself.
Tp5b HVAC Setup / Loadout
After purchasing this bag, I spent of lot of time researching which tools and gear I wanted to load it up with. The goal was to have as many multiple use tools as possible, in order to keep weight down. I am pretty happy with the outcome. Let me know how you have your bag set up and which tools you are running in the comments below.
Wera Tool Check Plus
My Favorite Tool in the TP5B
This is probably my favorite pick up for this Tp5b tool bag.
It fits perfectly in the front velcro pocket / pouch and has so many features packed into a small package.
I went with this setup because of the large assortment of bits, the ability to run sockets from 3/16” - 1/2” as well as convert them over to a nut driver.
All of this packed into a tiny package.
Wera Multi Bit Magnetic Screwdriver
The little driver handle that comes with the tool check plus is great, but if you have big hands its not the best. I went ahead and purchased the wera magnetic bit holding screw driver to go along with with the tool check plus so that I can use all of the bits in the driver, and negates the need to carry a full nut driver set.
The magnet in this bit driver is surprisingly strong. It’s meant to hold your bits in place which it does well, but it is almost strong enough to act as a magnetic driver. It’s not quite strong enough to label it as such, so if that is important to you, you should look into purchasing magnetic chucks to fit it, or go with a traditional set of magnetized drivers like these HERE
Wera Quick Detach Rapidator T-Handle
I rarely have the need to carry in impact or drill with me on maintenance or service calls. Most commercial equipment panels are secured with only a few fasteners.
Every once in awhile you will come accross a stubborn one that needs a little extra force to break free. I went with this T-handle that pairs nicely with the Tool check plus giving me the extra leverage needed to break any of the fasteners free I may come across..
Using the T-handle to break free a couple 1/2” Fasteners
Knipex Plier Wrench
Knipex is proud of their plier wrench, and the price deffinelty reflects that, but it is a great tool to add to your small service bag.
I went with the 10” model which has adjustable up to 1-3/4”. The design of this tool allows the jaws to remain completely parallel at all times compared to the traditional “channel lock” This allows me to utilize this tool as a replacement for carrying a full set up open ended wrenches.
The way that you clamp onto fittings is also much more secure and does not suffer from the slippage of a traditional “crescent” or spanner wrench.
You should add one of these to your service bag.
Knipex Cobra Pliers
Everyone needs a good set of Pliers. I went with the 10” Knipex cobra water pump pliers for this bag load out.
These pliers allow you to grip up to 2” round and 1-13/16” hex fittings providing a lot of versatility. This style features push button quick adjustments, and is available to the comfort handle as well as the dipped handle.
Knipex Mini Pliers
Sometimes you need a small tool to get into those hard to reach places. For this I chose the Knipex Cobra Mini 5” pliers.
Same quality and design as the bigger brother, only in a smaller package and the dipped handle on these guys.
Great for small ACR and water piping.
Wiha 7 Piece Insulated Pliers Set
Wiha is another quality German Tool manufacture, and when I saw this complete kit on Amazon I went ahead and picked it up.
This kit includes 2 slotted screwdrivers, 2 phillips screw drivers, 1 needle nose pliers, 1 side cutter, and 1 lineman pliers and a small tool pouch.
All of the tools in this package are insulated, tested to 10,000v and rated to 1000v AC and 1500v DC
Knipex Shears
Not much needed to be said here. Just a great set of shears that can be used to cut thicker wiring, make a customer filter, or anything else you don’t want to beat up your knife blade on.
Price isn’t too bad either.
Knipex Crimping Pliers
These unfortunately do not come in a AWG version, so the wire stripping portion is only sized for MM wires. For me this is not a big issue. I get to a size that is close and I have had no problem.
Most of the crimping that I do is with insulated connectors. Make sure you that you using the correct crimper for the right application.
Wiha Colored Hex Key Set
These colored hex keys are great. They are made in Germany, brightly colored for easy color code identification, chrome vapor finish to protect against corrosion, chrome-vanadium tool steel, and features a ball end to work at angles up to 25 degrees.
But most of all, they just look awesome in your bag. All joking aside,
I’ve found that traditionally I lose so many hex keys by being careless. These are brightly colored, and have a premium price tag attached to them, which has helped ensure that I place these back in their holder each and every time. Hopefully this will cure me from losing any more of the hex L keys.
Included sizes (Hex):
.050"
1/16"
5/64"
3/32"
7/64"
1/8"
9/64"
5/32"
3/16"
7/32"
1/4"
5/16"
3/8"
Ultra Thin WideAzz Spanner Wrench
As the name implies, this thing goes wide, and the jaws are slimmed down which is a nice feature I’ve used for removing TXV power heads.
Xtra slim 3/16" Jaws
Allows access to previously impossible to reach areas
Extra wide opening up to 1-1/2”
Longer jaws grip better, thinner jaws give greater access in tight spaces
My complaint with this wrench is the jaws get quite a bit of slop to them once you get over 1” wide. Not what I like to see in my wrenches. This is what leads to rounded fittings when using a spanner wrench.
Fluke 902 FC
This has been my go to service meter for quite a few years now.
I recently tried out the Fieldpiece SC680 but found that it was not for me. You can read more about my review on that meter here:
White Electrical Tape
Great for marking wiring numbers, phases, etc.
I Hope this will give you some ideas on how to load up your Tp5b HVAC service bag.
If the open top design of the Tp5b is not your style be sure to check out the Xl. It is pretty similar to the Tp5b, but has a flap that goes over top of your tools.
Comment below and let me know your tool bag setup!
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