Longer Breaker Bar?

[Lucid Moments]

So I recently had a project where my 24" breaker bar just wasn't up to the task. At least not without a cheater pipe. I will use a cheater pipe when I have to, but I don't like to have to so I went looking for a longer breaker bar. I saw a few 30" bars, but that wasn't as much more length as I was looking for. The only 36" breaker bars I could find were Snap On and Mac which were priced higher than I wanted to pay for this.

I am looking hard at the Tekton 40" 3/4 drive bar. Obviously I would use a reducer most of the time with this if I get it. That obviously puts me a little further out from the fastener head, and there is the danger of snapping the reducer. Are there any other downsides to going this route that I am not seeing? And not limited to the Tekton bar, but 3/4" drive breaker bars in general.

 

[Iowafox]

I personally would just go with a 30" with a cheater. I have 2 3/4 breakers. One is almost 4 ft and other is about 2 ft. They are Mastercraft branded. I only have them due to my younger brother buying them saying he needs the biggest he could get then ended up buying a 1/2 breaker bar and never looked back. I have used them a total of ZERO times. They are just way to big and heavy to want to use. A Cheater pipe will be a better bet most times if you use it right.
Saying this I have no idea what you are using it on or anything but I would honestly say if you have a want to get the biggest you can by all means do it. I have mine only for a conversation starter and to joke around when someone says give me your breaker bar I hand them this and they always have a smile or chuckle about it.

 

[larry_g]

If I have to break out the 3/4 inch breaker then I also have 3/4" sockets to go with it. Learned that lesson buying adapters. The socket price is about the same as the adapter.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Firebrick43]

I second larry G, a 40" bar will just grenade the reducer.

 

[mishkaya]

I have the 40" Tekton breaker bar and really like it for certain tasks. I really like the fact that I don't need to use a cheater bar with it, and the flex is not as scary as it was with the 1/2" breaker bar. This said, I use it with 3/4" sockets, for safety reasons...

 

[lis2323]

Buy a good 3/4 inch breaker bar of any length but it always helps to have a selection of cheater bars in various inside diameters and lengths.


Here’s mine. A Mac and a Grip




Cheaters hanging near the door.

 

[anndel]

I have 18" and 30" 1/2" drive cheater bars and used the floor jack handle with the 30" to break a bolt. As others have mentioned, a 40" with 3/4" sockets will work well.

 

[plinker]

In particular, a 3/4 to 1/2 adapter is a thing I tend to avoid if possible as I've had them break (about went flying once) and have seen others break them as well. Even a cheap set of 3/4 drive sockets will be much stronger then any adapter and safer at high torque. Clearance is the only downside. An impact and/or heat may be a good option as well.

Even the 30"+ truck brand 1/2 breaker bars can/will shear the square drive off, simply the way it works with length + mass = torque.

 

[sparky 1971]

I have a 24" Proto and a 30" SK. It doesn't seem like much on paper, but the difference is phenomenal. As stated above, if you go the 3/4" bar route, get the sockets. A reducer can get someone hurt in a hurry. If you do go the reducer route, get an impact reducer. I shattered a chrome 3/4 X 1/2. I thought it was a fluke thing. Grabbed an impact rated 3/4 X 1/2 and cracked it, but no pieces went flying. I now own a 3/4" drive 3/4" socket to go with the arsenal, but haven't had a chance to try it out.

 

[sweet victory]

While not a cheater bar, I’ve had nothing but good experiences using my extendable 3/4” drive ratchet. Matco sells one for about $220, but EZ Red sells the same rebranded ratchet for $90ish. Extends to about 40”.

 

[Jagmandave]

I mostly just use my air impact wrench. But I also have a 3/4 breaker bar, I use a black, impact 3/4-1/2 reducer when I need to use a cheater bar over the 3/4 breaker.

 

[unslow1]

I have a 3/4 40 inch bar also. I have 3/4 sockets and a couple of Snapon reducers to use 1/2 sockets. The reducers hold up fine just don't use cheap ones.

 

[nadogail]

I have found that schedule 80 CPVC pipe makes a good cheater bar. I was working in a Printed Circuit Board factory at the time.
The Schedule 80 CPVC is both strong and light.

 

[lardy1]

I have been breaking the 22mm lug nuts on my two Chevy pickups that my 1/2 Bosch impact won't break. Standing on a small bench with one foot and standing on my Harbor Freight (only HF tool I ever bought) is a bit testy with all the deflection in the bar.

I asked in here bout your options and decided to buy a 22mm socket in 3/4" drive. My Wright 3/4" breaker bar is much shorter but I feel better about a cheater pipe on the 3/4 than I do on the 1/2.

 

[seber]

I keep a proper cheater pipe beside each breaker bar in the drawer. But if you want permanently longer, just attach the pipe with a pin.

