Had to choose between a digital torque wrench and a beam style for engine work

I was doing a cylinder overhaul on a Cessna 172 last month and needed a new torque wrench. My old beam style was getting sloppy, so I had to pick between a digital Snap-on or a classic Proto beam style. I went with the Proto because I figured I trust a needle and scale more than batteries on a night shift. The digital would have been nice for the beep and the memory, but I just didn't want to worry about it dying mid job. So far the beam style has been dead on, and I don't have to remember to turn it off. Has anyone else had a digital wrench fail on them at a bad time?

2 comments

2 Comments

sarah1982d ago

Read a review once where a guy's digital torque wrench died halfway through torquing down a head on a semi engine. Had to borrow a beam style from a buddy to finish the job. That story alone kept me away from the digital ones.

troy_wilson82d ago

Digital tools can let you down at the worst time. Had a similar thing happen with a cheap digital multimeter once, swore I would always keep a backup. My advice is to just buy a good old beam style for important engine work. They never need batteries and you can feel the bolt actually tightening. I keep a cheaper digital for quick jobs where I just need a ballpark number. But for something like torquing down a head on a semi, that's when you want the simplicity of a beam wrench. No electronics to fail, just steel and a needle.