Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I bought this as it came up in the "Other customers looked at" section of the torque adapters that I purchased for getting at bolts that can't be reached with the socket on the torque wrench.
History:
First off a little back ground I am in the military and one of my jobs is to test torque wrench and calibrate them. So I have access to a CDI torque tester, and work with torque wrenches as part of my job.
Reasoning:
I saw this thing and thought eh for 50 dollars how good could it be. Then I read all the reviews and people kept saying how accurate it was since they compared it to a wrench they had at home, some were new others were not. I decided eh why not buy it and see just how accurate it is. If it works then I can have a tester at home and not need to bring in all my wrenches to check from time to time. If it doesn't amazon's return policy for defective items is very good.First impressions:
When I got the unit it is much smaller than I was expecting. It does have a very nice blow molded case and adapter to put into a vise so it can be used to check your torque wrenches. Instructions are a little vague for example it doesn't tell you the difference between peak and trace settings. Which is one holds the peak torque value the other varies as torque is applied. Obviously you want to use the peak setting for checking the calibrations of the wrench, while using trace if you are using it as the torquing device. Also I didn't see it listed on Amazon's site but the range of the unit is 29.5lb-ft to 147.6lb-ft with an stated accuracy of +/- 2%
Test:
Well I took it to work and checked it on the lab tester and it is very accurate (at least the one I received). For the whole range it was about +/- 0.5 max, off of what the lab tester measured in most cases it was less. This was also true for counter clockwise direction, which is great news for Dodge guys that have left hand fasteners. Really the accuracy is better than the +/- 2% that AllTrade states. Also it is accurate below the 29.5lb-ft, when I tested it the unit started registering at about 3.4lb-ft and it was again with +/-0.2 of the lab tester, this is true of the high end I took the unit to an even 150lb-ft and it was on still. For standard testing though we only test the max of the wrench, 60% of range, and 20% of range. I did this and found that the bottom 20% of the max happens to be the 29.5lb-ft that the unit is rated at. So AllTrade is following standards when making this product.
Catch:
I have only one thing to say about the unit, with it's usable range it really can't correctly calibrate a torque wrench. As I stated above to calibrate a torque wrench you have to check it at three points the Max, 60%, and 20%. Reason is springs are not a linear acting object. As you stretch or compress them the amount of force varies. So I have seen wrenches be good at max but fail in the mid 60% but be ok at the bottom range. All of my wrenches fall out of the range of the unit at some point. If it is my large 1/2 then it goes to 250lb-ft, if it is my smaller 3/8 it goes too low as it's bottom usable is 16lb-ft.
Still:
This though however is no reason to take anything away from this unit. For the home mechanic the ability to check at the mid range of a wrench is more than enough for the job since in the case of automobiles the torque values given are usually over a range. If one was worried they could set the unit for the exact torque then check their wrench for accuracy, but then you might as well just use the unit and torque the bolt. Unless you can't get the unit on with a breaker bar because the location of the bolt is too tight.
Conclusion:
If you do not have a torque wrench simply by this and use it as it will be more than enough for the job. It will save you a ton of money and do 90% of the torque values you would need. If you already have a lot of torque wrenches then buy this to check them. I am very impressed with this unit and it will come in very handy for checking my wrenches at home, and for taking to a friend's garage instead of taking all my wrenches I only need to bring this one item. See the pictures I have uploaded showing the readings on the unit vs the lab tester.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Alltrade 940759 Powerbuilt Digital Torque Adaptor for 1/2-Inch Driver
The Alltrade Powerbuilt Digital Torque Adaptor for 1/2-Inch Driver takes the guess work out of applying proper torque to a nut or bolt, without the need for an expensive torque wrench. This versatile tool lets you instantly, safely convert a half-inch drive ratchet into a digital torque wrench. The torque adapter also lets you accurately calibrate any analog or digital torque wrench--right in your own garage.
Digital Torque Adapterfor 1/2-Inch DriverAt a Glance:
