Cordless ratchet

[SoDoodoo]

I'm looking to buy a cordless ratchet 1/4 and 3/8, and right now i'm looking at the Matco 12v stuff because length-wise they seem a bit more compact that the bigger battery counter parts.

The guys at my shop have the 14.4v snap on, m12 Milwaukee, and 16v matco. I do like that the milwaukee battery doesn't protrude out like the matco and snap on one, but i've tried it; not too powerful, and quality didn't seem there. Didn't really feel confident breaking bolts loose manually with it. My co-worker returned his after about a week. The snap on and matco ones are nice and stronger, but I don't like the battery part that much. They do feel stronger and are faster though and i feel very confident manually breaking bolts with them.

So i'm wondering how the 12v matco compares, or see what your guys' inputs are on this

 

[Boneebone]

I have the 1/4" 10.8 and 12 volt, and the 3/8" 12 volt Matco Infinium ratchet and I never had a problem with them.

If I need to break a bolt manually, they feel and are strong enough to get the job done.

I have the whole line of Matco Infinium 10.8, 14.4, 16, 18 and 20 Volt products and I am very satisfied with their performance and build quality.

 

[JonnyMac]

Ive used the milwaukee 12v and i think its great plus the milwaukee range is huge and good value. If you need more torque then the impact wrench skin is less than $100..

 

[Sticks McGee]

A while back I bought one from my Snap-on guy. I really like the 14.4v stuff from them. I wasn't sure which one to buy. The 1/4" drive or the 3/8" drive. At that time they both had the same specs on torque so I bought the 1/4" drive figuring if I need to use it with 3/8" sockets I could use an adapter. What I found was I used more 3/8" drive sockets versus the 1/4" and it seemed like it lacked just a small amount of oomph for the majority of bolts I was taking out. Recently they stepped the 3/8" up a touch in power. I traded my 1/4" and got the 3/8" and I am happy I did. It's a touch slower but a little stronger. It fits more for what I need.

 

[WhiffySpark]

I have the matco 12v line. They are small and I haven't had any issues with them, but everyday I wish I went with the 14.4 snapon line

 

[ex-x-fire]

Check out the ac delco cordless line, I wish I had.

 

[67King]

Get an impact instead of the ratchet if you want to break stuff loose. I only ever use my ratchet to run down stuff I'll then use a torque wrench on as I need that precision. Otherwise, impact.

 

[thegroundpounder99]

I have the Snap On 3/8 14.4 and haven't had any issue with heavy everyday use. It's got to be at least 3 years old now. Batteries still hold good charge also. I had a Milwaukee before that but it only lasted about 6 months, but it could've just been a bad one as I have had good luck with Milwaukee in the past.


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[redwrench60]

I just got a Snap On CTR761B in 3/8" drive from my dealer to try out. He says once I try it I won't be giving it back. We'll see, I don't have many kind things to say about Snap On cordless power tools. I'm open to the possibility that there's a few gems in their lineup.

 

[shockwave]

I personally like the 14.4v snap on the best for speed and strength and the heads are quite strong from snap on I like the whole line up from 14.4

And mAtco seem like a nice option since the body is the strongest I have seen but head seems a bit rough but torquey though

Milwaukee has size and warranty but don't hold up aswell as others but best warranty out there

 

[Sugarfryz]

I really am in love with my snap on 1/4 ctr714. It's their new 1/4 cordless ratchet, smaller than the older one with more torque. Spins at 350rpm, I traded in my Milwaukee 1/4 cordless for it after my dealer showed me how much faster it was. I have no regrets.

 

[ddawg16]

Here is my 'cordless' rachet

 

[WWheeler]

I use my Milwaukee M12 ratchets daily. LUV them. Only regret was waiting so long to get one.

I break everything ~9/16 - 14mm and smaller loose and tighten by hand with it all day every day. Just about everything larger than that I break free and tighten with a hand ratchet and then only use the Milwaukee to spin it off and on if there's a lot of threads to turn or there's not a lot of room to turn a ratchet - basically any time it'll still save me time after having to swap sockets back and forth on it.

