Electric Impact

[Yelcamino]

Does anyone have an electric impact? What brand do you have and would you recommend it or another? Thanks!

[oestek]

We got a couple (3/8s and 1/2") from the Summit tools catalog... not very $, we use them ALL THE TIME.

[bikeron]

I got a sears 18V supposed to be good for 400lb/ft. It is good for one removal and one replacement of four tires and then it's done.
I would get a DeWalt if I had to do it again.

Ron

[oestek]

I would argue against using them to torque wheels (coming from bad experience!) - always hand-tighten them to be sure.

[Larry Callahan]

I have this Makita one and I am not happy at all. It is handy at times but it's no power house. Even if my lug nuts were 3/8" this would never loosen them much less tighten.

http://www.amazon.com/Makita-6911HDW.../dp/B00004YOGC

[Yelcamino]

Are you guys using cordless impacts? I guess I should have mentioned it in my original post, but I'm more interested in a corded impact.

I have some cordless power tools and they always seem to work ok (not great) until you really need them and all of a sudden the battery is dead.

My primary use will be to remove lug nuts and stubborn/rusted fasteners.

[Tiger]

I've been thinking about the big Milwaukee cordless so please keep your responses coming.

[GetMore]

I have a Craftsman corded. It's not bad, but it's not rated for all that much torque, from what I remember, only 200 ft-lbs or so.

At work I use a Snap-On cordless, and that one is nice. I only use it on lug nuts, so I don't know how it compares to the power of the Craftsman unit. It will do a number of tires (not sure how many) before the battery runs down. It'll even take truck lug nuts off.
The issue that I have with the Snap-On unit is that they say to run the battery down completely before charging, for longest battery life. When the battery starts getting low the gun still sounds like it's doing fine, but it just won't loosen the nuts. In other words, you don't know the battery is low until the gun just won't do it's job. If you keep the spare battery back at the shop (like I do) you will wind up needing to break out the breaker bar every now and then.
I just wish Snap-On had a 12v DC charger for the batteries, so I could charge it up in the truck.

Enough of my rambling: If you are looking for a cordless impact gun the Snap-On seems to be the best performing unit out there.

[4MuscleMachines]

Dewalt makes two nice ones and can be purchased at a good price on eBay. I personally use one all the time.

[mgcbus65]

I bought a dewalt corded 1/2 from ebay a while back and it works great. I didn't want cordless because I don't use it consistently enough. They make a couple different models with different torque ratings and either a pin or clip to hold the socket on. I looked at the dewalt website for part #s. I chose the higher rated one with the pin. Also be sure to check feedback ratings and if it is a factory rebuilt or not. I paid less than half of what the stores were asking for the lower rated one and it was brand new in the box.

[slowcamaro]

I have a dewalt corded. I love it, but I wish I would have opted for a cordless. Snap on, milwaukee, or dewalt are all good tools. Whatever you can find at the best price, remember though size matters. These things can be bulky and dont always fit where you need them most.

[ProdigyCustoms]

We have Snap Ons $$$$$$ But a customer brought in a Dewalt and it was pretty damn good. Not Snap On good, but probably a 1/3 the money.

[Patrick]

At work I use a Snap-On cordless, and that one is nice. I only use it on lug nuts, so I don't know how it compares to the power of the Craftsman unit. It will do a number of tires (not sure how many) before the battery runs down.

Are installing wheels with the cordless as well? If so, that sounds like a good recipe for a wheel off...

[jilge71]

i have an ingersoll rand 3\8 and love it to death. im using it to build our camaro front end and subframe when we were mocking it up and it made it so much faster. not cheap though

[vintageracer]

I recommend the Milwaukee Cordless Impact. Click on video to what happened to me at my last vintage race when my crew was changing the left rear tire on my race car. This tool gets with the program!

I am still working on getting the crew to be a little more enthusiastic and faster during pit stops!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=64-BcAlYFyk

[recklessnova]

i second the ingersoll rand impact i have a 1/2in cordless one and it snapped a 1/2 in grade 5 bolt and twisted two lug studs off my pathfinder its a peppy lil thing its last years model
josh

[Yelcamino]

Thanks for the info guys. At least now I have some ideas from your experiences!

[Roadbuster]

Thanks for all the info here!
I was just about to get an electric impact as well (I will reconsider my choice based on the responses here). The primary use is to get the pitman arm nut off my 68 GTO that is soon to get a suspension upgrade.

Jon

[Yelcamino]

After looking around I ended up with a Snap-On cordless impact (CT4850HO). I found it on eBay and ended up getting it for $400 plus shipping. It was a bit pricey but the MSRP was over $500 so I think I got a good deal. The reason I went with this model is because it's rated at 400 lb/ft. Most of the other ones I looked at were only rated to 250 (corded) and one was 300 (corded). I figured for a little extra money it would be nice to have more torque without a leash. Plus it came with a nice storage case, two batteries, and a charger.