Ingersol Rand vs HF

[Syncro]

Well, after years of struggeling with pipes on breaker bars, I finally decided in my old age I should have a bigger impact wrench. So now what, turns out there are 3/4" and the behemoth 1" air wrenches. Now I anin't no teenager, and reason seemed to rule out the 1" wrench at ~35 lbs, so I started looking seriously at 3/4" drives.

Now the delema. I was at HF yesterday and they sell their own high torque brand calles 'Earthquale' which touts a torque of 1400 ft lbs maximum, wow! (IF that is really true /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif and to me that is a big IF) sale priced at $249.

Then there is the Ingersol Rand which the salesman tells me 'never goes of sale' but claims to only have a max torque of 1000 ft lbs. Just handeling the 2 tools clearly shows a difference in build quality. The China tool was sloppy, the driver had at least 1/8" lateral play and the bearins felt rough, like it was already pretty worn, and the air control was small and hard to adjust. Still, it had heft and there was that '1400# torque'

So whatr to do, spend another 50 bucks and get a better built tool that maybe, just maybe, might be weaker? Or go for the China tool. What do you all think?

 

[EddieWalker]

I have a Ingersoll Rand 3/8 impact wrench and Porter Cable. The IR is supposed to give me 400lbs but it's nowhere close to that. The Porter Cable has the same rating and it's twice the wrench of the IR.

Saying that, it still wasnt' enough to take off the lub nuts on my dump truck and backhoe, so I have an Ingersoll Rand 3/4 inch impact wrench for those jobs. It works good, but still struggles at time. Especially on the bolt holding the piston on really large hydraulic cylinders. In time it's gotten everything off for me.

I'm alsor running a standard 3/8 air hose and the large impact wrenches need a half in hose to get full power!! If I get to the point I can't get something off with what I have, my next move is a larger hose.

Eddie

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I'm alsor running a standard 3/8 air hose and the large impact wrenches need a half in hose to get full power!! If I get to the point I can't get something off with what I have, my next move is a larger hose. )</font>

Yep, to get full power, you need the bigger hose and bigger quick couplers.

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I'm alsor running a standard 3/8 air hose and the large impact wrenches need a half in hose to get full power!! If I get to the point I can't get something off with what I have, my next move is a larger hose. )</font>

Yep, to get full power, you need the bigger hose and bigger quick couplers.

 

[Bird]

I have no experience with the Porter Cable air tools, such as Eddie mentioned, and the only time I ever tried to get parts to repair a Harbor Freight air tool, I was unsucccessful. But the IR tools are good ones; my first choice, in fact. But like Eddie said, the 3/4" impact of either brand is not going to have full power unless you have big enough hoses and couplers to get the full volume of air through them.

I'd have serious doubts about the torque rating on the HF impact. And I don't know which model IR you were looking at with only 1,000 ft. lbs. (258?), but they make the 261 at 1,100 (it's the model I'm most familiar with, having repaired a few of them) and the 2161XP at 1,250. However, if 1,000 is enough for you, and I would think it should usually be, and you have the smaller hoses, have you looked at the IR2135, which is 1/2" drive and 1/4" air inlet and rated for 1,000. They're something new since I was working on air tools, so I've never seen one with a 7 vane air motor. It ought to be a dandy.

 

[Bird]

I have no experience with the Porter Cable air tools, such as Eddie mentioned, and the only time I ever tried to get parts to repair a Harbor Freight air tool, I was unsucccessful. But the IR tools are good ones; my first choice, in fact. But like Eddie said, the 3/4" impact of either brand is not going to have full power unless you have big enough hoses and couplers to get the full volume of air through them.

I'd have serious doubts about the torque rating on the HF impact. And I don't know which model IR you were looking at with only 1,000 ft. lbs. (258?), but they make the 261 at 1,100 (it's the model I'm most familiar with, having repaired a few of them) and the 2161XP at 1,250. However, if 1,000 is enough for you, and I would think it should usually be, and you have the smaller hoses, have you looked at the IR2135, which is 1/2" drive and 1/4" air inlet and rated for 1,000. They're something new since I was working on air tools, so I've never seen one with a 7 vane air motor. It ought to be a dandy.

 

[ScottAR]

I've got the IR 2131 ultra and it's a hoss for a 1/2" drive. My friend the bodyman has the quiet version (I forget the #) and it's so quiet your not sure it's working.

My vote is the Ingersoll... I'd go for one with a composite case if I wanted to afford it. Much lighter and they don't get cold after they run for awhile.

 

[ScottAR]

I've got the IR 2131 ultra and it's a hoss for a 1/2" drive. My friend the bodyman has the quiet version (I forget the #) and it's so quiet your not sure it's working.

My vote is the Ingersoll... I'd go for one with a composite case if I wanted to afford it. Much lighter and they don't get cold after they run for awhile.

 

[Bird]

Scott, the 2131 was the most powerful 1/2" going when they first came out. A lot of diesel mechanics bought them because it saved them from having to go to the bigger and heavier 3/4" impacts. But on Ingersoll's web site they don't list it anymore, so I'm not sure whether they're still making them or whether the 2135 replaced it. The 2131 did have a number of problems if it was abused; wasn't quite as forgiving as the old 231, so I repaired quite a number of them; usually the owner's fault rather than the tool's.

 

[Bird]

Scott, the 2131 was the most powerful 1/2" going when they first came out. A lot of diesel mechanics bought them because it saved them from having to go to the bigger and heavier 3/4" impacts. But on Ingersoll's web site they don't list it anymore, so I'm not sure whether they're still making them or whether the 2135 replaced it. The 2131 did have a number of problems if it was abused; wasn't quite as forgiving as the old 231, so I repaired quite a number of them; usually the owner's fault rather than the tool's.