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1/2" cordless impact wrench

Anto

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Mar 12, 2009
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42
Location
Laois, Ireland
Lads im looking to buy a 1/2" cordless impact wrench and am wondering what make to buy???
Im open to suggestions, have being looking at a milwaukee 18v one but wanted to see what people are using and what ye recommend.
any suggestions would be welcome.
i have used dewalt, facom, and an old snap on one but want to buy the best 18v one for myself.
have heard the new 18v snap on ones arnt a patch on the older ones???is this true?
i do general car mechanics and restoration and rallying.
wont be working on CAT dozers or anything :)
 
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ron gray

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May 28, 2005
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OH
I have a Makita that's worked great for me. I think it came with a free 1/4 impact, a tool bag, charger, and two Li-Ion batteries for less than 400. I also bought a bare drill for less than a hundred dollars from amazon since I already had two batteries, and everything has worked great! These are the blue ones (3A) not the white ones (1.5A).
 

Busted Bolts

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Anto, this question comes at the right time for me. I asked about this too a couple of weeks ago on the forum, and the milwakee came reccomended. I work on heavy equip everyday for my job (at least one of them), and I checked out the specs on serveral guns, I looked at dewalt first as I have many of their cordless tools and was thinking that this would be convienent since I have many batteries, the thing that got a poor score for me was the selection lever for fwd/rev. Didn't like the set up and this was mentioned on a reply here on GJ also, it also only had something like 300 ft lbs, not enough for me, and was $389 with one batterie, next I looked at the makita, that looked pretty good, but don't own any other of their tools except my angle grinder, and the ft lbs was only 74 and only saw a 3/8. Next was the IR and I couldn't get on in my hands to try, nor did I know who had one that I knew, also it was almost the same as SO price. I then looked at SO and looked and handled the gun, it was nice and it got good reviews from some of my salvage yards, and on the road service guys. I could get for $550. and it had 400ft lbs of torque and only 1 battery, then I looked at milwakee, this too was a nice gun it came with a nice case, was pretty well balanced, had 450 ft lbs of torque, and I found it on special from one of my tool distributers with 3 lith ion batteries with level indicator, charger, and nice sturdy case for $500.
There are a few other things to point out for my situation, first maximum torque was an issue for me, and didn't mind paying more if another gun had more (as long as it was quality), next was the batteries, I like the lith ion type, they are worth the money, and since this one was comming with 3 of them well this was a plus, and opened the door for possibilites for other bare milwakee tools in the future, the price was 50 bucks cheaper than SO, and had 50 ft lbs more. For me working on big stuff when I can't get the service truck with the air line out to the piece of equipment, the ft lbs was important. I have used it several times and have been happy with it. This might be over kill for you for price or size, I don't know, but for the close ranges in price, this one had more beneficial features and offerings for the price. I hope this helps. Good luck in your search.
 

MoToys

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Feb 12, 2011
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Location
Long Island, NY
19.2 volt craftsman c2.
The cost/value can't be beat. 2 batteries, charger, impact extension, and gun for 169.00.
 

MartyO

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Yesteday I was on the Matco truck and looked at the new 1/2" inch cordless impact. It was BAD *** but was something like $460. Yikes! Maybe my wife will buy me one!!! LOL!!!
 

MartyO

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19.2 volt craftsman c2.
The cost/value can't be beat. 2 batteries, charger, impact extension, and gun for 169.00.

I saw this one on sale at Sears with two spare batteries (so you get three total) plus free shipping this weekend for $163.
 

dodge610

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Aug 22, 2010
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North Canton Ohio
My vote on the craftsman 12.2 volt c3 system also like Motoys voted. I have one and love it works great lot of attachments for the c3 system. If you go that route try to get the quad charger for the c3 system. That way you always have a fresh battery available.:)
 

nperkins

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Oct 12, 2010
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Griswold CT
If you are looking for one for the rally car, go with the Snap On... You don't want it to break on the side of the stage.. And weld a lugnut onto a scissor jack, so you can use the impact to jack the car up too...

<--- Codriver/Mechanic Open Class Evo 8. :)
 

Seanbev24

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I've beat the hell out of my 1/2" and 3/8" cordless Snap-On guns in a shop environment for a couple years now. Not 1 problem, and they still surprise me at what they can break loose.
 

Zebu Fellenz

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Phelps, NY
I have the new Bosch 18v Li-Ion 1/2" drive impact wrench. It's rated at 500 ft/lbs and has never let me down. I work on AG equipment and use this wrench both in the shop and in the field.

I'd expect that the Milwaukee is comparable but I was happy to spend the few extra dollars to get a tool that was "Assembled in USA" versus made in China.
 
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GSteg

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If you want the best for yourself, then you can eliminate the Craftsman C3. While it's decent and good value, it's not entirely powerful and certainly not close to the 'best'. Not a bad gun at all (I recommend it to friends who are on a budget). I own/owned three different cordless impact guns: Snap On 18v, IR 19.2V, and the Milwaukee M18.

