I'd buy an Earthquake. If you're wanting Craftsman I'd go for the 19905 (IR 2131) or the 19984 (Florida Pneumatic FP743a) both are good wrenches, and stronger that that one.
HF Earthquake Pneumatic Impact Wrench
- Thread starter phitat
- Start date
I'd buy an Earthquake. If you're wanting Craftsman I'd go for the 19905 (IR 2131) or the 19984 (Florida Pneumatic FP743a) both are good wrenches, and stronger that that one.
bcradio
Well-known member
Isn't that only the old earthquake gun? I thought the new one was different.
Yes, that is the old one he's talking about as the "copy". The new one is totally different looking.
wild cowboy
Banned
keep in mind that the torque needed to break a tightened lug nut, may be 4 or more times the torque it was tightened to! - especially in areas with rust, salt corrosion, it could be even higher than that!
sprchrgd1
Well-known member
I purchased the 1/2" Earthquake about 12 years ago and I abuse it on a weekly basis. All of the Craftsmen I have are junk and have been laying around in their cases for many years. I think I may have one or two of them left but have given the others away.
I was referring to item#68424 which I believe is the current model. When I referred to "copy" I was referring to internals (mechanism and motor sizing) rather than the exterior. Sorry for the confusion.
Another thing to consider is torque. Some people might want or need the torque this offers over a 231 and it's a little less money. They say this is stronger than the old style and the old style was stronger than a 231. Not everyone uses their wrenches every day in tough environments year after year. I've seen and fixed plenty of worn out or broken 231's as well. Years ago I bought my old style Earthquake used off ebay for 25 bucks and it served me very well at work with no issues until I bought a lighter impact. They're heavy.
Ok. After reading through these very helpful and extremely informative comments, I would just like to say that while it's very nice to have good and reliable tools, I want to spend as little as possible. I'm a college student, and soon to be unemployed in my part time job (too much going on). So that's why I was asking if I a corded option was still good. I would love to have an air compressor and an impact wrench, but from what I just learned, that's going to cost more than $250. The compressor I already have is not powerful enough to drive the HF earthquake, so I would have to buy both if I go that route. So now it looks like the corded is my best option, price wise. Any suggestion?
ex-x-fire
Well-known member
If your bucks down then just get a long breaker bar. My old man never had a impact at home & he did a lot of stuff.
kctyphoon
Banned
Two words - CRAIGSLIST and EBAY. half the woodworking machines I own were used, great way to get better tools for less money.. That being said.. I also have a 1/2" Milwaukee electric corded impact wrench. Thing is awesome. Will loosen anything you need that you can get to with it (its not very small)
Just to give you an idea - my company has a few of them that use the 5/8" hex drive, they have the quick connect chuck just like a 1/4" hex impact driver, just much bigger.. ANYWAY - we use them to drill holes through telephone poles, and tighten / loosen the hardware that holds all the phone lines , boxes, and whatever else - up in the air.. I promise you'll have no issue taking off lugs if you can find a used one..
Edit - search " Milwaukee corded impact " or " milwaukee impact wrench" on eBay.. There's a refurbished 1/2" corded gun that's only up to $51 with 1 day left on the auction.
CPO Outlets also has an ebay listing for a newly refurbished, with warranty, free shipping - buy it now price of $107. And it's rated at 300ftlbs of torque. (1/2" corded)
ALSO - Home Depot has an pneumatic 1/2" impact and 3/8" ratchet on sale by all the holiday tool stuff for $50.. Impact rated at 300 or 350 ft lbs I think.. U can try it with your current compressor, or pick up a used compressor from Craigslist for $50-$75.. Just trying to give you options..
If none of these interest you, give me a $$ amount you can spend and I will try to give u another option.. Just don't buy the cheapest ************* thing you can find.. Cause it may wind up broken, and then you'll be out of your money and out of a tool..
