Teach Me - Powered Ratchets

Ok, fine, I don't get it.  Maybe you all can help.

I just finished reading the latest air vs battery tool thread, and I noticed that several (many?) of you like or love powered ratchets, either air or battery. I have noticed the same thing in other threads, here and elsewhere. 

I have an air ratchet.  I HATE it. Haven't used it in years. It's a 1/2" drive. It's huge, so there are lost of places under a hood it doesn't fit.  Managing the air hose sucks. It kicks. Hard. (Impacts don't, of course). And after it kicks, it still doesn't loosen the nut/bolt. It doesn't make fasteners real tight either, but it kicks, hard, again, when the fastener is fully run down.  And also there's the loud, high-pitched noise.

I know that a battery powered ratchet would solve the air hose issue and most of the noise issue, and a smaller tool, like a 3/8" drive, would address, but not eliminate, the space issue. But what about the kicking and lack of ability to loosen stuck fasteners and make them tight?

It looks to me like a battery powered impact, sized and adjusted appropriately for the fastener, is a much better choice than a powered ratchet, in every case.

So, set me straight. Talk slowly and use small words. What am I missing? What don't I get?

I have a milwaukee M12 3/8 drive ratchet that I like for certain things. It will kick a bit when a fastener is tight but I wouldn't call it hard. It won't loosen or tighten anything but it is great for running bolts in or out when you don't want to spend forever with a ratchet or wrench and can't fit an impact in the space. 

I get a lot more use out of my M12 impact driver but the ratchet comes in handy enough that I'm glad I have it. 

FWIW I'm not quite sure I get it either. I have an ancient air powered one and I've used it exactly once in the ~7 years I've had it. It was reinstalling a trailer axle after removing extra spring leafs. So 8 total lock nuts that needed to be threaded like 2" down the u-bolt legs. Not enough space to get the impact into, and the locknuts meant that running them down by hand would have been a ton of time and effort. In that moment I was happy I had it (even if it was so old and unused that I had to spend a few minutes running oil through it to free the mechanism up before use) but it's literally the only time I can remember that I've even thought about using it. Anything with more space gets the impact, anything with less space usually is quick and easy enough that hand tools do just fine. Seems like one of those tools that's super nice to have the 1% of the time that it's relevant, but totally unnecessary the other 99% of the time. Probably one factor is that I use power tools rarely enough that the air compressor is turned off unless I'm using it and the tool batteries live in the house so that they're not subjected to the garage temperature swings that tend to be hard on them. If the power source was there and the thing was ready to go with no effort I might be inclined to use it as a default but I don't think it would become my favorite tool ever.

I have the Makita battery powered angle impact, which is sorta like the power ratchets. It's a nice tool but I never use it for all the reasons you describe, mostly because it never fits anywhere I need it.

I have the Harbor Freight 3/8 electric ratchet and it's one of the best hundos I've ever parted with.  It doesn't have the torques to really tighten or loosen anything, but it's slim enough to fit into most places whereas the impact wrench is a bit too bulky.  It's also lighter, so I get less fatigued using it constantly.  It can also be used like a regular ratchet, so I can break the bolt loose with the electric tool then press the button and watch it do the work for me.  It's a little bit loud, but an order of magnitude quieter than the air ratchet I've not used in over a decade. 

I think a battery powered ratchet is definitely a luxury but when it's useful, it's really useful.  If I was buying a new one now, I'd get 1/4 drive extended head.  That gives you the smallest head, furthest away from the base of the tool, which is what I find gets in the way the most.

It's not for starting the bolts or finishing them but the inbetween stuff that the powered ratchets shine on. If you're only working on a car here or there it's not going to pay off but if you're out in the shop constantly it can save you so much time and wear and tear on your wrists. 
 

Example. The other day I was fastening the battery pack back in on a Volt. 22 bolts all about 1.5" long and near the center line on the car. I had to reach way up under the car and run the bolts in with the car down low (lowered the car down to the pack since I don't have a lift table) and I was able to do it in just a few minutes with the air ratchet. It saved me at least an hour and so much uncomfortable positioning and ratchet spinning. 

The only powered ratchet I have is a quarter inch drive IR pneumatic. 

I use it a lot for interior work. Or anywhere  there is a lot of small fasteners that aren’t out in the open. 

Besides my old construction tools. My  makita brushless drill and 3/8 impact are the only electric powered tools I own currently. 

“A time and a place for everything.” Ecclesiastes 3-1 I think...

