Hi all,

I know theres quite a few engineers on this forum so id thought id ask how you keep your torque wrenches.

Theres books and internet hype that says you should return a click type wrench back to zero/lowest setting after use to release pressure on the spring or springs.

Do you guys do this?

I dont buy this personally, surely if youve left your wrench anywhere on its designed scale then the spring will be in its elastic limit and will not permanantly deform over the type of time frame people use their wrenches. Surely it would have to be years and years to get any permanent deformation?

Should be returned to zero/lowest settings, its good practice as it prolongs the life and keeps the readings with-in its spec.

Not sure why, something along the lines of the clutch mechanism not wearing..

Every major firm i see send there meters into my work have always done this ..

( Calibration Engineer )

Ever worried you could send it into my work and we'll check it out and give you a calibration cerficate :)

Only down the road from cannock :)

Should be returned to zero/lowest settings, its good practice as it prolongs the life and keeps the readings with-in its spec.

Not sure why, something along the lines of the clutch mechanism not wearing..

Every major firm i see send there meters into my work have always done this ..

( Calibration Engineer )

Ever worried you could send it into my work and we'll check it out and give you a calibration cerficate :)

Only down the road from cannock :)

Thank you, thats very generous

I thought zero on a torque wrench unseated the internal springs which caused innacurate calibration, hence the 'lowest setting' thing.

I know everyone does it, its wrote on the side of the tool kit at work, i was just having this discussion with people at work, i cant see the calibration being affected when a wrench is left in its inteneded range is all.

If you compress a spring for long enough it loses its energy eventually (like a car spring). Removing the load just prolongs the life of the spring as stated.

Always screw back to zero to decompress the spring and store in a box with a bag of silica to prevent corrosion.

If its a decent one from a decent manufacturer you can send back to the manufacturer to get calibrated once a year, you will receive a certificate of calibration, so if you ever come to sell it should have held its value a bit more.

Turning a thread, loaded by a spring, damages the thread.

Most vehicles are good with sitting on their springs twenty years.

I've had my billet ally wrench a good ten years now and it's fine, usually stored with at least 30nm on the dial. Given the hundreds of times i've used it, I recon it'd be long dead by now if I turned it up and down every time I used it..

Turning a thread, loaded by a spring, damages the thread.

Most vehicles are good with sitting on their springs twenty years.

I've had my billet ally wrench a good ten years now and it's fine, usually stored with at least 30nm on the dial. Given the hundreds of times i've used it, I recon it'd be long dead by now if I turned it up and down every time I used it..

This.

I've got a torque wrench for my wheel nuts and i leave it at its in use setting. Its never been out of calibration once in 2 years, hence the original question i asked.

Yeah you're meant to back them off, but half the time I forget and never had any calibration issues (checked regularly) but then again they're used hundreds of times a day, and left for like a weekend at max without being used

yeah , Basicly take the strain off the spring..

Never bounce on them either ..

Seen monkeys with more sence then some of the contractors i get in at work lol

we always wind them off at work otherwise the spring will weaken over time and your readings may be out. we just use a calibration machine everytime we set them up anyway.