Herculies 12v Ratchet Review! ANY GOOD???

Today we review the Hercules 12V retches available at everyone's favorite discount store Harbor Freight.

[@bat__bat]

Every time u buy a Milwaukee tool you're buying another Milwaukee tool for a KZbinr or Instagram influencer. They give away thousands of tools for marketing and they do lots of advertising. That's where half your money goes. One tool for you, one for a KZbinr. I don't like buying tools I don't get to own. Harbor freight doesn't do that. So they can sell you one tool and not charge you for another one to give away. Not to mention HF is usually located nearby enough to justify warranty and they are no questions asked replacement. Knowledge is power. Unless given to me, or sold to me used at a quarter price, I'll never buy Milwaukee.

[@kylemoore9626]

The torque rating on ratchets is basically just a rating of how much force it can apply to a fastener as it removes it, it’s not for breaking things loose, it’s not for tightening them. I do not understand why this is such a hard concept for people.

[@steveboy3021002]

But it does help on the ability of the ratchet to remove marred threads or locknuts. Also the more power it has the better potential you dont need a ratchet to break it free. For example intake bolts on a modern car.

[@Comm0ut]

I like mine for salvage yard work because of the long reach and narrow neck. Others should copy that since a short reach angle head tool is inherently much less useful. My bro leaves his Milwaukee angle head cordless at home when we go LS hunting because the reach and head size are decidedly inferior. His Milwaukee won't reach the fasteners we need removed doing salvage LS hunting but the Hercules does and that paid for it the first trip! In self-service yards time is money and if you don't finish the job that day you may lose the parts to someone else. The Hercules runs fasteners and the price is painless. I can afford any wrench I want but I've seen NOTHING else whose head is an exact match or better.

[@cbmech2563]

Bought my 3/8s about a month ago and I'm very pleased with it, especially for the price. How much torque on a power ratchet is not really a concern as long as it turns a tight bolt or nut, but this has very good power and the battery holds up very well. I love the long neck and how small the head is.

[@arthurleino]

Just bought the 3/8 Hercules Extended. Removed a 9/16 headed 3/8 Dia on my 1983 Harley Davidson, that my ratchets couldn't loosen it. Retired Navy and Retired A&P Mechanic.

[@jamesstobaugh]

Great video. Thanks for all the testing you did!

[@gocanada9749]

GOOD video, proves that unless you do a lot of heavy work, there is NO need to go for the 3/8ths drive How many bolts and fasteners do you ever torque to 40 ft lbs ? RARE Mostly taking off sheet metal max 15 to 20 ft bs

[@andrewwmacfadyen6958]

Yes cordless screwdriver for a lot of body and electrical fixings.

[@RafaelFigueroa-xp2rm]

Thanks for sharing man. I’ve been trying to decide on which brands to go with

[@andrewwmacfadyen6958]

I use an even cheaper 12v ratchet on the UK it was £30 less than 40$ with two batteries and charger Great for nut running and of course these tools work as an old style ratchet so unlike an impact tool you can break it free in ratchet mode then hit the power button. Ideal for jobs like brake calipers, motor mounts and bellhousing bolts

[@Pepuskhan]

I can say . Hercules is the number 1 quality price relationship. The Discuss is over.

[@addicted2tools]

Talking about a cold shop 🥶 meanwhile we can see his breath 🤣

[@steveboy3021002]

It was a wee bit chilly that day. It doesn't bother me. Up untill a year ago i was outside in the snow 😂

[@ryanjewell9832]

Wondering if they'll ever offer brushless versions

[@fireguy8466]

I get that these tools are rated to X amount of torque and all, but this isn’t an impact, it’s a ratchet. Every review test them the same way. How about…..does the tool work well? Are you happy with the performance? Is it worth buying instead of Milwaukee or other brands?

[@steveboy3021002]

I agree to an extent. Having a higher torque is nice for things such as nuts with rusty threads or marred threads. The speed of the tool is nice though. It seems to work well in my experience with the tool thus far. Id say its worth buying if you dont want to invest in the m12.

[@davelowets]

I agree... I have the Hercules 3/8 long reach 12 volt. I'm not a fan of cheap Chinese garbage, but I'm satisfied with it. The cordless tools that Harbor Freight sells are MUCH better than they were years ago. The H.F. is rated at 40ft-lbs, and mine does 40ft-lbs. It's faster,(more RPMs) and has more torque than my friend's Milwaukee non-fuel 3/8 12 volt ratchet. 🤷🏻

[@markmccormack1796]

Good points. I'm looking for something to work in the engine compartment only. The smaller head on the Herc is a big plus, as is the long reach. Plus, I can buy two Herc for the price of one Milwaukee. Price cannot be ignored, although many of these KZbin videos tend to assume we all have very deep pockets for tools.

[@jasonmcdonald7487]

More than likely your already into a battery platform. I personally are into Milwaukee. So that said I have plenty of batteries. Ebay the Milwaukee fuel ratchet new, or out of box new and get the ratchet for 150 or less and just use your batteries. So in reality your getting a fuel ratchet for the same price or less , with Milwaukee's battery technology for the same price or less. Not saying there bad tools. Would really like to try them. I just trust in Milwaukee batteries than I do harbor freight. May have same lithium batteries inside both tools, the tech that drive them or discharges the batteries is way way different. Alot of videos on that very subject. Great video by the way and like I said I really would like to try one just to see how they feel. Thanks.

[@sillygosling351]

Had a stroke attempting to read this, thanks.

[@justgio1908]

ive never had a single issue with my hercules tools ive had for a bit over a year. ive seen milwaukee batteries and chargers give out in less than 8 months of use. milwaukee and hercules do not have the same batteries.

[@devonrosa4414]

Subbed. Thanks for the info brother!

[@hexZ06]

Go for more power over more torque. Milwaukee and all the other big companies are waaaay over priced.

[@garyallman3039]

How easy is it to avoid over torquing small fasteners with these tools? Can you sneak up on it with low trigger pressure, or does that just slow it down without much decreasing torque? I don't want to strip out the female threaded aluminum.

[@steveboy3021002]

Its not to powerful and you can modulate it with the trigger, also at the time of recording the 5Ah wasn't available. It was the 2ah.

[@justgio1908]

@@steveboy3021002 wow. knowing it's only a 2ah battery just made me want to get one of these.

[@heribertozamago6970]

I occupy one of those

[@garyallman3039]

Which battery were you using?

[@justgio1908]

2ah