Aircat impact

[StevenB]

I'm currently looking to get a new impact & was planing on getting the 2135ti. Then I came across the aircat 1200. From what I've read they seem to be on par with IR impacts, but cost less.
I'll like to know if anyone has any personal experience with the aircat line of impacts.

 

[jjb]

I had one. Worked fine for about a year and then lost some power. I replaced it with a Matco MT1769(Same as Ingersoll Rand Titanium). I was using it at work everday, so it got a workout. I still use it at home, just wasn't good enough for use on a production level.

 

[Tarheelgarage]

My experience, and others in the shop has found that they just don't hold up to daily use. In about 6 months, they have a noticeable loss of power.

Couple of guys in the shop got (what they thought) were good deals on aircats a few years back only to discover they were wearing out too quickly.
They were back to their IR impacts and pitched the aircats in the scrap bin.

Sure you can get them cheaper than IR impact, but you will be replacing them often as well.

 

[Skin]

In a shop environment the Nitrocat models must be oiled daily or you end up like the above posters. I love mine and think they're a great bargain if you dont want to spend the extra for a TIMAX

 

[6-Speed]

Here's one comparison between an Aircat and IR:

 

[Skin]

Here's one comparison between an Aircat and IR:

And heres a comparison by someone who doesnt work for IR. Also a bit more relevent to those who arent trying to speed change tires.

 

[StevenB]

At the moment I'm leaning towards the 1200.
I'll be using this at work & half of the time I'll be changing tires on the yard trailers. I won't be at the shop during those times & I want to make sure the impact well take off the rusted & gummed nuts on those trailers. My cheap husky barely does the job.

 

[pipsters]

I have owned an Aircat 1100k, the 2135timax & 2135qtimax, and the new Harbor Freight Earthquake impacts.

IMO the Earthquake and Aircat were almost neck and neck, and the 2135 series was much less powerful.

The 2135qtimax however was the quietest and was the lightest, and handled the best. I suppose you could always run them at 150 psi to get whatever you want off.

The Aircat was a little lighter than the HF, and handled better, but had *slightly* less power, on my non-scientific testing.

No idea on longevity for either one, as the new Earthquake models have only been out 6 months or so. The previous were work horses, but very heavy.

 

[Kurn]

Well,ya know what I'm gonna say.Starts with MG and ends with 725.

 

[Jaralaccs]

I cracked an anvil inside the 1200k but to be fair it was the "shop's gun" when it came to removing stuck honda crank pulley bolts.

The fins inside the older ones break apart and get stuck/slow down/ in my case completely clog the gun. But they were easy enough to replace and only cost $1 each (6 of them I think) the Aircat guy said they've been updated since, and the new ones are stronger. This was ~2 years ago.

 

[drew03cmc]

I own the Mac version of the 1200K, the AW612Q. I must say that it has every bit of the power of my coworkers MT1769 and the boss's 2135TiMax. I oil mine twice a day, once before work, once at about lunch time or a little later if I haven't been real hard on it in the morning. It works very well and is the only impact I have used that you can have a conversation while working with it. I have a 2 year warranty from Mac, so if it loses power inside that time, I will get it replaced.

 

[Obie]

I own the Mac version of the 1200K, the AW612Q. I must say that it has every bit of the power of my coworkers MT1769 and the boss's 2135TiMax. I oil mine twice a day, once before work, once at about lunch time or a little later if I haven't been real hard on it in the morning. It works very well and is the only impact I have used that you can have a conversation while working with it. I have a 2 year warranty from Mac, so if it loses power inside that time, I will get it replaced.

I have the same one and love it. Wish I had known who made it when I bought it though, as I don't think the red color is worth another $250 on the price tag

I oil mine three times daily, same schedule as yours with an additional few drops before I put it away for the day. Just in case I need to use it for one or two bolts the next morning or something. I've used it for over a year now on heavy duty construction equipment. It hasn't lost a single pound of power, and it's still my favorite impact I've ever used. Quiet, light, low vibration, and metric crapgobs of power.

 

[rlitman]

I've got the Aircat 1000TH, and it's my go-to impact now. I'm sure when it eventually dies I'll go back to my Snap On, but so far so good.
I oil mine at least once each day I use it; more, if I use it a lot.

I like the grip, how light it feels, and how quiet it is. Especially the quiet.
When I'm in my driveway, rotating tires at night, I don't feel so bad about the noise level.
That, and I think it has a little more power in reverse than my SO.

