Learn me: cordless 1/2" impacts

mad_machine wrote:

imgon wrote: Don't get a DeWalt, I have one of their 18V and it has no torque. Maybe 75 pounds on or off. A friend has a Milwaukee that he swears by, about $400 but worth the money in the long run. Buy whatever tool you decide from a reputable tool place and you may get a slightly better quality tool than big box/online purchase. It will likely be a little more expensive but it will last longer. Cheap tools that you really use never last

the 20v is MUCH better.

I have 2 DeWalt 20v 1/2" impacts. The smaller one and the bigger one. I use the small one a lot more as the big one is pretty bulky. Mind you the big one is over 400ftlbs. The smaller one is around 150 and doesn't embarrass itself. Amazon seems to beat Blowes and The big orange store for spare battery cost.

Just some 24v Kobalt tools, so far very happy with them. Didn't get the 1/2" impact but will someday. The batteries are the best deal, 4.0ah for $50, 2ah for $20 and interchage with several other manufactures.

I also have the Milwaukee M18 Fuel. It hasn't run into anything it even noticed yet.

Even the axle nuts on the front of my K2500 practically fell off. Theyre quite efficient too, I'd bet the 2ah battery would tear down the entire rear suspension on that truck and put it back together.

I'm honestly more worried about braking stuff than whether or not it will remove it.

Although, Ridgid now offers 100% free replacement warranty on everything, including batteries. That's damn tempting, but the Milwaukee impact gun had the highest rated torque at the time and the impact was my primary target buying into the Milwaukee system.

The Rigid R86036k and the new Milwaulkie 7260-20 are the only two of the current crop to offer hydralic impact drive. Much smoother, quieter, and a more effective drive mechanism than the mechanical ones (hydralic is common on big industrial impacts). I have the Rigid, if I were buying one today I would probably get the Milwaulkie. I use it daily.

I just added the Makita LXT 18V to the tool box in the race trailer and so far I love it. However, if I were using it daily I'd sacrifice some power for something lighter. That thing is heavy.

I have the Milwaukee M18 Fuel 1/2 in. Impact gun (2763-20) rated at 700 ft.lbs. forward and 1100 ft.lbs. reverse and the 3/8 in. gun (2754-20) rated at 210 ft.lbs. Both these part numbers have the highest ft.lbs. rating. They have a few that have lesser torque.

I got both as a bare tool and just bought two generic XC 5.0 batteries and a charger because it's cheaper.

In reply to APEowner:

Agreed - if I was using it daily and/or for hours at a time, I'd think about torque specs and/or battery capacity versus overall weight. While the nut-busting 1180 ft/lbs is awesome, with a 4.0a battery strapped in, she is a whole lotta Rosie. Not sure where the Milwaukee weighs in at...might just be the nature of the beast.

I have the best of Harbor Freight money can buy.

Duke wrote: Skip the cheapo HF one. It works but it's far from great. I have a DeWalt cordless drill I got from LowesDepot. It's terrible and broke under very light duty. I wouldn't recommend any DeWalt product based on that experience.

That's interesting. I have a bunch of DeWalt stuff, some of it a decade old, and it all has been bulletproof, from sawzalls to impacts. My compact 20v DeWalt MAX impact is one of my favorite things to use....very compact and very powerful. I have another big-ass DeWalt full-size impact and I literally never have to use it for anything...the little one does all the jobs.

Also, within your budget:

https://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DCF880HM2-20-volt-Lithium-2-Inch/dp/B00BWFIKJA/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1499302202&sr=8-8&keywords=dewalt+20v+1%2F2+inch+impact

I have had two Harbor Freight impacts, and while I love HF stuff and have a ton of it (including power tools), both impacts I had were wimpy as hell. Like, they struggled with lugnuts on the racecar.

I recently picked up this beast to add to my Makita collection:

I can't compare it to anything but my air-powered version, but my initial reaction is "WTF WAS I WAITING FOR?!?!?" This thing will change all 4 tires on the FiST about 10 times on a single charge and not slow down a bit. It has busted loose rusted bolts on the Cherokee too. It is heavy, but so much more convenient than the air hose. And the ability to take it to the track is just awesome.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev7--VXfD_Y

Warning this is not safe for work! If you not have seen any of this guys reviews your inner child and tool geek will thank him!

BOLTR: or search AvE on the you tubes

Trans_Maro wrote: I just bought the Snap-On 14.4 L-Ion impact a month ago. Best damn gun I've ever bought. Yeah, it was close to $500.00 but I don't drag an air line around anymore. Fits in tighter spaces than my IR air gun ever dreamed of. Money well spent if you ask me.

I also have the Snap-On 1/2" electric impact and it is the business. Great for junkyard usage, will bust loose 90% of NY state rusty bolts.

Brokenbrakes wrote: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev7--VXfD_Y Warning this is not safe for work! If you not have seen any of this guys reviews your inner child and tool geek will thank him! BOLTR: or search AvE on the you tubes

LOL, thanks for this. Dude has his own Canuckistan vocabulary. "Dickered" "Neodiddly-um" "Plasteek" "Perblomo" "Sonuva Diddly Owlectronics" "Eh-dapter" "Boo-end Condom?""Schmoo"

Brokenbrakes wrote: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev7--VXfD_Y Warning this is not safe for work! If you not have seen any of this guys reviews your inner child and tool geek will thank him! BOLTR: or search AvE on the you tubes

That is very much well worth the watch.

I don't do a lot of junkyard or track work and i've found my VERY old 1/4" hex impact to do the majority of stuff i'd be tempted to use a cordless on, so it took me a long time to buy any 1/2" cordless at all. Based on the truly impressive reliability record of my old Ryobi stuff i bought their 1/2" cordless impact for about $110 sans battery (but i had a lot of Ryobi batteries already). It's the same basic gun as the craftsman c3 listed earlier. It performs pretty poorly on the smaller batteries but does well enough on the bigger ones. Takes 24mm lug nuts off of 1ton trucks and stuff. It's certainly worth what i paid for it and when i find things it can't remove I break them loose pretty easily using my $59 HF aluminum jack handle as a cheater pipe anyway.

Don't get me wrong, i do think the strength of the impact matters, but once you get above 'typical larger lug nuts' torque requirements I'm pretty much satisfied and the Ryobi does that. If it's not enough i have either my air gun (IR 2235) or the nearly limitless possibilities of what I can achieve with a cheater pipe anyway.

The compact 1/2 impacts are very nice to handle compared to the full size, still have about 220 ft lbs. I have a gen2 Milwaukee compact impact and it hasn't failed loosening a bolt yet, though I haven't ran into nasty rusted in bolts so far.

http://toolguyd.com/milwaukee-m18-fuel-impact-driver-compact-wrenches-gen2/

The most impressive small cordless impact i have used was the Snap On CT761, which took off car lug nuts pretty consistently.

Youtube Review

I don't have a 1/2 but my 1/4 ryobi impact has done everything I've asked it to and more. For a sorta budget brand their stuff is pretty sturdy, my sawzall looks like it's gone through a warzone but it works like a champ.

That said, the absolute best tool of theirs I have is the 18v fan. Takes either battery or cord and that little bastard has been a godsend at times.

E: Also, they're basically doing a buy one get one thing on the big 18v batteries. 100 bucks will get you two of them right now.

I recently bought a rigid one haven't used it a ton but happy the times I have. It and the batteries have a lifetime warranty which was the main selling point.