Cordless Impact Driver vs Air Ratchet

[finn]

Just buy the Dewalt Atomic, or the newest Dewalt mid torque impact wrench and don’t look back.

They’ll both blow the doors off any HF offering and will last for years.

 

[Lucid Moments]

Just buy the Dewalt Atomic, or the newest Dewalt mid torque impact wrench and don’t look back.

They’ll both blow the doors off any HF offering and will last for years.

I second that. I recently bought the DeWalt Atomic 3/8 and it is pretty darned impressive. Takes the lugs off my '10 Ram 2500. I don't live in the salt belt so that isn't as impressive as it might be, but out of as small a package as that I think it is pretty good.

 

[Half-fast eddie]

$219 for the 1/2” model, tool only. I would want a dedicated battery, but don’t need a second charger. The 3/8” model is a lot less, but the power specs are way down too. So probably not going to happen.

 

[Half-fast eddie]

Hey ... they look very similar. Might be worth buying the tool and trying the fit. I imagine that the HF brand is just a private label of an existing design.

 

[GeoBruin]

By nature of owning that battery, you're better off buying a bare dewalt tool than buying the equivalent harbor freight tool plus a battery. You still may come away cheaper with the HF kit but not by a whole lot and then you'll have another system to deal with. Plus, most kits come with 1.5 Ah batteries where it looks like you've got at least a 3 AH there.

 

[JradM]

In a professional environment an air ratchet is useful and makes sense. At home, I never use mine. It's not worth the hassle of airing-up my compressor unless I'm doing a major job.

I have a cordless ratchet too - it gets a lot more use, but no where near as much as it did when I was spinning wrenches for money. Way more convenient though.

 

[u2slow]

A powered ratchet never made my roster of tools I actually use.

Only started using a battery impact driver about 5 years ago. It's basically a speed wrench. Real torquing and breaking normal fasteners loose, I use hand tools. (Or the big impact gun to bust rusty/tight **** apart.)

 

[Half-fast eddie]

I have an air wrench and compressor. Going to visit daughter and granddaughter can’t take the compressor. Planning on rotating tires on GD car, no desire to do that much hand wrenching. I was going to buy a HF cordless and leave it there.

 

[Wrench97]

I would just buy the Dewalt Mid torque since you already have the 20v battery system.> https://www.lowes.com/pd/DEWALT-20V-MAX-XR-1-2-in-Mid-Range-Cor/5001636833

 

[johninct]

If you are going to be willing to break your lugs free by hand, what good is an impact wrench other than being a nut runner? I have an old Snap-On im3850 that is rated at 250 ft lb and it breaks all of my lugs free (140 ft lb on my truck) I guess my point is, you should be able to pick up an impact that should break your lugs free for not that much.

 

[Half-fast eddie]

you should be able to pick up an impact that should break your lugs free for not that much.

Got a suggestion?

 

[johninct]

Got a suggestion?

I am sure that you could do better today but a years ago I got my friend a Craftsman and it does all of his lugs.