2000+ ft lb torque wrench recommendations?

[joseph.a.owens.9]

Ok so I work in a small power plant we have recently had a engine break down. We had a group of guys come in and help us with fixing one cylinder. Now we have to do this fix on the remaining cylinders, I believe we can do all the work our self but we need a big torque wrench/multiplayer. Spending 2-4 thousand here if we have to will save us a but load! Any one here have any experience or recommendations for something this big?

Here's a picture of a piston we pulled from the ol girl.

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[Musicinabottle]

Well, this 'll be an interesting thread!

 

[sberry]

I might rig something if this wasn't a real regular event, maybe even then. A *** along and a scale.

 

[American Locomotive]

What kind of engine is that out of? Looks to be an order of magnitude larger than an EMD piston.

 

[Provincial]

sberry has it right, unless you don't have room for a long handle.

200 lbs. pull on a 10 foot long handle (or cheater pipe) = 2,000 ft. lbs.

400 lbs. pull on a 5 foot long handle (or cheater pipe) = 2,000 ft. lbs.

You aren't going to torque that many fasteners and hopefully won't have to do it again.

 

[LXCam]

I might rig something if this wasn't a real regular event, maybe even then. A *** along and a scale.

That's not a bad idea. I think I paid around 6-700 for this several years back. I used it for weighing copper and it was always within 20-30lbs of the certified scales at the scrap yard, another words around 1%.

 

[Texsun]

Amazon!

https://www.amazon.com/Proto-J6025-400-2000-Torque-Wrench/dp/B001VXUI02

 

[plinker]

Not sure of the cost, but at work we have a Hy-torc hydraulic torque wrench that would go that high. 1" drive. 1600ft lb on a Mack camel back spring u-bolt is easy with it.

 

[Olafur]

If I had something with piston this size I would run and buy torque multiplier.

 

[LXCam]

You know there's plenty of companies that will rent items like this. You might have to cover some shipping costs but if you really don't want to spend the coin, I'd do some hunting. Hell what about just bringing in the mechanical contractor that did your other project just to torque it, big deal if they have a 4hr minimum or even a 8hr.

 

[cvairwerks]

HydratightSweeney torque multiplier. Capacities to 84,000 lb/ft.

 

[joseph.a.owens.9]

It's out of a 1955 Fairbanks Morris dla

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[joseph.a.owens.9]

We would do that but they are 5 hrs away and on top of that the head bolts are to be retorqued every so many hours.

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[cvairwerks]

BTW, a Morton or Williams torque multiplier that goes to 2200lb/ft will run you about 1200-1800$ retail.

 

[sberry]

That's not bad.

 

[WittHay]

The dial type 1" fixed torque wrenches are more fool proof than the torque multiplier. Its a 2 person job, 1 reading the dial and the other pulling on the 10 foot wrench

Here is a link to a Proto J6149F from Zoro

https://www.zoro.com/proto-dial-torque-wrench-drive-size-1-in-j6149f/i/G7531711/

The other option is a 4 to 1 torque multiplier. 3/4" drive 500 ft. lbs input, 1" drive 2000 ft. lbs. output

 

[Olafur]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06WCZWLMC/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Shop I work for has something similar, I have used it few times with good results. It has chart to figure out torque input for desired output.

As such I think a decent multiplier has many more uses than some 10 foot torque wrench.

 

[ocloc24]

Amazon!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001VXUI02/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Over $1 per ft/lb. Lol

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[pancho400cid]

Where I work we frequently torque bolts that high and higher. They use a torque wrench and a multiplier sometimes. I can get make/model on Monday, but they are Proto or similar if I recall correctly. I'm sure they are not cheap, but I wouldn't home-brew a solution for what you are working on. They are cheaper than replacing a broken one of whatever it is...

Important - when using a multiplier, you have to divide the input torque by the gear ratio....

