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impact wrench

10K views 22 replies 16 participants last post by  jcclark 
#1 ·
Who makes a good impact wrench
That will not break the bank
thanks
 
#5 ·
I have a 1/2" Harbor Freight brand which works decent for most stuff.. it's rated for 250 Ft/lbs.. my dad has a 1" Dayton tools brand and it's rated at 750 Ft/lbs and it will break almost anything loose. Harbor freight has an Earthshaker line of impacts that I'v heard are decent, but at there prices going into the hundreds now, it does not make sense to buy them when good brands are not much more.
 
#7 ·
That HF impact wrench is called "earthquake" and it is a good one, one of the real bargains that HF has. HF has some junk impacts and I do mean JUNK! At a sale price of 10 or 12 bucks for a 1/2 impact wrench I don't see how anyone could expect to get much but those things sell like crazy according to what I was told at the HF here in Knoxville Tn. If a tool is selling for little more than it would bring for it's weight in scrap metal that should tell a person something but people buy those junky things anyway. The "Earthquake" impact wrenches are not cheap compared to the regular HF line but at about $100 regular price or $80 on sale, which it is quite often, they are priced well below what you would pay for a big name brand. These things are a knock-off (or is that rip-off? :) ) of the Ingersoll Rand "Thunder Gun" impact wrench and they perform quite close to the IR but at about half the price. They probably are not anywhere near the IR in quality but they do seem to hold up good, I have had mine several years now and it has been trouble free plus it is a real brute for torque!
 
#8 ·
I've used one of the cheap hf guns when i first started getting air tools and it couldn't even remove the lug nut on my car. I then bought a craftsman unit that would barely remove the lug nuts on a super duty. I now have the new IR Ti max with the muffler. Its the best gun I've ever used! 1100ft lbs and it sdounds like an electric drill! I will never cheap out on those again.
 
#9 ·
For about 140 or so the Aircat wrenches are powerful and are Quiet. I have a Nitrocat which is rated at 86 db that will take off or break off anything on a car or light truck. One day just for giggles I got under my 84 dodge ram pickup & removed one of the large bolts that holds the bumper to the frame to see if it would do it.. it did no problem even though never lubed or removed the rust prior to taking it off. Doesn't even bother to hammer on lugnuts torqued to 100 ft lbs when removing them. I really like a quiet wrench when I have to do something in the shop, cuts down on noise reflecting off the walls & ceiling.
 
#10 ·
I have a IR 2135 TI that I bought used on Fleabay a couple of years ago. It's been a very good value for me.
I use it only occasionally, but it removes lug nuts without any hesitation.
It replaced a new Craftsman that could not remove a lug nut even after 20 seconds of trying.
 
#11 ·
One shop where I work has an Ingersoll 231 that has been about beat to death, still works fine.
My brother in law has been happily using his 231 at work for five years.
I bought one a year ago that I use every day. It has the right balance of power for me. Strong enough to bust about everything I normally do but not so strong that it breaks stuff.
A co-worker had a THundergun for a while. It would certainly knock bolts off but it was too loud, a bit heavy, and a bit stronger than necessary for regular automotive service. I tried it for a while and that's what I thought about it.
A plus to a 231 (and some other Ingersolls) is that you can buy "tune up kits" for them that replace the internals that wear should you use it long enough.
Beware the 231's with rubber handles. They are more comfortable than the bare metal ones but the rubber softens a bit with repeated exposure to oil. This causes it to loosen up on the gun. You can still use the gun normally, it's just annoying. Most 231's don't have the rubber handles though.
 
#13 ·
oldred said:
These things are a knock-off (or is that rip-off? :) ) of the Ingersoll Rand "Thunder Gun" impact wrench and they perform quite close to the IR but at about half the price. They probably are not anywhere near the IR in quality but they do seem to hold up good, I have had mine several years now and it has been trouble free plus it is a real brute for torque!
Patent expired for the 231-series impact a couple years ago. We tried to re-new the patent but it was denied. Many knockoffs of multiple degrees of quality out there now. The 'Thundergun' and it's model number 232 were designed with higher RPM for racing vs the 231. Other than that most the internals are the same.
 
#14 ·
Food for thought.

I switched my air fittings to larger 3/8" ones for my spray equipment
and just to keep everything the same, I also switched them on my
Sears impact wrench too.
I couldn't believe the difference it made, I have much more torque now.
The female disconnect of a std 1/4" fitting has a hole inside about
half the size of the fitting inlet, that's the bottleneck.
A bigger hose didn't make a difference but the new fittings sure did.
So if you're not getting the torque you think you should,
try the bigger fittings.
Home Depot has a 3/8" kit for about $10.00,
it connects to the std 1/4" air hose ends.
 
#15 ·
jcclark said:
Food for thought.