I have the Milwaukee M12 3/8". I like it for anything with more than an inch or so of thread. The nice thing is that you can use it as a regular ratchet, so you can break things loose by hand, then spin them off, or run them down, then snug up by hand (or torque if necessary). It's not for everything, but I find myself using it a lot more than I expected to.

I'm in the Milwaukee 3/8" crowd as well. I am a huge fan, much more useful to me than an air ratchet. It really shines when doing repeated mock ups where final torque is not important and lots of bolts need to be taken in/out. It gets used almost every day here.

Milwaukee M12 3/8 ratchet here as well. It doesn't get used often but it is nice to have.

Big Milwaukee M12 guy here.  The standard M12 3/8 ratchet is a lot more maneuverable than the Fuel version but the Fuel ratchets are a lot stronger.  I've seen the non-Fuel ratchets break more often than they should.  The hot ticket is the 1/4 Drive Fuel Extended Reach Ratchet. Better fuel motor, stronger construction, lower profile head and less bulky than the 3/8" but still has a ton of power.

The Harbor Freight Earthquake seems to be a popular choice on here as well.  Cordless tools are all about the battery platform though.

I have a Milwaukee m12 1/4 and 3/8 ratchets. I use them like air ratchets. No power break bolt loose then power out. Tighten til it quits then no power and some hand torque.

M next step is to get better batteries and the extended length version of each.

Snap-On Microlithuim in 1/4 and 3/8" here and a fan of both.

They're for saving time and that's all.

Don't expect the ratchet to crack the bolt loose under power, that's your job. The ratchet is for running the bolt in and out.

I use mine for chasing threads a lot. The old stuff I work on is usually so gunked up or messed up that it's a good idea to run a chaser through everything so it goes back together smoothly. Huge time saver there.

I use mine in close quarters where my hands would otherwise cramp up or get sliced to bits. 
 

I have the Mac, which can also use DeWalt batteries. In fact, I don't think I even have any Mac batteries. 

Two words: Header bolts.

My 3/8" M12 isn't what I reach for first, but for some jobs, like headers, it literally saves an hour. 

wae said:

I have the Harbor Freight 3/8 electric ratchet and it's one of the best hundos I've ever parted with.  It doesn't have the torques to really tighten or loosen anything, but it's slim enough to fit into most places whereas the impact wrench is a bit too bulky.  It's also lighter, so I get less fatigued using it constantly.  It can also be used like a regular ratchet, so I can break the bolt loose with the electric tool then press the button and watch it do the work for me.  It's a little bit loud, but an order of magnitude quieter than the air ratchet I've not used in over a decade. 

+1 on this 

Tom Suddard said:

Two words: Header bolts.

My 3/8" M12 isn't what I reach for first, but for some jobs, like headers, it literally saves an hour. 

Exactly! It really shines where I can't get a lot of throw with a regular ratchet and have a lot of thread to run through. 

1/4" snap on. As said before don't use the electric to break it loose or tighten, you just use it like a hand ratchet at those times. Then hit the button to run the nut / bolt out. Big time saver when it fits (which is a lot of the time for what I work on).

I got a extended head 3/8 drive off of Amazon, 100 bucks if I remember.

It's not super powerful but it keeps my carpel tunnel in check and saves lots of time.

Thanks everyone!  I'm glad I asked. I'm sloooowly  developing a cordless tool strategy, which I might actually execute some day, and this info helps.

Woody (Forum Supportum) said:

I use mine in close quarters where my hands would otherwise cramp up or get sliced to bits. 
 

I have the Mac, which can also use DeWalt batteries. In fact, I don't think I even have any Mac batteries. 

Which Mac, and which DeWalt batteries, please? 

When I was a heavy equipment mechanic I used a blue point 3/8 air ratchet every day as all the equipment had numerous panels and guards to remove to get to the power train and hydraulics. Came in handy and saved alot if time but I did bust some knuckles when it kicked pretty often. I watch Mighty Car Mods on youtube and see them using battery ratchet all the time and it's on my shortlist of tools to buy in the future as I no longer have a air compressor.

Have used the snap on one before and was impressed. No dewalt option so don't own any yet. 

I've borrowed an M12 3/8" and really liked it for smaller stuff in the engine bay. Bellhousing bolts, header bolts etc are way easier to run in/out with the electric and start/finish by hand using the same tool. Not sure I could personally justify the expense, but I liked borrowing it.