EXAMPLE: You need 2,000 Lb-Ft on the fastener, and the ratio is 6:1, the torque wrench setting applied at the "input" would be 333.33 (yeah right) Lb-Ft.

Multipliers are un-gainly and have to have a robust surface to react against. The surface will have full torque on it so a thin cast section of a block, for example, won't cut it...

We also have a hydraulic wrench as mentioned above. It is VERY powerful... with destructive power to match if mis-used.

http://www.enerpac.com/en/industrial-tools/mechanical-hydraulic-bolting-tools/controlled-tightening-tools/s-series-square-drive-hydraulic-torque-wrenches

Another thing you can consider is converting to "Supernuts". Costly, but depending on the situation can save huge amounts of effort, as one guy with common tools can replace a large crew with special tools.

http://www.nord-lock.com/superbolt/multi-jackbolt-tensioners/

Let us know what you are doing and how it turns out!

 

[metlmunchr]

I'd go with a pair of torque multipliers for that sort of torque. There's a lot of places where you don't have the room to swing a direct reading torque wrench with a 12 to 15 foot long handle.

My dad owned a fleet of hydraulic rental cranes for 30+ years and did all maintenance in house. Quite a few bolts in the 1500 to 2200 ft-lb range, and none of them in easy to get to places. We had a 6 to 1 multiplier with 1/2" drive in and 3/4" out, and another one that's 4 to 1 with 3/4" in and 1" out. The 6 to 1 is good for about 1200 ft lbs out and the larger one is good for about 3000. By using them in tandem, you can get 3000 ft lbs with a 1/2" torque wrench and applying 125 ft lbs.

The price of US made torque multipliers is crazy when you look inside and see how simple they are. Nothing but a planetary gear set in a housing with a tubular handle, yet a pair of them will cost upward of $5000. You can buy a pair of them from Amazon, made in Taiwan by Nieko, for about $500 that will give you a 2000 ft lb output.

 

[Strouty]

Another vote for the torque multiplier. If you are going to be doing this on a regular basis, I would go with hydraulic, no fuss, less room to use the equipment, but the costs are high.

 

[jfcasey]

Not sure of the cost, but at work we have a Hy-torc hydraulic torque wrench that would go that high. 1" drive. 1600ft lb on a Mack camel back spring u-bolt is easy with it.

This. We have one of these for nuts that get torqued to 5000+ ftlbs on hydraulic cylinder rods, it's the least dramatic way to get that kind of force.

Torque multipliers work but they are such a hand full in some situations.

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[Olafur]

Possibly worth mentioning, since torque multipliers have considerable internal friction one has to be careful not to use the direct gear ratio for input/output torque calculations.

See here for example:http://www.x4tool.com/x4-torque-multiplier-mathematics

Snap On for example has multipliers with 4:1 gear ratio but they use 3,4:1 as Torque ratio - with 10% accuracy. Their higher gear multipliers seem to be rated at 5% accuracy.
https://www1.snapon.com/V2/Groups/cmsINDUKau/PDF/PDFUK/Torque_multipliers.pdf

Personally I would hesitate to buy whatever cheap multiplier if the intention is to get decent accuracy in torque output. At least get something with documentation about the torque ratio and accuracy figures.

 

[jdrautoworks]

This. We have one of these for nuts that get torqued to 5000+ ftlbs on hydraulic cylinder rods, it's the least dramatic way to get that kind of force.

Torque multipliers work but they are such a hand full in some situations.

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The above or a RAD Gun but you are talking $5k at minimum in tooling. I regularly deal with fasteners with higher specs. If it's a once in a while thing call your local Caterpillar dealer and they'll send a tech out with the tooling and take care of you (we do this all the time ). You could also call the manufacture and see if there is a torque turn spec.

 

[WittHay]

If the required head bolt torque is above 2000 ft. lbs, a RAD gun is cheaper than the hydraulic ones. They run off air pressure and the torque is controlled by a regulator. The older RAD 30 model has 3000 ft. lb limit. Also you can custom build a reaction bar