Cheap Torque wrench

[Wozza]

Hey guys,

Next week at Lidl they are selling 1/2" drive Torque wrenches approx. 20 - 200 Nm for £15.

Not sure how accurate the are for that sort of money.

Just the job for those wheel nuts.

[Funky]

I have a cheap Torque wrench and to be honest I wish I went for something I have a bit more faith in.

[MellowYellow]

They have the German = of BSI mark. I think this is also sold under other brands names.
I had a Clarke as a present which looks just like this one and has exactly the same range (28 - 210).
The Lidl one comes complete with extension bar and 3 large sockets. No probs with mine after 3 yrs.

[CharlieChan]

I find that having one torque wrench doesn't do the job. Too many things on a bike being ally need less than the 28 to 200nm range.
My low range one is a "Torq" 1/4" drive and does 5 to 25nm, cost about £25 but got good reviews.
My high range one is a draper, the other has no name on it. Why have 2, well if it was out of calibration how would you know so I got a 2nd one and if they both work the same its a fair guess they are good. When I get the chance I check the calibration against mates wrenches.

CC

[badgerKDD]

I took advice from good mechanic friends of mine and bought the best I could afford, which happened to be a Teng Tools 20- 200Nm one. It cost approximately £50 but its worth it for piece of mind. Best advice I can give is even if you buy a cheapy, always loosen the torque settings off after use! Leaving it set to a torque will stretch the spring and throw out any calibration.

[goatpants]

I have 2 cheapo's. Silverline aka clarke aka draper I think. Think they are all the same brand, work ok for me.

[Scotty]

The golden rule for tools is: Buy Cheap, Buy Twice…

I had a bit of a hunt around for a good low-range torque wrench a few years back and eventually found a handy Teng item in Screwfix for around £40 - it even had a calibration certificate with it - just the job for things like camshaft cap and clutch spring bolts, anything sized M6 or M8 really. The only issue was that it had a 1/4" square drive, but a 1/4 to 3/8" adapter from Cromwell Tools enabled me to use the more commonly used hex bits and sockets on it.