Ratchets: why extra long length is not common?

[king nero]

I only own (1) 1/2 ratchet and that is a SO SLF80 24" long.

3/8 ratchets I prefer 10-12"

1/4 ratchet I prefer 7-12"

Will get a 18" 3/8 ratchet in the future

I got a few cordless impact wrenches that make the ratchets sit most of the time

12" ratchet on a 1/4" drive? What exactly do you work on?
I normally use something the size bigger than it should be for breaking loose, then switching for something as small as possible to ratchet it off.

 

[lardy1]

Think reach rather than leverage and longer handles make more sense. I have a variety of lengths, some flex, some not. I like options and I like trying different brands and configurations. I just turned 67. Longer handles can make things easier on us old folks.

 

[m6z]

A 12" long 3/8 drive has been helpful. I also bought a 24" long 1/2" drive, but I haven't used it yet.

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[Mr_B]

I find the extendable facom flex heads useful.
got the ez-red style extending flex heads under welzh brand and they decent enough and been useful in truck toolbox .

 

[isb cornbinder]

Re: Ratchets: why extra long length is not common?
That is a vague statement, not a question.
If it uncommon with any person, it is because they have not bought one, yet.

 

[RedneckWelder]

My 24” 1/2 drive locking flex head Gearwrench gets used a lot with crowsfeet to loosen and tighten hydraulic hoses it gets in places wrenches just won’t. It’s also good for grader tandem boxes and similar applications where you need leverage but don’t have the space for an impact or a breaker bar is too cumbersome or tall. My preferred 1/2” ratchet is a locking flex head 18” Snap On. Long enough to be useful, short enough to deal with obstructions.

I have an 18” fixed Snap On 3/8 that is really good for some applications but I wish they made a locking flex in this length. I know they make the normal flex one too but a lot of times I am trying to put the ratchet on a bolt head I can’t physically touch and the locking flex makes that so much easier.

 

[Skin]

Because we invented impact wrenches?

Which dont always fit. Particularly in the engine bay. Newer right angle impacts in pneumatic and cordless (M12) have mitigated this a bit though. That said there are still bolts where a ratchet is the best way to go whether they look crusty and you dont want to break it or suspension fasteners that run through a damper bushing which eats impact blows.

 

[setfocus]

I'd say they aren't as common because old ratchets mechanisms didn't have the strength and there wasn't as much need for the added reach. For automotive, generally the newer the car, the less room you have to work. I'm sure that's also the cause with other equipment/machinery

I don't have any XL ratchets but have run into times when an XL 3/8 drive (15-18") or XL 1/4 drive (10ish") would have been nice for the added reach or when more leverage is needed but a breaker bar or larger drive size ratchet won't fit in a tight spot. But if I had any XL ratchets, they would probably get used less than my standard length ratchets. For me, the "long" ratchets are the sweet spot, for most jobs

I haven't yet seen the need for an XL 1/2 ratchet in my line of work (light duty auto tech). In my experience when working on larger nuts/bolts, there has always been enough room for a breaker bar or impact wrench when my 18" 1/2 drive ratchet isn't enough. The auto techs I see, that have 24" ratchets, mostly just use them as an expensive breaker bar. 24" is alot to swing over and over and over

 

[pennsylvaniaboy]

Cheater pipe or breaker bar, but I do have a long handled 1/2" that gets used. Honestly I would like to get a 12" or so 3/8 drive.....any suggestions?

 

[demarpaint]

My buddy talked me out of buying a Proto 26" 1/2" drive ratchet. Truth be told he did me a favor, the money was spent wisely on more useful tools.

 

[lardy1]

I want the long handled 90 tooth Proto badly but already have long flex ratchets in 1/2". Just can't justify that expense for no more than I would use it.

 

[d.mcfarland]

Been thinking about this.

If I was a manufacturer I would want as minimal products getting warranted. If you extend the length (force), it's only a matter of time until that product breaks. Any warranty costs the company.

Personally, I like an impact compared to a ratchet for anything less than about 17mm. The force with a ratchet isn't directly only into the rotation of the fastener.

 

[Wrench97]

Long Ratchets are used where impacts don't fit.
In reality the manufacturers know if they don't make a long handle a pipe will be used to the same effect, and then there is the ratcheting adapter made to use with a breaker bar.................

 

[Wrench97]

Long Ratchets are used where impacts don't fit.
In reality the manufacturers know if they don't make a long handle a pipe will be used to the same effect, and then there is the ratcheting adapter made to use with a breaker bar.................

 

[FuzzyTiger]

Been thinking about this.

If I was a manufacturer I would want as minimal products getting warranted. If you extend the length (force), it's only a matter of time until that product breaks. Any warranty costs the company.

Personally, I like an impact compared to a ratchet for anything less than about 17mm. The force with a ratchet isn't directly only into the rotation of the fastener.

Honestly if manufacturers are worried about that I'd buy an extra long ratchet even if it came without a warranty.

I see the extra leverage as being more about control than torque exactly. I don't want to put my weight or a lot of force through a shorter ratchet because when the fastener breaks free, my hand might end up smashing into something. A longer ratchet means I can break it free with a much more controlled movement and less risk of injury. In a weird way shorter ratchets become less useable in a lot of cramped situations.

