Do you still use a breaker bar ?

[bpjr]

Yes, normally on lug nuts, suspensions and rusted boat trailers. I'm a home diy guy without an air ratchet so bb is my alternative. I have HF 3/8" & 1/2" breakers. If really stuck hard like on boat trailers I'll use heat with the bb. Only use them a couple times a yr.

 

[MikeF2316]

Not so much since I got my Milwaukee Hi Torque cordless impact, but there's lots of places that won't fit. I have a 36" bar from Princess Auto as well as my 18" craftsman.

 

[jd_1138]

Just because a ratchet's large doesn't mean it was meant to break tight fasteners loose. That's tool abuse even though you're getting them warrantied.

I don't have an impact wrench and I am just a DIYer, so I use the heck out of my 25 inch breaker bar. I keep a 25 inch breaker bar and a 3/4 impact socket in each car for super easy tire changes.

 

[Kev442]

I even own a ratcheting breaker bar.

 

[L.Cheapo]

Just because a ratchet's large doesn't mean it was meant to break tight fasteners loose. That's tool abuse even though you're getting them warrantied.

Using a tool well below its rated capacity is not abuse. Considering I've never broken a S-o ratchet in 26 years of using them, I'd say there's no abuse involved.

 

[Slackmaster G]

Interesting to see this article because I am buying a vintage 3/4 inch jh Williams breaker bar and a 1 & 7/16 socket for $30 . So people use them on tire removal instead of a lug wrench?

 

[WittHay]

I regularly use a Snap-on and Proto 18" breaker bar along with a Snap-on 36" 1/2 drive bar. The 18" bars are a handy length for holding nuts and hex bolts when using a impact or ratchet. Good for cheater pipe use.

The 24 bars and the 30 like the Mac in the picture flex too much. You might as well use a 24" ratchet instead of a 24" breaker bar. The Snap-on SN36 is a larger diameter and has a 2 hand grip on it along with a quick change drive insert.

 

[VinceG]

Just because a ratchet's large doesn't mean it was meant to break tight fasteners loose. That's tool abuse even though you're getting them warrantied.

I don't have an impact wrench and I am just a DIYer, so I use the heck out of my 25 inch breaker bar. I keep a 25 inch breaker bar and a 3/4 impact socket in each car for super easy tire changes.

we did'nt have a Snao-On truck come to our shop for years. when the came back they had a hard time selling so the brought a rep out. The Snap-On Rep trying to sell me on the Long ratchet grabbed it and a 33mm socket went to a Semi truck wheel put it on it and stood on it to break the 550 ft Lb lug nut loose .

 

[Tallpilot]

Just because a ratchet's large doesn't mean it was meant to break tight fasteners loose. That's tool abuse even though you're getting them warrantied.

I don't have an impact wrench and I am just a DIYer, so I use the heck out of my 25 inch breaker bar. I keep a 25 inch breaker bar and a 3/4 impact socket in each car for super easy tire changes.

I agree that a long handle doesn’t automatically make the ratchet stronger but you can break anything you wish loose and it isn’t abuse unless you exceed the torque rating of the tool.

Here’s Tekton’s ratings. Putting 550 ft/lbs on a 24” ratchet is possible but takes some serious effort without a cheater.

Snap-on advertises max torque for some of their ratchets but I’m not sure I’ve seen what it is for the long 1/2”

 

[American Locomotive]

Nope. I've broken breaker bars on bolts that a ratchet with a cheater took off. I don't even bother taking them out any more. I just put a pipe on the ratchet. The drive anvil will shear off before the mechanism breaks on most ratchets.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Yep, I still use mine.

 

[mrspeed]

Using a tool well below its rated capacity is not abuse. Considering I've never broken a S-o ratchet in 26 years of using them, I'd say there's no abuse involved.

What is the rated capacity of that Snap On ratchet? I looked and couldn't find anything other than the ANSI/ASME standards it confirms to, and those cost money to view, so I don't know if they even include minimum torque capacities.

