Impacts, how loud is too loud?

[CobraRed]

How loud is your favorite impact?
I know everyone has their favorite, and some people don't mind ear protection.

But, at what point is a 1/2" impact too loud no matter how cool or powerful it is? It seems the smaller they get the louder they get.

I used a 102db impact the other week and almost got an instant headache. The IR line has the MAX quiet ones at a much more pleasant 80db range with some power trade off, how much power trade off is too much?
Seems to me the 90db range is the sweet spot.

 

[SMKS]

Hearing protection.

Pretty much any of them are loud enough that hearing protection is a good idea.

 

[randomtwinkie]

You only get 1 set of ears. They don't heal if they're damaged.

 

[CobraRed]

Especially underneath a car in confined spaces

 

[Snap_cap]

Damage to your hearing is cumulative, irreversible, and permanent.



EarPro is cheap - use it.

 

[stikman56]

Most of my favorites are pretty quiet because they are muffled, still crazy strong though ,although not all of them are. ( I have several favorites, as I'm an impact wrench nerd) None are as loud as an MG725.....They're so loud,you get one of those and everyone around you will wish for your death.
Guy in the truck place next to where we work ( in the same shop) has one, I can tell it by the sound. That thing is stupid loud, I'm glad he doesn't bring it out very much.

 

[sac02]

The difference in torque between the IR quiet and regular lines is pretty insignificant, something like 3%. Muffling an impact doesn't reduce the (torque) output as much as many people here seem to think.

And I agree with the above answers - even if you have a "quiet" tool, the hits reverberating underneath a car chassis can still be extremely loud and you can still damage your ears. Wear that PPE! I have mild tinitus, and it is annoying - not really noticeable at all times, but annoying when watching quiet bits in a movie or laying in bed. Severe tinitus would ****, I imagine. I wish 20 y/o me had treated his body as well as 35 yo/ me does...

 

[Tripn88]

When I use to change semi truck tires I loved using the 1" impact gun. Didn't seem to be that loud. Could have just been me though.

 

[afmrick]

Damage to your hearing is cumulative, irreversible, and permanent.

Well said!
I specifically look for dB ratings when I buy and keep a set of earmuffs with the air tools. If they're too loud they get replaced.

 

[redwrench60]

An Ingersoll Rand 232 thunder gun, model 244 or any of those older impacts are too damn loud.

 

[dawg69]

An Ingersoll Rand 232 thunder gun, model 244 or any of those older impacts are too damn loud.

Amen!!

 

[GSteg]

Had the Thundergun and still have my MG725. Both are the loudest guns I've used. Actually the IR 231C is up there too.

 

[CobraRed]

I have ear buds in when using an impact, but I don't always have them in when someone else might be using an impact, and if a few people in a shop are using 100+db impacts things can get pretty loud.

 

[zkling]

What? I can't hear you.

 

[crewchief888]

impacts dont bother me at all.

air hammers on the other hand do.

especially the elcheapo hammers that just make noise and dont do much of anything...

 

[JonnyMac]

Download a dB app to your phone. Measure it and compare it to the recommended exposure limits on one of the government based websites.. All noise exposures are based on loudness and time exposed to it..

 

[NorthSea92]

I've got an MG725 and don't really think it's that loud, the MG325 really hurts my ears so I fitted the muffler and the thing is so much quieter and hasn't lost any power.

 

[dnschmidt]

Buy Aircat or Nitrocat and this thread becomes unnecessary.

 

[stikman56]

Buy Aircat or Nitrocat and this thread becomes unnecessary.

LOL.....TRUTH! They are quiet and they are strong. Some of my favorites for just that reason. There's no need for Thunder Guns or MG725's in the working mans world. Just because it's quiet don't mean it's weak, and like my Wife said, "when did noise become so important"? Smart woman.

 

[rlitman]

Buy Aircat or Nitrocat and this thread becomes unnecessary.

There's some truth to that. The first time I used my Aircat, I couldn't believe it was working right. I had a SnapOn before that, and man that was loud.

I also have an IR 2135TiMax, and tend to reach for that more than the Aircat. It's not much louder, and is quite a bit lighter.

All three were close enough in power that I couldn't tell the difference.

 

[zakmartin]

I've been using Aircats for a few years now. Compared to my old IR and Craftsman Pro tools, they have been whisper quiet about about 3 times more powerful. No complaints here.

 

[more77]

It may really cause you headache or might damage your ears if you continue loud noise.
If it becomes worse take medication such as butalbital apap or ask your doctor.

 

[chris142]

My 231 and earthquake are good.I have a Mac one that I can't stand cause its so loud

 

[PKile]

Any time the dB exceeds 90, OSHA requires an employee to be issued hearing protection and to be part of a protection program with annual hearing tests. In addition, there is a 20% deficit factor added to any commercially rated hearing protection, so you need to take the manufacturers attenuation factor and reduce it by 20% (don't take them at face value) so you want to double up (both earplugs and earmuffs) to be on the safe side. I would employ hearing protection and other PPE in a home shop, because you can just as easily lose your hearing (or eyesight or body parts)at home as well as work.

