Am I getting old? No more air impacts?

[PoorUB]

The benefit? You pick up the tool, use it and put it down when you are done. No dicking around with "firing up the air compressor" and dragging hoses around.

Air compressor is always on. The air hose is on a reel. It might take me two seconds longer. I have been dragging air hose for decades, no issues.

Air tools are not that terrible to deal with! In my case certainly not worth dropping $1,000 in cordless tools.

 

[PoorUB]

Yep, I start thinking this way. What airhose would you recommend? Perhaps thinner one?

A lot of times I find it hard to get to places with impact as well

And what about assembly? Do you use impact for that?

I run a 3/8" air hose, but the last 10 feet is 1/4" because it is more flexible.

Assembly? Depends on what I am doing. Tires? I will zip them back on with air and the gun turned down.

I do a lot of small engine work and I assemble wit h my 3/8" impact all the time. I still torque with a hand wrench or torque wrench.

Only you can decide what is best for you. Like I said earlier, if I was younger and perhaps spent more time in the shop I probably would going cordless.

Also, don't forget that cordless tools have a shorter life. All of my air tools are over 35 years old or more. A couple are over 40 years old and the still work fine. Your cordless tools have a much shorter life span, 10 - 15 years I would guess from my experience with cordless drills.

 

[Jswain]

Yep, I start thinking this way. What airhose would you recommend? Perhaps thinner one?

A lot of times I find it hard to get to places with impact as well

And what about assembly? Do you use impact for that?

What hose do you have now to start with? What fittings?

3/8" good quality hose is the standard and good size/performance. 1/2" is too bulky for normal use but good to have around for bigger impacts. 1/4" is too restrictive for most air tools you would be using.

Whatever decent rubber/hybrid hose you can get, it's hard to say a brand...but Goodyear, flexzilla, bluebird etc. All seem decent.

High flow fittings are a must. If you don't have them, get them. Any name brand will do, again. I use milton v style and prefer them but we have flexzilla at work and they seem decent as well.

On assembly I start everything with my fingers and then depending on what it is bring it snug with air ratchets/impacts then final torque with a torque wrench, or if it's non critical torque ugga dugga and move on. 1/4" Air ratchet in the engine bay, compact 3/8" gun for 95% of everything else(nice and light in the hands) swivel fittings on both and they get basically anywhere. 1/2" gun waiting for the stubborn bolts

Air compressor is always on. The air hose is on a reel. It might take me two seconds longer. I have been dragging air hose for decades, no issues.

Air tools are not that terrible to deal with! In my case certainly not worth dropping $1,000 in cordless tools.

x100.


Cordless tools replacing air tools are like people that buy a new car every few years. To them, it's the only way to go and they have a million and one reasons why it is beneficial. But logistically speaking it is rarely the case, except for a select FEW individuals and everyone else is just trying to keep up with the Kardashians.

 

[whateg01]

I bought one pre-lipo Makita, it's proably 25 years old and it's still going. That's what got me sold on Makita. I was on ...

Couple comments about lipo batteries. I wasn't aware lipo ever made it into tools.

To that last point: if you throw a cheap battery impact in your trunk with the right socket, you can remove the lug nuts and jack up the car with the impact

Was going to say queue the comments about haven't changed a tire in 90 years, and there it was a couple comments later!

Oufff this subject is a tough one for me...I went all in with snap on 14.4 electric and loved it...matter of fact still love my long neck brushless ratchet BUT the batteries **** and are crazy expensive ...

I don't think 14.4 v batteries are a fair comparison. Li based batteries are so much better than nicad or NIMH ever dreamed of being.

The benefit? You pick up the tool, use it and put it down when you are done. No dicking around with "firing up the air compressor" and dragging hoses around.

Me, IDK (or care) if the OP keeps the air tools or not. Hang on to them, maybe use them on a big job later. Keep the hoses where they don't get tripped over.

Age has nothing to do with it. People use cordless tools, because they are convenient and get the job done in almost every case.

Even if the hose is "right there" not having to swing it around is nice. If I'm on the creeper, I don't have to worry about the hose getting in the way of the wheels.

 

[tarmy]

To answer the two questions OP asked.

yep, and yep.

I made the switch years ago and never looked back. I only use my air nail guns but even they are getting replaced as I go.

 

[zendriver]

I like my cordless ratchet, but of course, when I have a big job, I can’t find the battery. I couldn’t bring myself to splurge to 15 bucks to buy another one at harbor freight.

As far as the hand ringing over battery life, do I have a couple of 19.2v Chinese made craftsman probably one of the first lithium-ion tool batteries they made. Works fine 13 years now.

