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1/2" Impact.. I'm stuck.

TheCarbideRat

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 25, 2009
Messages
536
Location
a laundromat
Re: 1/" Impact.. I'm stuck.

I would like to thank you, I have been saying this time and time again and no one believes me. The Harbor Freight 1/2" impact beat my Aircat 1100k (slightly) and hands down put my 2135qtimax and 2135timax to shame. I don't have access to an MG725 but you did and it beat it as well.

No, it's not an official way of testing but works for me.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=115628

My AirCat 1404 yearns to play with your HF gun... :bounce:
 
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thaghost87

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 7, 2011
Messages
287
Location
Philadelphia
Im a lil late... but I received my Aircat (nitrocat) 1200k... I LOVE IT. nicely balanced, lots of power, not as big as the MG725.. much quieter stock, and cheaper than the IR and SO. $190 tooltopia.
 

dappledachsund

Active member
Joined
Oct 15, 2011
Messages
39
i have an ir2135timax and i think its the best gun out there. i also have a nitrocat 1200k which i hated!!! very pathetic impact in my experience. i bought it to replace my mg 725 after a coworker crushed it under a lift when he forgot he left it there. i replaced it with the 1200k and after a month i couldnt take it anymore and bought the matco version of the ir 2135 and i will nvr look back!!!
 
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Simplespeed

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 23, 2010
Messages
329
Going on 7 years of daily use on my IR ti2135. I never oil.it and ran water through it at a crappy ahop i worked at for a year. Best gun ever. Even being 7 years old i get compliments on its strength all the time. And i work in a shop where everyne is a SO nut. I will say that it is much louder than most guns thouh.
 

shampoop

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Joined
Jul 12, 2009
Messages
1,947
Location
SW Washington
My take, SO and aircat have lots of great things going for them, but are somewhat sketchy in their own ways. From what I've read on here SO guns perform great, but are by far the most expensive and have a well documented longevity problems. Aircat guns perform great but are pretty new and don't have a well established reputation. Plus the fact that they use clutches to me just screams somethings gonna wear out, they also don't work with torque sticks.

IR though you can't go wrong with. The prices are much lower than SO, and competitive with the rest. Their guns perform as good or better than the competition, and have a long history of longevity and everybody including me seems to love them. I have a 1/2" 2131qt and a 3/8" 2115qtimax. They both kick *** in every way and are very quiet while doing it.
 

shampoop

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Joined
Jul 12, 2009
Messages
1,947
Location
SW Washington
That is a fact. I mostly break out the 3/8 for stuff like exhaust manifolds, or quick tear downs. Otherwise the 3/8 air ratchet is the weapon of choice.

I was simply saying that for the needs of doing tires, and lighter work a giant 1/2 that could run 10's in the 1/4 is not needed. A lighter less powerful gun does just fine, and my wrists, and hands thank you for it later. My joints are already junk. Don't need to be a cripple in 8 years...

And a good 3/8 gun is just fine for tire work. But it isn't cost effective to replace a entire torque stick, and socket collection for them. And reducers rob a lot of power.

The other option is a 3/8 gun with a 1/2 anvil. Which is what I'm going to try soon. Either the T2125QTIMAX, or the Aircat 1375XL. I'm leaning to the Aircat. A 2.7lb gun I can do tires, and front end work on cars would be a God send! :)

I love using my 3/8" gun on newer vehicles (lug nuts are easier to remove) due to the fact that it's smaller and lighter, standard 3/8" impact sockets are much smaller/thinner than 1/2" ones so you rarely need to use special lug sockets, and the fact that I don't need to use a torque stick when putting the lugs back on. It's kinda scary how consistent it is, when I go to torque the lugs how close and consistent the 3/8" is to the desired value.

I like the 1/2" for the fact that I know it will effortlessly remove the lugs very quickly, every time, regardless of lug size or how old the vehicle is.
 

Skin

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 24, 2010
Messages
11,713
Location
Boston
My take, SO and aircat have lots of great things going for them, but are somewhat sketchy in their own ways. From what I've read on here SO guns perform great, but are by far the most expensive and have a well documented longevity problems. Aircat guns perform great but are pretty new and don't have a well established reputation. Plus the fact that they use clutches to me just screams somethings gonna wear out, they also don't work with torque sticks.

IR though you can't go wrong with. The prices are much lower than SO, and competitive with the rest. Their guns perform as good or better than the competition, and have a long history of longevity and everybody including me seems to love them. I have a 1/2" 2131qt and a 3/8" 2115qtimax. They both kick *** in every way and are very quiet while doing it.

The Aircat line of impacts do not have a clutch motor. Their Nitrocat line does. The Aircat line is the old tried and true twin hammer.

Aircat is also priced far more competitively than IR. These are current list prices pulled from Amazon.

2115QTIMAX $240 (Assembled in USA)
2115TIMAX $215 (Assembled in USA)
Nitrocat 1355XL $150 (Taiwan COO)
AirCat 1300-TH $150 (Assembled in USA)

2135QTIMAX $272.00 (Assembled in USA)
2135TIMAX $250.00 (Assembled in USA)
Nitrocat 1200-K $150.00 (Taiwan COO)
Aircat 1000-TH $162.00 (Assembled in USA)

I purchased a 1355XL as my entry into the Aircat brand and like it very much. Given the performance and price i'll happily recommend them to anyone looking for a decent impact without spending tons of money. My only word of caution is that the Nitrocat line does require daily oiling in order to keep the clutch motor functioning. Essentially you need to put a few drops in before storing it away for the evening so if someone is a bit careless with their air tools they probably should stick with a twin hammer model.
 
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