Choosing yours
More than any other tool, a ratchet will last you a lifetime. Quality ratchets could be serviced inexpensively therefore should never wear out. Sockets are interchangeable because they are all standard. Choose the very best ratchet you can afford, even if you get inexpensive sockets to start with.

Socket release
Sockets will be held onto the ratchet using a very little spring-loaded ball privately of the Ratchets Wheel square drive. After applying a lot of force, I’ve sometimes found sockets get stuck on the travel and the only way to get them off is to hammer the ratchet on the floor or even grip it in a vice. Good quality ratchets add a button on the back which efficiently pushes off the socket when you are prepared to release it.

1/4 inch – Used for smaller sockets and precision work. Beneficial for dismantling individual components on the bench.
3/8 inch – The middle sized, and for me, most useful size for general use on an automobile. A 3/8″ drive can travel sockets of most sizes. It really is big enough to use quite a lot of force, but not too big to match into tight spaces
1/2 ” – 1/2″ sockets are usually utilized for nuts and bolts from around 10mm or more. A 1/2″ drive socket can apply enough drive to undo all nuts on a car.
Additionally, there are 3/4″ and 1″ ratchets but these are being used on trucks, tanks and industrial machinery.
Tooth count
Inside a ratchet you will find a toothed wheel which allows it freely rotate as you tighten the nut. Each simply click you hear is definitely a tooth passing the ratchet. The more tooth there are, the less movement is necessary on the return stroke. A ratchet with 75 teeth will continue to work considerably faster than a 32-tooth ratchet. Making huge tooth-counts requires quality engineering and production, so as a general guide the better quality tools will have an increased tooth count.

Drive sizes
socket-drive-sizes
All ratchets accept sockets utilizing a square travel and mostly there are 3 sizes of drive. Everywhere in the universe these sizes are given in inches – even when the sockets happen to be metric.