Bought the wrong range torque wrench. Should I keep it? (1 Viewer)

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Sep 13, 2007
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Location
Seacoast NH
I flubbed up the part number when I was placing the order for a new torque wrench and mistakenly got one that spans the range from 10 to 50 inch/lbs. (by the way, emaxaction.com had the lowest prices I could find on CDI [aka Snap-On] wrenches and the shipping was fast and customer support was helpful).

As this (and most other) torque wrenches are only certified for the top 80% of full scale, this means that the usable range for this wrench is 18 to 50 inch/lbs (about 1.5 to 4.2 foot/lbs).

At $130 for the wrench, I can think of better places to spend my money (especially as I'm currently replacing the HG) and am thinking about exchanging it for one with a more common range. However, if anyone thinks that it may be handy to keep around, I will reconsider.

Pretty much the only jobs I do that would call for a torque wrench would be working on the cruiser and my old 1988 Kawasaki Ninja 500.

So, after that wordy intro, should I keep the 10-50 in/lb wrench or send it back? Is there anything on a cruiser that calls out such a low torque spec?

Thanks!
 
I just finished my HG and I can tell you 13-15 ft-lbs was used the most. I have never needed anything that small in my limited wrenching career. If you work on cars, the only thing I would GUESS that you would use it for would be pre-load of pinion gears. Bite the bullet and send it back.
 
trade it. It won't do you any good and, as you said, that money could be spent somewhere else.
 
I would probably trade it with one around 10-100 ft-lb range if this is the only one you plan to buy. That's said I had used the 50 in-lb on my starter rebuild, and I believe there are some usages for parts rebuild (although the guys here might not think it is necessary to use torque wrench for such application).
 
Na not much use in the inch lbs range. Get a digital 3/8” unit that converts to inch lbs if you need it. This is what I rock here at the shop when I need inch lbs.

Mark
 
I'd trade it. I have the CDI 1503MFRMH (20-150 ft/lbs) which I'm very happy with. I think you'd only rarely use the one you've got now.
 
It always seems like threads about tools get quick and plentiful responses and this one is no exception; thanks for all of your replies!

You have solidified my decision to send the 10-50 in/lb wrench back and I will do so today.

In its place, I have bought two wrenches:

Husky 39102 25-250, in/lb (certified range of 70-250 in/lb or 5.8 to 20.8 ft/lb)

Snap-On TECH2FR100, 5-100 ft/lb (certified range of 24-100 ft/lb)

However, I may sell the Husky and get a CDI 3002LDIN 0-300 in/lb (certified range of 60-300 in/lb or 5-25 ft/lb) as this wrench will span the missing range from 20.0-23.9 ft/lb that the Husky/Snap-On combination misses.

The CDI 3002LDIN is a dial wrench and that would require you to watch the torque value and stop yourself at the desired torque (tell me if I'm wrong here). I think I would prefer the "click" type wrench as you don't have to be looking at the display as you are wrenching; which can be difficult in some positions.

Picture 1 - Husky
Picture 2 - Snap-On
Picture 3 - CDI

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Last edited:
It always seems like threads about tools get quick and plentiful responses and this one is no exception; thanks for all of your replies!

You have solidified my decision to send the 10-50 in/lb wrench back and I will do so today.

In its place, I have bought two wrenches:

Husky 39102 25-250, in/lb (certified range of 70-250 in/lb or 5.8 to 20.8 ft/lb)

Snap-On TECH2FR100, 5-100 ft/lb (certified range of 24-100 ft/lb)

However, I may sell the Husky and get a CDI 3002LDIN 0-300 in/lb (certified range of 60-300 in/lb or 5-25 ft/lb) as this wrench will span the missing range from 20.0-23.9 ft/lb that the Husky/Snap-On combination misses.

The CDI 3002LDIN is a dial wrench and that would require you to watch the torque value and stop yourself at the desired torque (tell me if I'm wrong here). I think I would prefer the "click" type wrench as you don't have to be looking at the display as you are wrenching; which can be difficult in some positions.

Picture 1 - Husky
Picture 2 - Snap-On
Picture 3 - CDI

.


CDI makes good quality torque wrenches and that's what we used in the military.
 

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