Abstract: Apparatus for recording and limiting the torque applied to a pipe by a set of power tongs, wherein the tongs are operated by a hydraulic fluid pumped through a feed line to a hydraulic motor in the tongs and then returned by a return line. The apparatus includes a hydraulic tension cell attached between the tongs and a fixed attachment whereby torque applied by the tongs causes hydraulic pressure in the tension cell proportional to the torque applied. The tension cell is hydraulically connected to a helical pressure sensor tube. An operating arm is attached to the pressure sensor tube such that hydraulic pressure in the hydraulic tension cell causes the operating arm to rotate in an amount proportional to the pressure and therefore the torque. The operating arm is cammingly engaged with a spring arm which in turn is engaged with an air valve.