Just to give you an idea - my company has a few of them that use the 5/8" hex drive, they have the quick connect chuck just like a 1/4" hex impact driver, just much bigger.. ANYWAY - we use them to drill holes through telephone poles, and tighten / loosen the hardware that holds all the phone lines , boxes, and whatever else - up in the air.. I promise you'll have no issue taking off lugs if you can find a used one..
Edit - search " Milwaukee corded impact " or " milwaukee impact wrench" on eBay.. There's a refurbished 1/2" corded gun that's only up to $51 with 1 day left on the auction.
CPO Outlets also has an ebay listing for a newly refurbished, with warranty, free shipping - buy it now price of $107. And it's rated at 300ftlbs of torque. (1/2" corded)
ALSO - Home Depot has an pneumatic 1/2" impact and 3/8" ratchet on sale by all the holiday tool stuff for $50.. Impact rated at 300 or 350 ft lbs I think.. U can try it with your current compressor, or pick up a used compressor from Craigslist for $50-$75.. Just trying to give you options..
If none of these interest you, give me a $$ amount you can spend and I will try to give u another option.. Just don't buy the cheapest ************* thing you can find.. Cause it may wind up broken, and then you'll be out of your money and out of a tool..
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I'd like to spend $150 or less.
I will be using sole for removing lug nuts that are torqued to 80 ft. lbs. And I'm just using it on a hobbyist level, nothing serious. Heck, I'm sure I'll be using it it less than 10 times a year since I rarely work on my parents' car, only my own.
I will be using sole for removing lug nuts that are torqued to 80 ft. lbs. And I'm just using it on a hobbyist level, nothing serious. Heck, I'm sure I'll be using it it less than 10 times a year since I rarely work on my parents' car, only my own.
$150? Just get this and be done with it.
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-c3-1...p-00945195000P?prdNo=3&blockNo=3&blockType=G3
This gun will rip those lug nuts off like nothing. It has a big 4AH lithium battery to last you forever, and it won't discharge like nicads so you can pick up the gun 6 months later, and it'll still have plenty of charge. An air gun is more powerful, but only if you can supply it with enough air, which your compressor may fall short. It's much more convenient for lug nuts since you don't have to deal with noise and air hose.
Give it a try, I think you'll be impressed.
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-c3-1...p-00945195000P?prdNo=3&blockNo=3&blockType=G3
This gun will rip those lug nuts off like nothing. It has a big 4AH lithium battery to last you forever, and it won't discharge like nicads so you can pick up the gun 6 months later, and it'll still have plenty of charge. An air gun is more powerful, but only if you can supply it with enough air, which your compressor may fall short. It's much more convenient for lug nuts since you don't have to deal with noise and air hose.
Give it a try, I think you'll be impressed.
So quick review.
I own a 10 year old Husky 1/2 inch 500ftlb max impact
New HF Earthquake 1/2 inch 700ftlb max
and the Sears Cordless 1/2 inch (non lithium) with a max of 200ftlb
I bought the Earthquake for a sole purpose of doing a axle/lower ball joint job on a 98 Subaru.
So to remove the axle nut, first I sprayed the nut with rust penetration.
The Sears Cordless didn't do a single thing, didn't budge the nut.
The Husky gun also did not do much, I even cranked the psi to 110 but it wasn't removing the bolt.
Then I tried the Earthquake gun, and I didn't want to buy it at first because it was only an increase of 200ftlbs over my best gun, but that 200ftlb makes a noticeable difference.
First off, trying to remove the nut, I snapped the 1 1/4 inch S-K socket in half, whoops, it wasn't an impact socket, so the fault is mine. I ran to HF and picked up a 32mm and 1 1/4 impact socket, got home and it ripped the nut right off @ 90psi. Even the bolts that hold on the hub to the strut and the caliper bolts were ripped off like butter, almost like they weren't even tighten to begin with.
The gun is really nice, it is heavy, but I never owned a light impact so the weight is the same as my old Husky and it doesn't bother me.
I paid $78 out the door for it so I think for the price, you can not go wrong.