I keep considering buying a large air compressor, but I just can’t justify any reason for it other than painting and sand blasting

 

[dchawk81]

If I never worked outside of my shop, I'd only have the air tools.

They're smaller, lighter, cheaper, and instead of keeping track of a bank of batteries, you simply connect a hose.

 

[Hohn]

The idea mentioned before of using a light/thin whip hose is a good one. The additional restriction isn’t major, and often you don’t really need full tool power or speed anyway. In the unlikely event you find yourself out of power, just crank up the pressure a bit to compensate. Unless you try to power a full power impact gun off a 1/4” air hose, you likely will not know the difference.

I personally run a 1/2” main hose (no reel) to a 3/8” whip that’s flexible (flexzilla) with a high flow Astro swivel. It’s both very maneuverable and yet I’m not wrestling with unreasonable pressure drops. NO problems keeping 95psi running pressure even in my Nitrocat 1250k, which is my main larger-ish air draw of interest.

 

[CS454]

I seldom use most of my air tools anymore, but 5 years ago I had 8 Mac die grinders with different burrs, wheels, grits, etc. Working mobile it was air in the van, didn't bother with cordless. Still, primarily used hand tools.

My Mac long barrel air hammer has an idle...even after the rebuild. Truck, equipment, and metalwork stuff cordless tools are great for 3/8" drive and under imo. Even then, the air 3/8" gun still gets plugged in a couple times a month when the stubby fails.

 

[katit]

What hose do you have now to start with? What fittings?

3/8" good quality hose is the standard and good size/performance. 1/2" is too bulky for normal use but good to have around for bigger impacts. 1/4" is too restrictive for most air tools you would be using.

Whatever decent rubber/hybrid hose you can get, it's hard to say a brand...but Goodyear, flexzilla, bluebird etc. All seem decent.

High flow fittings are a must. If you don't have them, get them. Any name brand will do, again. I use milton v style and prefer them but we have flexzilla at work and they seem decent as well.

On assembly I start everything with my fingers and then depending on what it is bring it snug with air ratchets/impacts then final torque with a torque wrench, or if it's non critical torque ugga dugga and move on. 1/4" Air ratchet in the engine bay, compact 3/8" gun for 95% of everything else(nice and light in the hands) swivel fittings on both and they get basically anywhere. 1/2" gun waiting for the stubborn bolts

x100.

I use whatever GoodYear rubber hose I got from HF. It's quality in a way that it still works 10 years later. But I don't like it very much to drag on fenders, etc. I am not sure if it's high flow connectors or not, I just know I was buying whatever those "mechanic" connectors, not carpentry..

3/8 SnapOn I have is MG325, I guess not the most compact one. I don't feel like swinging around with it. It's almost as big as my 1/2 Husky but not as powerful.

Honestly, I think I might be more inclined to use air gun if it was smaller like 1/4 and with small whip hose (which I don't have)
Idea of having smaller hose on a swivel(which I don't have) is good to me, probably better than battery tool. I have air 24/7.

3/8 air ratchet was complete no go for me. Too bulky to get into spaces, pinched my arm a few times, just didn't work for me.

So, what is the most compact most light air gun out there? Probably 1/4 to work 10-14mm fasteners around engine bay, etc?

 

[dchawk81]

I use whatever GoodYear rubber hose I got from HF. It's quality in a way that it still works 10 years later. But I don't like it very much to drag on fenders, etc. I am not sure if it's high flow connectors or not, I just know I was buying whatever those "mechanic" connectors, not carpentry..

3/8 SnapOn I have is MG325, I guess not the most compact one. I don't feel like swinging around with it. It's almost as big as my 1/2 Husky but not as powerful.

Honestly, I think I might be more inclined to use air gun if it was smaller like 1/4 and with small whip hose (which I don't have)
Idea of having smaller hose on a swivel(which I don't have) is good to me, probably better than battery tool. I have air 24/7.

3/8 air ratchet was complete no go for me. Too bulky to get into spaces, pinched my arm a few times, just didn't work for me.

So, what is the most compact most light air gun out there? Probably 1/4 to work 10-14mm fasteners around engine bay, etc?

If the air ratchet won't fit, a gun definitely won't.

 

[Jswain]

I use whatever GoodYear rubber hose I got from HF. It's quality in a way that it still works 10 years later. But I don't like it very much to drag on fenders, etc. I am not sure if it's high flow connectors or not, I just know I was buying whatever those "mechanic" connectors, not carpentry..

