Impact wrench recommendations?

[Benengo]

Anyone offer an opinion? Are there any bargains out there in the sale? My budget is £250 max. I would also need a battery and charger (if that’s possible!)

Are the cheap, unnamed or obscure brands a false economy? If so I’d like to be closer to £150?

Any advice gratefully received!

[finlo]

I bought a Makita knock off as I already had batteries and charger it was £23 it's so awesome I now have two!

[LunarOne]

I already had a DeWalt cordless drill and an impact driver from the same brand, so 4 batteries and two chargers between them. So I got the DeWalt DCF899HN-XJ impact wrench without battery. If you buy it with a battery it comes with a 5.0Ah battery, but as I am a home user who just wants to do occasional home mechanics, I figured I'd be fine with my 2.0Ah batteries and I was correct. Without battery I paid £150 for it including VAT but it's between £270-£290 with a 5.0Ah battery and charger

The wrench itself gets great reviews and I'm very happy with it. It makes changing between winter and summer wheels and tyres an absolute breeze! I also invested in a good set of Facom impact sockets as I figured they'd last me a lifetime.

Edited by LunarOne on Monday 4th January 01:14

[Flibble]

I have the same Dewalt wrench as the poster above, I run it with 5 Ah batteries. It's a total beast. Stripped a drive shaft nut in seconds without even being on max torque.

[thatsprettyshady]

I have a Makota brushless one, I think it was £110 ish from Amazon, but no battery or charger so add a few quid for those two.

Very happy with it and does everything I need it to do.

[Jakg]

LunarOne said:

I already had a DeWalt cordless drill and an impact driver from the same brand, so 4 batteries and two chargers between them. So I got the DeWalt DCF899HN-XJ impact wrench without battery. If you buy it with a battery it comes with a 4.0 or 5.0Ah battery, but as I am a home user who just wants to do occasional home mechanics, I figured I'd be fine with my 2.0Ah batteries and I was correct. Without battery I paid £150 for it including VAT but it's between £270-£290 with a 4.0Ah battery.

I bought the same and am very happy with it. It's never struggled with anything I've thrown at it, including this rather rusty looking shock bolt thats been in place for 15 years.
I've had some cheaper Lidl battery and corded impact wrenches but they've always been a bit crap, so I thought I'd splash out on something that absolutely wouldn't be.



Although I only use it infrequently, I got a 4ah battery as I'd heard that the larger capacity batteries gave it more "kick" too.

My only issue is that it's quite big so can be a struggle getting it in where you need it.

[Miserablegit]

I bought one of these to free a steering wheel from a tractor mower. 400Nm torque means it shifts most things - bought it for one job but have used it for quite a few others.

[LunarOne]

Also I always find that buying cheap is a false economy. Yes, if it's a tool I think I will only use once, I might risk a cheap one, but with tools, cars and shoes you really do get what you pay for. Buy cheap, buy twice!

[InitialDave]

I bought a Dewalt 899 as well, I saw no reason not to get a fairly hefty one. I agree it's very good, I rarely encounter something I need to do manually instead.

[CAPP0]

I can recommend NOT buying a Clarke, they will only spin nuts off if you loosen them by hand first which is kinda pointless.

I did buy a Lidl one recently from a recommendation on another thread. The charger blew up (literally) when I plugged it in recently, so I can't recommend it, but when it's charged it seems fairly powerful. I don't use it that often so I can't really justify the more costly ones.

Edited by CAPP0 on Sunday 3rd January 21:06

[LunarOne]

Jakg said:

My only issue is that it's quite big so can be a struggle getting it in where you need it.

Much more compact than a breaker bar though!! The 2.0Ah batteries make it very wieldy as they are that much smaller and lighter!

[gazapc]

LunarOne said:

Jakg said:

My only issue is that it's quite big so can be a struggle getting it in where you need it.

Much more compact than a breaker bar though!! The 2.0Ah batteries make it very wieldy as they are that much smaller and lighter!

I bought the 894 which is quite a bit smaller but still has a reasonable amount of torque.

I still plan on eventually buying a 899 for those big jobs but haven't yet as I've been able to borrow a friend's when needed.

[rxe]

I also have the Dewalt, but am running it with the 54v flex volt battery.

I’ve not found a nut to defeat it yet.

[LunarOne]

rxe said:

I also have the Dewalt, but am running it with the 54v flex volt battery.

I’ve not found a nut to defeat it yet.

Does the flexvolt battery give you more power or more endurance, or both (or neither I guess is possible)?

[Baldchap]

What do you plan to do with it and how much torque do you need? Does it need to be cordless?

[Mars]

I also have the DeWalt 899 which I use with 5Ah batteries. I have not yet found a nut it won't shift and I replaced a significant portion of my car's suspension earlier this year using it.

You must budget for some impact sockets too although I don't believe you have to buy branded ones - any ought to do (cue someone with a bad experience of cheap ones).

[LunarOne]

Mars said:

You must budget for some impact sockets too although I don't believe you have to buy branded ones - any ought to do (cue someone with a bad experience of cheap ones).

In case the OP doesn't realise why impact sockets are important, they are made of a softer metal than the typical silver Chrome Vanadium sockets which are hard and brittle and can shatter under impact load. The softer metal of impact sockets is designed to deform slightly to absorb the impact rather than shattering, and they are typically black.

More information here:
https://www.wonkeedonkeetools.co.uk/sockets-and-so...

[fiju]

That dewalt looks huge! How are you meant to get it into tight spaces? I bet it weighs a ton as well.
I use a dewalt 18v impact driver with a 1/4" adaptor. It deals with most things, and is compact enough to get into almost any gap - and lightweight! You rarely need anything more powerful unless you're doing hub nuts and crank bolts or working on hgv's day in day out...

[Mars]

fiju said:

That dewalt looks huge! How are you meant to get it into tight spaces? I bet it weighs a ton as well.
I use a dewalt 18v impact driver with a 1/4" adaptor. It deals with most things, and is compact enough to get into almost any gap - and lightweight! You rarely need anything more powerful unless you're doing hub nuts and crank bolts or working on hgv's day in day out...

It is huge and it is very heavy but I use it mainly to undo stubborn nuts. I wouldn't use it to tighten anything because it can (according to the blurb) exert up to 900ftlbs or torque if left to run a bit.

Edited by Mars on Monday 4th January 08:26

[croissant]

Inlaws bought me a Milwaukee for Christmas. I have batteries already, but the body is less than £90 now.

I've used it a couple of times and it hasn't struggled to remove anything I've tried it on

https://www.powertoolmate.co.uk/Products/004000060...