Impact gun - air or battery?

[Percent]

Opp I bumped the wrong thread.

Will this be up the job for heavy car work?

http://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-eri6041pd-18v-2-...

Brake carriers, wheel nuts , suspension work etc?

[feef]

one eyed mick said:

A comment to all Buy a proper breaker bar [24 " +] and man up !!!

I've had cases where a breaker bar has resulted in a rounded nut, where the impact driver has worked (after several minutes of banging away tho)

[PositronicRay]

one eyed mick said:

A comment to all Buy a proper breaker bar [24 " +] and man up !!!

I have to agree with this, seems like overkill for a few wheels and the odd undertray.

Looking @ the photos the battery powered jobbie has quite a bulky battery pack, could impede access, surely only necessary if your working on cars away from power.

[Dave.]

Overkill <> excuse to buy new toy

Tomaytoe <> tomato

[kambites]

If you don't already have a compressed air setup, go battery (or mains). Air is better but not enough better to be worth the installing just to run an impact wrench.

I use air and it's great, but in your situation I'd have no hesitation about going battery.


If you do go air, the key stats for the compressor will be tank size and maximum pressure. Too small a tank and you wont get enough hits at maximum pressure before it starts to drop; too little pressure and the hits will be too gentle to undo tight things. Power doesn't matter in the slightest, you'll never use an impact wrench for prolonged enough periods. The other important thing is the lines and fittings, there is an enormous variation in flow-restriction between different air-line and fittings.

Edited by kambites on Thursday 1st December 15:21

[rambo19]

Percent said:

Opp I bumped the wrong thread.

Will this be up the job for heavy car work?

http://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-eri6041pd-18v-2-...

Brake carriers, wheel nuts , suspension work etc?

Nope, 1/4 inch drive.
I have the same model, comes in handy for small nuts/bolts.

[Lord Pikey]

Im looking for one of these to ask santa for. I want it for occasional car work, my compressor is too small so i am thinking of a mains powered to get the most torque for my cash.

Can anyone recommend a 240v impact wrench for around 100 gbp?

[frodo_monkey]

I bought one of these recently, strongly recommended :

Kielder KWT-002-02 18v Brushless Cordless Impact Wrench, 2 x 3.0Ah TYPE18 Li-ion Battery https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B014AQHTHG/ref=cm_sw_r...

[rambo19]

frodo_monkey said:

I bought one of these recently, strongly recommended :

Kielder KWT-002-02 18v Brushless Cordless Impact Wrench, 2 x 3.0Ah TYPE18 Li-ion Battery https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B014AQHTHG/ref=cm_sw_r...

Been thinking off the same one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jlSqjpwZwY&t=...

[Cactussed]

I've got both of the Clarke ones you mention.
Mine is also purely home mechanic perspective.

I bought the 24V battery one for basics like wheels and nuts /bolts etc. Its really handy when doing drop links and changing wheels, but as said it does suffer if battery is drained. Were it me, I'd spend a little more and see if you can get a decent Li-on one in the sales.

I also have the mains powered one. I couldn't get the crank bolt off one of my cars with a breaker bar and 2ft scaffold pole. It wasn't moving. I popped the mains powered gun on and hey presto. But bear in mind. It has ZERO finesse. Its either on or off, so is no use whatsoever if you need to start something gently then hit it at the end. It has its uses, its comparatively cheap, but its definitely not for everyday use.

For home use, I find them way more convenient than a compressor and air tool setup. And they take up no room. Just my 2c.

[AceOfHearts]

http://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-dcf899n-xj-18v-li...

I have one of these and it's great for tight stuff!

For smaller bits I use this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/DeWalt-Lithium-Ion-Body-I...

Edited by AceOfHearts on Monday 12th December 10:11

[Josho]

My Milwaukee's make mince meat out of air operated impact guns.

[Jerry Can]

I have a marksman battery impact wrench. It is good for fast removal of wheel nuts etc, however the tighter stuff you'll need to slacken off first. For everything else that's welded on I use a clarke electric impact wrench which has yet to be defeated.

[PositronicRay]

I'm struggling to see the point of a gun that won't "crack" nuts off. I can see the point in a cheapo mains Clarke, if it'll crack anything off. Who needs it for doing stuff up again, unless your a pro, in which case you'll buy more expensive stuff.

[bearman68]

I have one of these. I bought it after wrecking a cheaper unit - the batteries die, and you can't get replacements. I'm pretty confident the Hitachi batteries are going to be around for a while yet, plus I have several other power tools using the batteries.
It's a big heavy bit of kit, and very good for splitting suspension joints and the like, and just saves time and effort. I'd have another. I also have a compressor, but the air gun doesn't get used at all now I have this.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/hitachi-wr18dshl-w4-18v-...

[Dave.]

rambo19 said:

frodo_monkey said:

I bought one of these recently, strongly recommended :

Kielder KWT-002-02 18v Brushless Cordless Impact Wrench, 2 x 3.0Ah TYPE18 Li-ion Battery https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B014AQHTHG/ref=cm_sw_r...

Been thinking off the same one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jlSqjpwZwY&t=...

I think I'm gonna go with this one, eBay/Amazon/demontweeks/kielder themselves are all within a few quid.

Thanks for the input guys.

[GarageQueen]

I've been wanting one of these but, silly question - what is it about impact wrenches that scares me? perhaps it seems a very violent way to remove a bolt.

[bgunn]

GarageQueen said:

I've been wanting one of these but, silly question - what is it about impact wrenches that scares me? perhaps it seems a very violent way to remove a bolt.

Yes, and no. Sometimes the best way to remove a very seized bolt is a lot of shocks rather than sustained load (by hand with a breaker bar) which will often result in breakage.

[GC8]

Dave. said:

Currently it's a fight between the mains powered Clarke, or this Wolf 18v...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Impact-Wrenches/Wolf-Co...

The mains powered Clarke will win any fight! Masses of twisty power and very cheap relative to even entry-level battery powered kit.

[Dave.]

GC8 said:

Dave. said:

Currently it's a fight between the mains powered Clarke, or this Wolf 18v...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Impact-Wrenches/Wolf-Co...

The mains powered Clarke will win any fight! Masses of twisty power and very cheap relative to even entry-level battery powered kit.

Only trouble with that is zero finesse. It's all or nothing, no speed/torque control.

I have no doubt it'd be great for removing those really stubborn crank/hub nuts, but I wouldn't want to be doing wheel nuts up with it.