electric impact gun

[skinner1790]

what does every one recomend craftsman has 1/2 on sale one battery for 100 dollars ? 200fpt so i want peoples opinions i live in a apartment so air not a option

[bluewool]

I have a 1/2", 3/8", 1/4" hex, Dewalt, all 18v The 1/2" isn't air, you're not going to break the same sorts of things free as you would with an air set up, but its handy for tire changes etc.. The 1/4" hex is fantastic I use it everyday - it owes me nothing. The 3/8" is the same tool as the 1/4" but 3/8" very handy also.

It depends on what you plan on using it for. I probably wouldn't have outright purchased the 1/2" but it was part of a kit.

The 1/4" hex impact is the most versatile by far.


We have a 36v dewalt 1/2" at work, which we use once a year for the fuel sealift, it's a little closer to a big air gun.

[Nessism]

Don't sell the electric impacts short. The better electric units are stronger than the common IR air impact. Guys at work are quite fond of the green Hitachi's.

[tkent02]

The little green 1/4" hex Hitachi is a wonderful tool, it will get a clutch hub nut or maybe a countershaft nut off. Can be used to snug up tiny screws without over doing it once you learn the delicate touch required. Very versatile. It came with two batteries, which last a very long time.

[bluewool]

Here's a review of some 1/2" electric guns.

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

I find the torque ratings a little unbelievable. Then again. 575lbs is just body weight on a 3' breaker bar.

End use has a lot to do with it.

[skinner1790]

what every one opinion on craftsman i just need some thing for working on car and motorcycle nothing extreme tie rod ends ball joints and on bike maybe to assist a brake swap

[tkent02]

I find the torque ratings a little unbelievable. Then again. 575lbs is just body weight on a 3' breaker bar.

Where you can't hold the other side from turning is where the impact comes in handy.

[RichDesmond]

No experience with the Craftsman, but I've got a Harbor Freight special ($60 I think) that's handy and very effective. Not a total replacement for air impacts, but for motorcycle work it's usually enough.

[rustybronco]

Two hundred foot/lbs torque isn't enough torque, especially if you plan on doing ball joints. You may want to consider this model instead. http://www.kmart.com/craftsman-8-amp...1&blockType=G1

[bluewool]

Where you can't hold the other side from turning is where the impact comes in handy.

Yes I know.
I was speaking to a specific application which is removing wheel lugs when changing from my snows on alloys ( - I know. I know. ...snow and salt never a great combination but they're well curbed so they're snow rims now.)
They actually mention in the test I posted that the dewalt "takes a while"... and really do I want to listen to impact for 15 seconds per lug? 5 per wheel- no. The 1/2" ones are pretty big and cumbersome - they don't fit where you can fit a 1/2" air and if they do they do not have the jam of a good air set up-- Unless they are Hilti or Snapon -- this is my personal hands on workplace experience. I still use mine it's just has limitations thats all I am saying. I've never been impressed with a craftsman cordless anything.. heavy, gutless and poor ergonomics.

I agree full about the 1/4" hex, having adopted one early on to stave off carpel tunnel- less repetitive motion than screw drivers and less wrist strain than cordless drills. You can break 1/4" hardware quite easy if you don't have a some finesse..

[bwringer]

I'd stay away from cordless for heavy-duty stuff. 200 ft/lb is very marginal even for lug nuts. The 1/2" electric plug-in impact at Harbor Freight is actually pretty impressive -- I've used one a couple of times in places where air wasn't available. If I still lived in an apartment, I'd have one.

I'm sure the same factory cranks these out with Craftsmen labels or whatever.

For just about everything else, a decent 1/4" cordless impact is EXTREMELY handy. I inherited a cheapie Black & Decker Firestorm that I've abused for two years (no idea how long my Dad abused it before I ended up with it, but it looked pretty rough), and it's still going strong. It's done a lot of stuff it really shouldn't be able to...

[daspirate]

I had a 1/2" corded Craftsman electric impact for a while. It couldn't loosen lug nuts which had been torqued to 80 in-lb. Overall, I found its power to be extremely underwhelming.

Honestly, I picked up a Chicago Electric one at Harbor Freight a couple years ago and it has out-performed the Crapsman in every way.

[musicman]

I've used the crapsman impacts, not too bad but the batteries are expensive and don't last long at all. I have a wired 1/2" harbor freight impact gun, actually pretty impressive. Used it for a while before I got my air compressor. Personally I would get the harbor freight wired one, really cheap and has been durable, plus no batteries to buy. Never bought a cordless harbor freight anything, but my guess is the quality is equal to crapsman. It is when it comes to everything else...

[almarconi]

I would stay away from cordless. I've had one of the no name chinese made electric ones for years and it works well. I have air in my garage so I don't use it much anymore, but for your situation it would be ideal.

[1_v8_merc]

If you want a Truly good Cordless impact, buy Snap-On.
We use them at the junkyard every day, they blow most air impacts Out of the water.

I'm not kidding about the abuse either. They get dropped and thrown every day. I think we had one get run over by a dozer or tow truck a couple times. These guys are bad...they leave em sitting in puddles of oil and gasoline....you name it.

We still have a gun from like 10 years ago. The snap-on truck drops off a new
battery like Once a year, and the gun keeps running....free of charge