Insulated ratchet wrench for batteries...

I found this composite ratchet wrench at Harbor Freight!

Everyone,

I’ve been doing a lot of Lithium and AGM battery hookups lately, and I’m always very careful not to accidentally short out the wrench on anything metal. If you do so there can be a huge fault current that will not only cause sparks, it can weld your wedding ring to the wrench causing it to rapidly turn red hot! Read my full article on RV battery safety HERE.

What to do…

I’ll shoot a full video on best practices for working with batteries next month. But in the meantime here’s a simple solution that will increase your safety around battery terminals and connections. I found an affordable composite-insulated ratchet wrench at Harbor Freight which works great for battery terminals. A composite-insulated wrench for only $12 to $15 is quite a deal.

Here’s what I found

While I don’t think these composite wrenches are heavy-duty enough for busting loose rusted bolts, they seem like just the ticket for working around batteries. This is a Pittsburgh Pro Composite Drive Ratchet from Harbor Freight and it’s electrically insulated. I didn’t do a high-pot test on it to guarantee the insulation around high-voltage circuits. But it’s certainly safe around 12-volt battery systems.

This composite-covered wrench is available in both 1/4”, 3/8” and 1/2” drive sizes, and the 1/4” size seems perfect for working around batteries since you really don’t want a long wrench with a lot of leverage that can easily break off a battery terminal.

You can find these composite ratchet wrenches at Harbor Freight HERE. Get one before the spring thaw when you de-winterize your RV and need to hook up the batteries.

Let’s play safe out there… Mike