torque wrench

[jamaica]

My wife needs a Christmas gift suggestion. What inch pound torque wrench do you like for the screws and nuts on your Blue seas products? Will it be one wrench for the screws and another for the nuts? Thanks

[Threeweight]

Uh... careful.  You only want to snug up connections with electrical components to 10-15 foot pounds.  Blue Sea stuff is well made, but the lugs are still just potted in epoxy/plastic housings.  No need for a torque wrench for that.  They use really high grade stainless screws for corrosion resistance, but they are soft metal and easy to bugger out.

For working on the truck/car/other random stuff, I have a cheapy I got many years ago.  It is the old-fashioned clicker style.  I think the highest setting I have ever used was 150 ft pounds (for torquing the grade 8 bolts when installing a 14,000 pound rated tow hitch on my 1 ton pickup.)

[jamaica]

Torque values for the screws and bolts in inch pounds are given with the Blue Seas literature that I got with Safety Hub and fuse panels. I assume they are important or they wouldn't have given them?

[Fisherdv]

3WT, is correct. I would just "snug" those screws and bolts by feel. No need for torque wrench on those. If you are still wanting torque wrenches to use on other stuff the CDI torque wrenches on Amazon are very good. I believe they are made by snap-on but at a much more affordable price. Some guys use them on their helicopter so must be accurate. They have inch and foot pound wrenches. I also have Craftsman brand wrenches but think the CDI wrenches are superior. Not cheap, but way less than snap-on or other high end brands

[Threeweight]

If you want to invest in a torque wrench for this, just be aware you need one of the tiny little guys that does inch pounds.  It will work great for this, but it may not be useful for anything else the average Joe needs.

I was assuming you wanted a general purpose wrench.  For that, I'd want a 1/2 or 3/4 drive... those are going to be ft-lbs only, and too big to use in cramped spaces.

I've never used one for this purpose, though.... I think you are fine without it.  Spend that $$ on fishing gear!

[jamaica]

I've got a 1/2" drive torque wrench for the bigger stuff. I was talking about the cables and wires connecting to the buss bars and lugs. Snug sounds good to me...maybe I'm trying to be too cautious. You never have enuf' fishing gear.

[Fisherdv]

I hear ya about being cautious. When dealing with inch pound settings sometimes it's so little that it can be easy to not even hear, or feel the wrench click and with the leverage of a large handled torque wrench it's very easy to miss the click and strip, unless you have an expensive digital torque wrench

[Danno]

Jamaica, I suspect the BlueSea specifications are designed to let manufacturers using their products know how tight they can tighten the nuts/screws without breaking the BlueSea device. They are also likely to support some shock/vibration testing that they have performed to determine what is needed to keep the connections tight. Personally, I think it's a good idea to follow the guidelines but you can provide additional safety by tying the wires down, using the provided lock washers and then checking the connections on an annual basis.

[jamaica]

I was hoping there was some "wrench" that looks kinda like a screwdriver with an adjustable ring to set the torque value and then clicks when the screw is torqued to the value set. I didn't see anything on Amazon that looks like that. Even the little ones look like the typical wrench you turn a socket with.

[Fisherdv]

Jamaica,They do have that. Search under torque screwdriver

[croaker stroker]

I've learned to put a drop of Loctite on those electrical lugs.

[Fisherdv]

I've learned to put a drop of Loctite on those electrical lugs.

I've thought about doing that too but then I thought it would interfere with the electrical connection

[Threeweight]

Never had one loosen myself... the bigger lugs all come with lock washers, and the little screws have friction washer.

I give them a coat of Corrosion Block from time to time.  I like to spray it in a small bowl then brush it on with a little disposable glue brush.

[DevMah]

Guys use extreme caution when you mention loctite as it is a anaerobic sealer...
http://www.loctite.com.au/3320_AUE_HTML.htm?nodeid=8802623848449

I had had installations where they dipped the fasteners in loctite and caused bad connection even breaking the terminal off the board on removal....some even used  red loctite.....

IMO

Use lock washers or locking nuts
Clean and tighten your connections annually
Use dielectric grease

Types of spray on dielectric
https://www.practical-sailor.com/issues/33_9/features/Sailboat-Electrical-Equipment-Protection_5502-1.html

The misconception I get all the time is "Yup I already checked my connections they are all tight... you are wasting your time checking them.. its a bad wire.. yet all it was was a corroded connection at the lugs. Just because is tight dose not mean the connection is good. This is why I recommend that you clean and check your connections annually.