3/8 SnapOn I have is MG325, I guess not the most compact one. I don't feel like swinging around with it. It's almost as big as my 1/2 Husky but not as powerful.

Honestly, I think I might be more inclined to use air gun if it was smaller like 1/4 and with small whip hose (which I don't have)
Idea of having smaller hose on a swivel(which I don't have) is good to me, probably better than battery tool. I have air 24/7.

3/8 air ratchet was complete no go for me. Too bulky to get into spaces, pinched my arm a few times, just didn't work for me.

So, what is the most compact most light air gun out there? Probably 1/4 to work 10-14mm fasteners around engine bay, etc?

Aircat 1076-XL: 3/8" Nitrocat Compact Impact Wrench 550 Ft-Lb

^^^^^^
I would end your search for a compact impact with this guy

Add one of these and it will get anywhere, just about

 

[P0234]

It's so funny to read the anti cordless posts. You have a bunch of guys here saying they never use their air tools anymore but haters still know better.

 

[katit]

It's so funny to read the anti cordless posts. You have a bunch of guys here saying they never use their air tools anymore but haters still know better.

I don’t see any haters here. All valid reasons. Noone arguing that if you need to be remote or if you don’t have compressor or if you do work constantly- cordless is a wAy to go

 

[jonesg]

Sure, but perhaps you missed the part where I don't spend that much time in the shop.

all it takes is one lithium tool and you're hooked.
choose your color wisely.

 

[jonesg]

There’s room for both, IMO. I went cordless early and I’m surprised how often I’m still using (and preferring) air tools.

I have a makita cordless ratchet and and cheapo Husky air ratchet. I reach for the Makita first, but often end up having to use the air ratchet anyway because that battery just adds so much bulk. The makita is 14.5” long and the battery is pancaked along the bottom rear:

https://cdn.makitatools.com/apps/cms/img/xrw/5351f1a0-223b-402f-94dc-de8ab898c901_xrw01z_p_1500px.png

The Aircat ratchet I’m looking at is <9” long:

AIRCAT 801 - 3/8" Mini Composite Single Pawl Ratchet

Strongest 3/8" Mini Ratchet in its class! 45 ft-lb Loosening torque Single pawl mechanism Fast rundown 320 RPM Superior internal mechanics Patented quiet tuned exhaust (82 dBa)

aircat.com

Over 5” shorter and slimmer as well as higher RPM for the same torque output. 5” is more than enough to account for an air fitting or swivel and such.


That’s ratchets. For impact tools, the advantages of air are 1)physical size (as always) and 2) smoothness/vibration.

There are some compact air impacts now that are amazing in their power for the size. Cordless, but comparison, is huge and fits in a lot fewer places. Yes, cordless if fine for lug nuts and a couple wide open spaces. But for underhood and front end work, I find the cordless just doesn’t fit well enough to be much use. My cordless is a compact 1/2” only rated 240lb-ft, so by no means is it huge. It’s just still too big.

For similar power output, I could get an Astro Nano that is much smaller and more compact and yet more powerful. It’s also a lot smoother.

I have arthritis now pretty bad and I place a high premium not having my hands vibrated to oblivion. high output cordless is simply not possible for me, it would destroy my hands and the tools are HUGE.

The most useful cordless is a small impact driver with a 3/8 socket adapter. They fit a surprising number of places and are mild enough that they don’t even need impact sockets. You can’t hurt a chrome socket with a 1/4” hex drive.

I put a steel roof on my garage with milwaukee hex drive impact driver, 4 inch screws through old asphalt shingles, ply roof sheathing into rafters... on one charge.

 

[Jswain]

I put a steel roof on my garage with milwaukee hex drive impact driver, 4 inch screws through old asphalt shingles, ply roof sheathing into rafters... on one charge.

Cordless is a game changer, for wood working / handyman stuff, for sure.

When you're say working on suspension on a car, doing all the balljoints/tie rods blah blah. Not uncommon to want a 3/8" impact, a 1/2" impact, possibly a powered ratchet, and an air hammer handy. 1 hose, 4 tools, no batteries, very little manual labor.

 

[M635_Guy]

I am not pro mechanic, just working on my own stuff. More often than not I am using regular 1/2, 3/8 ratchets.
Last night I was changing oil in my truck and had to take like 10 12mm screws to get pan out. Then I remember seeing in more and more videos that people just use electric drivers which look like screwdrivers.

I do have 3/8 air Snap On impact but rarely use it for 2 reasons:
1. Air hose
2. Need to use bulkier impact sockets from different drawer.

So, question is.. Is it time to get electric tool? Are they staying charged for long periods? Do those batteries last? Do they require impact sockets?
Will I use it or it will be same as with air impact?