I KNOW that it's got more than enough power for my purposes. One time, I had to deal with a lug nut that skipped a thread, and in a matter of seconds, I was able to spin the nut off, melting and grinding off the threads behind on the stud. Another time, it was able to snap the stud off in a similar situation. If that's not enough power to do the job, I'm going for the torch anyway.

 

[Ken81590]

From a "saving money" aspect, IR is the way to go, hands down.

To anyone with aircats or any other air impact gun that has lost power, I rebuild impact guns for $40 if anyone is interested!!

 

[StevenB]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. I went ahead and order the aircat 1100-K today.

 

[rodknocker]

I had one, had great power, I oiled it every morning and it kept its power. The cons were, it wore a calus in my thumb bone due to the design of the handle, and after 3yrs I broke the end of the anvil off at the snap ring, so sockets just fall off. Now have a Snap on and love it.

 

[StevenB]

I received it today & I'm trying to get the correct grease gun fitting to lube the bearings. I've got the needle point tip & it doesn't want to work the way in my opinion should work.
Should I try the regular needle nose fitting?

 

[drew03cmc]

The 1200K is an oil only gun. I love this tool and will likely use it until it dies. Also, the good thing about the 1200 is that you can definitely feel the difference. The speed is less, so the vibration felt in your elbow is less, but the power is the same. Enjoy that gun.

I guess I should put a few drops of oil in the gun at night as well. Oh well, I will grab another bottle of oil from the Mac feller on Wednesday...

 

[StevenB]

The 1200K is an oil only gun. I love this tool and will likely use it until it dies. Also, the good thing about the 1200 is that you can definitely feel the difference. The speed is less, so the vibration felt in your elbow is less, but the power is the same. Enjoy that gun.

I guess I should put a few drops of oil in the gun at night as well. Oh well, I will grab another bottle of oil from the Mac feller on Wednesday...

I ended up going with the 1100 not 1200. It takes grease, looks like I need to get the regular needle like the chainsaw.

 

[chewy7]

i have the 1100-k aircat although it has loads of torque, it seams to vibrate alot. been thinking about selling it on craigslist and getting an aircat 1200-k for more smooth operation

 

[chewy7]

heres one with the 1200-k versus ir2135timax

 

[craftsman47]

any updates?

whats the reliability of the aircats? I am interested in the 1000 and the 1150

100 dollars cheaper than the IR 2135

The ingersoll keeps rotating after you release the trigger as well.

AIRCAT 1000 132.67 http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00937891000P
aircat 1150 killer torque 159.21 http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00937890000P
ingersoll rand 2135 timax 267.99 http://www.sears.com/ingersoll-rand...M6914058902?prdNo=14&blockNo=14&blockType=G14


powerful. quiet. fairly light. reviews are very high. http://www.amazon.com/AIRCAT-1000-T...dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

 

[Zeroek]

About 5 years ago I had an Aircat that I bought used from the Mac guy. He told me the guy that had it traded it in because it lacked power. I bought it for like $60 and it worked great for taking off wheels all day on a quick lube rack. Kept it oiled every day so I don't know what happens if you don't oil them. Anyways after a year I sold it to a fellow co working and ended up with a Mac impact. I'd buy another aircat if my Mac tears up on me.

 

[Kracin]

pretty sure you have to have meticulous maintenance when it comes to aircats.

at my old workplace we used 3/4" impacts all day for mold changes, we typically had chicago pneumatic 772h guns, but they thought they would "upgrade" us after X years of using CP. and got the aircats that were supposed to be rated at a higher torque, be lighter, quieter, etc. well the chicago penumatics, in the ****** air system they had there would last about a year or two before needing serious rebuilds, but would still work fine, and some would go much longer without needing any serious work.

the aircats though, gave up after a few months with oiling, they lost a ton of power, lot of blowby inside, etc. and they weren't worth it after all of the guns they bought took a **** soon after the first went.

granted it was a dirty foundry environment, but they didn't last anywhere near as long as other guns under the same conditions. so maybe they will be good for someone who has air line dryers and oilers, and take awesome care of his tools. but i feel they dont last as long as other guns

 

[PoorOwner]

On some air cat guns there is an allen key plug with an oil logo
Are you guys talking about daily oiling this or the air inlet?

 

[devoncoolman]

Broke the anvil in my aircat 1600 3/4 gun. Looking back would have bought an ir. in my recomendations buy and ir or the snap-on. My mg725 has been going strong for 5 years.

 

[Skin]

Donated my 1355XL to the shop, its still going strong and still surprises me with its power compared to the MG325 I normally use. It gets 3 drops down the inlet after just about every days use.

