[Closed] Impact Wrenches: TORQUE TO ME.

Nope, no advice here; but have >APPLAUSE< for such a brilliantly punning title. 🙂

Clarke do a 24V one that should handle most jobs - mechanic mate uses one
All I can say is my 10.8V lithium will struggle (but then I use a breaker bar to loosen and torque wrench to retighten so no real loss for me)

Aye, I've got a dirty ol' breaker bar. I was looking at a Clarke that looked like a beast, but it was corded. I'll have another look. Thanks.

Not a great sample but both the 14v and 18v snap on cordless ones I use have been very good ( both older nicad models )
But they are the only battery Guns Ive ever used

The 18v is a bit big to get into small spaces on the car but has plenty of power

In true STW style, I love my air gun, it rattles anything off in seconds.

Basiclaly just subscribing to the thread, I actually have an air gun but I never use it because getting air out to the car is a total pain in the cock. So a cordless would be nice.

Impact drivers won't break much about an m4 bolt I have an 18v one it's still hopeless but great at screws ! Gets used loads

Had a corded 240 Clarke.it was great . Really powerful and again often used but still couldn't do some crank bolts

Then i plumbed up my garage for air with compressors in another shed on remote switches and retractable reels etc so using air is zero hassle. Got a 600nm air impact and it's the tits...It laughs at crank pulley bolts.

Just be sure if going battery it's a good in . Mixed reports that the good ones are good but the shit ones are worse than shit. You get what you pay for . The battery tech is the cost as you need quick drain batteries to deliver the oomph. Snapon and Milwaukee fuel seem to be what I see being used in the field.

For most bolts and impact wrench is not needed. I am a big fan of Makita LXT range. I have their brushless impact driver, and it's great for wheel bolts, but you still need to break/snug up using a breaker bar. Not great for use in confined places. Makita have a new brushless beast (DTW1002z or somesuch) which has a half inch drive and would stop the earth spinning if you could fasten it to the north pole. I also have a teeny 7.2v Makita impact driver for general flatpack furniture etc where the wrench is too much. So in true STW style, you need to buy three bits of kit! The one for moving big bolts is too much for smaller stuff and confined spaces, and the lesser drivers won't shift things like wheel bolts or crank pulleys.

Thing is air tools are so much cheaper and more powerful plus having compressed air is so handy for lots of things, a compressor is the way to go if you can.

I have a small Metabo 18V one and it will not break anything torqued up much beyond 40-50 lb/ft so wheel nuts and most other stuff on cars needs breaking first with a bar. My mate, who is in the trade, has a couple of Snap-On ones and they will shift anything an air wrench will. When we used to compete in motorsport we used to carry the 1/2" one and it would whip the wheelnuts of the Landrover in seconds. Talking hundreds of ££££ a pop though.

So I guess you pays your money and takes your choice. But a good one is easily as good as an air one (within the limitations of batteries running down)

Air tools are Not more powerful .

Not unless you packing a huge compressor and have a very expensive wrench....

Some battery guns are doing silly high break out torques.

Battery gun will be cheaper to buy by the time you get a decent size compressor and space to store it.+ 10mm hose and connectors/regulators to run a big gun

But I run air as I have been for a long time and already have a silly sized compressor

Yes but once you have it all, getting subsequent tools is v cheap

Space isn't cheap though.

Thanks chaps. While I'd love a garage with a big compressor and air tools, it's just not happening at the moment. I live in a 2nd floor flat in the city.

Here's another question: Can an impact [i]driver[/i] double up as a basic drill?

Thinking of getting the Clarke 24v that someone else recommended which should shift most things and is pretty cheap. And then maybe a little Bosch/Makita driver for most of the other stuff.

I'm a bit of a minimalist and hate having more stuff than necessary. If one tool can do multiple jobs I'll be well happy. Although I'm well aware of the 'jack of all trades/master of none' thing so...

Can an impact driver double up as a basic drill?

No

Yes they can - just restricted to slow speed
use hex shank drill bits eg
http://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-quick-change-hss-drill-bit-6mm/8686H

But that kind of impact driver with the hex shank as std is designed for driving screws into mainly wood.
The bigger 3/8 - 1/2 impact drivers are for bolts - some automotive like the clarke etc.

There are different options

If you want the power to free off stubborn or difficult bolts , how often do you need to do this? Corded 240v heavy impact gun should do this for very occasional use without wasting money.
If you want help spinning stuff off then get a cordless ratchet - free off fastener first , if you want a cordless drill as well then get a system that does both with the same battery - this will cost you though - unless
you can get them from the US - AC delco - Milwaukee etc.

