Torque Wrench

Caneman

I am considering purchasing a particular inverter, the install manual says to use a torque wrench to tighten the connections:

"You must tighten your battery terminals to approximately 4 Newton-meters of torque to create an efficient battery connection and prevent excessive heating; insufficiently tightening the terminals could void your PowerVerter's warranty."

Do I really need to use a torque wrench to do this?

BB.

Re: Torque Wrench

That is about 3 ft.lbs. of torque (or 35.4 in.lbs.)... Poorly torqued (or dirty/etc.) electrical connections can cook a connector pretty easily--especially with the high amperage at the DC input of your inverters.

Do you need a a torque wrench/screw driver--Probably not. But for people that don't work with car/mechanical stuff--They may not have a good idea of how tight to make a connection (and avoid over torquing causing stripped threads).

-Bill

westbranch

Re: Torque Wrench

check to see what your battery calls for, my connecting bolts need to be 'torqued'.
the need for torquing is to ensure proper mating of connecting surfaces. 'loose connections can cause lots of problems.

Cariboocoot

Re: Torque Wrench

Not if you're practiced at reefing down connector bolts.
Finding one of the small torque wrenches that works in inch-ounces may not be easy unless you have a good tool supply nearby. Otherwise it's a matter of discretionary use of the right size wrench/driver/ratchet and being sure to check and re-tighten after a while as they can loosen of their own accord over time. Even when tightened to 4 Newton-metres (about 3 foot-lbs).

Companies love to give themselves lots of ways out of the warranty. :roll:

Caneman

Re: Torque Wrench

this might be the ticket from HF:

Attachment not found.


1/4" Drive Click Stop Torque Wrench

Utilizing a heavy duty cam and pawl mechanism, this reversible 1/4" drive click stop torque wrench is the go-to tool when precise torque is needed. The click-stop torque wrench design provides a torque range from 20 to 200 in. lbs. and is accurate to within +/- 4% .

•1/4" drive click stop wrench design
•Heavy duty cam and pawl mechanism
•Torque range: 20 to 200 in. lbs.
•Reversible Wrench length: 11"


http://www.harborfreight.com/1-4-quarter-inch-drive-click-stop-torque-wrench-2696.html