Ratcheting Hydrant Wrench Styles
Firefighters use ratcheting hydrant wrenches to gain access to fire hydrants. A standard ratchet of socket, like the ones found in a tool set, cannot be used to loosen the bolts and nuts on a fire hydrant. A lot of hydrant wrenches do not ratchet, but some styles have ratcheting capability.
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Ratcheting
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Ratcheting is a tool design consisting of a pawl that allows the wrench to turn in one direction. The nut or bolt can be turned in increased or decreased increments without removing the ratchet from the nut or bolt. Hydrant wrenches have special features that connect to the nuts and bolts of a fire hydrant. The introduction of the ratcheting fire hydrant wrench allowed firefighters to access the hydrant faster and engage the water supply quicker.
One-Piece
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Combination ratcheting hydrant wrenches have a handle, socket and ratcheting mechanism connected together. The socket connects to the nuts of a fire hydrant and gets locked down to the nut with a set screw. The pawl of the ratchet is not detachable from the socket but can be set to loosen or tighten the hydrant nut. Most of these style of ratchet hydrant wrenches have long handles, anywhere from 13 to 17 inches in length, which provide better leverage. Better leverage allows the firefighter to loosen the nut easier without expending too much force.
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Two-Piece
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The two-piece ratcheting hydrant wrench has a detachable circular handle. The socket and ratcheting mechanism is similar to the one-piece ratcheting hydrant wrench. The handle looks like a pipe and can be removed to insert a shorter or longer handle if required.
Zak Ratcheting Hydrant Wrench and Socket
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The Zak ratcheting hydrant wrench and socket is also a two-piece tool. The difference between the Zak and the two-piece wrench is the ratcheting device and socket is not one assembly. The ratchet on the Zak hydrant wrench is similar to the standard ratchet found in a tool set, but the socket is designed specifically for hydrant pentagon or square nuts. The wrenches also come with different size sockets to fit any type of fire hydrant.
Double Handle
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The double handle ratchet hydrant wrench has a handle on either side of the socket. The ratcheting mechanism and socket is set in the middle of the two handles. The two handles measure approximately 33 inches and allow the firefighter or water utility worker to rotate the nuts faster. The double handles also allow two workers to ratchet the hydrant nuts loose if needed. The sockets come in different sizes in order to fit the pentagonal nuts found on different brand fire hydrants.
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References
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