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Impact wrenches

4K views 31 replies 25 participants last post by  John McGraw 
#1 ·
I need to buy a new impact wrench. Trying to decide if i want to go with air or electric. What have y`all had best results with and what size/brand do you have that you like best.
Terry
 
#2 ·
For light to medium duty work, a light battery powered impact is very handy for taking almost anything apart. I've had a 20V Dewalt for 10 years or more, and I use it a lot. I bought it as as package deal at one of the box stores with a 20V 1/2" drill for a very reasonable price. For more traditional impact wrench tasks, I have a Chicago Pneumatic that's served me well, but it's so old that I have no idea whether their current offering is any good, what it costs, or what the relative value is. I also have a very old electric impact, it's a heavy piece and relatively cumbersome, I almost never use it and wouldn't spend money on one.
 
#3 ·
I am amazed at how much my little Milwaukie 18V will do. Its several years old and they have a even better one available now. I have always just used it as a screw gun but recently tried it on bolts and its very handy. It took out flywheel bolts and they torque to 65 lbs ft. If you really need to break anything bigger I think air is the only way to go.
 
#4 ·
I bought a Milwaukee Fuel 1/2 M18. This thing is a monster, and if I’m not careful will bust most any stuck head, nut, or bolt to pieces, even at a low torque setting. I had thought I needed it, but I’m going to buy one of the next size down to do ‘normal’ work also. This monster is heavy as heck after a couple minutes too. Good thing is no hose or cord.
 
#5 ·
The one I have is from before they started calling them "fuel" and just has a little 1/4" quick chuck that screwdriver tips snap into. I use a adaptor to 3/8. I am surprised I haven't broken the adaptor. I have a circular saw that uses the same battery. It cuts just like a corded saw but it will zap a battery pretty quick. I love Milwaukee stuff!
 
#8 ·
Just a word of caution on the smaller 1/4 hex drive bits. I had a cheaper 3/8 square drive adaptor on mine and when trying to remove a stubborn fastener, the bit snapped off leaving a portion deep inside the "collet" type of receptacle. Getting that piece out was a nightmare. Word of advice: buy name brand bits for impact drivers.
 
#9 ·
I have a 1/2" and a 3/8" Bauer from HF. They are 20 volts and I have been very pleased with them. They work very well and hold a charge a long time. Bauer is one of their better lines of tools. I also have an Ingersol Rand air wrench which I rarely use and an electric 1/2" that I don't remember the brand.
 
#12 ·
I recently started going electric in my home shop. I spent some $$ and got the 1/2" drive Milwaukee with something like 1,400ft/lbs breakaway. I'll tell you it's probably true as It rips off 135lb torqued bolts like nothing on setting 2 of 4. Barely even moves. It's sort of nuts. Only issue is the damn thing is really heavy. Not something you want to use constantly in a home shop. It's so nice not to listen to the compressor or trip of the hose all the time now.
 
#13 ·
I have both and i do reach for the 1/2 in. Battery gun more often the my 1/2 IR gun. But i have found that there are bolts the electric gun can't get off and the Air gun does the job fairly easily. I guess if i had to have just one i would go for the electric. Electric can also be easily taken on the road if needed.
 
#15 ·
I have a Rockwell International that is probably 50 years old. Works just fine but I thought something newer might be better but it's about the same as an Ingersol Rand cheapo. I also bought a mini impact from harbor freight and it seems to work well. Comes in handy for tight places and it's real lightweight.
Anyone else have any Rockwell International tools?
 
#17 ·
I have a 1/2" Ryobi 18v electric impact, and a bunch of battery-compatible Ryobi tools, none of which has ever failed on me yet. Many are over 10 years old.
It probably doesn't have as much power to break bolts loose as my old Rodac air impact, when it was still working.
I had to use a breaker bar on the lower control arm to frame bolts.
Others have said Milwaukee and DeWalt are better, but they have higher prices, too.
A DeWalt fan I know wasn't happy when he had to buy all new tools when upgrading battery technology a while back. All I needed to upgrade the Ryobi nickel-cad batteries to lithium was the batteries and a new charger.
Techtronic Industries supposedly owns Ryobi & Milwaukee, and Black & Decker owns Craftsman & DeWalt.
 
#25 ·
I have 2 DeWalt impacts, a 12volt 3/8" drive (DCF813) and a 20 Volt 1/2" drive (DCF880) that I have both owned for a couple of years. I was surprised that despite the small size of the 1/2" it still breaks the lug nuts loose on my daily driver. The nicest part is that even though one is 12V and the other 20V, I can use the same charger to charge the batteries. After 2 years of semi-regular use I have not yet experienced any depletion in performance.
 
#28 ·
I bought a Chicago Pneumatic (CP) at a yard sale 45 years ago. From a woman who’s husband passed away. Who knows how long he had it. I worked as a mechanic and, used it doing it for 5 years before changing trades to HVAC installer. But when my Milwaukee 18 volt fails me I fire up the compressor and use the old CP to get the job done.
 
#31 ·
The only battery tool I have is 19v Craftsmen drill. I have 2 batteries for it. I use air tools a lot. I have an Aircat impact that is absolutely amazing. Since I live on a farm and don’t have electricity handy I also have a generator to power various tools when working on projects throughout the property.
 
#32 ·
I have 3 impact tools, a 20V dewalt compact impact, a 20V dewalt 1/2" impact and my old trusty 1/2" IR air gun. Obviously, the compact impact screw runner gets the most use, as it is great for any size fastener from 8-32 to about 3/8 and sometimes 1/2. It is a great tool for teardown and assembly work as it is light and easy to use. It has torque limitations and will not remove main cap bolts, head bolts, lugnuts, or the like. If I am in the shop, I will probably use the air impact as it is the most powerful gun I have and I always have an air hose in the work area. If it is just a few lugnuts, or I am working in the drive or away from my main shop, I will use the battery powered 1/2" Dewalt. I thought I would use it more when I bought it, but I found that it is a little heavy and not very well balanced, especially with the 6 AH battery on it. For ease of use and power, it is pretty hard to beat the air impact. I really like the forward/reverse selector on the IR gun as well. The Dewalt has a rocker switch that you hit the top of the switch to tighten and the bottom of the switch to loosen, oh wait is it the other way around? I am always accidentally running the impact in the wrong direction. I much prefer a hard change over in direction
 
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