Save Your Wrists the Trouble With a Battery-Powered Cordless Ratchet

"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."

Work on enough cars, and you'll start to look for tips and tricks to make your life easier. Using a standard ratchet to secure nuts and bolts isn't especially difficult, but after that 100th bolt, we can understand your wrist getting a bit tired. That's why cordless ratchets exist.

Cordless ratchets are electrified ratchet tools that spin an attached socket via an electric motor, so you don't have to do the spinning yourself. While bigger, bulkier, and many times more expensive than a regular ratchet, they can fit in most places a regular ratchet can while saving lots of time and energy.

I can't count how many times I've used a cordless ratchet to save myself a few minutes here or there while performing DIY jobs. It's a perfect companion for disassembling engine bay items like trim pieces, valve covers, battery tie-downs, and pipe fittings. They can also be used to quickly take off or install oil pans, transmission pans, and other items that require a bunch of small bolts. You don't realize how pleasant a cordless ratchet is until you have one around. You start to wonder how you ever got along without it.

Because cordless ratchets are complex tools with electronic components, they're not exactly cheap, at least compared to your average manual ratchet. The one I swear by, the Hercules 12-volt 3/8-inch cordless ratchet, can be yours right now on Harbor Freight's site for $99.99. Hercules also makes an "extended reach" version with an elongated neckpiece for $10 more. If you'd rather go Milwaukee, its 3/8-inch version is discounted on Amazon right now to $233, and it includes a battery and a charger.

You Might Also Like

• You Need a Torque Wrench in Your Toolbox

• Tested: Best Car Interior Cleaners

• The Man Who Signs Every Car