I have read articles about the long handled Snap On ratchets that state that the longer handle is intended for hard to reach situations with limited access, not for increased torque.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[toolaholic]

I can turn my 3 1/2 drive breakers(15 older craftsman , 18 proto, 24 gearwrench) into a ratcheting breaker with a stahwille 24 tooth attachment. Also have a ratcheting sure bilt autozone.

 

[toolaholic]

And I wanted a long 1/4 drive and bought this 9 inch snap on direct from snap on for $59.99.

 

[johninct]

Snap-On 18" 3/8" breaker bar is a great tool.

 

[AA/FC]

Yes..... but my "breaker bar" happens to have a ratchet head attached to it.

I have sheared off the drives of several 1/2 breaker bars. Now I just use my 25 inch Snap on ratchet as a breaker bar. It hasn't failed or broke yet! It's the same ratchet as shown on the far right in the pictures in post number one of this thread.

 

[Knotgoalie]

I still use my 1/2"x25" and 30" BBs now and then but impact is so much easier. I did buy another 1/2"x25" on sale at PA and cut the head off of it to replace the rinky dink handle on my PA arbor press...twice as long now and it really bears down!

 

[d.mcfarland]

I have one but don't remember the last time I was tempted to use it.

Between an impact gun and long handle ratchets, haven't had a need.

 

[General Geoff]

I keep HF 24" breaker bars in my cars/trucks for emergency duty if I get a flat. Way better than the crappy little lug wrenches that come with the vehicles.

 

[L.Cheapo]

What is the rated capacity of that Snap On ratchet? I looked and couldn't find anything other than the ANSI/ASME standards it confirms to, and those cost money to view, so I don't know if they even include minimum torque capacities.

I have read articles about the long handled Snap On ratchets that state that the longer handle is intended for hard to reach situations with limited access, not for increased torque.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

Snap on posted somewhere (FB?) the 1/2" Dual80s were rated to 700lb-ft. That was the rating, actual breakage exceeded that.

The long handled 1/4" ratchets are obviously not for breaking lug nuts loose. They stated in the flyers those were for better access. The 3/8" are rated to 250lb-ft, IIRC.

 

[toolaholic]

This is how tough 1/2 ratchets are: https://www.hotrod.com/articles/ratchet-handles-torture-test/

 

[atikovi]

Have this 1" drive 48" breaker bar that wouldn't budge the lug nuts off an F150. Had to add the 5 foot cheater to get'er done.

 

[Rabid Badger]

Have this 1" drive 48" breaker bar that wouldn't budge the lug nuts off an F150. Had to add the 5 foot cheater to get'er done.

I would be taking a close look at those lugs. If they've been exposed to that much torque there's a high probability they're damaged.

 

[Indexmill]

Have this 1" drive 48" breaker bar that wouldn't budge the lug nuts off an F150. Had to add the 5 foot cheater to get'er done.

That's f*cked.

 

[AS556]

I used my 18" Craftsman 1/2 drive breaker bar today to remove the barrel nut on an AR15

 

[mikegt4]

Speaking from experience, the older you get the longer the breaker bar.

 

[16again]

Speaking from experience, the older you get the longer the breaker bar.

I'm right there with you!

 

[k1rodeoboater]

I'm in the work smarter, not harder, crowd. So I use the heck out of my breaker bars. I've also busted my knuckles enough times have learned my lesson.

Sent from my Pixel XL using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[JRas]

I still own them, sometimes you cannot get in with an impact, or the clearance is too tight for a ratchet / wrench not ideal. I'll throw a cheater bar on a breaker bar, before a ratchet.

Ideally impact everything, all about making my life easier. Why else do we buy tools?