 

[Supe]

The difference in torque between the IR quiet and regular lines is pretty insignificant, something like 3%. Muffling an impact doesn't reduce the (torque) output as much as many people here seem to think.

And I agree with the above answers - even if you have a "quiet" tool, the hits reverberating underneath a car chassis can still be extremely loud and you can still damage your ears. Wear that PPE! I have mild tinitus, and it is annoying - not really noticeable at all times, but annoying when watching quiet bits in a movie or laying in bed. Severe tinitus would ****, I imagine. I wish 20 y/o me had treated his body as well as 35 yo/ me does...

Same. I was warned though and it just never resonated until the damage was done. I'm on top of the ear pro game now. I can understand young dudes not caring but when I see older dudes running a hammer drill in confined spaces or using a brick saw for periods at a time I'm amazed. My hearing is now important to me - it blows me away that someone already likely to have significant hearing issues due to work not consider changing their approach. I wonder if they perceive they will be looked upon as being a *****. Or they don't care?

Like one poster said. You only get one set.

 

[RedneckWelder]

I've been using Aircats for a few years now. Compared to my old IR and Craftsman Pro tools, they have been whisper quiet about about 3 times more powerful. No complaints here.

I love my Nitrocat. Hell my Cornwell 3/8 gun that I just got is louder...

Personally I am very sensitive to loud noise, so I use earpro. Especially when it comes time to break the 3/4 gun out, or use the slide sledge.

 

[rtole]

Kinda funny, I just bought a used aircat 1000th. Just cause its quiet. I have a ir2135 and I love it........but the whole cumlitive thing is catching up to me. I have always used ear protection when it got real loud........air hammering, grinding, air arc cutting, etc......not for regular impacts.......I am 38 and saying "what" way to many times a day when people talk to me. I just when to a metal concert in September, and my ears are still ringing when it's quiet. I was going to try getting into high end home audio a couple years ago, I have a friend who is so I went to listen to some of his stuff. He was going to sell me some decent starter stuff, I couldn't tell the difference between any of it. It made me realize how bad it has gotten. Like the other guy said........if I could only go back and talk to my 20 year old self.............

 

[Formula]

Our shop air is set at 160 psi. Some of the impact guns sound as loud as a nascar gun.

 

[DodgeMech]

An Ingersoll Rand 232 thunder gun, model 244 or any of those older impacts are too damn loud.

My 232 is really quiet compared to my mg31... till I put a muffler into it...

 

[e30bradley]

I use an mg725 with the foam muffler... I used to work with a guy who had one without the muffler and laying under a heavy duty truck with him using that thing was painful! Mine is pretty loud with the muffler..

 

[driz]

Hearing protection.

Pretty much any of them are loud enough that hearing protection is a good idea.

I found those cheap $3 red HF ear muffs to be the best of the very best I ever encountered. No they don't sing you songs and aren't as soft as doeskin gloves but they are still pretty darned comfortable. Don't buy a nice set. Get 6 or 7 of these and leave them all over the places you do your thing. That way you have them handy and don't have to go looking for them because as we all know if you have to hunt you probably will just do without for the moment . That seems to happen a lot.
As cheap as they are I like the way these adjust. No steel sleeved adjuster to screw up and pull apart just the slides on the side mounted in soft plastic retainers. They fit loose enough you can just leave them floating around your neck without too much bother too. The muffs rotate fully so you can easily flop them 90 degrees and leave the bar across the back of your neck so you can use a helmet or shield or wear a hat ect. They are so cheap they can get run over by a car and you can just toss em or save the individual pieces to replace other broken ones. I have left these sitting in the sun all summer long and all they do is fade a bit. No they surely aren't as high a decibel rated as the real expensive stuff but then in most cases you don't need that degree of protection anyways.

 

[goodysgotacuda]

I use the red harbor freight ear muffs too. With my time as a BMW tech, too many of them couldn't hear worth a ****. I always wear ear protection with an impact of any sort.

 

[bsaint]

An Ingersoll Rand 232 thunder gun, model 244 or any of those older impacts are too damn loud.

I have a more recent version of the Mac aw434 which I believe is the IR thunder gun. It scares neighborhood kids out of the garage. Its my wheel gun.

My Snapon MG725 I bought used with the muffler in it. Much quieter.

We used to do work at tractor trailer repair shops. Those 1" drive guns are mega loud, even with ear plugs in, when the noise is resonating along the underside of the trailer.

 

[wagzilla]

I think that's why I like the battery power impact guns. I use hearing protection on anything above 80dbs and I make my guys wear them too, Maybe some day they will thank me. I also have a db meter....so I'm checking, I will walk up behind you and check and show you........it's your ear's

James