Air Ratchets

[zuiko]

Anyone have a recommendation on 1/2" air ratchets? I need one for places I can't get my impact into. I just want to avoid buying something with no torque.

Anyone know if the $40 (Heavy Duty) Harbor Freight is any good? Supposedly it does 90 ft/lbs but who knows what it really does. I looked at the IRs also but their torque ratings seem pretty low for the price.

Thanks.

 

[Marlowe]

I have and use two air ratchets, both 3/8" drive. One is a forty foot pound model, the other fifteen. I like the fifteen foot pound model the best. It's more compact and lightweight. Some bolts just won't come out with the light torque though and I have to go with the bigger one. The problem with high torque though is that it can get away from you. Access is usually poor if you are using a ratchet instead of the impact. If you put your hand into an awkward situation with a high torque ratchet, it can hurt you.

That's my take on it. Good luck with it.

Tom

 

[BobReeves]

Not sure you want/need anything with a real high rating. Guess what starts turning when the bolt gets tight. Did anyone say knuckle buster.

 

[hudr]

I have used a couple of high torque models, and wound up staying with a lot smaller one. I try to bust the bolts loose w/ a regular ratchet and then use the air to "run" the bolt out. Then reverse it for tightening. Like some of the other posters mentioned, any of them can be a knuckle buster.

 

[EddieWalker]

I've always been leary on the numbers and ratings advertised in the cheap tools compared to the name brand stuff. They are half the price or less, but put out twice the power or more. Seems kind of hard to believe.

Makes me wonder if your really comparing apples to apples.

I have on cheapy impact wrench that is pretty much uselss. I bought a Porter Cable gun on ebay that is just amazing.

Eddie

 

[SimS]

Zuiko;
I went to our resident TBN air tool expert (Bird) and he recommended the IR 111 air ratchet. It is a reactionless ratchet that is called the "Knuckle Saver". I got one off ebay and it is great. When the nut/bolt tightens there is not any of the usual knuckle busting torque reaction. My IR 111 is only 3/8" but IR might make a 1/2" ratchet model as well. Good luck.

SimS

 

[Cord]

Every time I've bought a Chinese tool I've judged my satisfaction by how far I was able to throw it. How often do you plan on using it and will you be able to wait when it breaks? There's a reason why Snap-on costs more than Mac or Craftsman or Harbor Freight.

 

[gizmo]

I have two air ratchets (1/4" and 3/8") and two impacts (1/2" and 3/4"). The 1/4" and the 1/2" are Ingersols and the other two are second tier brands. Although I cannot verify actual torques against what the manufacturer claims, I will say that the Ingersols seem to deliver as promised. The others feel like they overstate their performance.

Note that an air ratchet is still a ratchet and can be used just like a manual one to bust bolts loose. That is unless you just have no room to move, and in that case a manual won't help either.

 

[have_blue]

I don't know of any air ratchet designed to torque bolts or break stuck nuts loose. That's more a job for a breaker bar or impact wrench.

I have a HF ratchet, and it works great. I've worked it hard for nearly 3 years, and it has never let me down. They're so cheap, if it ever does quit, I won't hesitate to buy another one. "Brand names" cost 3 or 4 times more, but there's no way they work 2x better or last 2x longer. Take a hard look at brand name products before buying. Some of them come from the same factory as the HF tools, and add their own name plates. It's a good thing to buy American, but in reality it's getting harder and harder to find true American made tools.

 

[zuiko]

I was looking at that IR 1111 (the 1/2" version of the 111). I have a good IR Impact and I didn't want to spend that kind of dough right now on a ratchet. I picked up a cheapo 3/8" for $13 and I'll see if that is worth anything... if not I will probably get the IR.

Thanks.

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( an air ratchet is still a ratchet and can be used just like a manual one to bust bolts loose )</font>

Yep, Michael, but like Bob (have blue) said, ratchets, whether air or manual, are really not made for that purpose. Of course a lot of people use them for that purpose, so I sure have repaired many, many ratchets as a result. In some cases, the ratchet pawls dig into the head leaving little grooves and a head kit is required. In other cases, the head loses its tension, which may be provided by a couple of small springs, with or without ball bearings, or may be provided by concave washers, and in some cases, the anvil is broken off the head. Incidentally, what all the other manufacturers call a "head", Snap-on calls a "final drive". One of my customers was a body shop who hired youngsters to remove damaged parts. They broke the anvil out of Snap-on's best and strongest 3/8" drive air ratchet 3 times within a year. I sold him the parts (genuine Snap-on, of course) and did the work the first two times. The third time, he bought a new "final drive" from the Snap-on truck and installed it himself and then when it wouldn't work, he sent it to me to do it right. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif It's not that hard to do, but there are some tricks to it. And of course Snap-on parts cost a lot more than the other brands.

My point being . . . if a nut or bolt is very tight, break it loose with something else first, then use the ratchet the rest of the way and you'll save yourself some money. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I used a cheap, but stout, Central Pneumatic 3/8" air ratchet from Harbor Freight for years myself and never had a problem with it, but I also knew that I probably could not get parts if they had ever been needed. I really do like the IR111, or its predecessor, the IR110, but they aren't cheap. They are interesting to work on, too. They have all the usual parts of an air ratchet, plus a tiny hammer cage, hammer pins, extra bearings, etc. between the air motor and the crankshaft; i.e., both ratchet and impact.

 

[drmiller100]

the ir reactionless are worth their weight in gold.

one of those tools that you will have exactly one of in your lifetime. you can stick your hand up in between things with it, somehow get it on, and somehow pull the trigger and it won't smash your fingers.

A 3/8 is PLENTY for anything normal.

better then snapon.