Milwaukee has come out with a new aluminum Cheater pipe wrench, model 48-22-7318.
The original Milwaukee Cheater pipe wrench was announced in 2015, and it featured a unique pipe wrench design that shipped with 2 attachable handle sizes.
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The new aluminum Cheater pipe wrench is similar, but has a single extending handle. You get 3 pipe wrench lengths here, but there are only 2 parts.
You can remove the included handle for jobs where the pipe wrench needs to be used in tight spaces.
Add the handle back in and extend it out for when extra leverage is needed.
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Here’s a look at the three different configurations. New to this design is the quick-slide function which means you don’t need to keep track of extra pieces.
Compact Configuration: 11″ for use in tight spaces, with the handle extension removed.
Standard Configuration: 18″ for general purpose use, with the handle extension inserted all the way in.
Maximum Leverage Configuration: 24″ for greater leverage, with the handle at max extension.
The pipe wrench features an OVERBITE JAW that Milwaukee says gives the wrench “the largest gripping surface.”
The aluminum Cheater pipe wrench has a 2.5″ jaw capacity, matching the capacity of traditional 18″ pipe wrenches.
The handle has a tether-ready lanyard hole for when working at heights.
Price: $120
ETA: June 2021
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Discussion
Milwaukee’s Cheater pipe wrench has always made sense to me, and I know some users love it while others prefer to carry and use separate wrenches.
The benefit here is that you have an 18″ pipe wrench that can be used in tight spaces or higher leverage applications without having to carry multiple tools.
In compact situations, you have the jaw capacity of an 18″ wrench in the body of a smaller wrench. For when you need greater leverage, you don’t need to figure out how to carry a 24″ pipe wrench with you.
Price-wise, well, things get complicated. Milwaukee’s 18″ aluminum pipe wrench is $60, their $24″ wrench is $90, and their 10″ or 14″ wrenches are both $40 each. Buying 14″ and 24″ pipe wrenches would set you back $130, or $128 if you buy them as part of a bundle.
The Cheater wrench will save you money compared to buying 3 aluminum pipe wrenches, but its adaptability is the main selling point.
What’s your take on things?
Milwaukee Pipe Wrenches as of May 2021
At the time of this posting, here is a full list of Milwaukee’s pipe wrench sizes and styles:
Milwaukee Steel Pipe Wrenches
- 6″: 48-22-7106
- 8″: 48-22-7108
- 10″: 48-22-7110
- 12″: 48-22-7112
- 14″: 48-22-7114
- 18″: 48-22-7118
- 24″: 48-22-7124
- 36″: 48-22-7136
- 48″: 48-22-7148
- 60″: 48-22-7160
Milwaukee Aluminum Pipe Wrenches
- 10″: 48-22-7210
- 12″: 48-22-7212
- 14″: 48-22-7214
- 18″: 48-22-7218
- 24″: 48-22-7224
- 36″: 48-22-7236
- 48″: 48-22-7248
- 10″: Aluminum Pipe Wrench w/ POWERLENGTH Handle 48-22-7213
Milwaukee Offset & Smooth Jaw Pipe Wrenches
- Steel Offset Hex Pipe Wrench: 48-22-7171
- 12″ Smooth Jaw Pipe Wrench: 48-22-7186
- 14″: Aluminum Offset Pipe Wrench 48-22-7184
- 18″: Aluminum Offset Pipe Wrench 48-22-7185
- 24″: Aluminum Offset Pipe Wrench 48-22-7182
Cheater Pipe Wrenches
- CHEATER Steel Adaptable Pipe Wrench 48-22-7314
- CHEATER Aluminum Adaptable Pipe Wrench 48-22-7318 (NEW)
Jared
It looks pretty awesome, pricing aside. Neat concept.
Allen
But will it stand up to putting a pipe on it ?
Diego
For that price I’d rather go with 2 pipe wrenches. The 14 and 24 bundle would be my choice. Of course, I’d need to wear out my aluminum Ridgids first.
Peter Fox
Honestly I am much more interested in the 48-22-7213. A 10″ pipe wrench head with a 18″ long slim handle, just sounds awesome for working with smaller pipe sizes. lightweight and plenty of leverage, If I didn’t already have a pair of 10″, 14″ and 18″ Ridgid Iron pipe wrenches I would probably pick up a pair.
