Just realized the $280 hydraulic torque wrench adapter I bought was a total waste for boiler tube work

Vera Roberts · 2026-10-07T20:30:03.762438+00:00

I picked up a hydraulic torque adapter kit for $280 back in March because a guy at the supply house in Gary swore it would speed up tube rolling on our recovery boiler jobs. Turns out it's useless on the tight tube spacing we deal with, the head won't fit between rows without pulling half the bank, and I've only used it twice in 5 months. I ended up going back to my old air impact and a hand ratchet, which honestly gets the job done faster on 2 inch tubes. The adapter sits in my gang box now, $280 of dead weight I could've put toward a decent tube roller instead. If anyone on here runs a smaller boiler or has wider spacing you might get use out of it, but for recovery boiler tube work it's a hard pass from me. What's your go-to setup for rolling tubes when you can't get a straight shot at them?

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Just realized the $280 hydraulic torque wrench adapter I bought was a total waste for boiler tube work | Boilermakers - The Community Guide