Torque and Chrome

What's the difference between a breaker bar and a torque wrench?

Public Comments

1. A breaker bar is just a long bar used for leverage to get a bolt off. A torque wrench is however used for measuring torque when tightening a nut or bolt. It has the little dial that moves kinda like an old tire pressure gauge.
2. djmixmodes is right.
3. The first answer was complete, brilliant and well thought out.
4. A breaker bar is usually used to remove "frozen" nuts/bolts on an engine or machinery that can't be removed with a conventional wrench.A torque wrench applies a pre-setted pressure "torque"(torsion)on the bolt/nut and is measured in ft/lb..in/lb or newton/meters. The amount of pressure (torque) is determined by the product manufacturer.
5. The breaker bar is a simple bar with a flex head to fit a socket. It is for brute force application. The torque wrench is more like a ratchet with handle that can be turn to get a specific torque. It allows you to tighten a bolt at a specific torque. The breaker bar is good to lose the bolt, while the torque wrench is for tighten the bolt (at specification mentioned in manufacturer's repair manual).
6. the torque wrench has an indiacater that shows stress. the breaker bar looks about the same but has no indicater