I hate stupid loud air tools!

[pipsters]

Howard Leight makes good ear plugs but the foam ones just aren't reusable. You can of course reuse them but the noise attenuation is much less the more you wear them.

I wore the rubber kind daily for 8+ hours a day and they worked great for about 6 months until the rubber started tearing. Not bad for 6 months of use. And the NR is pretty good, 25-27 depending on the plug.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001DRNK9C/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[Justanoldguy]

Never seen a tool that is "stupid" and never "hated" anything that can't answer back.

 

[oilslick]

I hate my ir 3/8 air ratchet too. Way to noisy, I am thinking of buying so or Matco.

 

[Bar Ditch]

Go to a music store and get 30 decibal rated mechanical earplugs. I use them when I fabricate and love how you can hear what you need to but your ears don't hurt afterward.

 

[OEXL16B]

Howard Leight makes good ear plugs but the foam ones just aren't reusable. You can of course reuse them but the noise attenuation is much less the more you wear them.

That's why I like their Quiet series because I can wear them over and over and the protection doesn't degrade at all. I think they're made out of silicone or something like that and they got a stem that goes in the middle for some reason or another.

 

[ImportTuner]

I needed a new 3/8ths air ratchet. I know that the HF ones are too loud so I bought a new IR SR10B. I figured that the $80 tool would be quieter than the $18 HF one.

Boy was I wrong! I used it today to remove 4 bolts this morning. My ears were ringing after this. Even my boss looked up from his desk to see what the racket was.

I removed my coupler, dug the box out of the trash, found the reciept and that sumbitch is getting returned tomorrow!

There has to be a way to have reasonable TQ from an air tool W/O too much noise. My other IR that this one was supposed to replace has plenty of power and a reasonable sound level.

A IR SR10B is a die grinder ... and you used it to removed 4 bolts?

 

[markw365]

I can't do ear plugs since I have to listen for the phone too

Put the shop phone on a visual like a rotating beacon. That's what we did in the engine rooms and machinery spaces in the Navy.

 

[chris142]

A IR SR10B is a die grinder ... and you used it to removed 4 bolts?

LOL no. Thats the # that was on the box and the tool.

I guess this is the actual part #?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ingersoll-R...260?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5891b26b5c

 

[Chadwilliam1]

I have that air ratchet mine is not loud.

 

[Chadwilliam1]

timax is no more powerful that a Qtimax.

It's about perception. The fact that a Qtimax sounds like a dental drill (generally regarded as a weak sound) makes one predisposed to consider it a weaker tool.
I've run a timax side by side with my Qtimax. I've found no reason to believe one stronger than the other.

Even though I have one, I don't see the point of a quiet impact. The real noise isn't coming from the gun, it's from the metal you are hammering that fastener onto.

I have removed bolts that the quiet version could not. maybe our quiet one is worn out.

 

[Chadwilliam1]

You're gonna have to start wearing ear plugs because if you don't, eventually you're not gonna be hearing the phone or your customers anymore anyway. Try the "Howard Leight Quiet" earplugs; they're real comfortable.

those are the ear plugs I use. they are the best plugs i have found. they work really well, there reusable and they don't hurt my ears.

 

[tsbrewers]

IR makes Quiet Tool in 1/2 impact. They might make ratchet with Quiet Tool.

I bought the regular one a few years ago, first time I used it, I said no way, WAY too loud. I sold it on CL that day and oredered the quiet version and really love it. Very quiet and seems to have all the power the loud one did. I am saving up for the 3/8" version.

Brew

 

[jrlp]

FWIW one of the guys I work with now has a 1/2" aircat (not sure of the model) but only thing you can hear is when the hammer hits, its really quiet.

My 3/4" Aircat is the same way. You hear it spin up, then hammering. The motor is just that quiet. I wasn't paying attention the other day, and spun a 5/8" fine thread nut on on a coarse bolt. It ran it all the way down in a few seconds before I saw nice shiny smooth rod behind the nut!

 

[KinzeMech]

I have removed bolts that the quiet version could not. maybe our quiet one is worn out.

That is possible, and on the flip side of that comparison, I was comparing a new Q to a used standard one. A truly objective comparison would compare new of each.
If I ever find reason to believe I'm losing power due to the muffler, I'll just take it out.