any recommendations as to brand .i need a 3/8 rechargeable impact for automotive work,i'm old school who uses air,but recently worked with a young guy who had the above and seemed to be the deal.
intrade,
Oct 15, 8:23am
yea i looked at it be ok for wheel nuts but i doubt you be opening a stuck harmonic balancer main bolt, I just got me a new air impact gun with suposedly 1300nm impact force.
morrisman1,
Oct 15, 8:49am
a 3/8 one! never seen them, they all seem to be 1/2" drive
Theres a Hitachi brushless one with the 4.0ah batteries and that has 250nm. good compact size too. There are some later ones from most brands around the 650nm range but they get to be pretty bulky
kcf,
Oct 15, 9:32am
I saw some ridiculously cheap 18v Ryobi's yesterday on the display stand at Bunnings.$250 or $289 including two batteries.
But I was in a big hurry so I didn't have time track down the boxes to find out the torque specs on them, and the way they're mounted on the stand (attached at the chuck), I can't tell if they're a 1/2, 3/8, or even a conventional drill chuck.
Murphy's Law suggests they're probably no good :-(
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 15, 10:47am
Actually, a good one will (1/2" though) and very easily, I was blown away by a friends one I tried. The only thing I have found with some of the powerful ones is they oscillate so quickly you can over tighten things even with a torque bar attached, so be wary!
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 15, 10:48am
I don't touch anything Ryobi any more, I think your instinct will be correct.
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 15, 10:50am
My friends one which he has had for a while now I think came from Repco's trade rep. I think its a 1/2" gun from memory though and its 1/2" I would be going for, for general automotive use.
The key thing is to look for the torque spec's which seem to vary quite a lot. Also, battery technology, good battery's are expensive you can't get around that.
Off hand I would expect to pay up around $700 at least for something half decent.
For what its worth, in practice his 1/2" rechargeable leaves my 1/2" expensive pneumatic Japanese Toku impact gun for dead.
bjmh,
Oct 15, 1:11pm
cheers all for helpful advice .has anyone used dewalt !
chris_051,
Oct 15, 1:30pm
I have SP battery grinder and drill, which are about as useless as tits on bull, cut thru a few 5/8" bolts and shes ready for a recharge. Going off that I would steer clear of the SP impact guns. I work with guys with Milwakee and Snap on, the battery snap on 1/2" leave my Ingersoll Rand air gun for dead, unsure if snap on do a 3/8", if you buy the 1/2'' direct thru snap on website it is about $500USD.
1ollie,
Oct 15, 1:40pm
Stay away from them in my view! I have had a few over the years, the battery life is terrible & they don't last long and the motors in the tools get noisy & rattly and start to loose power after a while. A mate of mine who is a builder brought a whole set up for work 6 months ago from the rep and has had 2 tools & an battery fail already, they did get replaced but still that should not happen and he is buying a Hitachi or Makita kit at the end of the year. Dewalt is way over rated!
1ollie,
Oct 15, 1:43pm
Only thing with Snap-On is the price is crazy high if you don't buy online. Saw the battery SP stuff at the Field days and to me it looked a bit cheap and Chinese ish
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 15, 1:55pm
I have not but am planning on buying one to go with my other dewalt gear. The Dewalt can be bought for just $200 as a bare tool so is a tiny fraction of the price of some of the alternatives.
However. I am just an enthusiastic amature, I don't think I would buy the cheap Dewalt for serious professional automotive use. Can't say I have had any problem with my other DeWalt tools though, some of which have had hard commercial use.
BTW, the thing with DeWalt is they have lots of different models of tools, a heavy duty professional version of a drill for example may look very similar to a domestic version.
I have not looked into the larger dewalt rattle guns yet but I expect the same may well apply.
incar.,
Oct 16, 12:00am
Gezz this might be the first me agreeing! i use the dewalt 1/2 inch just for quick wheel changes and has been fine over 3 years just the batteries fail but i have 32 cfm air back up, another note- example gun rated @ 900 nm of torque will actually be around 500 nm and so on, also i run 1/2 air hose with 1/2 fittings with my guns
strobo,
Oct 16, 2:15am
All air here lol the only rechargeable I own is a bosch cordless drill. Have recently boughta 1/2"drive Jonneswayrattle gun@ 900Nm + nice to handle lightweightwith a quiet exhaust too.retails $600 odd but dont think it is as robust as me old one ,time will tell.The 3/8th drive jonnesway airratchet is a real beauttoo.
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 16, 1:29pm
If you get the chance to borrow a good rechargeable rattle gun for a day, do it. Even with a good air supply the convenience is just brilliant, I suspect very much that like me, you will discover what you have been missing out on.
I find it such a chore going home to my pneumatic one after a day with the rechargeable at a mates workshop.
1ollie,
Oct 16, 3:49pm
Yeah I agree with that once you have used a decent one you will never go back!
zephyrheaven,
Oct 16, 3:56pm
Had a 1/2" Snap on one for two years now, magic for wheel nuts & crank bolts alike - but its bulky compared to an air powered gun
Have a 3/8 Snap On one which is incredibly strong which I bought in a combo with a drill (its an impact one - there is a non impact version which is very small but nowhere near as powerful) and its magic for tearing things apart - fits in small places & havent found a bolt it wont undo within reason
I am in the trade & work 50+ hours a week so count on my tools
dent,
Oct 16, 4:10pm
I brought a milwaukee 1/2 inch one. Beaut unit for just being able to go anywhere with it. Batteries to flatten quickly if using it quite a bit and they are heavy compared to an air tool. But wouldn't be without the convenience of it.
flashgordon_nz,
Oct 16, 8:37pm
I have started to take note more of battery impact guns. WURTH do a 3/8 and 1/2dr in their range with interchangeable batteries etc. dont know how good they are having not used them, but they were in regular use, in the feild by a tractor mechanic. I recently purchased the Hitachi 1/2 dr impact gun, on a deal from TWL. Main use was wheel nuts etc on race and rally cars. Brilliant. Its the smallest of the 2 in the Hitachi range, but doesnt struggle with suspension bolts etc either. Ended up also buying a tourqe limiting bar set for the wheel nuts just as a bit of pre-caution. I asked around a bit before hand, and it seems the Hitachi is a good all-rounder - and buying bare tools are also cheap, got a drill coming, new that takes the same batteries for under $200, and keen to get the grinder too.
1ollie,
Oct 16, 9:20pm
Is that the WR18DL! is so they are a very good tool, they punch well above there weight, a friend has one it gets abused an it loves it and has surprisingly good battery life to
llortmt,
Oct 17, 7:12pm
+1 for snapon had one for about 10 years now (on third one having upgraded twice) use them every day none have every let me down.
jason18,
Oct 17, 7:29pm
I think ryobi is fine for a home handyman. I have a ryobi multi tool. Battery last forever! And it cranks along. Will be getting an impact driver too!
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