Hi All,
I'm looking to purchase a quality, dependable cordless impact wrench. I've done quite a lot of research including reading through forums such as this one and of course, there's no simple answer to which one is 'best' ('best' can mean different things to different people) so I'm just trying to gather peoples' experiences and thoughts before I plump for one or other.
My short list currently stands (in no particular order) at (clicky links...):
Ingersoll Rand W7150
Hilt SIW 22T-A
Milwaukee HD18HIW402C
I've put the Snap-On options (and a number of others) to one side, at least for now.
My priorities may be different to others but, roughly in order, they are:
1) Must perform to my requirement as close as possible to 100% of the time I need it. In other words, if I find it can't shift the last bolt I need undoing, I won't be happy consoling myself with the the fact that it was cheaper than a better wrench that would have undone that same bolt!
2) I don't need super-extended battery run times because I won't be using this hours on end, days on end. This is hobby/DIY/vehicle enthusiast use and I'll rarely find myself in the position of not being able to wait for it to take some extra charge.
3) I do need excellent battery charge retention and long term health. Partly because of the above, the tool/battery may spend weeks on the shelf without being used/charged and I don't want to find that after a few months, the charge capacity has dropped to an unhealthy level.
4) Because it isn't going to get regular usage, it will probably be years before the usage level takes me into 'warranty repair' territory but by then, almost certainly the warranty will have expired. So good warranty terms and customer friendly manufacturers would be a bonus
On paper, looking at the 'brute force' performance figures, it looks like the order would be:
1) IR W7150 (see below)
2) Miwaukee HD18 (610NM)
3) Hilti SWI 22T-A (450NM)
I do wish to cut through the marketing hype wherever possible (what on earth is 'nut-busting torque?!
And how is it different from normal 'max torque'?!) and I totally understand that numbers on paper don't always translate to the tool at work but, the IR figures do look quite compelling.
In terms of opinions I've read, there's been a huge variation.
Some appear to have suffered significant supply issues withe IR and I even saw a couple of thread posts which commented on it being cr@p, which I find a little hard to believe. But there's plenty of other indication that it's a super impact wrench.
There's a lot of positive comment about Hilti (to the point of it being a brand of super-mythical proportions!) but equally, I've read comments from people saying that whilst some Hilti stuff is brilliant, the cordless stuff is merely average. Also, that spares are difficult to come by and the 'capped repair cost' programme can still be very expensive, with Hilti frequently opting to replace the tool and making a significant charge.
On the other hand, I can't seem to find anything bad about Milwaukee as a company, or the HD18 and it also seems to be the best value for money too; in fact the cheapest of the three!
In terms of budget, whilst I don't have limitless cash, my philosophy is that the only thing worse than spending too much, is not spending enough
I'd be very interested to hear the views of those that either own one of these impact wrenches or especially, from anyone that has used more than one of them, perhaps even swapped from on to another.
Many thanks for the help and advice that might come my way.
Cheers!
I'm looking to purchase a quality, dependable cordless impact wrench. I've done quite a lot of research including reading through forums such as this one and of course, there's no simple answer to which one is 'best' ('best' can mean different things to different people) so I'm just trying to gather peoples' experiences and thoughts before I plump for one or other.
My short list currently stands (in no particular order) at (clicky links...):
Ingersoll Rand W7150
Hilt SIW 22T-A
Milwaukee HD18HIW402C
I've put the Snap-On options (and a number of others) to one side, at least for now.
My priorities may be different to others but, roughly in order, they are:
1) Must perform to my requirement as close as possible to 100% of the time I need it. In other words, if I find it can't shift the last bolt I need undoing, I won't be happy consoling myself with the the fact that it was cheaper than a better wrench that would have undone that same bolt!
2) I don't need super-extended battery run times because I won't be using this hours on end, days on end. This is hobby/DIY/vehicle enthusiast use and I'll rarely find myself in the position of not being able to wait for it to take some extra charge.
3) I do need excellent battery charge retention and long term health. Partly because of the above, the tool/battery may spend weeks on the shelf without being used/charged and I don't want to find that after a few months, the charge capacity has dropped to an unhealthy level.
4) Because it isn't going to get regular usage, it will probably be years before the usage level takes me into 'warranty repair' territory but by then, almost certainly the warranty will have expired. So good warranty terms and customer friendly manufacturers would be a bonus
On paper, looking at the 'brute force' performance figures, it looks like the order would be:
1) IR W7150 (see below)
- Working torque in forward 68-746 Nm
[*]Maximum torque in forward 813 Nm
[*]Working torque in reverse 880 Nm
[*]Maximum torque in reverse 1057 Nm
[*]Nut busting torque in reverse 1486 Nm
2) Miwaukee HD18 (610NM)
3) Hilti SWI 22T-A (450NM)
I do wish to cut through the marketing hype wherever possible (what on earth is 'nut-busting torque?!
And how is it different from normal 'max torque'?!) and I totally understand that numbers on paper don't always translate to the tool at work but, the IR figures do look quite compelling.In terms of opinions I've read, there's been a huge variation.
Some appear to have suffered significant supply issues withe IR and I even saw a couple of thread posts which commented on it being cr@p, which I find a little hard to believe. But there's plenty of other indication that it's a super impact wrench.
There's a lot of positive comment about Hilti (to the point of it being a brand of super-mythical proportions!) but equally, I've read comments from people saying that whilst some Hilti stuff is brilliant, the cordless stuff is merely average. Also, that spares are difficult to come by and the 'capped repair cost' programme can still be very expensive, with Hilti frequently opting to replace the tool and making a significant charge.
On the other hand, I can't seem to find anything bad about Milwaukee as a company, or the HD18 and it also seems to be the best value for money too; in fact the cheapest of the three!
In terms of budget, whilst I don't have limitless cash, my philosophy is that the only thing worse than spending too much, is not spending enough
I'd be very interested to hear the views of those that either own one of these impact wrenches or especially, from anyone that has used more than one of them, perhaps even swapped from on to another.
Many thanks for the help and advice that might come my way.
Cheers!