Air Impact Wrenches

I have a good 3/8" impact wrench that I picked up 2nd hand. I'm looking for a beefy 1/2" drive one for more stubborn stuff. I have a 10cfm compressor with a 100 litre tank, so there shouldn't be a problem running the thing.

I've got a 'long term loan' Clarke one of unknown age, but it's not really up to the job of driveshaft nuts, rusty suspension bits, etc. It's got less grunt than my Sealey Battery one, so I'm looking for an upgrade.

I've been looking at US Pro tools - look like lots of spec for the money, but then writing it on a spec sheet and delivering the results are two different things. Anyone got experience of them, or recommend other mid price brands? Not looking to spend hundreds on Snap-On kit and the like. Claims of over 600lbft of torque on some of them.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/US-PRO-1-...ompressors&hash=item2c674c6551#ht_2761wt_1144
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_n...odkw=us+pro+impact+wrench&_osacat=0&_from=R40


Are Sealey ones any good? I'm assuming they're from the same Chinese factory as Clarke, but with different stickers.

 

I think your about right with your thoughts clarke/draper/sealey make some noise but not much go in them on the actual impact side. couple lads have bought these showing off they can find a cheap one with the same specs as a snap on, but can't take a wheel off without cracking the bolts!
a second hand good one might get better than a new cheap one

I have a ingerso gun which is quite that I can run off my little compressor at home with still a bit of wack about it, and running off work air lines is in the top 2 guns in the workshop, other being a snapon twice the size/weight/noise limited edition gun

 

I have thought about 2nd hand stuff. Needs to be something that's easy to get spares for, as you have to expect that it'll need a rebuild at some point. My 3/8 impact gun is Desoutter, which is a nice compact gun, fits in lots of tight spaces, and buzzes up quickly. Only does stuff up to about 60-70 nm though. It was an ebay bargain, that would have cost a few hundred new.

Do you know what brands your mates have tried with?

 

pretty much most of the above as apprenices come out of time, new lads etc and Aldi a well for 15!!

only ones I have seen good are ingersoll & snap-on (having only ever seen their dealer) snap on impossible to get parts for

 

I also have a Clarke one and it lacks power. You can undo wheels bolts fine and also do them up, but you have to put a manual wrench on after to give it that little bit more to make it tight.

I had a really old one a few years ago that was silver and had no name on it. That could get anything off!
However is exploded in my hands while trying to undo a tow bar bolt, casing split apart and it's guts just fell on the floor with all the oillol

 

I use a few different brands. I have a 1/2" Impact gun, a 10mm, 90 degree drill and a 1/2" air socket wrench all made by Chicago Pneumatics. http://www.cp.com/en/ They are over 20 years old, used by many and seriously abused! I also had a die grinder of the same brand which I replaced with an Ingersoll (which I'm very happy with). I have no idea of the replacement costs for each of the CP pieces, however I can say that they are quality pneumatic tools.

As far as Lidl guns go, don't bother! 3 year warranty and all, a piece of crap!

 

My Desoutter gun is pretty good, and part of the same company as CP, so I was thinking about CP as an option - Desoutter don't seem to do impact wrenches now. Should have bought one last time I was in the US I reckon!

 

i brought a 2nd hand ingersol rand impact gun about 2years ago of the bay for 20, its still going and in daily use, lasted as long so far as any of the snap on/blue point guns that i brought new and they only seemed to last about 2-3 years

 

Have you thought about sip tools ? They do the cp stuff and have a sale on at the moment http://www.sip-group.com/acatalog/Current_Promotions.html

 

Sorry, I'm confused. You're Saying SIP impact wrenches are rebadged CP ones? News to me...

 

I too have a crap impact wrench and need a decent one. I suppose it is the old saying buy cheap buy twice ( at least!!).

I found this on the web. Any comments anyone please.

http://www.powertoolsalesuk.com/cp7748.html

Nick

 

Cheaper than I'd have expected one of them to be. Recommended by one of the posters above, and my 3/8 drive one is made by the same company under the Desoutter brand - I'd recommend that (meaning my 3/8" one) as a compact lightweight one, but not for heavy duty stuff.

 

Extreme torque! I don't think you'd be dissapointed with that purchase at all!

 

Might flip you on your back if you're not careful

 

Sorry mike , a collegue at work gave me some duff information. He got his cp gun from desoutter not SIP

 

Ah ok.... thanks for clearing that up.

 

So, a bit of an update on this. I've had a bit of luck!

I managed to pick up a nearly new Chicago Pneumatic gun from ebay (CP734H) in a case with a few sockets, for about 56 - I think that was what I paid. It's in great condition and works faultlessly, although it runs better on the neighbours' air line than mine, so I think I need to upgrade to 3/8" lines to get more airflow. It's rated at about 500NM I think.

http://uk.sotmau.com/Chicago-Pneumatic-CP734HK-12-Inch-Pneumatic-Impact-Wrench-with-Case-p18743602/

Then, the same day, I saw a job lot of air tools, from a seller I've bought from before, including another gun the same, but in slightly more scruffy condition, a RodCraft 1/2" impact gun, which is a brute of a thing - feels much more powerful but a bit loud for regular use.

There's also:

A CP die grinder
An old Sealey Grinder - looks like an industrial job, rather than the normal DIY stuff.
A CP/Desoutter Air Drill

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/321002928271?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2648

It's all in good condition, and seems to work well. All for 75 posted. Bargainous! I half think the seller missed a '1' off the front of his Buy It Now Price.

 

That`s a bargain !

I have a CP impact wrench, brilliant bit of kit.

 

The RodCraft one is a brute - even compared to the CP one. I'll probably sell on the spare CP one, as it's the same as the other one, and I don't need two identical ones. Neither of them seems to have any problems, so there's no real need to keep it for spares.

The Drill and the Die Grinder are CP as well - used both of them yesterday, moving the seat in the Mk1 Golf (ex Jon Olds).

 

Two points to note.

A few suppliers state that their impact guns should be run off the larger 10mm (internal) diameter.

If you can run an air line direct from the tank, as in by passing any regulator this will also increase the air flow to the tool.

So before every one runs off any buys a few hundred quid’s worth of impact gun, there may well be a lower cost solution to the problem.