If using loctite the place a few drops on top of the stud/nut and bolt don't coat the threads as you could insulate the stud. Stay away from using loctite on plastic mounted or circuit board connections. Another method is to tighten the bolt/stud on plastic or circuit boards and then apply a drop of nail polish over top.

Now back to torquing I would recommend use of torquing tools overall. I know most of the aftermarket DIY world dose not use torque tools l but if you are a newbie to DIY (Do it yourself ) I would strongly suggest using them.

Face it they would not make the tools nor the manufacture set specifications if it was not required to torque fasteners. Next time you go on a plane I hope the Technician bolted on the engine and wheels and torqued them...


Snap-on torque screwdrivers
https://store.snapon.com/Torque-Screwdrivers-C629544.aspx

Dev

[Fisherdv]

If I received that $260 snap-on torque screwdriver for Christmas I would definitely use it. Would be a nice addition to the toolbox. Lots of people use cheap, old, inaccurate torque wrenches. I think that could be actually worse than not using one at all. Point being, if you need a persice torque on a critical fastener spend the money and get a good quality, accurate torque wrench

[Yachter Yat]

 
   Just a thought, but what do you guys think of covering all electrical connections with liquid electrical tape?      I had a fellow tell me that's what he'd do on any new boat.  Made sense at the time, but now I'm not so sure.

Yat

[Fisherdv]

 
   Just a thought, but what do you guys think of covering all electrical connections with liquid electrical tape?      I had a fellow tell me that's what he'd do on any new boat.  Made sense at the time, but now I'm not so sure.

Yat

That may be ok for exposed connections but it can be messy. If enclosed, I would see no need. I did however use something like that on an exposed bilge pump switch

[jamaica]

I'd love to have that Snap On in my tool box but the $260. is too much for me, I don't buy Cadillacs either and it certainly is one. Maybe put it on a gold chain and hang on my wife's neck. There are some good choices on Amazon for about 1/2 the money, I'm still thinking about it. Thanks for the leads.

[ATGEP]

I snapped the lug off my new Blue Sea ACR trying to torque it. I carefully snugged up the replacement.

[La-Z-Buoy]

Eons ago I worked for a service station maintenance company. We took care of pumps, hoists, tanks, and associated plumbing, etc. When installing large pipe for the underground tanks the boss told me to use a 36" pipe wrench and tighten the connections until I couldn't tighten them any more, and then go 3/4 of a turn more,  (using a cheater bar). Wouldn't recommend that for electrical connections    .

[Fisherdv]

I snapped the lug off my new Blue Sea ACR trying to torque it. I carefully snugged up the replacement.

Thats a good example, a large handle, high leverage, probably inaccurate torque wrench on a very small plastic electrical box. Just snug those things and be done. Carry a wrench or screwdriver in the tool kit just in case in happens to come loose. It's not a wheel on an aircraft.  :twocents:

[Threeweight]

Dielectric grease, Corrosion Block, etc... work by sealing off the surface of the metal from moisture and electrically insulating it.  They are sticky and don't dry out, and expand and contract with the metal.

I like liquid tape for protecting butt splices (I use heat-shrink butt connectors, then liquid tape or shrink wrap over that... belt and suspenders).  I don't like it for lugs or any kind of electrical connection I need to inspect or potentially remove.  I'd also worry that w/ expansion and contraction it would allow some moisture to get under it, then trap it there.

[DevMah]

Dielectric grease, Corrosion Block, etc... work by sealing off the surface of the metal from moisture and electrically insulating it.  They are sticky and don't dry out, and expand and contract with the metal.

I like liquid tape for protecting butt splices (I use heat-shrink butt connectors, then liquid tape or shrink wrap over that... belt and suspenders).  I don't like it for lugs or any kind of electrical connection I need to inspect or potentially remove.  I'd also worry that w/ expansion and contraction it would allow some moisture to get under it, then trap it there.

Well said..

As threeweigt mentions that the liquid tape can actually trap moisture ...this is similar to using non adhesive type shrink tube. Moisture can get under and become trapped causing corrosion.

Dev

[DevMah]

I'd love to have that Snap On in my tool box but the $260. is too much for me, I don't buy Cadillacs either and it certainly is one. Maybe put it on a gold chain and hang on my wife's neck. There are some good choices on Amazon for about 1/2 the money, I'm still thinking about it. Thanks for the leads.

Look into Wera and Wiha

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dindustrial&field-keywords=Wear+torque+screwdriver

Dev