Pipe wrenches – good, bad and anything else

Hi guys

So I’m in the market for a pipe wrench. I’m not a plumber and don’t really run into pipes too often but when I have a job to do and I will be doing it myself I like to occasionally take the opportunity and add the needed tool to my collection.

Ok so what do you think about pipe wrenches? who makes the best? are prices worth it? would you go cast iron or aluminum?

I have some thoughts of the matter but would like to hear others too before sharing my findings

thanks for any comments

just so there is no confusion I added a pic of what I call a pipe wrench. I know there are other tools that answer to that name or do the same job so just to be clear…

So many companies make pipe wrenches,if its not something you arent going to use often which one is best shouldnt really matter.  Ridgid makes some nice ones,I have some Husky aluminums i like. Tekton makes a nicely priced set.

I myself prefer cast iron. All mine I bought used or inherited. I’ve been pleased with used Ridgids.

A big 48″ or 60″ pipe wrench is suprisingly good for benching metal plate in the field.

I can’t remember when the Milwaukee set is coming out, but I like the idea you can change out handle lengths with one wrench. A little pricey but might be worth. I’m looking forward to a TIA review when they come out.

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Ridgid is the best IMO, when I worked in the trade we were not allowed to use aluminum Ridgid pipe wrenches, so we always had the cast. From 8″ to 4′ ( I believe they make up to 5′, then it’s chain tongs after that) All the plumbers I see on our jobs these days love the Ridgid Aluminum. I have a pair ( straight and offset) 10″ Ridgid pipe wrenches that we’re my Grandfathers, one of the best things about Ridgid is when the jaws start to wear out you can replace the jaws without replacing the entire wrench.

Nothing like slinging 2′ pipe wrenches all day long…. Miss those days …..

I have cast iron pipe wrenches, they work great. From what I understand Ridgid is the go to company when it comes to pipe wrenches, supposed to be second to none.

The Milwaukee pipe wrench that’s coming out this year looks pretty darn cool. I think I am going to get one when it does hit the shelf. It does come out the 1st quarter of 2016 according to the Milwaukee rep interviewed by TIA.

https://youtu.be/LCFHJ8i6J00

Back when I was plumbing we probably kept a dozen pipe wrenches on the truck at any time. The one I would pick up 9 times out of 10 was an aluminum 18″ ridgid. I loved using the aluminum ones. We had one Aluminum 48″ we called Big Bertha.

I needed a couple pipe wrenches recently. I stopped by harbor freight and picked up two 18″s for $7.99 each. They worked for what I needed but they are far from the quality of the ridgid wrenches Ive used before. The biggest difference is how well the teeth bite into the pipe. You have to fiddle with the harbor freight ones to get the teeth to hold.

If I used them much I would get some Ridgid Aluminum pipe wrenches. The new Milwaukee cheater looks interesting also.

Lowes has the Kobalt aluminum pipe wrenches on clearance right now. If your not doing plumbing every day this should work just fine.

Ok, Ridgid makes the best pipe wrenches, no argument there, but there are a couple other designs I really like.

I love the Irwin Quick Adjust. For 90% of my jobs around the house it’s great and makes the job simple. I have a little bit of everything, cast iron, aluminum, to vintage Proto and Lakeside Stillsons, but if it’s around the house, this Irwin usually gets the first nod

http://www.irwin.com/tools/pipe-wrenches/quick-adjusting-pipe-wrench

I also like the Protogrip pipe wrenches, but they’re a little pricy for a DIY guy

http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-Proto-J810PG-Proto-Grip-Wrench/dp/B00BNSI28K

I’m curious to see how the Protogrip wrenches work. If I’m honest I never seen the Irwin or Proto wrenches before. They both look cool, but that Proto wrench is at another level!!

I like Ridgid Aluminum when I have to climb on top of a truck to repair hydraulic lines. I am interested in the Milwaukee cheater pipe wrenches.

I use Ridgid Aluminum there really nice and are priced well I love my 24 inch one its really light. I believe they have a lifetime warranty if I remember correctly, if you need anything bigger that 14 inch I would stick with Ridgid. The smaller sizes you should be fine with any manufacture      

Ridgid user here too, I have both cast and aluminum, rarely use the cast. The offsets and ends are great.

The new Milwaukee have my attention also…

If I had my top choice of pipe wrench I would go with the aluminum ridgid wrench. He length really depends on what your using it for. With that being said if you are just going to use them occasionally for the price I would go with the husky pipe wrenches. I can speak from experience they are durable. The only downside is they are heavy. Good luck on the search

Hi

Thanks guys for all your input it was great reading and i learned a thing or two.

In the end i went with a 12 inch rigid aluminum i picked up at amazon maybe should have gone for the 14 inch for $5 more but it served well for my purpose.

The new milwaukee ones coming out soon look promising as quality tools like all milwaukee stuff (I actually have a major issue with a corded milwaukee rotary hammer that’s on it’s way for the third repair in one year all for the same problem but thats for a different post)and i liked the innovation of the built-in cheater bar so I’ll keep an eye open for the relese.