All three will take off lug nuts, but the IR has the least power and cost just as much, if not more than the Milwaukee. I use this gun as a loner tool. The Milwaukee is more compact and lighter than the SO, and while I have not tested it on crank pulley bolts, the power difference is little. The battery life seems to beat the SO (lithium) too. I fully charged my M18 2 months ago, used it to remove sets of wheels on 3 different cars and the battery gauge still shows all 4 bars. I put the SO through the same deal and I only have 3/4 bars left. So the Milwaukee looks like a clear winner right? Not quite. The downside is the impacting mechanism vibrates more than the SO. I guess being lighter has its disadvantage because impacts aren't dampened as well so the SO wins in the smoothness department.

Any of these guns are nicer than the Dewalt though. I hated that gun so much. It's poorly balanced, MUCH bigger in physically than the Milwaukee, and the trigger is not that great. I honestly rather have the Craftsman C3 than the Dewalt. If I'm going to spend that kind of money, then I would just pick up a Milwaukee or a Makita.

Have not tried the Bosch impact yet, but looking forward to after I sell my Milwaukee. Haven't quite found my 'perfect' impact gun yet.
 

PistolWhip

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People's Republic of New Jersey
I have the Craftsman C3 and I love it. I have a lithium ion battery so I'm not sure what the standard batteries are like, but with the lithium, the gun is a beast. I've heard people nock on it for being over rated on torque, but I haven't noticed that at all. I've had no problems with lugs and even used it to swap the springs and struts in my Shelby. It worked like a champ and the battery was still fully charged at the end of the job.
I have to wonder if the lack of torque complaints are either from people that dont understand how an impact gun works, from the regular batteries or both.
For me, it's been great and is one of my favorite recently purchased tools.
As stated above, its probably not the best on the market, but its a fantastic bang for the buck and for a home DIYer I think it's a great buy.
 
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GSteg

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Yea I think people are expecting way too much out of the C3. It's only rated at 200ftlbs so you're not going to be removing rusted axle nut anytime soon. I can't think of any other impact that's better for the price. I also think it's a hit and miss with the reviews because some people get defective batteries. It happens.
 

PistolWhip

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Yeah, that and I think some people might be trying to affix 3' worth of extensions to them and then expect to get full torque output at the fastener. Impacts just don't work like that and even with a small extension like the one it comes with, you can lose a good amount of effective torque. I found that when you just put the socket on and skip the extensions, the torque output is plenty enough to break off lugs and other large fasteners.
 

Seanbev24

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The power output is actually less important to me at work since I have air impacts. I just use the cordless sometimes for convenience. It's when I'm working at home where I couldn't live without the Snap-On cordless guns. They've more than paid for themselves.
 

frbl

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Philly, PA
I have the Craftsman and love it. I like the fact that it fits into a system of other available tools, some of which OI now also have.

And for bigger jobs | did pick up a 1/2" Earthquake air impact from Harbor Freight since others have stated what a value that is. If I need more, I'm not up to the task anyway and it's time to take it to a real mechanic.
 

Monte

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msnow

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I run the Milwaukee as well. I work on steel structures and industrial type equipment. The Milwaukee has not let me dow yet. It might be heavy but it breaks loose whatever I need and it is great for running up nylocks on 1/2" bolts. I am a bit biased because my cordless line up is Milwaukee, they just have a deep selection and good quality. The tools I have to have in cordless are an impact, portaband, decent drill, impact driver, sawzall, and jig saw. Now that bosch has come out with a small portaband I might look at another setup as a bosch. I always go back and forth whether I want two different brands for different kits or just one brand between all my different kits. Obviously that is not a problem if you only have one kit but I am currently trying to put together two full kits. Sorry to stray from the original subject but the Milwaukee is the way to go in my opinion.
 

Tim-Bob

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Nov 13, 2010
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I just bought the Bosch 18v hi-torque, 1/2". Haven't had the chance to use it seriously, but it feels pretty good. Other than the SO, the ratings are about the best I've found. I have the 3/8" SO cordless and it is great. I'm a mechanic and my choices were either the SO or the Bosch and the reasons I got the Bosch instead of SO was because of the deal I got, and that I already have 4 battery packs for it from other tools. Also, you can get battery packs for it for a lot cheaper than the SO packs. FWIW, I have been very happy with all of my Bosch cordless tools.
 

cundifc

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Jan 29, 2011
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I just got the 1/2 Snap On and its amazing. It will take the lugnuts of my F-450 shop truck. Its a beast. And btw, its comes with 2 batteries if you get the old style batteries. The new batteries they are having problems with and I have heard to stay away from them.
 

GSteg

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Which SO batteries are having problems? I haven't heard of an issue with any except maybe the pre-production lithium, but that's about it.
 

cundifc

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Jan 29, 2011
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The ion ones my dealer said they are over heating and ruining the batteries. He does not have on ion battery on his truck. The Ni cads work well and are slot cheaper.
 
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Anto

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Mar 12, 2009
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Laois, Ireland
thanks for all the replies here lads. think im still going to go with the milwaukee 18v so as it ses to be good enough.
im getting it for 360 euros with 2 ion batteries. i live im ireland so everythings dearer here than in the states :mad:
 
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