about 4 years ago, i bought 3 craftsman mechanic's tool sets (no overlap) that included 3 craftsman click-type torque wrenches. In the beginning, they worked fine, but then about a year ago one of them had the locking mechanism break on me while working on the suspension of a friend's BMW 635. not having read the fine print, I learned the hard way that click-type torque wrenches don't have the lifetime warranty that other craftsman tools are covered under. some google searching also revealed that these torque wrenches have a plastic locking mechanism that has a pattern of failing the way it failed on me. so began my search for new torque wrenches...
this weekend, i received my order of the Gearwrench 1/2" and 3/8" drive XL electronic torque wrenches. these are also re-branded as Craftsman electronic torque wrenches with a significant mark-up. (Danaher makes Craftsman, KD Tools, and Gearwrench) I found the best pricing on these torque wrenches at tooltopia.com should anyone want to get them.
these torque wrenches have the following specs:
3/8" drive, 10-100 ft-lbs (gearwrench website says 110 ft-lbs, but you can't set it above 100 ft-lbs, i suspect typo)
1/2" drive, 25-250 ft-lbs (no typo here)
certified to be accurate within +/- 2%CW, +/-3% CCW
1 year warranty, 90 day calibration
they come in red plastic cases, with user instructions printed on a label that is stuck to the inside of the cover. there's a location to store 4 AAA batteries under the wrench itself. i suspect this is a good place to put the batteries after you're done using the wrench. i wouldn't want the chance of leaking batteries inside these somewhat pricey torque wrenches, so i suggest storing them without batteries installed.
physically, these wrenches feel well built and nothing seems "cheap" about them. the handle is black aluminum with a knurl for enhanced grip. the re-branded craftsman ones seem to have a plastic or rubbery handle with the craftsman brand on them. in this sense, i think i prefer the metal handle of the Gearwrench branded ones. the 4 AAA batteries are installed in this handle and the end cap has a slot for you to use a coin or something else to assist removal of the cap in case you over-tighten it, which to me is a nice detail. there are 4 buttons, Power, Unit, Up, and Down. Very intuitive interface and the LCD display is backlit so it can be read in poorly lit areas. more about actual usage experience later below.
these torque wrenches use 4x AAA batteries, which are not included so i ran out to Costco and got a pack of 48 AAA batteries for about $12. they also come with a calibration certificate. the product specs say they are accurate within 2% CW, and 3% CCW, which is already better than the 4% of the click-type torque wrenches. but according to the calibration certificate, the accuracy is within 1% from the low end all the way to the high end and in fact was more accurate at the higher end. i don't have the skills to rebuild engines at this point, but it certainly is nice to know that these are pretty darn accurate torque wrenches.
first thing i checked out was how fine the reversible ratcheting mechanism worked. All the Gearwrench ratcheting wrenches have 72 clicks per revolution, giving it a 5 degree ratcheting arc. I counted the clicks for one revolution on these torque wrenches and counted 60 clicks, giving it a 6 degree ratcheting arc. The click-type craftsman torque wrenches had 45 clicks per revolution, giving them an 8 degree ratcheting arc, so these are definitely an improvement. although i would have preferred that these also have a 5 degree ratcheting arc, i imagine that the finer tooth gears aren't suited to take the loads these torque wrenches are designed to service. Nonetheless, the 6 degree ratcheting arc will allow one to apply torque in tighter spots than would be possible with the craftsman click-type torque wrenches. this in fact became very useful on my first test use of these torque wrenches. the only "strange" thing i noticed is the reversing latch that changes the direction of the ratcheting mechanism. most wrenches don't even bother to label the direction, but if they do, you might expect them to say CW, CCW, or something sensible. For whatever reason, the two sides of the latch were labeled "ON" and "OFF".