I switched my air fittings to larger 3/8" ones for my spray equipment
and just to keep everything the same, I also switched them on my
Sears impact wrench too.
I couldn't believe the difference it made, I have much more torque now.
The female disconnect of a std 1/4" fitting has a hole inside about
half the size of the fitting inlet, that's the bottleneck.
A bigger hose didn't make a difference but the new fittings sure did.
So if you're not getting the torque you think you should,
try the bigger fittings.
Home Depot has a 3/8" kit for about $10.00,
it connects to the std 1/4" air hose ends.
:thumbup: air tool has to have the cfm to
 
#16 ·
jcclark said:
Food for thought.

I switched my air fittings to larger 3/8" ones for my spray equipment
and just to keep everything the same, I also switched them on my
Sears impact wrench too.
I couldn't believe the difference it made, I have much more torque now.
The female disconnect of a std 1/4" fitting has a hole inside about
half the size of the fitting inlet, that's the bottleneck.
A bigger hose didn't make a difference but the new fittings sure did.
So if you're not getting the torque you think you should,
try the bigger fittings.
Home Depot has a 3/8" kit for about $10.00,
it connects to the std 1/4" air hose ends.

That's a darn good point and more than once I have seen even 3/4" drive impact wrenches coupled with 1/4" hose fittings and the owner complaining because the impact did not have the torque it was supposed to. :rolleyes:

While on the subject of fittings NEVER attach the male quick coupling fitting on the impact! :nono: ALWAYS use a short piece of hose between the impact and the fitting or a ready made "whip" if you can find one large enough, I usually just make up my own because it can be hard to find a ready made whip bigger than 1/4". If the fitting is attached directly to the tool , as is done all too often, then the vibration from the impact will destroy the coupling in short order, both the male and female parts!
 
#17 ·
oldred said:
While on the subject of fittings NEVER attach the male quick coupling fitting on the impact! :nono: ALWAYS use a short piece of hose between the impact and the fitting or a ready made "whip" if you can find one large enough, I usually just make up my own because it can be hard to find a ready made whip bigger than 1/4". If the fitting is attached directly to the tool , as is done all too often, then the vibration from the impact will destroy the coupling in short order, both the male and female parts!
Thanks for that tip oldred i may end up making one of those up here before long.
 
#18 ·
oldred said:
That's a darn good point and more than once I have seen even 3/4" drive impact wrenches coupled with 1/4" hose fittings and the owner complaining because the impact did not have the torque it was supposed to. :rolleyes:

While on the subject of fittings NEVER attach the male quick coupling fitting on the impact! :nono: ALWAYS use a short piece of hose between the impact and the fitting or a ready made "whip" if you can find one large enough, I usually just make up my own because it can be hard to find a ready made whip bigger than 1/4". If the fitting is attached directly to the tool , as is done all too often, then the vibration from the impact will destroy the coupling in short order, both the male and female parts!
Has anyone experimented with different lengths to find one that works the best and doesn't get in the way or drag the coupler over the paint when you are working on something? I will make my own up as I can't see using the HVLP fittings & couplers up to that point then bottlenecking it down at the tool with a tiny hose/orifice.
 
#19 ·
I think it has been mentioned before but don't be tempted by those $2.99 swivel whips from HF, those things have the very nasty habit of coming apart at the swivel and when they do it gets exciting in a hurry! No joke that thing is just plain dangerous when it starts flying around with whats left of the brass fitting still attached and it could cause a serious injury, plus the hose itself will swell up about three times it's normal size if it is left in a sunny spot with pressure on it!
 
#20 ·
"the vibration from the impact will destroy the coupling in short order..."
Interesting, I've been using 1/2" and smaller impacts for 25 years and have never seen or heard of such a coupling failure. In that time I'd guess I've used a 3/4" impact maybe 10 times. Is that something 3/4 and bigger impacts are more prone to doing? Or perhaps cheap couplers or something?
 
#21 ·
The coupling failure is common knowledge and I have seen it happen many times even on 1/2" impact wrenches. I don't mean the coupling will blow apart but what usually happens is they start leaking because the male part will form a slight lip around the retainer ring that the spring loaded balls rest in when the coupling is attached. This lip will then damage the O-ring when the coupling is pulled apart causing the female part to leak, the damaged male half can then damage any female half it is used with. This is far more common on brass fittings than the hardened steel ones but even the steel will eventually do the same thing as the hardened steel retainer balls (just small ball bearings) hammer against it from the vibration. If you read the booklets that come with new impact wrenches there is a very clear warning in them to use a whip and never attach the fitting directly to the tool. On other impact tools such as air chisels/hammers I have seen the fitting become so badly damaged that it would not even come apart but on impact wrenches a leak is what usually happens.
 
#22 · (Edited)
My $25 repoed IR 231 has worked great for 11 years. It takes off lug nuts new $400.00 Snap On ones can't. I get my lunch paid for by every new rookie who gets rooked by the Snap On man. I bought a 3/8 Air Cat that rocks and is whisper quiet. The larger hose and fittings also make a big difference. I could see the HF swivel hoses fail. The ones Snap On sold held up well.
 
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