Cordless impact wrench?

Say someone was shopping in the $100-$200 range. What would you advise?

used snap on

Electric or air?

Electric with battery.

maybe dewalt or IR, though either one will be pushing the outer edge of your price requirement, and probably still inferior to the used Snap-On taiden recommended.

I scored a used snap on 1/2" drive impact wrench at a garage sale for $25 with two batteries and a charger. Sold the lot for about $220 on ebay. I regret it every time I go to the junkyard. That thing was a beast. It did more work than my husky 1/2" drive air impact on 120 psi.

Taiden wrote: It did more work than my husky 1/2" drive air impact on 120 psi.

I just got a lot less satisfied with my Craftsman...

there's more than one

by and large, a quality air impact will hand any battery powered one it's as s.

ransom wrote:

Taiden wrote: It did more work than my husky 1/2" drive air impact on 120 psi.

I just got a lot less satisfied with my Craftsman...

My husky may be old and decrepit though, I bought it used on ebay about 5 years ago and have never oiled it once.

Taiden wrote:

ransom wrote:

Taiden wrote: It did more work than my husky 1/2" drive air impact on 120 psi.

I just got a lot less satisfied with my Craftsman...

My husky may be old and decrepit though, I bought it used on ebay about 5 years ago and have never oiled it once.

Should oil it all the time. That may help!

Joey

The used snap-on on ebay are waaaay above my price range. It's looking like anything decent from a big box is going to be more in the $250 range. Harbor freight has a $100 1/2" drive but you cant get spare batteries.

IR is coming out with a 600ft/lb electric impact beginning of the year... Just save your pennies, it is about 5 c-notes.

Stay away from the MAC/Matco/Cornwell versions. I have a 1/2" MAC that has a dead battery. I used it maybe 4 times. Weak POS. Battery is about 70 bux either way of rebuild or a new one from MAC. Looks similar to the Milwaukee version, but of course it's different.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Snap-1-2-cordless-Impact-Kit-W-Driver-battery-charger-case-/250958803505?pt=Motors_Automotive_Tools&vxp=mtr&hash=item3a6e4f7231

The 14.4's are weak. Although they make a nice complement to a 3/8" drive version....

Do you have any other cordless tools that could share a battery? I'm planning to get a dealt because I already have 2 lithium batteries that will fit from my drill. They are about $120 without a battery.

I have an 18V DeWalt that I love, but they're pricey. But like MW said, if you already own cordless DeWalt tools, you can buy bare tools and use your existing batteries and charger.

$109 plus shipping http://www.tools-plus.com/dewalt-dc820b.html

^ +1

I love my 18V milwaukee, but the price puts it fairly far outside your range.

Woody wrote: I have an 18V DeWalt that I love, but they're pricey. But like MW said, if you already own cordless DeWalt tools, you can buy bare tools and use your existing batteries and charger. $109 plus shipping http://www.tools-plus.com/dewalt-dc820b.html

Indeed. That's pretty sweet. I've got the impact driver version. They look pretty similar, aside from the attachment drive. Is it ok to use these with socket drive attachments? I assume the motor and drivetrain would be fine, but the chuck and what not worry me a bit.

http://www.tools-plus.com/dewalt-dc825ka.html

That's 1/4" drive and puts out 111 ft lbs?

Taiden wrote: That's 1/4" drive and puts out 111 ft lbs?

So they say. It's pretty awesome at driving screws, and removing them. That full on impact wrench one has 145 ft lbs.

I've used a 14.4 DeWalt 1/2" cordless for a few years just to swap wheels. It was bought for just such purpose in mind. If they are properly torqued, it has no problem removing the lugs.

I have 1/2" air impacts for the big stuff.

I bought a Rockwell impact driver earlier this year for about $125 at Sears - the bigger more powerful Bosch model was going on sale the next week for the same price but I couldn't wait - stupid me. Mine only puts out about 88 ft-lbs, not enough to break the lugs loose on any of my cars. It is nice for taking them off once cracked free and replacing them, and has helped with many other smaller projects. My bit of advice is get lithium-ion batteries, which last longer, have full power right until they're discharged and put up with the typical user's charging habits much better than ni-cad. Beyond that, get something rated for at least 100 ft-lbs.

Comparison test:

http://www.caranddriver.com/features/impact-wrench-comparison-seven-electric-models-tested-gearbox

My snap on was an 18v. That would explain why it was so godly. I wasn't aware that snap on offered different voltage tools