Air Impact Wrench

   / Air Impact Wrench #1  

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Currently I have a 1/2 inch AllTrade air impact wrench and it does not have enough torque to handle all of the maintenance on my Kubota.

I would like a recommendation of a good general purpose 1/2 inch impact wrench that has worked well for maintaining your tractor. I don't mind spending the bucks to get a good tool but I don't want to spend extra money to get one with capabilities that I will never need or use.

I have looked at wrenches at Harbor Freight and I am considering this one Impact wrench

Is Harbor Freight the best place to buy a impact wrench? If not, where would you recommend?

John
 
   / Air Impact Wrench #2  
Not knowing anything about what you have now and are dissatisfied with, I would recommend the IR 2131. It's on the list from Harbor Freight for $159. The only one I have used that is more powerful is a Snap-On IM51 for over twice that money. I use the 3/8 version of the 2131 all the time and love it. It is my most used air tool. You don't mention your compressor. If that's not up to the task, it doesn't matter what impact gun you use. I buy from Harbor Freight all the time, they are great to deal with and have great prices.
Pacesetter
 
   / Air Impact Wrench #3  
Yep, John, that's the IR231, and like the add says it's probably about the most popular 1/2" impact there is. That's what I used for a personal impact wrench. Of course, if you want to spend another $50, you'll notice they also have the IR2131, which is even more powerful and has, in the last few years, become very popular, especially with diesel mechanics. It's an almost identical hammer, or impact, mechanism but an entirely different throttle valve, air motor cylinder, and housing. When I was working on them, I was initially very skeptical of that "composite" body, but the only broken ones I ever got had been left laying on the shop floor and either run over by a truck or had the lift let down on them. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif So it would be my first choice now, and the IR231 second.
 
   / Air Impact Wrench #4  
Russell, you must have typed faster, or got an earlier start, than I. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif The 3/8" version of the IR2131 is the IR2112. And while the Snap-On IM51 (and the IM510) are good impact wrenches, they are not as powerful as the IR2131. And also, while the IM51 and IM510 are good impacts, I'd sure recommend staying away from the IM5100. They are very similar designs and for reasons neither I, nor anyone else I know of, know why, everyone I knew of who had an IM5100 was dissatisfied with its power, even when brand new.
 
   / Air Impact Wrench
  • Thread Starter
#5  
Pacesetter300 & Bird - Thanks for the information.

I have a Sears 5 HP, 22 gal. air compresser. Not sure of the CFM but I feel sure that it has enough capacity to handle any impact wrench that I could buy.

The AllTrade that I have is about 7 years old. I bought a complete outfit that included a 1/2 inch wrench, 3/8 inch wrench and an air hammer. I believe the total cost was around $50. I don't know the specs but I am sure it is low-end at that price. It worked well for my previous garden tractors but my Kubota has bigger bolts and higher torques. It's time for a better tool. Should have bought a better tool in the first place!

I will take a look at the 2131.

John
 
   / Air Impact Wrench #6  
That Alltrade was probably rated at 230 ft./lbs (plus or minus 20) when it was new. So you're talking about impacts now with almost double the torque, and of course, double the price. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif Don't forget to buy a little needle nosed grease gun to go with those Ingersoll Rand impacts.
 
   / Air Impact Wrench
  • Thread Starter
#7  
Thanks Bird... I have a needlenosed grease gun that I use to grease the sprocket tip on my chainsaw. I suspect it will work on the impact wrench. What are your thoughts?

John
 
   / Air Impact Wrench #8  
Yep, same grease gun and I used the same grease. Ingersoll-Rand has their own grease and for reasons unknown to me, they actually had a different grease for the IR231 and the 2000 series impacts, but everyone I knew just used the same grease in all of them. Some types of grease are obviously better for some applications than others, but for your impact wrench, if you keep it greased with any kind of grease and keep the dirt and water out of it, it'll probably last longer than you do. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
   / Air Impact Wrench #9  
I don't recommend buying another impact wrench until you are sure the compressor you have will handle the required CFM, most impacts use a lot of air, generally over 90CFM. The PSI should be up there too.I keep my compressor set at 120lbs. Can't recall the brand of my impact wrench but it has three or four torque settings.
 
   / Air Impact Wrench
  • Thread Starter
#10  
I checked my compresser. It is 6.4 SCFM at 90 PSI.

John
 
 
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