People who are using the longer ratchet strictly for more torque are misusing the ratchet in my opinion. They should step up to the next anvil size. That's why there are overlapping socket sizes. Edit: Of course there are some situations where its just unavoidable. That's the engineer's fault but they don't have to pay for replacing broken tools.

 

[d.mcfarland]

Honestly if manufacturers are worried about that I'd buy an extra long ratchet even if it came without a warranty.

I see the extra leverage as being more about control than torque exactly. I don't want to put my weight or a lot of force through a shorter ratchet because when the fastener breaks free, my hand might end up smashing into something. A longer ratchet means I can break it free with a much more controlled movement and less risk of injury. In a weird way shorter ratchets become less useable in a lot of cramped situations.

People who are using the longer ratchet strictly for more torque are misusing the ratchet in my opinion. They should step up to the next anvil size. That's why there are overlapping socket sizes. Edit: Of course there are some situations where its just unavoidable. That's the engineer's fault but they don't have to pay for replacing broken tools.

You contradict yourself a few times there. You say you want a longer ratchet for more torque, then say people using it for more torque are using it wrong.

My point was that more torque is probably directly correlated to higher warranty rates. Yes, people will use and abuse tools until the end of time, but as a manufacturer your job is to stay in business and make money. Why would they care if you don't want to get the right tool for the job?

Didn't a lot of manufacturers state that any misuse would result in denied warranty claims? I believe some posts in the past have claimed a denial due to using a cheater pipe.

 

[Lucid Moments]

I see the extra leverage as being more about control than torque exactly. I don't want to put my weight or a lot of force through a shorter ratchet because when the fastener breaks free, my hand might end up smashing into something. A longer ratchet means I can break it free with a much more controlled movement and less risk of injury. In a weird way shorter ratchets become less useable in a lot of cramped situations.

This is my take exactly. I generally use a standard length ratchet for convenience, but I don't hesitate to reach for a longer ratchet when needed. My longer ratchet usually means a step up in anvil size also when practical, or a switch to long format DBE wrench or something similar.

 

[lardy1]

I think the tool companies are aware that a certain percentage of buyers are going to be inexperienced and using tools harder than maybe an experienced auto mechanic might. The fact that they are producing them and warrantying them tells me they have confidence in the ratchets ability to withstand the abuse. Lifetime warrantying a forty dollar 3/8" drive ratchet with an eighteen inch handle takes some confidence in the product.

 

[AA/FC]

Extra length as in 600mm?

I find 400,440,480mm ratchets all the time normally low tooth count.

Proto make a extra long one, german brands like Elora low tooth count but really strong, Hazet, Gedore, lots of Taiwan brands also.

They don't really have a place in my opinion, you can't go mental with torque on them and any exposed bolt/nut you just take a breaker bar or impact wrench to it.

Sure you can.... I use my 25" locking flex head 1/2" drive Snap on ratchet AS a breaker bar all the time and I've never broken it. But, I've broken plenty of breaker bars where the 1/2" square drive pins to the handle. My 1/2" SO ratchet is stronger than most 1/2" breaker bars. Weird, I know...

This is not me, but it very easily could be.... This is how I treat my SO long handle ratchet. Video is very short:

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[AZ Pete]

Ha ha, call me abusive but I have used a 2 foot cheater on a 1/2" SK ratchet with success.

 

[FuzzyTiger]

You contradict yourself a few times there. You say you want a longer ratchet for more torque, then say people using it for more torque are using it wrong.

My point was that more torque is probably directly correlated to higher warranty rates. Yes, people will use and abuse tools until the end of time, but as a manufacturer your job is to stay in business and make money. Why would they care if you don't want to get the right tool for the job?

Didn't a lot of manufacturers state that any misuse would result in denied warranty claims? I believe some posts in the past have claimed a denial due to using a cheater pipe.

Yeah. I don't really disagree with you. I guess the point I was trying to make was that lets say I need 40ftlbs through a 3/8 ratchet to break a bolt free. And let's say that's within the reasonable capacity of both 3/8 ratchets and if I put some effort into it, I can deliver that 40ftlbs through a short or long ratchet. The difference would be that with a longer handle, that 40ftlbs would be a lot more controlled and less likely to bash my knuckles. In that case I wasn't really using the longer handle to deliver greater torque than I'd put through the smaller ratchet, it was more about just gaining a better mechanical advantage on it.

The problematic approach would be looking at the longer handle and thinking now instead of being able to put a max of 60ftlbs through a 3/8 drive, I can use the longer handle to go all the way to 100ftlbs+.

I hope that made a little more sense? And the numbers I used are arbitrary. I have no idea what the actual reasonable ranges would be.

 

[Jazz1]

I found a extra long Napa brand 1/2” on the road. Always wanted one and now that I have one its rarely used. Nice ratchet but only occasionally serves a purpose for me...We should all have one or two

 

[DGersic]

I got a Tekton 24” 1/2” ratchet a couple years ago. It doesn’t get a lot of use, but it got a workout last weekend.

I replaced the steering rack on my Dakota. There are two bolts holding the rack to the frame. 15/16” nut. No clearance for an impact because it’s a 4x4.

I got my SO 24” breaker bar on the bolt head, and the Tekton on the nut. By jamming the breaker against the frame, I was able to break the nut loose with both feet on the ratchet handle. There was just enough swing room to then crank the nut off. Took a while, and it fought me all the way off.

That was the easy one. For the other one, the diff is in the way so only a box end wrench will fit.



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