The only option I found for a cordless ratchet had to come from Lidl but
had to be ordered by one of my German colleagues , 35e which is the cheapest anywhere by a long way - google Lidl 100197857 online sale only.

For occasional use the corded 1/2 has to be considered , I have air now - but used to use a 110v corded impact that I bought from Harbour Freight about 20 yeas ago - it works.

I have the Milwaukee M18 impact wrench and it has managed comfortably up to 22mm wheel nuts, pretty sure it has one of the highest torque levels in its class if you believe Milwaukee, If you have to buy I would buy 2nd hand as you should be able to pick one up for under £200 with 2 batteries as opposed to £500 ish new

A couple of years ago I settled on a [url= http://www.toolstop.co.uk/dewalt-dcf899n-high-torque-impact-wrench-18v-cordless-brushless-body-only-p72066 ]Dewalt DCF899[/url]. It has a crazy amount of torque (950Nm/1600Nm Breakaway), I haven't come across anything it can't undo! It's removed a fair few stubborn wheel nuts at track days, everyone has been impressed with it.

It has 4 torque settings, you can set it at it's lowest, which is really low, put on the wheel nuts and torque them correctly. This thing has saved me loads of time and removed a few stubborn exhaust bolts with ease.

Also live in a flat, so air tools are out of the question. Got a Dewalt, when needed it gives the rusty bolts on my 16 year old landy a learning. Not a frequent user, but have yet to find anything it wouldn't undo.

Not a cheap option, but I'd recommend it.

I've got a couple, a big old Sealey 24v one for use in the workshop and a little lithium battery job for in the rally car, both will happily undo wheel nuts and most things up to m8/10 with ease as long as they're not totally corroded, which on a rally car is ok as it's looked after well and generally things are torqued properly.

http://www.toolstop.co.uk/sealey-cp2400-cordless-impact-wrench-24v-1-2i-sq-drive-325lb-ft-2-batteries-p7955

http://www.ultra-automotive.co.uk/durofix-li-ion-18v-180nm-1-2-impact-wrench-driver-drill-screw-driver/

I bought a cheap 240V impact wrench for basic car jobs. I'm yet to find anything on my car it won't undo. I just run an extension lead out of the house to use it. I use a torque wrench to torque the bolts back up again afterwards.

I'd love an air compressor but it wouldn't work out in my current house so this was a much easier solution.

It came from ebay for around £50, similar to item 161945783962.

I just run an extension lead out of the house to use it.

[b]I live in a [/b][i]just tell me what you use, that'd be handy, don't read my first post it'll be too much trouble. I'll just buy a 300m long extension cable and drape it out of the window, or buy an air powered wrench, just after buying a compressor and a garage and some land to put it on.[/i]

Seriously, did no one read the bit about the OP living in a flat ?

Seriously, did no one read the bit about the OP living in a flat ?

Can an impact driver double up as a basic drill?

No

yes, for drilling masonry etc (similar to hammer drilling) then you can use these ....

http://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-multi-material-impact-driver-drill-bits-set-5-piece-set/4435P

On offer at the moment too

Does the OP live in osprey heights that he needs a 300m extension cable ?

😆

Lots to be going on with. Thanks everyone.

Edit: I've been thinking about relocating to the country. This could be just the excuse I need.

Seriously, did no one read the bit about the OP living in a flat ?

Of course, hence why an air compressor is utterly impractical but running an extension lead is not!
OP did say cordless was [i]preferred[/i], not [i]essential[/i]. I was pointing out that the mains option was inexpensive and capable.

Let us know what you get and if it's any good please jambourgie!

jambourgie - Member

Edit: I've been thinking about relocating to the country. This could be just the excuse I need.

You're going to need a much longer cable then

😀

Tbh, the corded-beast for the occasional stubborn crank-bolt might not be a bad idea. Yes, it'd take some extension cables but it's doable. It's cheap, and I know it'll have the grunt and work when I need it. In which case, there's no point in buying one. It might as well stay on the shelf in Machinemart rather than take up space in my place. I'll go and buy one when I need to use it.

Then have a nice little cordless for the rest of the work.

Seriously, did no one read the bit about the OP living in a flat ?

Yes but thats the way it works here - disregard the original question and recommend something impractical.

Work bought me a Makita 18v Brushless DTW1002Z 1600NM , Great for forklift wheel nuts that have regularly driven in salt water. It is a beast!

[img][url= https://s3.postimg.org/cbjf071gj/index.jp g" target="_blank">https://s3.postimg.org/cbjf071gj/index.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://postimage.org/ ]img host[/url][/img]

Regularly causes Tim the Toolmam Taylor type grunting 😛