IR 231XP vs 231C vs 231H

[TxSteve]

I have an old IR 231XP. I can not find any information on that model. The older C model is the 'Built in USA' version with the exhaust in the front and the H model moved production to China and the exhaust to the handle. My XP has the exhaust in the handle, too. I believe IR used the XP for an 'extra performance'??

Anyone have any information on the XP? Higher rated? Same tool with different advertising? I've never had any complaints using it for automotive work, I'm just curious. Couple of drops of oil every use and I've never had issues. It still hits pretty hard.

 

[Marlin]

The performance of them all is basically the same. The C version will be a little bit louder due to the exhaust path. The XP (also GXP with a rubber grip on the handle) and the H are all the same with different model #'s to sell through different sales channels.

 

[TxSteve]

thanks

 

[rlitman]

...The C version will be a little bit louder due to the exhaust path...

Front exhaust on an impact seems like a terrible idea. It makes it way too easy for it to blow rust into your eyes. That's also an issue with front exhaust die grinders (though another issue there is blowing oil onto stuff you may want to keep clean).

 

[TxSteve]

Well - however they are organized, my XP version at 120 psi just removed the 2 LH threaded blade bolts off my Rhino shredder that are spec'd to 600 ft lbs....

Honestly, I doubt they were actually torqued that tight, but the 231 removed them. I can't think of a time that they didn't come through. I keep being tempted by the new models, but I just can't justify it until I'm let down.

 

[rlitman]

... I keep being tempted by the new models, but I just can't justify it until I'm let down.

The new models are quieter (that's a big deal for me working in a suburban driveway at night), lighter (not such a big deal, but nice I guess), have nice soft covers available (a big deal for some, but not really for me), and much bigger price tags. But they'll all be melted down for scrap before yours gives up the ghost, so I completely get why you can't justify the price for a tool without any more real-world power.

There's a reason that people who use these all the time go with cordless nowadays.

 

[Schurkey]

The IR 231 in any form is an old design--I suppose it's reliable and all, but it's nothing special in terms of power output. I don't know why IR still bothers with them.

 

[Jswain]

The IR 231 in any form is an old design--I suppose it's reliable and all, but it's nothing special in terms of power output. I don't know why IR still bothers with them.

Prob sell a lot cuz it looks like the one dad used to use...

Reliable, fairly cheap workhorse good enough for the home gamer, probably never require a part for it. Win win

Wonder how many they've sold over the years.

 

[TxSteve]

The IR 231 in any form is an old design--I suppose it's reliable and all, but it's nothing special in terms of power output. I don't know why IR still bothers with them.

I understand that, but it would meet the needs of 99% of hobby owners. It met the needs of professional mechanics for many years.

If it wasn't for the internet, I'd have no idea that there were 'better' ones out there since mine always comes through.... (I have to admit that the new ones do call to me at times...)

I equate it to all the guys that spend the extra $10k for the diesel option on their HD trucks when the gas motors would work great.

 

[908Jim]

Prob sell a lot cuz it looks like the one dad used to use...

Reliable, fairly cheap workhorse good enough for the home gamer, probably never require a part for it. Win win

Wonder how many they've sold over the years.

Edit: meant to quote @Schurkey

The 231c is basically the benchmark for 1/2 pneumatic impacts. It's difficult to find anything at the price point, other than clones, that offer a better balance of power, reliability, and durability. More powerful impacts are more expensive. Anything noticably lighter will be composite and will wear out quicker in a pro environment. Pin clutch impacts do not have the longevity of twin hammers. Anything electric with more power is going to be much larger and will not hold up like the aluminum case will. There's no shortage of pictures of cordless impacts with cracked hammer cases or plastic housings that broke in half. For about $125, you have an impact that can comfortably handle basically anything a passenger car throws at it. For rare instances it struggles, like crank bolts, you can cheat your way out with a weighted socket.

A pro might spend more for a lighter gun, knowing it won't last, because the ergonomic benefits outweigh the higher cost and shorter life. Maybe the more powerful gun is worthwhile because it just gets the job done quicker or saves them from having to bring out a 3/4 impact every once in a while.

I understand that, but it would meet the needs of 99% of hobby owners. It met the needs of professional mechanics for many years.

If it wasn't for the internet, I'd have no idea that there were 'better' ones out there since mine always comes through.... (I have to admit that the new ones do call to me at times...)

I equate it to all the guys that spend the extra $10k for the diesel option on their HD trucks when the gas motors would work great.

^100% this. There's a reason they sell so many of them.

 

[Schurkey]

"The Company" bought hordes of cheap new 231s and the similarly-pathetic CP 734 in the 1990s. Both were "workhorses of the industry" fifty-plus years ago but even then were totally outclassed by "newer 'n' better".

I bought a used pin-clutch Snap-On IM510B, a trade-in on the local Mac Tools truck sometime in the mid 1990s for pennies on the dollar. It would eat those 231s and 734s alive. Used and abused but always oiled, it was the only impact in the building that could properly tighten the big (1 1/2" socket size) jam-nuts that held the A/C tubing in the buses we were building. If anyone else needed to tighten those jam nuts, they had to fit a Company-supplied 3/4" IR or CP impact in the bus shell, the other 1/2" impacts wouldn't go tight enough. When the hoses from the compressor were tightened to the copper tubes, the tubes would wind-up and then had to be replaced.

Snappy wasn't selling "correct" covers for the 510 by this time, but I could make the covers they were selling work.