Hot take: I used to think those fancy digital torque wrenches were just for show

I was on a big job at the PSEG plant in Bridgeport, and the spec called for a specific torque on some critical flange bolts. My old clicker wrench felt fine, but the lead insisted on using his new Snap-on TechAngle. The reading was off by almost 15 foot-pounds from what I felt. That convinced me. Has anyone else made the switch and noticed a real difference on high-pressure work?

4 comments

4 Comments

young.thomas2mo agoMost Upvoted

Old clickers lie.

ward.anna2mo ago

Oh man, that's wild. Honestly, I've seen the same thing on steam line work. You just can't trust the old clicker when it really counts.

casey8182mo ago

Yeah, that's the scary part... like when the clicker says you're good but you can still feel a tiny bit of play in the joint. Had one on a 4-inch steam line last year that clicked at 250 but we all knew it wasn't right. Ended up having to re-do the whole coupling. What kind of pressure were you dealing with when yours failed?

carr.abby6d agoMost Upvoted

250 on a 4-inch line... that's terrifying. Can't believe you had to redo the whole coupling after it already clicked off.