If fitting threaded pipe was my day job I would probably also look into one of these https://pipevise.com/ Like a cross between a pipe wrench and a pipe vise.
fred
Thanks for the link – Back when I retired I had never seen these. We’d carry a tripod vise in the trucks – or sometimes make do with a regular pipe wrench set on the floor as a sort of vise. In our Union-Shop subsidiary we still did a lot of steamfitting and gas-fitting – these vise might have come in handy for smaller-sized piping.
ca
The light weight of aluminum would be nice, but it’s too bad they abandoned the 3/4 NPT handles of the steel cheaters.
Andrew Drozd
Not much choice, unless they threaded aluminum pipe for the handles. Even then, it would have to be something like a schedule 80 to have sufficient wall not to have a failure at the threads, and I think aluminum galls together if you tighten it too firmly, but don’t quote me on that last. There is also the risk of permanently ruining the tapped threads on the wrench body itself the first time someone tries to use it like the steel one and put a 3′ pipe in there.
Looking at the handle closer than I did last night, it looks like they have a hole drilled in it, so the locking pin on the lever would hold it relatively steady, I thought maybe the solution would be a groove on the end like a Victaulic pipe, which would have probably lead to some slipping and sliding.
I’ve been debating getting a 2nd Cheater for my mobile kit, I might hold off now a little bit until the aluminum comes out.
ca
They could’ve possibly done a steel insert for the threads with the caveat that you can’t use a 3’ pipe with the aluminum head. I don’t disagree with you though. I probably would’ve got one of each if I didn’t already have two steel cheaters. The nice thing about the 3/4 NPT handles is that they also fit my manual pipe threader, so I tossed its handle to save some weight in my tool box.
Plain grainy
They should make the tool interchangeable. Have the jaws removable, then replace it with a pipe threader head. Perhaps a set of box wrench head also. Or a ratchet head, torqe wrench head. Save some money as most of those wrenches have a lot of metal in them. This way your just buying the heads.
Andrew Drozd
Aside from replaceable jaws, does anyone do anything like that with a pipe wrench?
MM
The closest that I can recall is that Ridgid used to make a “pipe wrench head” which had a square drive hole in it so you could use it with a ratchet or a breaker bar as the handle. If you search “Ridgid Vertical Pipe Wrench” you should find photos of it. I don’t think they have made any for many years. I found one at a garage sale, it’s surprisingly handy. I have seen pipe threader heads which took breaker bar handles as well though I don’t recall who made them.
fred
It was their #14 – and I also think they called it a “vertical pipe wrench” – to be used with 1/2 inch drive socket wrench extensions and handles. I have one – don’t remember when I last use it – as basin wrenches find more application.
Ridgid’s geared pipe threaders can be actuated with a long breaker bar or ratchet handle and socket
https://www.ridgid.com/us/en/receding-geared-threaders
Dave P
OH THE HUMANITY! Extending the handle on a type of adjustable wrench!
Jerry
I wonder how it’d hold up with a 3 foot long shaft used in place of the factory handle. We all know someone I’d gonna try it.
TomD
I have the steel one and I used a 10 ft NPT black pipe with it to try to budge a stuck connector – the black pipe bent, the wrench was fine (the pipe didn’t budge, the blue wrench would be needed).
Steve
Would love to have one but way too expensive for my DIY needs.
MM
Looks like a neat idea, I like the fact that you can make the handle shorter to fit into tight spots and then extend the handle once you’re there. It’s pretty darn expensive though, and in the short configuration it looks like the handle might be uncomfortably thick, and I say that as a guy with big hands. I’m also curious what size round stock that handle is made from. If it’s a common pipe size then it might be easy to stick longer pieces of pipe in there for an extra-long handle.
I have zero interest in buying one though, I don’t use pipe wrenches very often and I have a few Rigid steel and aluminum framed ones in various sizes already.
Koko The Talking Ape
Not a tool I’d need, but seems like a good idea. I’d want to make sure the locking mechanism is very positive and secure. If that pipe slipped in or out, you could hurt yourself.
Kyle
Im impressed that it is not much more expensive than the original cheater wrench. I have never pulled the trigger on the original but it has always been on the list. Lightweight and fewer pieces to lose may move this one on to the buy it now list.
Nathan
there are enough times that you need 2 pipe wrenches that I would opt for a long and a short. or rather I did opt for a long and a short.
I wish someone would make a device that took a 1/2 square drive – as that would be nifty to put a breaker bar on there vs a built in long handle. but I’d still want to wrenches.
Interesting idea – I think overall I like the iron version more – weight isn’t that big an issue for me. but I don’t do it every day – or even every month
MM
Ridgid did make the device which takes a square drive. I described it earlier in the topic. Fred reported that it’s a “#14”, though mine is a #16. Perhaps they made two?
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