Husky Cordless Ratchet

[guitarbutt]

I'm strongly considered the Husky Cordless Ratchet at Home Depot for $59. It has a charger and blowmold case with an internal battery. It will be used working on vehicles, in a home and part time professional manner. I'm not interested in getting Milwaukee, SnapOn, etc.

Those who have used the Husky. What were your experiences, good or bad?

Husky 3/8 in. Drive 12-Volt Lithium-Ion Cordless Ratchet H38CPRAT - The Home Depot

Complete all your hardest work easily by selecting this Husky Drive Lithium-Ion Cordless Ratchet. Low-profile head gets into tight spots. Convenient to handle.

www.homedepot.com

 

[JradM]

I think it's very interesting - but the consensus is that Milwaukee M12 is superior. That may not be true for you however.

I like how the Husky is rated for a pretty high manual torque number. That suggests it's intended to be used under battery power for winding bolts in and out, but you don't need to worry about breaking anything if you need to reef on it to get something unstuck.

Milwaukee says you can use theirs manually too - but they've waffled on that at times and don't publish a spec. To be honest it's probably fine unless you get silly, but if you crack it I wonder how they would treat a warranty claim.

Some users hate built-in batteries. That may or may not be a big issue for you. Husky is cheaper of course, but you can't quickly swap when it dies. I expect you've already considered whether this is a big deal.

M12 seems to operate faster than Husky. Probably a little higher torque under load.

I think the Husky is good value at promotional prices - but there are distinct advantages to M12. The big selling feature to me is the manual torque figure.

 

[VolvoRyan]

YouTube it! Lots of info there on them if you can suffer through some of these videos.

-Ryan

 

[joshmodelskidoo]

I have the power torque from oriley autoparts. I really like it and extra batteries are $24 and theres a few more tools to. https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/...er-torque-3-8-inch-drive-ratchet/ptt1/ptt0002

 

[X1 Mike]

That looks a lot like the old Skil Powrwrench. I had one of those and used it daily. When I said I had one, I had 3 of them that I ended up killing. For low torque it worked great and at the low cost I didn't mind killing them.

 

[Sneezer]

I am considering one myself. I did take the time to wade through multiple YT videos - overall it got pretty high marks, especially for the price. The Milwaukee really isn't set up for manual torqueing either, which is a solid plus for the Husky. Most got really good battery life as well, so good marks there especially since the battery is not user replaceable. Last year they were $50 on sale, and I think they came with a small socket set too in years past.

I have no Milwaukee tools, so picking up an M12 ratchet makes zero sense for me. This one looks to be one of the best budget options out there. There are several accounts of people using them hard for a full day with plenty of battery power leftover. I figure if I get a couple years or more use out of it that is money well spent.

 

[Badgerstate]

I'm strongly considered the Husky Cordless Ratchet at Home Depot for $59. It has a charger and blowmold case with an internal battery. It will be used working on vehicles, in a home and part time professional manner. I'm not interested in getting Milwaukee, SnapOn, etc.

Those who have used the Husky. What were your experiences, good or bad?

Husky 3/8 in. Drive 12-Volt Lithium-Ion Cordless Ratchet H38CPRAT - The Home Depot

Complete all your hardest work easily by selecting this Husky Drive Lithium-Ion Cordless Ratchet. Low-profile head gets into tight spots. Convenient to handle.

www.homedepot.com

My concern would be with the integrated battery. Odds are that if you only use it every once in a while, its probably going to be dead every time you want to use it.
That and if you are in the middle of a job and the battery dies, you cant just swap out the battery for a fresh one.
Its one of the many reasons why Im not a fan of tools with integrated batteries.
I would spend the money for an M12 or for any other 18v ratchet if you already have the batteries.
I used to have a Craftsman V20 ratchet and it was OK but I found it to be a little weak (as most of them are) and I just prefer a standard manual ratchet. I find the bulkiness and the fact that you have to usually manually break a bolt/nut free before the tool can spin it just makes cordless ratchets not worth it to me. Im sure that they have their place where they come in handy though, especially if you deal with longer bolts or lots of fasteners.

 

[Cruzan80]

I have one, and the battery is fine sitting for a month or more between uses. I am using it like an air ratchet, spinning stuff on/off once broken loose. Dont have M12, no desire to get into another battery system. The 12V/20V stuff I have dont offer a ratchet, so this fills a gap. Worka great for me.

 

[guitarbutt]

I bought it. The YouTube videos were favorable, but it's always good to check here too. I haven't used it yet but I will be soon