If you’ve ever loosened lug nuts on the car to take the wheels off or tightened them after putting the wheels on, you’ve probably used a torque wrench. Well, let this rephrase; if you’ve ever put the lug nuts back on a car, hopefully, you used a torque wrench.
A torque wrench is a wrench designed to let you tighten nuts or bolts without over-tightening them, which is presented in a variety of ways.A simple torque wrench is usually just a long wrench with an analog needle on it. While tightening a bolt by the wrench, the needle will move and point to the value representing the amount of force being used (for example, 50 pounds of force). These will occasionally need to be calibrated, and since the needle is often exposed it may be bent or moved accidentally and no longer point to the correct value.
Hydraulic torque wrenches use the hydraulics principle to loosen or tighten a nut or bolt. This type of wrench uses a predetermined amount of torque and can operate more quietly than similar pneumatic wrenches, not to mention many people feel hydraulic wrenches are a better choice because of the precise nature involved in tightening bolts.
What are the top 5 Hydraulic Torch Wrenches?
A standard hydraulic torque wrench will have a gauge on it that shows you how much force you are applying. As you tighten the nuts the needle will point to the amount of force being used which will allow you to apply exactly the right amount.
Most wrenches of this type are fairly long to allow sufficient leverage to generate enough force. If you’re tightening your lug nuts with a 16″ wrench you’re going to have a much easier time than if you try it with a 10″ wrench, for example. Top 5 Hydraulic Torch Wrenches among them are
- TEKTON 24335 1/2-Inch Drive Click Torque Wrench
- Mountain 16250 1/2-inch Drive Torque Wrench
- Brown Line Metalwork’s BLD0212BM Digital Torque Wrench
- Durofix-Ac Delco Power Tools Dearm601
- Industrial Brand CDI Torque 2503MFRPH
While some types of these wrenches just have a gauge to tell you how much force you’re applying, others actually have mechanisms that prevent you from applying too much force. For example, some wrenches have a clutch that disengages when the correct amount of force is applied so that you cannot tighten the bolt any further.
Now, what if you’re working with bolts that are much larger than the lug nuts that hold your wheels on? What if you need to tighten something to 10,000 feet pounds instead of 100? In these cases, there is another type of wrench, a hydraulic torque wrench that uses hydraulic power to apply the necessary force to the bolts. Hydraulic torque wrenches have recently done some major improvements in their design have made them smaller, lighter, and more easily able to fit into tight spaces. This kind is considered better than pneumatic wrenches because they are quieter, lighter, and more accurate.
Hopefully, now you know a little more about the purpose and various types of these wrenches and will be able to choose the one that best fits your needs.
