WHATS A GOOD IMPACT WRENCH?

[brain55]

My first Snap-On 1/2" drive impact never saw under 125 psi. It lasted 18+ years before it just didn't have the power it used to. I can only hope the one I replaced it with will last as long. It probably will, now that I do 90% or more with my 18v cordless impact. My cordless will take off the lug nuts on my dually with no problem. I'll use my 3/4" gun for stuff like mower blades and stump jumpers.

Brian

 

[k0ua]

Holy cow, for years and years I have run my impact at 90 lbs. That is what the instructions said to do. Oh, a couple of times I have "cheated" on a tough nut and turned it up to 100 maybe 110 once or twice, to get a little more oomph. but who knew? 175 LBS?.. you got to be kidding me!:laughing: I always assumed that if you turned it up much it would become a hand grenade:laughing: Heck I am going to run that sucker wide open next time I need something broke loose Besides it is a junky old impact and I have got my money's worth out of it a long time ago.:thumbsup:
James K0UA

 

[SPYDERLK]

Good discussion. I'll have to put in a vote for AirCat. That is what is in my garage. 1/2" is rated at 1000 lbs/ft and is quiet and comfortable to use. I think around $125 or $150 without looking it up.
Perhaps you all can help me with a question that has recently come up. My younger brother lives with me and he is claiming that the impact gun doesnt have as much power as it used to. He is claiming that it is because that I use it above the rated 90 psi sometimes. I do turn it up to 110 or 120 if I have a stubborn bolt once and a while and was assuming this was an acceptable thing to do. His argument is that when you do that it spins too fast and wears things out and the seals arent rated fo anything much above 90 PSI. In theory I would somewhat agree that it is feasible, but in all practicality I dont think Im doing any harm. What do you all think, especially you BIRD since you have a lot of experience with these types of tools.

No 1/2 gun is rated for 1000 ft-lb .. or even 900, altho Iv seen both statements on here. The mfgs are weasle wording it by saying that the gun will remove a bolt tightened to 1000. Thats not the same thing .. removal is easier. You cant apply 1000 thru a 1/2" square shaft.
larry

 

[PoorMansCat]

Holy cow, for years and years I have run my impact at 90 lbs. That is what the instructions said to do. Oh, a couple of times I have "cheated" on a tough nut and turned it up to 100 maybe 110 once or twice, to get a little more oomph. but who knew? 175 LBS?.. you got to be kidding me!:laughing: I always assumed that if you turned it up much it would become a hand grenade:laughing: Heck I am going to run that sucker wide open next time I need something broke loose Besides it is a junky old impact and I have got my money's worth out of it a long time ago.:thumbsup:
James K0UA

Nah.. run it off the bottle at 175 and let her eat.. It WILL cause more wear.. but it gets the job done..
And to add to the increased wear of the ANVIL... Using "chrome" sockets on an impact wrench is an absolute no-no.. One reason that impact sockets are heavier is due to the socket material being slightly softer than the metal used for the anvil..
Chrome sockets are much harder material and wear away the anvil and destroy the retaining ring.

 

[dcyrilc]

This has been a great and very informative thread. Lots to learn still.:thumbsup:

 

[timswi]

My first Snap-On 1/2" drive impact never saw under 125 psi. It lasted 18+ years before it just didn't have the power it used to. I can only hope the one I replaced it with will last as long. It probably will, now that I do 90% or more with my 18v cordless impact. My cordless will take off the lug nuts on my dually with no problem. I'll use my 3/4" gun for stuff like mower blades and stump jumpers.

Brian

I run my Craftsman Pro gun at 125psi (at least) every time..Still works as good as it did when I bought it 15 years ago.

 

[Bird]

Nah.. run it off the bottle at 175 and let her eat.. It WILL cause more wear.. but it gets the job done..
And to add to the increased wear of the ANVIL... Using "chrome" sockets on an impact wrench is an absolute no-no.. One reason that impact sockets are heavier is due to the socket material being slightly softer than the metal used for the anvil..
Chrome sockets are much harder material and wear away the anvil and destroy the retaining ring.

And if that chrome socket breaks, it might become the hand grenade KOUA mentioned.

 

[kenmac]

try a Harbor Freight EARTHQUAKE 1/2" drive...for commercial use, there are much better impacts out there, BUT, for home use the Earthquake is a fairly stout impact. The Ingersol-Rand composite impacts are NOT worth the money, they are very frail and the air motor gives up quickly..

I bought earthquake. I'm impressed. 600+++ FT LB TQ. I have to be carefull. It will break bolts

 

[JFS2295]

I managed a vehicle test garage for brakes from everything from a Civic to Class 8, using 3/8" to 1" impacts, AKA in our shop as "Rambo". There's a lot of good info here, and here are my thoughts.

We always used iron for our air plumbing. Part of our corporate safety policy not only for integrity, but not to add air in case of a building fire. Too small of hard air line or rubber extension kills the power every time. One thing that can be done in barns that have the compressor on one side and work area on the other is to plumb in a remote storage tank at the use location to keep the volume of air up. Similar to the "test" using a propane tank mentioned.

For 1/2" and under guns we always used Snap-On. We got a corporate discount so that made things easier. For the 3/4" and 1" guns, IR was our choice for both longevity and power. As mentioned, the good IR 3/4" could replace our 1" Rambo often.

We picked up several Blue-Point 14.4VDC 1/2" impacts during our latter years, and all the driver/mechanics really liked using these. As long as they had a good charge they would pull lug nuts off anything up to F-350's with their 150lb rating. Relatively light and no tripping over air lines. (Superduties are torqued to 165lbft, but they seemed to achieve that as long as no extension was added to the anvil).

We regulated at 80psi, unless we had a real problem. If you are using torque sticks for lug nuts you have to find the sweet spot in the pressure range for them. Our Snap-On torque sticks achieved rated torque at 90psi with our tools, but if we went over that pressure, the torque would too. Since we were a testing facility, torque was an issue we had to monitor with brake rotors. If your wondering about the 80psi, that was so we would be under torque with power, then manually come up to spec with a torque wrench.

 

[KubotainNH]

No 1/2 gun is rated for 1000 ft-lb .. or even 900, altho Iv seen both statements on here. The mfgs are weasle wording it by saying that the gun will remove a bolt tightened to 1000. Thats not the same thing .. removal is easier. You cant apply 1000 thru a 1/2" square shaft.
larry

No arguments here, the ratings gotta be inflated but I'm still going to buy a gun listed for 900 over one listed at 350. So, with all the knowledge listed here like higher pressure, shorter hose and no extensions for better power. What about the stubborn ones? Ok, to let it hammer for awhile? Some bolts are a bit loose and don't have a great fit, try to get a better fit as in the looseness is detrimental or is it irrelevant? This is a good thread, maybe all this stuff should be set up in bullets