to operate the torque wrench, you press the PWR button to turn it on. you can then use the UNIT button to select the units you want to work in. the supported options are ft-lbs, in-lbs, and N-m. what impressed me is that you can adjust the torque setting by 1.0 in *native* units. For example, i can set it to 120Nm, which is about 88.5ft-lbs. If i switch over to ft-lbs, i in fact get 88.5, but if i adjust in ft-lbs, the next increment is 89.0 ft-lbs. to me, this is nice because most automotive torque specs in whatever units, are usually rounded to the closest whole number. in this way, i can set it to exactly the spec i need in the units i'm using. with the mechanical click-type, i had to basically adjust it to the "closest" metric (N-m) setting as the scale was natively ft-lbs. in reality, such minute differences probably doesn't even matter, but it's nice to be able to adjust the wrench to exactly what you want, and not the "closest" setting. The UP and DOWN buttons do exactly what you would expect in terms of adjusting the torque setting. To speed up adjusting, you can also hold the button down and it will scroll through the increments faster. When you reach the end of the scale, it loops back to the other end. For example, with the 3/8" drive, if I hit DOWN at 10 ft-lbs, the setting roles over to 100 ft-lbs. as you approach the specified torque setting, the green LED lights up, and as you get even closer, the yellow LED will light up and you will get quick "beeps" as you hit the target torque. If you exceed the target, you'll hear a longer "beep" and the red LED lights up. After you release the torque, the last applied torque value is displayed in the LCD and blinks for a few seconds before the target torque is shown again. Unfortunately, the display interval is rather short, so if you do want to see how much torque you just applied, be sure to look at the LCD display immediately. There is no need to reset the torque setting to its lowest value like a mechanical torque wrench, which is convenient, especially if you find yourself using the "higher" end of the torque range a lot more.
my first test use of these torque wrenches was during a brake job on a BMW 530i (E39). i used the 1/2" drive for the lug bolts set to 120Nm. what was interesting is that depending on my reaction time to the "beeps" (I find myself using the audio queue more than watching the green/yellow/red LED lights) it wasn't difficult to exceed the target torque. on a few occasions, i ended up applying 125+ Nm. I used the 3/8" drive to torque down the sliding bolts that hold the calipers, but due to the location of the bolt and suspension arms one particular bolt i had to tighten by ratcheting one click at a time. without the 6 degree ratcheting arc, this use to require the use of various attachments, now that is no longer required. again, reaction time is critical, as I easily went to 30Nm when i had a 28Nm target. As far as "use experience" differences between a electronic torque wrench of this type and a mechanical torque wrench, knowing when to stop is, to me, the biggest difference.
overall, so far, i'm very happy with these torque wrenches and i hope they last longer than my old ones.
this weekend, i received my order of the Gearwrench 1/2" and 3/8" drive XL electronic torque wrenches. these are also re-branded as Craftsman electronic torque wrenches with a significant mark-up. (Danaher makes Craftsman, KD Tools, and Gearwrench) I found the best pricing on these torque wrenches at tooltopia.com should anyone want to get them.
these torque wrenches have the following specs:
3/8" drive, 10-100 ft-lbs (gearwrench website says 110 ft-lbs, but you can't set it above 100 ft-lbs, i suspect typo)
1/2" drive, 25-250 ft-lbs (no typo here)
certified to be accurate within +/- 2%CW, +/-3% CCW
1 year warranty, 90 day calibration
they come in red plastic cases, with user instructions printed on a label that is stuck to the inside of the cover. there's a location to store 4 AAA batteries under the wrench itself. i suspect this is a good place to put the batteries after you're done using the wrench. i wouldn't want the chance of leaking batteries inside these somewhat pricey torque wrenches, so i suggest storing them without batteries installed.
physically, these wrenches feel well built and nothing seems "cheap" about them. the handle is black aluminum with a knurl for enhanced grip. the re-branded craftsman ones seem to have a plastic or rubbery handle with the craftsman brand on them. in this sense, i think i prefer the metal handle of the Gearwrench branded ones. the 4 AAA batteries are installed in this handle and the end cap has a slot for you to use a coin or something else to assist removal of the cap in case you over-tighten it, which to me is a nice detail. there are 4 buttons, Power, Unit, Up, and Down. Very intuitive interface and the LCD display is backlit so it can be read in poorly lit areas. more about actual usage experience later below.