 

[Mr_B]

I would say getting some 3/4 socketry be good idea, I see 3/4 sets minus the ratchet and breaker bars used at cheap prices, pick that up so got a low cost start on common sockets and add a decent breaker bar to it and you got good robust option when you need it .
You can push 1/2" pretty hard but keep doing it you'll pay a price either in replacements or damage/injury .

 

[sberry]

We were stuck on a field job the other day. 3 strong guys worked a 1/2 HF bar about as hard as you can for an hour, really proved it out.

 

[anavrinIV]

I also have a 40" 3/4 bar, one I bought from Northern Tool (Klutch brand maybe?) years ago to do axle nuts. I also have an adapter kit missing the 3/4-1/2 reducer that sheared on the first trip with the big bar. Now I have select 3/4 sockets for those jobs - the adapters are not up to the task.

The bar is not the best in the world but has never let me down. I had a friend with a stuck axle nut that took a full dead lift to remove, it bent to an angle I did not expect but got the job done and went right back to shape. It is rarely used but when I need it, I'm sure glad to have it. I have seen friends pop the heads off 1/2 breakers trying to do a job they weren't meant for

 

[2ndGearRubber]

I have the 30" SK bar, and like it very much. It's slightly bent from a honda crank bolt I had to free up in my garage with no-air; obviously it had a jack-handle cheater bar on it. I have a couple HF bars; I've never broken one but man do they flex with a cheater pipe on them. The SK is much more solid.

I dislike using adapters, for the reason OP mentioned of moving your handle further from the fastener. I'd like a full 3/4 metric set, but with how often I truly need it vs. just using a cheater on my 1/2....

 

[Mr_B]

yes that sk bar is a very nice heavy duty 1/2"
It also pretty good price so value and quality all in one ...

 

[lis2323]

I don’t have and would never buy a 3/4 inch to half inch reducer.

I do however have a half inch to three-quarter inch adapter which I use often on my short half inch drive ratchet with large three-quarter inch drive sockets.

Often times a 3/4 inch ratchet is just too long and heavy to use for spinning on big nuts. ( when impractical or impossible to use an impact of course)

 

[ThePostman]

My two cents, yes get a 3/4" drive cheap socket set, and, consider the Wright 6425 42" long railroad ratchet. It's less than $200, one solid piece, unlike the truck brands now. It has proven itself to me many times since I got it with crank pulley bolts, swollen lug nuts, you name it. A reducer or what you are working on will break before it does.

 

[Mr Ratchet]

For sure when the 40" long 3/4" breaker bar comes out, you're glad you have it. I agree with the others that this no place of a reducer. I've broke several in the past (decades ago) before I had a full set of 3/4" drive sockets. I don't like using cheater bars and just prefer to step up to the next size drive size. More efficient and safer. I still use reducers from time.

Without reducers, I'd never be able to break loose a bolt this size that was tightened down really snug!

 

[BD1]

I've used my 1/2" HF one I bought 15 years ago at work. Long handle one on 3/4" and 7/8" flange bolts. It hasn't bent or broke yet.
I never thought it would last.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[joshmodelskidoo]

Break out the torches and heat it up. If you have a good impact wrench use that. I don’t believe i have ever used my 3/4 breaker bar.

 

[MikeF2316]

I remember when my dad got the 18" Craftsman 1/2" drive breaker bar. We thought there was nothing we wouldn't be able to loosen with that. Now I have one of those and a 30" bar. Now there's nothing that can stop me, except a broken socket!

 

[CobraRed]

yes that sk bar is a very nice heavy duty 1/2"
It also pretty good price so value and quality all in one ...

I have the 30" SK bar, and like it very much. It's slightly bent from a honda crank bolt I had to free up in my garage with no-air; obviously it had a jack-handle cheater bar on it. I have a couple HF bars; I've never broken one but man do they flex with a cheater pipe on them. The SK is much more solid.

I dislike using adapters, for the reason OP mentioned of moving your handle further from the fastener. I'd like a full 3/4 metric set, but with how often I truly need it vs. just using a cheater on my 1/2....

I also have the SK, bought it due to length and recommendations on this fourm. For my liking, it flexes way too much. Quality seems nice and it hasn't broken, but the arm/neck material or dimensions just are not adequate and the thing becomes a parabola before you start apply more torque than a 24" tool would provide.

 

[Lassen Forge]

When I did bridge maintenance we usually had "spud wrenches" which were forged and had a short "stub" end you slid whatever sized cheater you needed... 1" was the minimum socket, (most of us had our own 1" stuff as the work tools were beat to $#!+) if you needed something smaller you used a reducer, but usually it was all 1 1/2" drive sockets, straight wrenches, etc... When you have a doubled pipe 7' long with a bunch of guys bouncing in it to loosen stuff (or better, tighten stuff) it gets fun, especially a couple hundred feet up in the air...