On some air cat guns there is an allen key plug with an oil logo
Are you guys talking about daily oiling this or the air inlet?

I believe twin hammer ones have a grease fitting at this location. The clutch driven impacts have the plug. I've never removed it but I always figured that's where the oil was since they're a sealed lubrication design.

 

[Tarheelgarage]

A few years ago, a couple of guys in the shop decided to buy aircat impacts; seems like they were all the rage about 5 years ago.

Within 8-12 months, all of them had loss of power or some type of failures.

They quickly returned to using thir 10 year old IR or CP impacts

 

[HighPlainsWrencher]

I have a 1000th and had a 1355xl that I bought brand new. I traded the 1355 for a new Snap On mg325 after a couple uses and the guy with the re branded Cornwell impact laughing at me. After 6 months of daily use my 1000th is going strong as the day it was new. Oil daily, couple or three pumps of grease every other week. Having descent shop air helps also.

 

[Kracin]

Donated my 1355XL to the shop, its still going strong and still surprises me with its power compared to the MG325 I normally use. It gets 3 drops down the inlet after just about every days use.



I believe twin hammer ones have a grease fitting at this location. The clutch driven impacts have the plug. I've never removed it but I always figured that's where the oil was since they're a sealed lubrication design.

there are a lot of impacts that have two different spots. if it has a plug it's not a sealed design, if it has no plug for adding more oil (not air oil), then its not sealed, and can have maintenance done easily.

should be a different oil you put in there to help keep wear down inside the hammer and anvil assembly area. that area should be sealed off to the vanes of the impact, and only air oil should be put through the air fitting part of it to keep the vane assembly lubed up properly so they slide in and out like they are supposed to.

 

[zakmartin]

I have an Aircat 1150 and 1300-TH. I keep them oiled regularly, just like I did with my old Craftsman & IR impacts, and they've never given me any problems (unlike my old Craftsman & IR impacts.) The 1150 is a torque monster. I've been using the Aircats for about 2 years and wouldn't hesitate to recommend either one. NOTE: I'm not a FT professional anymore, so they don't get used daily. They probably come out of the drawer about 2-3 times a week. Also, they both have rubber jackets and they've never been dropped. IIRC, Aircats have always come with a 1-year warranty, so all of the stories in this thread about them losing power after 6 months and getting replaced with IR's or MACs kind of makes me scratch my head.

 

[Bikes&Bowties]

I run a TH1000 when I got it they were American made (maybe still are) it's 3 years old and still kicking as. Has more power and us quieter and lighter than an MG725. I oil it every day and grease it every couple days

 

[Skin]

I run a TH1000 when I got it they were American made (maybe still are) it's 3 years old and still kicking as. Has more power and us quieter and lighter than an MG725. I oil it every day and grease it every couple days

The twin hammer models were/are actually American assembled. Essentially all the parts came from Taiwan.

 

[craftsman47]

im thinking about that aircat 1150

wish more feedback was out there.

I know alot of flag waving with the truck brands occurs.......

I have an Aircat 1150 and 1300-TH. I keep them oiled regularly, just like I did with my old Craftsman & IR impacts, and they've never given me any problems (unlike my old Craftsman & IR impacts.) The 1150 is a torque monster. I've been using the Aircats for about 2 years and wouldn't hesitate to recommend either one. NOTE: I'm not a FT professional anymore, so they don't get used daily. They probably come out of the drawer about 2-3 times a week. Also, they both have rubber jackets and they've never been dropped. IIRC, Aircats have always come with a 1-year warranty, so all of the stories in this thread about them losing power after 6 months and getting replaced with IR's or MACs kind of makes me scratch my head.

 

[Skin]

Hard to do much flag waving when it comes to pneumatic tools. IR and Snap-On are it for domestic manufacture of modern high quality impact wrenches, and both have a certain amount of China content in them anyway. The new Matco and MAC guns (which have gotten high praise) are made in Taiwan.

 

[n8n]

I had one. Worked fine for about a year and then lost some power. I replaced it with a Matco MT1769(Same as Ingersoll Rand Titanium). I was using it at work everday, so it got a workout. I still use it at home, just wasn't good enough for use on a production level.

I see the MT1769 on eFlay for much less than the IR version, despite its much higher list price. I picked one up recently in near-new condition for $160 and it just beats the hell out of the Aircat that I was constantly borrowing before I got it. Time will tell if it holds up. Only frustrating thing is you're supposed to grease the hammer/anvil but the only way to get the IR lube kit is to mail order it.

Unless someone can say that it doesn't hold up to constant use, I'd go that route rather than get the Aircat.