 

[lugnut71]

1/2 breaker bar with large crow feet are awesome for hyd. Lines, I did get rid of my 3/8 bars years ago , that being said fast forward I started using 3/8 torque adapters, find new uses for them all the time, I now have a 3/8 bar 18” long and would really miss not havin it with those torque adapters

 

[Specs]

Yes I do. Alignments are a breeze when you can reach camber adjustments and have the oomph to get them loose. Retired my 5ft 3/4” cold water pipe after years of service lol

Mac 30” cushion grip breaker bar
HF 25” All chrome
HF 24” cushion grip
Craftsman 18” -G-

I’m Guilty of “ Gunzilla wheel lugs “ but will always loosen wheel locks with a breaker bar and tighten with a torque wrench... and those tiny lug nuts that have “tuner keys” ... and the wheels that leave no clearance for impact sockets, but take factory lug nuts

 

[Jazz1]

Yes and keep a 30” in my daily. Don’t want to mess with a factory wheel wrench roadside

 

[Specs]

This is how tough 1/2 ratchets are: https://www.hotrod.com/articles/ratchet-handles-torture-test/

“Let the vultures have it?” NEVAHH!!! Thats when my 1/2” milwaukee 1400 m18 takes its robes off and gets to hitting lol

 

[BillK]

I use mine on serpentine belt tensioners and v-belt adjusters. They work better than a ratchet. Also removing the lug nuts on my Tahoe.

 

[rick carpenter]

A 16" SK breaker bar, a 21mm deep socket, and a HF torque wrench live in the trunk of my car that I've had to use once. I have 3/8" & 1/2" & 3/4" breaker bars and a 3/4" sliding t-bar in my tool box that I haven't used.

 

[xin]

Use breaker bars a lot on stubborn fasteners in tight areas.

 

[Mr Ratchet]

And I wanted a long 1/4 drive and bought this 9 inch snap on direct from snap on for $59.99.

I like mine. Just used it to break loose some cam bearing caps on a Pentastar.

 

[The Fall]

Yes, especially if an impact won't fit. Most of the cars that come in are more than 50 years old. The long 3/8" SK or HF one is especially helpful for master cylinders/brake boosters that the previous mechanic used blue Loctite on.

We go through a lot of PB Blaster.

 

[jonsquatch]

Putting 550 ft/lbs on a 24” ratchet is possible but takes some serious effort without a cheater.

Not so hard with a 2 foot lever when you weigh over 300lbs. Even if you don't it's not so hard when working on suspension bolts you can't get an impact on when you have a frame to lean against.

That's where I think I use mine the most, even when I can get my big battery powered impact on, wedged up against the frame to keep a bolt from spinning where the impact does all the hard work.

I have 2 and they get used from time to time, but not as often as the did 20 years ago, with cordless impacts with nearly as much power as my big IR I almost never use air (except for the die grinder) and even for lug nuts I use the cordless impact, even in the truck for roadside use.

Its odd, for a tool that sees seldom use I occasionally wish I had one of those 9" SO 1/4 bars as I have done some damage to my 1/4 flex ratchet putting a pipe on it. If 1/4 is all that fits and you need the flex I would rather put a pipe on a bar than a ratchet but I wouldn't hesitate to get the job done either way...

 

[toolaholic]

Not so hard with a 2 foot lever when you weigh over 300lbs. Even if you don't it's not so hard when working on suspension bolts you can't get an impact on when you have a frame to lean against.

That's where I think I use mine the most, even when I can get my big battery powered impact on, wedged up against the frame to keep a bolt from spinning where the impact does all the hard work.

I have 2 and they get used from time to time, but not as often as the did 20 years ago, with cordless impacts with nearly as much power as my big IR I almost never use air (except for the die grinder) and even for lug nuts I use the cordless impact, even in the truck for roadside use.

Its odd, for a tool that sees seldom use I occasionally wish I had one of those 9" SO 1/4 bars as I have done some damage to my 1/4 flex ratchet putting a pipe on it. If 1/4 is all that fits and you need the flex I would rather put a pipe on a bar than a ratchet but I wouldn't hesitate to get the job done either way...

I have the 9 1/4 Snap-On breaker. Only paid $59.99 through snap on online. It’s a very nice breaker bar.