I'm also a pretty-activer DIY guy, and transitioned completely away from air tools several years ago. It was a revelation - I don't miss anything at all about my air tools. I now have a small and very-quiet compressor that is used for airing tires, blowing things off, etc. and that's it. Corded tools mostly ****, Tools with hoses are nearly as bad.

There are a few things that are varying degrees of hard to replace with a battery equivalent, but that's not a problem for the vast majority of DIY jobs.

I kinda get it for pros, but especially these days the DIY world with battery-powered tools has very, very few compromises.

 

[Wiz02]

I too am a DIY guy, but have both Cordless and pneumatic tools. Major automotive work is mainly pneumatic, as I have a dedicated compressor and plenty of drops, reels and hoses in the garage. I did buy a 1/2" Cordless impact for lug nuts but the jury is still out.

Now for home repair and renovation, Cordless is awesome. While I am still using a corded Sears circular saw that I bought used in the 80's, my corded Sawzall is mostly retired in favor of a cordless Hackzall and my corded drill has long been replaced by a Cordless hammer drill and 1/4" impact driver. The impact driver has been amazingly useful. Rotary hammer is still corded.

I think that you need to pick and choose your tools for your specific applications. But hey this is GJ, who is going to tell you not to buy tools?

 

[PoorUB]

all it takes is one lithium tool and you're hooked.
choose your color wisely.

Ha! Funny man! Nope, not going to happen!

I have a cordless drill and impact driver set. Once in a while I will use the impact with a socket adapter, but not often.

 

[Skellyii]

My last two home garages were equipped and plumbed for air tools, however over the last few years, I've been picking up a handful of cordless stuff. That started when a buddy of mine who works in the HQ of a string of hardware stores started giving me salesman samples of various tools.

I'm currently outfitting my retirement garage, I assume I will be mostly using cordless tools, but will have available an air compressor for certain things, such as my air hammer, some grinders and a 3/4" impact for rusty suspension stuff and the "Dreaded Honda Crankbolt".

Nothing wrong with having both available if you can afford it.

 

[jonesg]

My last two home garages were equipped and plumbed for air tools, however over the last few years, I've been picking up a handful of cordless stuff. That started when a buddy of mine who works in the HQ of a string of hardware stores started giving me salesman samples of various tools.

I'm currently outfitting my retirement garage, I assume I will be mostly using cordless tools, but will have available an air compressor for certain things, such as my air hammer, some grinders and a 3/4" impact for rusty suspension stuff and the "Dreaded Honda Crankbolt".

Nothing wrong with having both available if you can afford it.

same here, retired, plumbed the garage with rapidair but mostly go with elec tools for convenience.
I keep air for specialty tasks , needle scaler and air hammer.
Spent thousands on milwaukee elecs but have come to my senses, I don't need the latest $200 battery or $50 pliers, and ordered a two post car hoist instead.

 

[jonesg]

Ha! Funny man! Nope, not going to happen!

I have a cordless drill and impact driver set. Once in a while I will use the impact with a socket adapter, but not often.

you're incomplete without an extended reach electric ratchet.

 

[P0234]

I don’t see any haters here. All valid reasons. Noone arguing that if you need to be remote or if you don’t have compressor or if you do work constantly- cordless is a wAy to go

There's a few posts on people that have air and haven't tried cordless but KNOW. There are zero people that went cordless and went back to air, that should tell you something.

 

[Hohn]

There's a few posts on people that have air and haven't tried cordless but KNOW. There are zero people that went cordless and went back to air, that should tell you something.

Not true that nobody goes back to air. I went cordless big in mid 2010s and for some tasks it’s a great option. For working on the car, it’s air early and often. It’s cordless for most other things where the portability matters more and the physical size matters less.

If you are primarily wrenching on vehicles, it’s air all day long and it still can’t be beaten.

Cordless covers everything else quite well though. My drills and drivers are cordless. My grinders are corded. My chainsaw and outdoor recip are cordless. My die grinders are air or plug in. My indoor hard use recip is plug in.

There are people here acting like your Haas CNC will be cordless next week.

Horses for courses.

 

[livinloud11]

I LOVE my Dewalt 3/8 cordless. I use it for everything around the house, most car repairs, boat and trailer repairs, house repairs... The one I have isn't a power house but it very rarely causes me to move up to my 1/2. My air compressor is pretty much only used for inflating tires now.

 

[P0234]

Not true. I went cordless big in mid 2010s and for some tasks it’s a great option. For working on the car, it’s air early and often. It’s cordless for most other things where the portability matters more and the physical size matters less.

