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Do any cordless impact wrenches have any torque control?

fairlaniac

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Never owning one before I am looking at purchasing the Earthquake XT at Harbor Freight. I know many may say get a Dewalt, Milwaukee, etc... and I still may. My question is some of these wrenches have 400 ft/lb or torque or better. Great for turning off a nut or bolt. How about going on? I don't want a cordless to actually torque for me but if these have 400 ft/lb coming off how do you control if you are lightly running a bolt or nut back on without snapping or stripping the nuts or bolts?

Thanks,
 
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richfinn

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I don't know about the HF Impacts specifically, but all my cordless impacts have had a "power level" adjustment so you can turn them down to weaker settings
 

cheechi

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My M12 Fuel 3/8 has 2 or 3 speeds on it (not looking at it so can't remember how many).
 

American Locomotive

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Most modern impacts have a "power" setting, but the only thing it does it just limit the motor speed. Which you can just do anyways by feathering the trigger.

The way impacts work, is the "torque" is proportional to how fast the motor is spinning.
 

Mr_B

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don't bother with earthquake, simply as not really that good a value.
The milwaukee comes on good deals frequently and has better throttle control (none as good as air wrench) and better power settings .
The other plus is long warranty as standard and a battery platform that incredibly useful with huge array of bare tools that pretty affordable if need expand your capability at some point.
With HF earthquake warranty ***** (you have pay a lot on warranty plan match a 5yr warranty on milwaukee) and battery platform is wasted .
 

Mr_B

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Most modern impacts have a "power" setting, but the only thing it does it just limit the motor speed. Which you can just do anyways by feathering the trigger.

The way impacts work, is the "torque" is proportional to how fast the motor is spinning.

a lot now have torque cutout which handy setting .
you also want be sure buy one with decent feathering throttle as they limited on convenient usability without a nice throttle .
 

bigtiger

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I thought the Milwaukee M18 ONE KEY high torque impact wrench has app based software for setting speed and torque ranges.. So technically its acting like the digital torque wrench.. No??.. Never tried if it works as marketed.

For me, the torque sticks work perfect for me.. Its pretty accurate when measured against my diigital torque wrench.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 

dnschmidt

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As stated above the M18 ONE KEY can be set if you have a smart phone using Milwaukee's app (I don't) being old school I still use a flipper as I fundamentally hate cell phones. That stated just use torque sticks. The best of these are Accutorque which are made in Sweden. They are made based on a fundamental principle of Physics and Physics is good stuff.
 

Banjorear

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As stated above the M18 ONE KEY can be set if you have a smart phone using Milwaukee's app (I don't) being old school I still use a flipper as I fundamentally hate cell phones. That stated just use torque sticks. The best of these are Accutorque which are made in Sweden. They are made based on a fundamental principle of Physics and Physics is good stuff.

LOL! Yes, it is.
 

aggie113

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I have the previous IR 20v impact and I still bought this one due to it's added features. It can go from hand tight, to half wrench tight, to half power, to full power at the flip of a switch. W7172, a video describing the features.. a bit of a sales pitch but gets the info across:
 

FuzzyTiger

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You're looking for this thing:
https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Products/Power-Tools/Fastening/Impact-Wrenches/2769-20

Its not going to be exact though. Its meant to get you close and then you finish with a torque wrench I believe.

You're probably looking for pulse tools which are similar but use hydraulics instead. Because the hydraulic fluid won't compress, I think they can just add a pressure bypass valve which will open when the target pressure is reached. Pneumatics or a reaction hammer don't really have any way to control them like that.
 

Mr_B

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torque sticks or one key doesn't replace power control when trying loosen a stuborn smaller fastener and not snap it or if it in a light duty bracket not deform the bracket.
some battery impacts better at control but best hand control is still air impacts by a long shot .
I use an air impact with good power control remove stubborn glow plugs by lowering torque and leaving it rattling away for several minutes so vibrations loosen it and gradually can work it out . use anything without fine control and you be straight on to drilling out a snapped component .
 

DeeDubz

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My ryobi has 3 settings 1-3. The 3 setting will buzz my lugs off my F250. I use the 1 setting when im putting the lugs back on. Then I torque them with my snap on torque wrench. IF I leave it on 3 and put my lugs on, They're over torqued.
 

Den69rs96

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My DeWalt mid torque cordless has a setting where it will tighten a bolt (a little more than finger tight) and stop before starts hammering and applies torque. If you continue to hold the trigger it starts hammering until you release the trigger.
 
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GrantCee

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The new Makita mid-torque model has control for both speed (impact blows per minute; 4 levels) and to control the degree of fastening (stops at impact — finger tight — or specific amounts of time after impact begins; 3 levels.)

I particularly like the mode that slows the motor down after breaking a fastener loose, so the bolt or nut doesn't go flying out of the socket. Very nice for lug nuts!

(Some of their other models may have these features as well, but I haven't handled them.)
 

Paul_The_Builder

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A lot of the name brands have "power levels", but they're not that accurate. They're not meant to set a torque level, just to be a rough guide so you're not stripping out smaller bolts. Torque sticks would be what you want if you are trying to get close to a certain tightening torque.