these torque wrenches use 4x AAA batteries, which are not included so i ran out to Costco and got a pack of 48 AAA batteries for about $12. they also come with a calibration certificate. the product specs say they are accurate within 2% CW, and 3% CCW, which is already better than the 4% of the click-type torque wrenches. but according to the calibration certificate, the accuracy is within 1% from the low end all the way to the high end and in fact was more accurate at the higher end. i don't have the skills to rebuild engines at this point, but it certainly is nice to know that these are pretty darn accurate torque wrenches.
first thing i checked out was how fine the reversible ratcheting mechanism worked. All the Gearwrench ratcheting wrenches have 72 clicks per revolution, giving it a 5 degree ratcheting arc. I counted the clicks for one revolution on these torque wrenches and counted 60 clicks, giving it a 6 degree ratcheting arc. The click-type craftsman torque wrenches had 45 clicks per revolution, giving them an 8 degree ratcheting arc, so these are definitely an improvement. although i would have preferred that these also have a 5 degree ratcheting arc, i imagine that the finer tooth gears aren't suited to take the loads these torque wrenches are designed to service. Nonetheless, the 6 degree ratcheting arc will allow one to apply torque in tighter spots than would be possible with the craftsman click-type torque wrenches. this in fact became very useful on my first test use of these torque wrenches. the only "strange" thing i noticed is the reversing latch that changes the direction of the ratcheting mechanism. most wrenches don't even bother to label the direction, but if they do, you might expect them to say CW, CCW, or something sensible. For whatever reason, the two sides of the latch were labeled "ON" and "OFF".
to operate the torque wrench, you press the PWR button to turn it on. you can then use the UNIT button to select the units you want to work in. the supported options are ft-lbs, in-lbs, and N-m. what impressed me is that you can adjust the torque setting by 1.0 in *native* units. For example, i can set it to 120Nm, which is about 88.5ft-lbs. If i switch over to ft-lbs, i in fact get 88.5, but if i adjust in ft-lbs, the next increment is 89.0 ft-lbs. to me, this is nice because most automotive torque specs in whatever units, are usually rounded to the closest whole number. in this way, i can set it to exactly the spec i need in the units i'm using. with the mechanical click-type, i had to basically adjust it to the "closest" metric (N-m) setting as the scale was natively ft-lbs. in reality, such minute differences probably doesn't even matter, but it's nice to be able to adjust the wrench to exactly what you want, and not the "closest" setting. The UP and DOWN buttons do exactly what you would expect in terms of adjusting the torque setting. To speed up adjusting, you can also hold the button down and it will scroll through the increments faster. When you reach the end of the scale, it loops back to the other end. For example, with the 3/8" drive, if I hit DOWN at 10 ft-lbs, the setting roles over to 100 ft-lbs. as you approach the specified torque setting, the green LED lights up, and as you get even closer, the yellow LED will light up and you will get quick "beeps" as you hit the target torque. If you exceed the target, you'll hear a longer "beep" and the red LED lights up. After you release the torque, the last applied torque value is displayed in the LCD and blinks for a few seconds before the target torque is shown again. Unfortunately, the display interval is rather short, so if you do want to see how much torque you just applied, be sure to look at the LCD display immediately. There is no need to reset the torque setting to its lowest value like a mechanical torque wrench, which is convenient, especially if you find yourself using the "higher" end of the torque range a lot more.
my first test use of these torque wrenches was during a brake job on a BMW 530i (E39). i used the 1/2" drive for the lug bolts set to 120Nm. what was interesting is that depending on my reaction time to the "beeps" (I find myself using the audio queue more than watching the green/yellow/red LED lights) it wasn't difficult to exceed the target torque. on a few occasions, i ended up applying 125+ Nm. I used the 3/8" drive to torque down the sliding bolts that hold the calipers, but due to the location of the bolt and suspension arms one particular bolt i had to tighten by ratcheting one click at a time. without the 6 degree ratcheting arc, this use to require the use of various attachments, now that is no longer required. again, reaction time is critical, as I easily went to 30Nm when i had a 28Nm target. As far as "use experience" differences between a electronic torque wrench of this type and a mechanical torque wrench, knowing when to stop is, to me, the biggest difference.
overall, so far, i'm very happy with these torque wrenches and i hope they last longer than my old ones.
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ha ha...