Archive for the 'EZ Red' Category

Socket With Butterfly Wings

Friday, July 24th, 2009

It looks like EZ Red designed their butterfly sockets for fasteners on which you’d normally use a flare wrench but can’t get the wrench around the fastener. Just wrap the butterfly socket around the fastener and when you close it, stick a 1/2″ ratchet or breaker bar into the square drive hole to turn it.

The shape of the sockets suggests they put the force on the flats on the fastener rather than the corners, so they’ll work with damaged or worn nuts. EZ Red even claims you can use the sockets for either metric or SAE applications.

Their small set includes 7/16”, 1/2”, 9/16”, and 5/8” sockets. Their medium set includes 11/16”,  3/4″, 13/16”-7/8”, and 15/16” sockets. Finally their large set includes only three sockets:1-1/16”, 1-1/8”, and 1-1/4”. Supposedly each socket can also be used on the closest metric equivalent size.

Look to pay anywhere between $60 and $90, depending on which set you get, where you buy it, shipping charges, and taxes if applicable.

Butterfly Sockets [EZ-Red]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Posted in Amazon, Automotive, EZ Red, Hand Tools | 7 Comments »

Little Big Ratchet

Tuesday, July 21st, 2009

EZ Red’s Stubby Monster Ratchet might not be your go-to ratchet, but if you have an application with limited storage space, it gives you both the convenience of a small stubby ratchet and the leverage of a full-sized ratchet in one tool.

The 3/8″ ratchet’s thermo-plastic over-moulded handle extends from 6-1/2″ to 10″ by unlocking the shaft. It has a quick-release head with a 72-tooth drive so you can operate the ratchet with as little as 5° of swing.

The Stubby Monster’ll run you around $25 to $30 before shipping.

Stubby Monster Ratchet [EZ Red]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Posted in Amazon, Automotive, EZ Red, Hand Tools | 1 Comment »

Don’t Let Your Car Lose Its Mind

Monday, July 20th, 2009

The loss of power that occurs when you change your vehicle’s battery might reset its systems back to factory state, so you have to drive the damn thing 50 miles to get it running correctly again. Worse yet, you could lose all your radio presets.

Before you disconnect you battery, plug the Auto Memory Saver from EZ-Red into your OBD2 port. It uses the port’s power and ground pins to supply juice to critical systems so they don’t forget their settings. The neon-red coiled cord reaches 8′, has its own inline fuse, and terminates in a cigarette lighter connector. Obviously you’ll need to plug the cable into another power source while the vehicle’s battery is disconnected.

Just in case you don’t know any better, do not use cables of this type to jump-start a vehicle. The best thing that could happen is you’d blow the inline fuse — if the cable has one. Pricing for the Auto Memory saver starts around $15.

Auto Memory Saver [EZ-Red]
Street Pricing [Google]

Posted in Automotive, Batteries, EZ Red | 14 Comments »

EZ Red Side Battery Lifter

Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008
Side Battery Lifter

There’s so much crap stuffed into a modern engine compartment, sometimes you have to take things apart just to reach the frickin’ battery — and then there’s not enough room to get your hands around the battery to pull it out. In this situation, a battery lifter can save the day. We’ve posted about EZ Red’s Top Post Battery Lifter, but how do you handle a battery with side terminals? You grab their side battery lifter.

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Posted in Amazon, Automotive, Batteries, EZ Red | 5 Comments »

EZ Red Pocket Flip Light

Wednesday, March 5th, 2008
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Just guessing here, but it looks like EZ Red took the “light the darkness with your cell phone” trick to heart. Their flip light works just like that, brightening up your work area with 18 LED lights.

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Posted in EZ Red, Flashlights | 2 Comments »

Finds: Propylene Glycol Hydrometer

Tuesday, January 16th, 2007
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Both ethylene glycol and propylene glycol are clear, colorless, syrupy liquids that are used in antifreeze and de-icing solutions for cars, airplanes, and boats.  For them to do their job, they must be mixed in the correct proportion with water.  Too little antifreeze equals frozen coolant, big repair bills, and a ride in the company’s carpool — where you’ll meet all sorts of, um, interesting people.  Too much can clog your radiator, leading to an overheated engine, big repair bills…  You get the idea.

Lately a lot of folks in the midwest are depending on the mix in their vehicles to make sure they’re not trying to start a lump of ice in the morning.  Hopefully they picked up one of these little gems and used it sometime recently.

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Posted in Automotive, EZ Red | No Comments »

Finds: The EZ-Red eXtreme Light

Sunday, November 19th, 2006
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I know.  Most Toolmongers hate the “extreme” moniker.  But hey — don’t you think it’s fair to call any handheld flashlight wih 30 LEDs just a bit extreme, considering that one to four generally gets the job done?

Besides the 30 LEDs, this light also features a rechargeable Ni-MH battery pack, which makes me just a little bit wary of the EZ-Red’s “Will not overcharge!!” claim.  On the other hand, I like the idea of an LED-based floodlight for the shop.  I’ve broken a couple of the old bulb-in-a-cage type lights and one fluorescent type.  This light looks more durable.

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Posted in EZ Red, Flashlights, Power Tools | 6 Comments »

Finds: Super Wrist Mag

Saturday, October 14th, 2006
wristmag.jpg

For all of you out there who feel the need to carry around a weight belt on your wrist — the Super Wrist Mag is for you.  (You know who you are.)  The wrist mag claims to help lighten the project load by putting it on your wrist. 

The concept is pretty simple: Take a wrist band and load 6 neodymium magnets into a sewn up pouch, the idea being that anything metal will be held fast to your wrist for easy access while you’re working.  The only thing we noticed is… that large metal objects are held to your wrist while you’re working.  Ouch!

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Posted in Accessories, EZ Red | 2 Comments »

Finds: “Kiwi” Pliers

Monday, September 18th, 2006
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By rotating the jaws around about 45 degrees from where they normally are, “Kiwi” pliers keep your hand and arm in better position to provide leverage when you’ve really got to grip something tightly.  EZ-Red, their manufacturer, says this nets you a more powerful grip with less effort.

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Posted in EZ Red, Hand Tools | 3 Comments »

Finds: EZ-Red Top Post Battery Lifter

Monday, September 11th, 2006

post-batterycarry.jpg

This weekend we ended up having to pull the battery out of a Porsche 944 S2 we’re working on, and it’s not exactly easy. The battery’s way in the back right near the hood hinges, and you have to lift it straight up out of a pretty tight little box; There’s very little room to get your hands in around it to lift.

This would have been the bomb, and I’m planning on ordering one for the next time I get stuck removing that battery.  It’s a plastic handle with two adjustable “claws” that grab onto the battery’s posts to give you a nice handle for lifting and carrying.

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Posted in Automotive, EZ Red | 1 Comment »