IIRC (it's been a while) check with Williams... I also think we got stuff through Grainger, but you had to order it. But yeah, I have no problem reefing on 1 1/2" drive stuff off 8 feet of cheater... fun times!

 

[bobcatdan]

If a 24" 1/2" breaker bar isn't enough, time to buy 3/4" drive. The long 1/2" bars flex too much on hard pulls. I pretty my just use my 36" 1/2" drive snappy to hold against impacts on through bolts.

 

[Wakefield]

So I recently had a project where my 24" breaker bar just wasn't up to the task. At least not without a cheater pipe. I will use a cheater pipe when I have to, but I don't like to have to so I went looking for a longer breaker bar. I saw a few 30" bars, but that wasn't as much more length as I was looking for. The only 36" breaker bars I could find were Snap On and Mac which were priced higher than I wanted to pay for this.

I am looking hard at the Tekton 40" 3/4 drive bar. Obviously I would use a reducer most of the time with this if I get it. That obviously puts me a little further out from the fastener head, and there is the danger of snapping the reducer. Are there any other downsides to going this route that I am not seeing? And not limited to the Tekton bar, but 3/4" drive breaker bars in general.

Sunex have a good 3/4" to 1/2" drives reducer? (Pretty sure that it's impact)
of course the 1/2" drivepiece could twist off of anything if you pulled hard enough,I think Snap On's 36" long 1/2" drive bar is designed explictly so that the drivepiece square can be replaced
maybe time to do 3/4" drive all the way through the socket if one will fit the clearance

 

[Wakefield]

Old S*K breaker bar/hinge handle in 3/4" drive is short and clubby but I think you can pull on it with all your might with confidence (no flex) --Epstein's have any new old stock ones left?

 

[Ralf11]

any trth to the claim that T- handles are stronger than the flex type breaker bars?

 

[Wakefield]

any trth to the claim that T- handles are stronger than the flex type breaker bars?

additional question: How about Wright "bull bar"(anyone endorse or use it?) which is like a long T handle with a piece with the square drive you can lock in the middle or at the end-or even have two pieces
they come in 3/4" drive and I think there is one in 1" drive

 

[turbodave]

Maybe a torque multiplier is the answer?

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/NTESearch?storeId=6970&ipp=48&Ntt=torque+multiplier

 

[lis2323]

Maybe a torque multiplier is the answer?

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/NTESearch?storeId=6970&ipp=48&Ntt=torque+multiplier

Definitely a good option[emoji106]

 

[Noworries]

I didn't read all the responses so if what I'm about to say has already been said..appilogies. as I will freely admit I am an idiot it would seem to me that if you can get a 3 foot breaker bar on a fastener then you can put an impact on it... or am I missing something??

 

[Lassen Forge]

Sometimes a power impact is just not an option... reduced clearance is usually the case. Not a stupid question, but I dig why you asked, as untill you end up with something where you have NO bolt/nut clearance to get something in there, you need the alternatives.

Also, an impact, as good as it is, sometimes cannot generaate sufficient torque to remove the fastener (which is why we used str8 wrenches on the bridges). My favorite torque specs were: Hand Tight (whatever that was), increase to 150 Ft Lbs, tap with a hammer, retorque to 175 ft lbs THEN an additional 135 degrees...

 

[sberry]

I never thought it would last.

This is the truth and the statistical reality of it all. When we started using some cheaper stuff we figured the same,,, we were wrong by a long shot and would have given odds.
But,, for sure, I have a couple reducers, might have broken a couple over the years. I got a 5 ft inch bar with a reducer to 3/4. I got impact to 2. I use it once in a while.
Another but,,, for most people an addition of a better handle shouldnt be a deal breaker, not so sure it matters about quality a lot until or if it ever does in most cases, a 3/4 is so much stronger.

 

[Lucid Moments]

I didn't read all the responses so if what I'm about to say has already been said..appilogies. as I will freely admit I am an idiot it would seem to me that if you can get a 3 foot breaker bar on a fastener then you can put an impact on it... or am I missing something??

In this case my impact (Aircat 1150 at 130psi) just wasn't getting it done.

 

[Noworries]

Sometimes a power impact is just not an option... reduced clearance is usually the case. Not a stupid question, but I dig why you asked, as untill you end up with something where you have NO bolt/nut clearance to get something in there, you need the alternatives.

Also, an impact, as good as it is, sometimes cannot generaate sufficient torque to remove the fastener (which is why we used str8 wrenches on the bridges). My favorite torque specs were: Hand Tight (whatever that was), increase to 150 Ft Lbs, tap with a hammer, retorque to 175 ft lbs THEN an additional 135 degrees...

Guess I just didnt think clearence an issue if a 40" 3/4 breaker bar could be used.. but goid point... also is funny as I was just watching a video on 1/2 breaker bar comparison (

)


Love that torque spec"..... then an additional 135 degrees" to get a consistant and proper hammer tap were you required to be on tiptoes of one foot??