Impact. Cordless vs Air

[4x4gearhead]

I would prefer to have an air impact in shop if I could choose to have one or the other. The air gun will go as long as your compressor will.

 

[sberry]

Cordless tools have been a Godsend, with battery improvements one of the worlds best innovations, where time is money they pay for themselves in near a heartbeat. When I walk out the door the cordless impacts are great, do not particularly care for them for general auto work but I guess it depends on the nature of it. Had a place this morn that they wouldn't have fit or had the power. If I had one or 2 cars it would probably also make a difference. If this is a hobby then all this probably doesn't matter much, few jobs it takes a bit longer, or do some by hand the gun won't do, no big deal.
The drills are so valuable I have 4.

 

[Trey T]

I have a few milwaukee 18v (impact driver and drill) and I get every pennies out of them.

Milwaukee and Ridgid all use lithium-ion cells from Canada (Moli Energy), China (Moli Energy), or Korea (Samsung). I like the ones from Korea better bc they seem to last longer than the american company brand, Moli Energy.

 

[Marlin]

I'm a big fan of IR tools, but I have a hard time believing it's as powerful as the 2135timax. I still have the older IR cordless gun (2530K I believe?) and it was suppose to be the most powerful cordless impact at the time, or so the ad said. That thing struggled with bolts torqued to a little more than 100ftlbs. What's worse is I suggested a friend to buy one because he was tired of lugging around hoses and firing up his compressor just to rotate tires. His gun ended up not being powerful either so now both of our IR cordless guns are just sitting on the shelf. We ended up buying the Snap On CT6855 and it's been an awesome gun.

I would not hesitate to buy another IR air tool, but I'm very weary of the cordless stuff. This new W7150 looks tempting, but I don't want to end up buying another impact if the experience mirrors my first one.

I think you'll be pleasently surprised.

 

[crewchief888]

i'm a const eq field service mechanic, i use my blue point 14.4v nearly every day.
saves me the hassles of starting up my compressor, and dragging out an air hose for a few bolts.

 

[Wakefield]

This (rechargeable impacts) is something that has improved a lot in the last couple years?

 

[IanG]

I have snap-on 1/4, 3/8 1/2 impacts. They just sit in drawer because I do not like them.
The newest Matco 1/2" cordless does 725 ft lbs costs around 600.00

Bar NONE the Ingersoll Rand impacts are in a league of their own. 30yrs ago working in a Mine the IR products had over 1500ft lbs in a 1" impact. more than double its next competitor.

For lug nuts you need a 1/2" drive unit as when coming off it takes much more torque to break them loose. Typical lug nuts today in 1/2" stud are 100lbs with f250 trucks 140lbs.

If price is a concern buy a good air impact but for being usefull the Matco and Ingersoll Rand cordless are very nice. Remember Snap-on now has factories across the pond for a big majority of their stuff.

Actually bought 5 items from the Matco guy a few days ago and 3 of them said China or Taiwan! Its all about money for them now and they could care less how long it lasts or how well it works.

Just to be clear, here are the supposed ratings for all them:

SNAP ON 6850
Max Torque: 400 ft-lbs
Breakaway: 625 ft-lbs

Matco Infinium
Max Torque: 425 ft-lbs
Breakway: 725 ft lbs

"Old" Ingersoll Rand W360
Max Torque: 360 ft-lbs (I hear this is very questionable)
Breakaway: ????

New Ingersoll Rand W7150
Max Torque: 780 ft-lbs
Nut Busting (lol, Breakaway?): 1100 ft-lbs

So basically they are claiming its nearly twice as strong as either the Snap On or Matco offerings. I guess we will see but mark me down as skeptical.

 

[aussiek2000]

I have both cordless and air in both sizes. I guess which I would suggest depends on the type of jobs you'll be doing. 90% of my work consists of brakes, steering, and suspension work. My go to impact is my Snap-On 3/8" air. I occasionally need the power of the 1/2" air, but not very often. My coworkers that do mostly engine and interior work prefer to use cordless 3/8" impacts. I guess it all comes down to personal preference.

 

[Trey T]

yes. lithium battery w/ protection circuit. the circuit protects from overcharging, over-discharging, and does smart charging. this feature keeps battery longer life and charges more cycle. lithium-ion cells are more powerful than others (Ni-Cad or Ni-mh) and weighs less.

li-ion has become cheaper to source and repair.

This (rechargeable impacts) is something that has improved a lot in the last couple years?