Recommend me an impact wrench?

[ChevronB19]

As above, looking for a decent 1/2 inch impact wrench, primarily for use at circuits for changing wheels, plus general garage use.

The only other cordless tool I have is a cheapo inherited drill, so I’m not ‘bought into’ a specific battery ecosystem, but ideally I’m looking at less than £200

All tips welcome!

[wildoliver]

I'm a big fan of the Ryobi system. Mine gets used professionally and does far better than it should. Tough as old boots.

I hammer my one plus impact gun daily, it winds wheel nuts, hub nuts, crank pulley and rusty suspension bolts out day in day out.

I still have the drill and impact driver I got 15 years or so ago, the drill has been immersed in oil, rust, water and still works. I may look to replace that soon, but it still works.

I also added cordless angle grinder and sawzall (I have some wood work tools for home too) and they work well. The sawzall in particular is a handy tool.

Batteries last well. Go for 4.0ah, I'd like one of the multi battery chargers but I cope fine with a single charger, the 4.0ah batteries last well. There is a 5.0ah battery available but last time I looked the difference in price didn't make it worth it.

Make sure you buy in bundles, the batteries are expensive otherwise. Buy in double battery bundles and you save a fortune and get a free tool body too.

[steveo3002]

milwaukee

[wildoliver]

steveo3002 said:

milwaukee

Must admit having got a couple of Milwaukee items too recently I was hugely impressed. Not cheap though and the dual battery system while I see the reason is a bit of a pain.

A friend has a DeWalt impact gun which he raves about, it's a lot more powerful than mine, but I suppose the question is how much power do you need? I've never struggled to get any hub nuts off, and rarely struggle with rusty suspension (working back and forth with the gun usually clears it). Cost has to be a consideration too.

[V8RX7]

IME you won't get a battery impact gun that will change wheel nuts for sub £200

I bought the big 18v Dewalt many years ago and that won't do it

A mate's small snap on won't either, only his big gun.

IME you're better to buy a smaller gun that will do more jobs and just crack the nuts yourself with a breaker bar

[Dave.]

Have a look at https://www.kielder.co/collections/impact-wrenches

I don't think the 430Nm does put out 430Nm, but it's enough for wheelnuts.

They do a 700Nm version too for a few quid more.

[Belle427]

I have the Ryobi version and it is a nice bit of kit but does struggle to break some nuts loose, it won't touch over tightened wheel nuts and suspension bolts etc.
https://www.direct-powertools.co.uk/PBSCProduct.as...

[Escy]

Dave. said:

Have a look at https://www.kielder.co/collections/impact-wrenches

I don't think the 430Nm does put out 430Nm, but it's enough for wheelnuts.

They do a 700Nm version too for a few quid more.

I got one of those it's a decent performer for the money. I find the problem with impact guns is they are amazing up until the point you come across something they can't undo and you'll then wish you spent more on the next model up. I get the feeling it doesn't matter what gun you have you'll always run into something. I went from the 430Nm Kielder impact to a 861Nm Facom air impact wrench. It's great because it's got a tiny body so can get in tight spaces but if i'm being honest, there doesn't seem a huge difference in performance between the 2. I thought at the time of purchase i'd be able to retire the breaker bar but it gets just as much use as it did before.

[V8RX7]

Escy said:

I got one of those it's a decent performer for the money. I find the problem with impact guns is they are amazing up until the point you come across something they can't undo and you'll then wish you spent more on the next model up. I get the feeling it doesn't matter what gun you have you'll always run into something. I went from the 430Nm Kielder impact to a 861Nm Facom air impact wrench. It's great because it's got a tiny body so can get in tight spaces but if i'm being honest, there doesn't seem a huge difference in performance between the 2. I thought at the time of purchase i'd be able to retire the breaker bar but it gets just as much use as it did before.

I have the facom too - mine wasn't as good as expected but I presumed it's because I'm only using a small compressor / airline

A mate tells me to get the best from his Snap On he uses a very short 1" diameter hose.

[Dave.]