If you are primarily wrenching on vehicles, it’s air all day long and it still can’t be beaten.

Cordless covers everything else quite well though. My drills and drivers are cordless. My grinders are corded. My chainsaw and outdoor recip are cordless. My die grinders are air or plug in. My indoor hard use recip is plug in.

There are people here acting like your Haas CNC will be cordless next week.

Horses for courses.

The thread is about IMPACT WRENCHES. Go into any modern shop, there are no air hoses strewn about like in the olden days. Even the greasy dirty shops are switching to cordless.

 

[Hohn]

The thread is about IMPACT WRENCHES. Go into any modern shop, there are no air hoses strewn about like in the olden days. Even the greasy dirty shops are switching to cordless.

There are shops switching, indeed. But that doesn’t mean everyone is or that nobody is seeing the advantages of air for IMPACT WRENCHES.

 

[subroc]

These days I am just an old retired DIYer. The only air tool I have used in anger is my air chisel. Everything else I have a battery powered tool to use instead.

 

[Hohn]

There are shops switching, indeed. But that doesn’t mean everyone is or that nobody is seeing the advantages of air for IMPACT WRENCHES.

I should also mention that there’s a particular use case for impacts where cordless is especially optimal. If you need huge impacts but don’t have the air supply for them, then a cordless is almost universally superior.

The TTC guys showed that even with their 80gallon compressor, they couldn’t sustain enough pressure at their 3/4” impacts to keep them reliably and properly supplied. So if that’s the impact in question (or larger) it sure seems like cordless could have a major advantage.

And the use case of heavy truck service int the field seems like it’s absolutely the purview of cordless.

 

[legenddc]

I don't have a garage so ended up with a cordless impact wrench when I had a big enough fix. It's great for the rare times I use it. I would have bought an air gun but I would have had to bring my 6 gallon pancake compressor to my parents house anytime I was working on my car there.

Getting an extension reel might solve your problem. I bought a cheap one years ago and use it in my woodshop. It's amazing. So easy to pull it out and put it away quickly. It keeps the hose off the ground because it goes away so easy.

Now I'm off to look at electric cord extension reels.

 

[PoorUB]

you're incomplete without an extended reach electric ratchet.

Trust me. I have no shortages that need to be offset by a longer ratchet. Just ask my wife!

 

[rd65]

My tools are at home these days so I see no reason to spend the big bucks to update all my air tools to electric. Air tools are cheaper than electric and it takes far less time to fire up the compressor and grab a hose than it does to charge a battery. I have even bought new air tools in the last couple years. Did the timing belt/water pump job on my Honda Pilot so I needed a new 1/2" impact and 1/4" air rachet. I doubt a battery impact has what it takes to remove the harmonic balancer on that engine. At work, I use 1/4" battery impact almost exclusively - I work on small engines.

 

[whateg01]

... I doubt a battery impact has what it takes to remove the harmonic balancer on that engine. ...

I bet it (dewalt high impact) would.

 

[P0234]

I bet it (dewalt high impact) would.

Even the harry homeowner brand, Ryobi, has one with 1170 ft lbs. That's about twice what my older IR air gun has, which has been able to get off or break anything I've thrown at it (sometimes requiring a little help from a torch though).

 

[liliysdad]

Being cheaper is the only thing that air does better then cordless…and being cheaper is rarely an indicator of quality.

 

[Jswain]

Being cheaper is the only thing that air does better then cordless…and being cheaper is rarely an indicator of quality.

Right, the air tool that lasts 40+ years vs the cordless that lasts 10 is a sure indicator of its bad quality

 

[liliysdad]

Right, the air tool that lasts 40+ years vs the cordless that lasts 10 is a sure indicator of its bad quality

My inference was meant in relation to work quality not product quality.

Cordless tools, as a whole, produce more work with less drama than air, as a whole.

 

[P0234]

Right, the air tool that lasts 40+ years vs the cordless that lasts 10 is a sure indicator of its bad quality

Uh oh, I have some Harbor Freight power tools that are pushing mid 30's. I guess they are good quality?

 

[BombShelter]

A Makita Impact Driver is practically glued to my hip. Last weekend I screwed over 100 screws, installed 18 5/8" Carriage Bolts (and drilled 6" holes for them). Put together some garden equipment and put on a plastic rotating brush and cleaned the tub. Some of mine are over nine years old and all the batteries/tools still work great.

For me, no other hand tool can do so much work so easily.

If they are underpowered I just use a breaker bar or I also have the big boy cordless for tight lug nuts.