Are strap wrenches useful?
Im an apprentice plumber and my teacher says they dont work cause they never grip but he has the ridgid brand strap wrench with a cloth like strap.
It seems to me like a rubber strap wrench would be immensely useful. I hate the thought of putting a tool with teeth on faucet trim that has no flat surfaces for a crescent-like wrench or is too frozen to be hand loosed. Also i would imagine it could be useful for gluing larger sizes of plastic pipe. If youve ever tried to push schedule 80 pipe and fittings together of a large diameter you know what im talking about.
So whats the consensus on these tools?
>>898383
they're absolutely shit for anything more then hand tightened fittings. if a fitting is smooth as you say, it will be even worse. we're instructed to remove pump impellers off motors with them in my line of work, and never has it worked. strap wrenches are the result of an engineer saying 'hey, this should work,' testing it in a perfect setting, with all new fittings.
Strap wrenches can be very useful. I use them in my line of work and although I'm not a plumber, they work very well for certain things at my job. I work with instruments and equipment used in subsea surveying (ROVs etc) and when I need to bust open the endcaps of some equipment I just apply some heat and go to town with a strap wrench.
Tl;Dr yes, I find them useful
>>898383
>Im an apprentice plumber and my teacher says they dont work cause they never grip but he has the ridgid brand strap wrench with a cloth like strap.
If you need to tighten something not-very-tight, and if it is too big to grab with your hand, strap wrenches (with decent straps) can be helpful. But they're not high-torque items.
A strap wrench is a girly version of a chain wrench--pic related.
(I am not a plumber but anyway) I would recommend that you also get a chain wrench--either a plain one, or one of the vise-grips with the chain on it.
I have a vise-grips one I bought maybe 15 years ago; I think I've actually used it like THREE times. All three times, it worked when nothing else would,,,, but it is not for "nice" surfaces, as it tends to chew things up a bit.
>>898383
they work perfect for really tight jars
the rubber ones have really good grip, but I can imagine them snapping at higher torques.
Uhh can anyone ID this wrench?
It a small 5" long with generic rubberized handle
The part was on a hinge kind of?
What would it be used for?
>>898383
They are too weak to get anything done that might require an actual wrench, I ripped them in my one and only experience trying to remove a non standard oil filter cap.
>>898383
They're pretty useful. My grandparents have one for opening tough jars.
>>898383
There is one place they are useful I have been told - stuck oil filters
>>898383
yeah man, what >>898466 said. They work pretty good for stuck oil filters, or any sort of filter apparatus with a similar design imo.
they make ones that are like a chain instead of rubber and I've heard they grip insanely good, have yet to use one as a mechanic tho..
>>898432
>Uhh can anyone ID this wrench?
it looks a lot like a spanner wrench, except for the 'hinged part'... an actual photo would help
sometimes these are also called "pin wrenches".... consult google for visual examples
>>898432
In Australia, these are used to tighten/loosen in confined spaces where a regular wrench can't be used effectively (or at all) like under-sink flexible pipes into mixer taps.
They're a god-tier tool, especially for plumbing. Work on everything from PVC compression fittings to changing car oil filters. Unfortunately, most of them are shit and break, but if you get a good one it's gold.
>>898432
A basin wrench.
For install and removal of the sink drain.
>>898387
>I use them in my line of work and although I'm not a plumber, they work very well for certain things at my job
I was really curious to see whether or not you were gonna say you work in the sex industry, I have to say I'm slightly disappointed.
Stop being a pussy.
>>898551
Second this, most strap wrenches are near disposable-tier. They're fantastic for working on surfaces you can't scratch or score, like motorcycle suspension.
>>898719
Yeah great, let me know when you can fit that in a tight spot with 15 other pipes next to it.
>>898489
I have both a strap wrench and a chain wrench. I usually first try to undo oil filters with them. So far not a single one has been loosened with them ever. I have four cars and have been servicing them long enough to realize how shit they are.
I can't understand why I still try with the strap wrenches. Maybe I'm just too optimistic...
>>898383
I bought one and use it for oil filters on mine and my friends cars.
![small%20pipewrench[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/hC5zHHx.jpg "small%20pipewrench[1].jpg")
>>898775
Successfully used one to hold a polished piston rod still in order to tighten a nut on the end. Needed something nonmarring and ordinary pliers around a drive belt weren't working. Still had some trouble getting a strong enough grip to keep the rod from twisting but eventually got it.
If I had the money to spare I would love to get a round-grip wrench set, but they are obscenely expensive.
Dumb question, could you put garden hose or bike inner tube around the chain so you don't mar shiny chrome fittings?
They're also good for soil pipe, or cast iron where you can crack the pipes easily with a chain or pipe wrench.
>>899484
The chain is what gives it the " bite" to allow force to used.
The rubber ones are OK but are prone to breakage under a lot of stress.
The ratchet strap ones are great on metal pipes.
I'm yet to come across something that can remove a seized tapered flange off without teeth, especially after you soak it in lube.
A rubber jar opener is good if its not completely seized.
>>901344
No it isn't. The teeth on the handle part are what bites in
