Cordless ratchets

[Havoc Audio - Evan]

Not having a completely isolated compressor, I have to deal with the noise of the compressor, and inconvenience of having to drag it out every time i want to use an air ratchet.

I've been looking into getting a cordless ratchet setup for a while but, having to buy the ratchet, batteries, and charger all separately make them very expensive, and though i know its worth the investment in the long run, i wouldn't mind having something to use while i save up the cash to get the IR setup.

Currently I have a skil power wrench, when i first got it, i thought id kill it in a week, mainly because its a skil. But over the past 6 months i've beat the **** out of it. It still continues to work fine, but doesnt have the torque i need, is only good for small jobs being a 1/4 drive, and the built in battery makes it a pain.

I know flordia pneumatic makes a 1/4 drive setup, for a decent price. Sears has it for 100$, 2 batteries and charger included. But im really looking for a 3/8 inch drive with some decent torque for taking seats out quickly, and reinstalling them.

Anyone come across any other brands that make cordless ratchets?

 

[jtrace]

I havent bought the 3/8" version yet but I have I-R's 1/4" cordless ratchet and love it. They also make a wiz wheel I want to get..

John

 

[Havoc Audio - Evan]

Yea, i played with one, and they are awesome, but it cost u over 300$ to get the 3/8 inch drive, battery, and charger. I just cant handle that investment at the moment, id like to have a new stonger 1/4 inch drive as well. If flordia pneumatic made a 3/8's i could probably get both for less then 250$ which would be great but they only make a 1/4.

 

[Fedwrench]

Depending on what you're going to use it on, you maybe better off with a 3/8 drive cordless impact wrench instead of a ratchet.

 

[Havoc Audio - Evan]

I have to get under seats, no way in the world the impact wrench will fit, got in some cases only 4 inches of clearence

 

[X1 Mike]

I have that same Skil power wrench and I love it, I just brought it home from work today and replaced the rear window regulator on my wife’s car with it. It seems to me that all the other ones like the IR and the new one from Snap-On use too big of a battery so you end up losing the convenience of the tool. I’ve never seen the IR in person but the S-O is pretty heavy and cumbersome. You just have to realize that the Skil is for a low torque application. The good thing is it lets you break fasteners loose by hand. The S-O corless screwdriver may work for you, I have had one of those for about a year and a half with no problems.

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...group_ID=19915&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

 

[speed bump]

Bosch I-driver with an adapter.

 

[Havoc Audio - Evan]

snap on's got a cordless ratchet now? As far as the snap on impact driver goes, id buy the milwaukee or bosch over it any day, more power and less money.

My main problem with my skil is that its a 1/4 inch drive, and most of the bolts i need to take out with it are 15mm or bigger, so i have to use a 1/4 to 3/8 adapter which isnt that aweful, but i still have to break the bolts by hand before its of any use and using it manually its only rated for about 34 ft/lbs of torque before it breaks. With a normal size 1/4 drive id never worry about applying that much torque but its got about an 10 inch handle on it and im always afraid im gonna break that sucker. It dies fairly quickly as well and with the built in battery, after an hour or so u have to let it charge for a while.

The bosch I driver i thought of, but its problems gonna be torque, the IR 3/8's 14.4v is good for 70 ft/lbs or 840 in/lbs. The bosch is only good for 80 in/lbs which is less then my skil power wrench. The bosch is excellent for right angle drilling and driving in screws but not for impact applications.