 

[Mastermind]

Have the matco 1/4 and snappy 3/8. Both are good, have held up, if I could only have one I would pick the snappy by a hair.

 

[funstuie]

Ive used the milwaukee 12v and i think its great plus the milwaukee range is huge and good value. If you need more torque then the impact wrench skin is less than $100..

Where is the impact wrench skin less than $100?

 

[SoDoodoo]

Ive used the milwaukee 12v and i think its great plus the milwaukee range is huge and good value. If you need more torque then the impact wrench skin is less than $100..

I'd use an impact if i had space to use it, but not all situations allow me that. I'm saying that i want something that i could feel comfortable loosening by hand with it without worrying if the tool could handle it or not. I've used my co workers snap on one to manually break caliper bolts and whatnot.

 

[67King]

I'd use an impact if i had space to use it, but not all situations allow me that.

And the converse is equally true. The space you have in some scenarios would allow the impact, but not the ratchet. It isn't that the impact is bigger, the shapes are just different.

At any rate, if you want a ratchet, get a ratchet. But I think you would be very hard pressed to find anyone who has both who uses their ratchet anywhere nearly as often as their impact. Or you'd be very hard pressed to find anyone who'd give up their impact and keep their ratchet if they had to sacrifice both.

 

[ihateminimumwage]

I'd use an impact if i had space to use it, but not all situations allow me that. I'm saying that i want something that i could feel comfortable loosening by hand with it without worrying if the tool could handle it or not. I've used my co workers snap on one to manually break caliper bolts and whatnot.

I use the hell out of my M12 daily at work.

When I first bought it, I was worried about hurting the body manually breaking fasteners loose, but I've pushed it hard for 2-3 years now (no cheater pipes or anything) with no issues. I've read a lot of folks on here concerned that they could break the body, but am yet to see/hear of one that let go with regular use. Even if it did, the entire handle kit is like $8 through Power Tool Ohio.

 

[WWheeler]

And the converse is equally true. The space you have in some scenarios would allow the impact, but not the ratchet. It isn't that the impact is bigger, the shapes are just different.

At any rate, if you want a ratchet, get a ratchet. But I think you would be very hard pressed to find anyone who has both who uses their ratchet anywhere nearly as often as their impact. Or you'd be very hard pressed to find anyone who'd give up their impact and keep their ratchet if they had to sacrifice both.

I guess it depends on what you are working on. I don't even use any of my impacts every day - more like a few times a week on avg, but I do use my cordless ratchet a LOT every day on every job. It's by far my most used tool and has been since the day I bought my first one.

 

[Sticks McGee]

I do a lot of stuff under the hood on my sprinters. Lots of 6mm thread bolts with inverted torx heads. In a lot of those instances I do have room for the impact but the tightness of the bolts don't call for any major breakaway torque. Would be very easy to strip or break bolts so the ratchet is perfect for that. Bigger bolts underneath (straps for the DEF tank to drop it to change parts, removing cross member bolts for changing DPFs, etc) is the perfect job for the 3/8" impact. Suspension and wheels get the call from the 1/2" impact. I also use daily the snappy 14.4 screw gun to remove screws (trim screws, light assembly screws, etc) so they all get used pretty equally. I preferred my battery impact under the hood versus my air ratchet because of the hose being a pain in the *** under the hood. Once I got the cordless ratchet I put it to work. They all have their place..

 

[dnschmidt]

Modern cars use a lot of tiny bolts and nuts compared to the good old days when a couple of big bolts held everything together. The most predominate size is 6mm bolts with 10mm heads. Normally, the Milwaukee will handle these without a problem and it can be used for anything up to and including 17mm manually without issue. For $80 for the bare tool I can't see how you can go wrong with it. Also, the ability to buy a battery for it anywhere is an advantage. This is also an advantage for the Mac as they use DeWalt batteries. Proprietary batteries ****. That's why I don't have any I-R or Snappy.

 

[Fur2nd]

Ingersoll rand 12v ones really nice