Digital torque wrench recommendation.

[jgelack]

Hi, I'm thinking about purchasing a digital torque wrench and wanted to ask if you guys have any recommendations. I was thinking about splurging on a Snap On Techwrench or TechAngle, but not sure how good they are. I don't wrench for a living, but I do service my car, and three motorcycles. Right now I'm using a couple of PI split beams. Do you guys have any recommendations for a good digital wrench? Are the Snap Ons any good, and if so which would you go with, the Techwrench or the TechAngle? Or do you prefer the split beams and clickers over the digital wrenches? I really appreciate any advice you can give me!

 

[engineer2]

Look at CDI. They make torque wrenches for Snap-On.
http://www.cditorque.com/

 

[jgelack]

Thanks for your responses. Are the digital wrenches more accurate?

 

[hautpot]

I love my digital wrench.

 

[Mgdoug3]

I don't know if they are more accurate or not. I traded truck parts I had laying around for a new Snap on 1/2 tech angle. It was calibrated just before I got it. It shows you exactly what you torque it at to the tenth.

I was really impressed with it. Only downside with the dual 80 head, I realized how superior dual 80s are to Craftsman. I had to clean all my ratchets and buy new ones.

 

[Snakebyt]

i picked up this one a couple months ago, $75 used off the SO truck, so far the few times i have used it i have really liked it. Mainly bought it for working on my motorcycle

 

[guy48065]

Electronic torque wrenches are more accurate with about 1/2 the error of a clicker--and more consistent.

Their worse downside is it can turn off if you wait too long between uses--like if you pause to eff with your phone or shoo your kid out of the shop. After you snap a manifold bolt waiting for it to beep, you'll learn to check the display each time you pull it.

 

[HAP]

I find it kind of annoying to need to look at the dial or the inability to see it during the process. I prefer click an move on.
Just because it beeps of vibrates does not meat you did not go too far...
R,
HAP

 

[Schurkey]

My advice is to avoid digital torque wrenches. They cost more than double compared to a non-digital "click type" to have the calibration tested/certified at either of the calibration shops I've used.

Another guy said that Snap-On will calibrate digital wrenches cheaply...if they're Snap-On brand. I haven't checked into that.

 

[Treeman]

Thanks for your responses. Are the digital wrenches more accurate?

If you study engineering forums a bit, you will learn that the entire torque process is capable of being off +/- 25% or more. This makes the idea of 1% accuracy difference in torque wrench models a moot point.

 

[Tallpilot]

I think the killer feature is really the angle capability. If you routinely deal with those the ability to just dial it in instead of marking it with a paint marker and guessing or using a secondary angle gauge is a huge time saver and produces more accurate results. If you are just torquing lug nuts and suspension components then it is probably ridiculous overkill.

 

[Wamsutta]

There's no point in forking out the added expense of a digital torque wrench unless it can do angles. Regular clickers are plenty accurate enough if you get a high end quality clicker like Snap-on.

 

[dnschmidt]

I sell digital torque wrenches and they are amazingly accurate. The brand I sell is Eclatorq which is the OEM for Stanley Black and Decker digital torque tools (MAC, Proto, & USAG). The fact that torque is an indirect measurement of bolt stretch makes that accuracy less than significant. 5% is, in the real world, actually good enough. That's the idea behind torque to yield bolts. You pre-tighten to remove the slop and then you depend upon the thread pitch to stretch the bolt the proper distance to achieve the correct clamping force of the fastener. If you're using a 3/8" X 16 threaded bolt you turn the bolt 1/4 turn to stretch it 0.0625/4. That's accurate and completely independent of the coating on the bolt and the lubrication applied to the threads. Also, I don't like wrenches with built in angle since torque wrenches are extremely long normally and the ability to use the angle function depends on where you can fit the torque wrench. I prefer a separate angle meter like the Brownline Metalworks model that can be used with any ratchet or breaker bar.