Its a rather obscure brand in the US, but my Metabo (not HPT) impact wrenches have 12 power settings. One day I'd like to use a torque wrench and see what each power setting roughly translates to in terms of torque, but until then its not really any more useful than 3 settings. I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between setting 8 and 9 unless I took a torque wrench to the bolt afterwards.
 

beelsr

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A couple of my Bosch 18V impact drivers have a H-M-L setting button. It works pretty well. My F-in-L loves to build everything with drywall screws - I leave them on the L setting so he doesn't pop the heads off all the time.
 

Skin

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Nothing on the 3/8" or 1/2" cordless market is going to torque anything to 400 foot pounds with a handful of hammer hits. You'd have to sit there and let it beat on the fastener.

You can also feather the trigger for better control. I'm usually too lazy to click through torque reduction settings so for something like a lug I just run it down with a half trigger pull and let it hammer once then torque by hand.
 

FuzzyTiger

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One day I'd like to use a torque wrench and see what each power setting roughly translates to in terms of torque, but until then its not really any more useful than 3 settings. I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between setting 8 and 9 unless I took a torque wrench to the bolt afterwards.

You won't really get meaningful results. The nature of an impact wrench is imprecise. That means the final torque that you achieve depends on a ton of factors including the size of the socket (deep, mid, shallow, nano), any extensions, the exact mass of those components (some are thicker, others are thinner - think lug nut sockets), the size of the fastener, lubrication, the thread pitch, even whether you're tightening a nut to a stud or a bolt into threads.

I think you could probably get pretty repeatable results assuming you keep everything the same except for the power setting, but the moment you change any of those variables the torque values you can achieve will change. You can try to establish a range but I think you'll find that range ends up being big enough that its quite meaningless.

For example if you look at Milwaukee's range of high torque impact wrenches, they are all powered by the same battery system and have nearly identical internals yet some are rated for 700ftlb fastening torque while others claim 1200ftlbs. This is all within the same brand, same product line, same tool essentially with the differences largely being things like the size of the anvil, detent vs friction ring, external vs internal anvil and so forth. Nut busting torque likewise ranges from 1000ftlbs to 1500ftlbs. So even if the tools are highly repeatable which Milwaukee's generally are, that repeatability only applies to that specific set of variables and your final values can change +/-50% based off just tiny changes to the anvil design. Now imagine what your extensions or deep vs shallow sockets are doing, or even a 16mm socket vs a 24mm socket or fine vs coarse thread. Heck that's pretty much my biggest argument against using chrome sockets on impacts. Sure they can shatter but its pretty rare. The bigger issue is that they essentially act like really ****** torque sticks due to how much they'll flex.
 

bigenos

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I have the "mid-torque" M18 Fuel and it has three torque settings and a variable speed trigger. Between the two you can maintain good control of what the gun is doing. Much more so than I can with an air impact.
 

MileHighRover

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Mar 13, 2018
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I have a Ridgid 1/2" impact and have been very happy with it. It has a 1, 2, 3 setting, plus an auto setting which will stop the tool to keep from over tightening fasteners. Works well. Over 600 lb/ft of torque in reverse. Considered mid torque but it's done everything I've asked it to do. Hard to beat for the price.

On sale for $149 now including charger and 4AH battery.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-18V-OCTANE-Lithium-Ion-Cordless-Brushless-Mid-Torque-Compact-Impact-Wrench-Kit-with-4-Ah-Battery-18V-Charger-and-Bag-R86011KSBN/314003896

Or high torque model for $229, tool only. It has 3 auto settings.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-18-Volt-OCTANE-Cordless-Brushless-1-2-in-High-Torque-6-Mode-Impact-Wrench-Tool-Only-with-Belt-Clip-R86211B/310782220
 
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bubinga

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I just ordered this one to send to my brother, in Colorado.
Someone on YouTube said
"It was a crappy battery"
And it's not a Octane battery.
Anyone have this model with this 4 Ah battery?
Is it still decent, even though it's not the Octane battery?
I sent it to his address under my name,
he should not have any trouble registering it for the lifetime service agreement should he?

 

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Mgdoug3

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I have a friend who works in a shop and has the 3/4 Milwaukee one key. He says it actually works and usually within 5 lbs. I still like to only use an impact for snugging up bolts and finishing with a torque wrench.

I did see a YouTube video demonstrating the M18 Compact and the guy used some sort of impact/digital torque wrench. It looked really neat. Set your torque and pull the trigger.
 

bubinga

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I have a friend who works in a shop and has the 3/4 Milwaukee one key. He says it actually works and usually within 5 lbs. I still like to only use an impact for snugging up bolts and finishing with a torque wrench.

I did see a YouTube video demonstrating the M18 Compact and the guy used some sort of impact/digital torque wrench. It looked really neat. Set your torque and pull the trigger.
Yeah, I saw that.
That was the guy that had some kind of board with all these bolts in it and he took them down to 700 foot pounds and ruin the threads?
 

corn chip

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Jul 15, 2021
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is makita xgt 40v any good ? half tempted to sell off the fuel m18 and get makita. only problem is the high torq model is offered just in 3/4 drive. not a big deal but all my sockets are 1/2 so the adapter length would increase the work space needed
 

johninct

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I have the previous IR 20v impact and I still bought this one due to it's added features. It can go from hand tight, to half wrench tight, to half power, to full power at the flip of a switch. W7172, a video describing the features.. a bit of a sales pitch but gets the info across:
I have that IR too!!!
 
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