Battery Terminal Torque (EG4)
- Thread starter forbin
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sunshine_eggo
Victron's little biatch
How many torque specs have you seen where it means a minimum? I personally haven't ever seen one. It's either a single value or a range.
Single value means, "set torque wrench to this value, and stop once torque reached."
Torque is indicated for specific reasons - fastener pre-load as dictated by fastener tensile strength, and clamping force. Too much torque, and you may yield/fracture the fastener. To little, and you don't get the needed clamping force.
Get a torque wrench. A 1/4" drive from harbor freight is about $20.
Old school for $19 on Amazon:
Dagoth Ur Does Solar
Solar Addict
OP, take it from a real expert, we pay no more than $12 + tax with a coupon for that torque wrench, never full price. I am certified Harbor Freight shopper.
For real though, if the torque spec is 5lbft of torque you might shear the thing at 15lbft.
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sunshine_eggo
Victron's little biatch
OP, take it from a real expert, we pay no more than $12 + tax with a coupon for that torque wrench, never full price. I am certified Harbor Freight shopper.
Respect.
Fixed.
42OhmsPA
Who likes Electrical Gremlins?
Tariffs must be the culprit.OP, take it from a real expert, we pay no more than $12 + tax with a coupon for that torque wrench, never full price. I am certified Harbor Freight shopper.
For something like a battery terminal I would follow the specs. Don't use the torque it 'till it breaks and back off a 1/4 turn method on precision items.
I like this one for the small stuff.
Edit - I failed, that's not even a coupon.
BarracudaBob
Harvesting free photons from clean fusion
do they make one in non-conductive material
42OhmsPA
Who likes Electrical Gremlins?
Cheap electrical tape takes care of that. Don't forget to wrap the adhesive layer out on the first layer.
sunshine_eggo
Victron's little biatch
do they make one in non-conductive material
Where's the fun in that?
forbin
Slow learner
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The nearest place to buy a torque wrench is an hour away and closed. It's dark and power is out, so I'm asking questions that are a little desperate. I can run the genny all night, so it's not an emergency, but I was excited about getting the new battery running.
To answer your question, I've never used a torque wrench. For some things, I can understand why torque specs are what they are. Too loose and the connection may be unsafe. Too tight and you may strip it, weaken it, or have trouble getting it off. I've never owned a snazzy sports car, so I've never had to tighten lugs exactly. Always did it by feel. With battery terminals, I don't understand what the big deal is with exact torque. You usually just tighten it until it stops under moderate pressure, then give it another 1/4 turn. Done.
Last edited:
sunshine_eggo
Victron's little biatch
The nearest place to buy a torque wrench is an hour away and closed. It's dark and power is out, so I'm asking questions that are a little desperate. I can run the genny all night, so it's not an emergency, but I was excited about getting the new battery running.
Could you MacGyver a wrench and a fish scale?
Always doing it one way doesn't mean you're doing it right.
Because you don't understand this:
^ A perfect recipe for never getting torque right and potentially stripped threads.
If you have no other choice, "wrist tight".
Grip ratchet/wrench as shown with thumb and index finger aligned with fastener/pivot point.
Tighten no more than you can achieve with only this hand in this position.
Check connections for heat.
Order/procure a torque wrench ASAP.
42OhmsPA
Who likes Electrical Gremlins?
If you've been wrenching on things for a while and have a feel for it I'd say go for it to get you through until you get a wrench.
Keep an eye / feel on the connection for heat build up.
I'd use a short 1/4" drive ratchet and crank it down.
Keep an eye / feel on the connection for heat build up.
I'd use a short 1/4" drive ratchet and crank it down.
Dagoth Ur Does Solar
Solar Addict
It's fine as long as you audibly say "click" when you do it.My wrist is calibrated to the national standard.
forbin
Slow learner
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I'll just wait until morning an go get the right tool. I said I didn't understand. I didn't say I was foolish enough to charge ahead anyway.
sunshine_eggo
Victron's little biatch
I'll just wait until morning an go get the right tool. I said I didn't understand. I didn't say I was foolish enough to charge ahead anyway.
Hey, you presented a different story in an emergency situation. I flubbed and blew my Class-T fuse this past week, and rather than go without power, I bypassed it and went fuseless for about 24 hours.
There's best practices, and there's what you do at different levels of desperation. Assuming you are roughly of average strength, the technique I described should provide sufficient clamping force with little to no risk of over-torquing.
Now, if you're this guy:
All bets are off...
forbin
Slow learner
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I said I can run the genny all night so it's not an emergency. I spent the whole day re-wiring my shed and I wanted to cap it off by turning on the new rig. You know how that is. But now I'm exhausted, my tools are literally everywhere (and I mean everywhere, check your yard), and I have reached the point of diminishing returns. Plus, I don't want to risk voiding the warranty if an SS guy sees this thread and I tried to torque it by feel.
Thanks for the feedback.
sunshine_eggo
Victron's little biatch
Fair enough. I was where you were 3 days last week... each day of work left me exhausted, a little delirious and with the same post-event tool "organization" method...
I was so tired on the 3rd day, tool re-org was just to throw them in a pile near where they needed to go.
I was so tired on the 3rd day, tool re-org was just to throw them in a pile near where they needed to go.
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