Quick question, the gun shows 700ftlb max torque, and 80-550 or so working, what is the difference? Is the working torque the tightening force and the max torque the reverse torque?
I own a 10 year old Husky 1/2 inch 500ftlb max impact
New HF Earthquake 1/2 inch 700ftlb max
and the Sears Cordless 1/2 inch (non lithium) with a max of 200ftlb
I bought the Earthquake for a sole purpose of doing a axle/lower ball joint job on a 98 Subaru.
So to remove the axle nut, first I sprayed the nut with rust penetration.
The Sears Cordless didn't do a single thing, didn't budge the nut.
The Husky gun also did not do much, I even cranked the psi to 110 but it wasn't removing the bolt.
Then I tried the Earthquake gun, and I didn't want to buy it at first because it was only an increase of 200ftlbs over my best gun, but that 200ftlb makes a noticeable difference.
First off, trying to remove the nut, I snapped the 1 1/4 inch S-K socket in half, whoops, it wasn't an impact socket, so the fault is mine. I ran to HF and picked up a 32mm and 1 1/4 impact socket, got home and it ripped the nut right off @ 90psi. Even the bolts that hold on the hub to the strut and the caliper bolts were ripped off like butter, almost like they weren't even tighten to begin with.
The gun is really nice, it is heavy, but I never owned a light impact so the weight is the same as my old Husky and it doesn't bother me.
I paid $78 out the door for it so I think for the price, you can not go wrong.
Quick question, the gun shows 700ftlb max torque, and 80-550 or so working, what is the difference? Is the working torque the tightening force and the max torque the reverse torque?
I will definitely consider the Craftsman GSteg suggested. So thank you for that. Now can anyone here tell me the disadvantage of corded impact? The Dewalt and Milwaukee is at the price I'm comfortable with, and they're well made. They also have good power from the specs sheet. Everyone here seem to just ignore it when I brought it up multiple times. Is there anything I'm not aware of about corded impacts? I'd rather have a corded Milwaukee or Dewalt then a cordless from Craftsman since I know their quality has gone down a lot.
Of the two corded guns, the Dewalt is newer, but both guns should serve your purpose. The Craftsman corded gun is $100 and I'm willing to bet performance is very similar to the other Milwaukee/Dewalt. Craftsman hand tools have gone downhill, but their corded/cordless stuff is actually decent.
wait4me
Well-known member
I operated my Earthquake 1/2" off of a porter cable 6 gallon pancake compressor for a couple of years before I upgraded compressors. Even on the 6 gallon I could zip off a wheel's worth of lugnuts before it would cycle on. Impacts don't really use all that much air. It isn't like a sander or die grinder. I even posted a video of this to youtube because someone on this site didn't believe me...
I should think with an appropriate coupon/sale you could get a small compressor and the 1/2" EQ for about $150, or at least under $200.
I should think with an appropriate coupon/sale you could get a small compressor and the 1/2" EQ for about $150, or at least under $200.
Most air tools run off the tank, short gulps of high pressure air where the compressor isn't an issue except for how frequently you can use the tool without the pressure dropping.
stang2007
Well-known member
I have the 1/2 Version love it its big and heavy but has not let me down, in the 2 years i have had it. and the power is amazing for the price.
kctyphoon
Banned
I would honestly buy the refurb 1/2 milwaukee corded impact from CPO Outlets for the $107 and be done with it. Use the extra $40-$50 and go buy some 1/2" harbor freight impact sockets. No batteries to charge or go bad, no compressor to drag out , just a small 25' extension cord ($9 at harbor freight) They always work, they last forever.. You'll have it 20 years from now and it'll still work.. U can't ask more than that.. Wait till you have more money to spend and buy a cordless kit , not just one tool.
TAMPAGT07
Well-known member
Yupp... I use the hell out of my C-man corded impact... I used it three times last week, as my wife had three flats.....
TAMPAGT07
Well-known member
I picked one up in a pawn shop for $25.... Looked like brand new...