What Happened To Air Tools?

[Mgdoug3]

I'm not a mechanic but a farmer. My Milwaukee impact has replaced my air impact and has twice the power. I put new steer tires on a semi, one side I have never taken off since I owned it, and zip both sides off with easy and put them back on and still had 50% battery. I've helped out a friend in a shop and my impact had more torque than his air.

There are times though, I wish I had a good air impact. Never having to remember if I have a fully charged spare battery and the air impacts are easily half the weight of my Milwaukee. I use too much air to not need a compressor and air tools are a much cheaper option. Air tools aren't going away. When I'm out in the field or on the road though, I am sure glad I have my electric impact though.

 

[scooby074]

Ditto. Maybe 300 on a good day but I don't run my air lines at 200psi. Bear in mind those threads and the friction surface of the bolt face were probably incredibly hot which does aid in removal since it acts like its own lubrication.

MG325 isn't "new" but its definitely small. Just not the shortest.

I would have love to have seen them go to another lug, remove it, then retorque to 600 to try it. Sort of real world conditions.

Some of those "short" guns are also a lot fatter too. My Nano is short. But its also as fat as a regular gun.

 

[Citation]

I love both and can see keeping both. I'm not a professional wrench so while I might use at least a few tools at home almost once a day, that might be a multimeter or oscilloscope one day, tools to work on a car some other day, basic tools for doing framing/home repairs the next etc.

Cordless is great in terms of easy to carry where I want to use it. Cordless has always been my first choice for things like driving screws. However, growing up if it was a powered handtool it was almost always air. My father recently picked up some Nova compact air drills. Man they are nice to use. Fast, light and compact. When drilling small diameter holes in aluminum that drill is so much nicer than any of my cordless drills. But it's useless for driving screws.

In a shop environment I think I'm going to be happier using air. This is for drilling, fine grinders/sanders, rivet guns, and impacts.

I also have to say I still worry about battery life. My current "big" cordless drill is a 10+ year old DeWalt 12V. I just bought two new batteries for it. Fortunately no-name replacement batteries are affordable for that drill. Typically I've just replaced cordless drills when the batteries die. If you wait for a heck of a deal I've typically spent less than $50-70 on new drills and typically they are replaced when the batteries, not the tool dies. I have to say, I love that the Li-ion batteries don't self discharge like the older NiCADs. I hated always having to charge the tool before I used it since I hadn't used it in the last month. Anyway, I like that my impact wrench is about the same age as my DeWalt. It never needed replacement batteries.

 

[ChrisLS8]

I think we can agree that they all have their place, these threads always repeat themselves

 

[Tonyuk]

If your inside the cab cordless is better 9/10 times.

To those saying that cordless will never replace air, you never know, maybe not in our lifetimes but possibly one day.

For the moment you still need air, even if its just for tyres and a blow gun.

 

[Mr_B]

tyres, blow nozzle, smoke tester, leak tester, sand blaster, paint/underseal/ rust treatment spraying, air hammer, small body grinders/sanders, plasma cutter, nano impacts . and that only one small user field of air tools .

 

[Hilltopmasonry]

I think we can agree that they all have their place, these threads always repeat themselves

Yea no kidding, this and the Sears is dying threads

I have a nice compressor with a pneumatic impact and sure the electric probably would serve me well but I’m sure the pneumatic will last my entire life so I’m not going to get rid of it since the air compressor is nice for other uses


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