TIL those cheap torque adapters from Harbor Freight are actually dangerous

I always thought the guys saying avoid the $15 torque adapters were just being snobs. Bought a 1/2 inch one last month to do lug nuts on a fleet of work vans. Third wheel in the adapter snapped clean off, sent my socket flying across the bay. Luckily nobody was standing there. Anyone else had one of those things fail on them?

2 comments

2 Comments

hugo2381mo ago

I gotta push back a little on this, because I've actually had good luck with mine. I grabbed the 1/2 inch adapter from the same place maybe two years ago, and it's held up fine for lug nuts on my old truck and even some light suspension bolts (call me crazy, I know). @christopher713, I get that you snapped one on a lawnmower blade, but maybe yours was just a lemon or came from a bad batch. I think the real problem is people using these adapters way past their torque limit (like 150+ ft-lbs when they're barely rated for half that) and then blaming the tool when it breaks. Not saying they're pro quality, but they're not total junk if you use them right.

christopher7131mo ago

Bought one of those adapter sets on a whim for a lawnmower blade job. Snapped the 3/8 inch adapter on the second bolt, sent the whole damn socket ricocheting off the garage wall. Never found the socket but found a nice dent in the drywall. Those things are made from the cheapest metal they could find, I swear they're more like a safety fuse than a tool.