Well yes, just using torque wrench correctly will put out the calibration eventually but abusing it as described will put it out sooner. Certainly cheapo Aldi/Screwfix torque wrenches are probabley not worth buying but Halfords tools are generally of better quailty & suitable for home use.
A mechanic's torque wrench in daily use should of course be recalibrated annually but a Halfords tool used occasionally should be ok for a few yrs, I would have thought.
It depends on how they are used and looked after - the caravanner in the street sees them as a magic tool to set their wheel nuts correctly - I wonder how many of them leave them set to the the setting for doing up their wheel nuts.
I suppose buying a cheap torque wrench is akin to buying and a cheap car tyre and fitting it to your van - sure it's cheap and at the end of the day you may get the same result.
Quote:
A mechanic's torque wrench in daily use should of course be recalibrated annually but a Halfords tool used occasionally should be ok for a few yrs, I would have thought.
Your family's lives may depend on that thought!
------------- Caravanning is a way of getting a cheap holiday out of an expensive hobby
rune@tabbytha.com
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Quote: Originally posted by Rune Caster on 14/10/2010Your family's lives may depend on that thought!
Bit melodramtic, Rune. I just use a bar & my judgement. I would certainly trust that more than I would trust a cheap torque wrench.
It's the mornings that do it you know
But is it any more melodramatic than saying the same thing about not loading your caravan correctly & etc., after all wheel nuts are supposed to be set to 88 Nm not the 44 Nm you are more likely to get with a cheap torque wrench - a wheel coming off a trailer is worse than a blow out...
------------- Caravanning is a way of getting a cheap holiday out of an expensive hobby