craftsman C3 1/2 impact kit $99

[dirtrider]

I apologize I could not find any links, but recently during my trip to sears I purchased the Craftsman C3 1/2 impact wrench with one nicad battery and one charger for only $99. I originally was only going to buy the impact by itself but I noticed another box that included the battery and charger so I brought them both up to the register and had the clerk scan the prices on both and the impact tool by itself was $94 and the kit with the impact wrench, charger and battery was only $5 more ??? So I bought the entire kit for $99 with an added $15 for there 3 year warranty called "Sears purchase protect".

You guys might wan't to check your local Sears. .

 

[eljefino]

does that warranty cover the battery?

 

[Super Sport]

It drops to that price quite often. I grabbed one for $89.99 awhile back, which is the lowest I've seen them.

 

[vw_tdi]

that's the price I got it for - 89.99. I freaking love the thing (weekend warrior); spins off lug nuts no problem. I love not having to fire up the compressor...

 

[chrisexv6]

Not seeing 99 on the website. Closest I see is the one with the quick-connect nose (not a normal impact chuck). The actual C3 1/2" impact kit is at least $133 on the site. Maybe Ill stop in store to see if its a better price but my guess is no.

 

[vgs8606]

Last year, they had it with 2-batteries and a soft carry-case for about $100. Batteries and charger are NiCd only. The wrench will take the C3 Lithium but you will have to buy special charger too.

 

[djb2]

Last year, they had it with 2-batteries and a soft carry-case for about $100. Batteries and charger are NiCd only. The wrench will take the C3 Lithium but you will have to buy special charger too.

Do you mean the 1/2" impact, or the similar looking 1/4" impact?

The 1/4" impact has a quick-connect hex check with ball retainers. In the picture you can see this as a knurled cylindrical sleeve. The kit includes a 1/4"-hex to 1/4" square drive adapter, along with two quick-connect screwdriver bits.

I recently bought the 1/4" kit on clearance sale. It has two NiCad batteries and a universal C3 charger. The charger works with lithium C3 batteries, and even 12V NiCad batteries batteries from lower-end Craftsman tools.

There are at least two part numbers for the 1/4" impact driver. The one I bought claimed something like 1500 in-lbs of torque. That's an exaggeration. I know that impact tools are rated optimistically with a "let it sit all day on the fastener with the voltage from a fresh battery" approach. And then round up. But there is no way this tool will torque or loosen a fastener with even 20% of the rating on the box.

 

[dirtrider]

does that warranty cover the battery?

I was told by the clerk that it does cover the entire kit including the battery and charger as well. I normally don't buy into these types of plans but seeing how it was only $15 more for 3 years it seemed like a good deal, I figure judging by how long some of the other C3 stuff has lasted me I will at least get one warranty before that 3 years.

Not seeing 99 on the website. Closest I see is the one with the quick-connect nose (not a normal impact chuck). The actual C3 1/2" impact kit is at least $133 on the site. Maybe Ill stop in store to see if its a better price but my guess is no.

Yeah like I said I could not find that price anywhere online sorry, but when I went into sears that is what they had available. What's funny is while in Home Depot the other day Ryobi makes a similar looking 1/2 impact that produces the same torque and impacts per minute but with an 18V battery.

For what it's worth the thing is pretty awesome, it's no Snapon or IR but it has enough power to do everything I have needed it to do fairly easily. I am only running nicad batteries at the moment, does anyone have any experience comparing the two nicad vs lithium. I have heard the lithium not only runs longer but also produces more "power"?

 

[Jason Lister]

I was really impressed with mine.... I just bought it for $99. I was using a 1/2 charged Li-Ion battery and I broke loose and retightened lug nuts on our gooseneck trailer that were torqued to 200 ft lbs the night before, so the rating is correct.

 

[vgs8606]

Do you mean the 1/2" impact, or the similar looking 1/4" impact?

The 1/2" impact wrench which takes standard 1/2" sockets. I wish it had came with the hog ring instead of the ball detent but that is a minor quibble. It has quite a power. I was able to take off axle bolts on my Maxima which would be about 200 ft-lb. It banged no more 5 seconds before the bolts busted loose. One side came off even faster. Both myself and the mechanic who actually did the axle replacement were impressed. I only took the bolt off with my gun. Mechanic had that "you must be joking" look on his face when I whipped out this gun and volunteered to remove the bolt.

 

[KinzeMech]

There are at least two part numbers for the 1/4" impact driver. The one I bought claimed something like 1500 in-lbs of torque. That's an exaggeration. I know that impact tools are rated optimistically with a "let it sit all day on the fastener with the voltage from a fresh battery" approach. And then round up. But there is no way this tool will torque or loosen a fastener with even 20% of the rating on the box.

You did get that 1500in-lbs is 125 ft-lbs, right?
I have both of these tools (the 1/2 impact wrench, and the hex impact driver), and I don't doubt either of them achieving their rated torque. With a socket adapter, I have used the hex driver to remove lugnuts that were properly torqued to the car. These were not lugnuts with any rust, or ones that had been unloosened for 2-3years, but still, it was a respectable accomplishment for a tool not really meant for that kind of use.

The impact wrench, I believe, is rated for 200 ft-lbs. That is setting the bar pretty low, but it achieves that easily, if your battery has better than half charge.

If you're on the bottom half of the battery, I would not attempt lugnuts. I probably would not attempt fasteners bigger than 3/8". Performance of these tools falls off rapidly after the first half or so of the battery is spent. The hex driver will still drive screws, and the impact wrench will still handle small fasteners, but you best charge or change batts before attempting anything serious.

A LI battery really wakes these tools up.

 

[djb2]

You did get that 1500in-lbs is 125 ft-lbs, right?

Oh yes, I can do the math.

And I wasn't expecting the driver to remove suspension parts. Or even lug nuts. I have a big plug-in 1/2" impact driver to do that.

I was expecting it to easily remove a few M6 fasteners that should have been torqued to 89in-lbs (7.5 ft-lbs). It failed, with a freshly charged new battery.

The next time I have a wheel off I'll let it pound on a lug bolt (errrr tap on a lug bolt) for a minute to see how tight it can go.

 

[KinzeMech]

I didn't mean to be rude, but you'd not have been the first on the forum to read a torque and assume ft-lbs as units.

If that is the type of performance you are getting from yours, you have a defective tool, or a defective battery.