Escy said:

I got one of those it's a decent performer for the money. I find the problem with impact guns is they are amazing up until the point you come across something they can't undo and you'll then wish you spent more on the next model up. I get the feeling it doesn't matter what gun you have you'll always run into something. I went from the 430Nm Kielder impact to a 861Nm Facom air impact wrench. It's great because it's got a tiny body so can get in tight spaces but if i'm being honest, there doesn't seem a huge difference in performance between the 2. I thought at the time of purchase i'd be able to retire the breaker bar but it gets just as much use as it did before.

The 700nm wasn't available when I bought mine. If I were to do it again, I get a beefier one and an impact driver.

[Silent1]

V8RX7 said:

IME you won't get a battery impact gun that will change wheel nuts for sub £200

I bought the big 18v Dewalt many years ago and that won't do it

A mate's small snap on won't either, only his big gun.

IME you're better to buy a smaller gun that will do more jobs and just crack the nuts yourself with a breaker bar

This Milwaukee 3/8 impact do wheel nuts no problem, in fact even the Milwaukee impact driver is >200nm too, I have the one-key impact driver for when my 3/4 impact is too silly.

Edited by Silent1 on Saturday 9th March 18:32

[V8RX7]

Silent1 said:

V8RX7 said:

IME you won't get a battery impact gun that will change wheel nuts for sub £200

I bought the big 18v Dewalt many years ago and that won't do it

A mate's small snap on won't either, only his big gun.

IME you're better to buy a smaller gun that will do more jobs and just crack the nuts yourself with a breaker bar

This Milwaukee 3/8 impact do wheel nuts no problem, in fact even the Milwaukee impact driver is >200nm too, I have the one-key impact driver for when my 3/4 impact is too silly.

Edited by Silent1 on Saturday 9th March 18:32

My Dewalt appears to be 250nm and it won't touch them so it seems my nuts are tighter than yours

[Dave.]

Guess it depends more on who touched your nuts last....

[Silent1]

V8RX7 said:

Silent1 said:

V8RX7 said:

IME you won't get a battery impact gun that will change wheel nuts for sub £200

I bought the big 18v Dewalt many years ago and that won't do it

A mate's small snap on won't either, only his big gun.

IME you're better to buy a smaller gun that will do more jobs and just crack the nuts yourself with a breaker bar

This Milwaukee 3/8 impact do wheel nuts no problem, in fact even the Milwaukee impact driver is >200nm too, I have the one-key impact driver for when my 3/4 impact is too silly.

Edited by Silent1 on Saturday 9th March 18:32

My Dewalt appears to be 250nm and it won't touch them so it seems my nuts are tighter than yours

What are your wheel nuts on?! Most cars nowadays are tightened to ~120-150nm, so undoing them should take less than that!

[Dave.]

Silent1 said:

What are your wheel nuts on?! Most cars nowadays are tightened to ~120-150nm, so undoing them should take less than that!

I thought it was the other way round... Removing takes more torque than tightening?

[wildoliver]

I can't imagine anyone struggling with wheel nuts with a modern impact gun?? Like I said my Ryobi is knocking them off and things a damn sight tighter day in day out and that's not the most powerful gun out there by a long shot. I'm assuming we are talking cars here and not trucks/buses?

One thing I did learn early on is the choice of socket and extension makes a world of difference, the more extensions you add on the less torque you transfer, likewise the longer and skinnier the extension. Basically for maximum torque transmission no extension and I'm convinced (probably imaginary) that short impact sockets transmit more torque than deep.

That said for MX5 gearbox and starter bolts I end up using about 4 foot of extensions hanging off the gun

[Silent1]

Dave. said:

Silent1 said:

What are your wheel nuts on?! Most cars nowadays are tightened to ~120-150nm, so undoing them should take less than that!

I thought it was the other way round... Removing takes more torque than tightening?

No, a bolt is effectively an inclined plane on a spiral, would it be harder to push something up or down that ramp? Tightening is going up the ramp.

[GreenV8S]

Removing might take more torque if the bolts are galling or corroded.

[steveo3002]

dont entertain anything thats reviewed to struggled with wheel nuts ,whats the point as if it wont do wheel nuts it wont do half the of the suspension bits either

[V8RX7]

steveo3002 said:

dont entertain anything thats reviewed to struggled with wheel nuts ,whats the point as if it wont do wheel nuts it wont do half the of the suspension bits either

Correct mine won't do them either.

Equally my alleged 850+ facom won't do them all