Thinking of getting another 1/2" air Impact wrench Are these Harbor Freight Earthquake 1200 ft pd (Yikes !) torque impact wrenches Way Too Much frickin torque? Geese I dont want to be breaking bolts. https://www.harborfreight.com/air-tools-compressors/air-ratchets-impact-wrenches.html Ive used a Snap on high torque impact wrench at a friends shop and you gotta be careful with that thing and it was only a 3/8" I have a couple old 1/2" drives, one is real worn out, the other does everything I need but sometimes I have to use a breaker bar to start to loosen some stuff first. I figure it only tightens 'bout 1 hunert foot pounds. ................
Isn’t there some sort of adjustment on it? I know my impact has a knob from 1 to 4 maybe reduce air pressure?
Seems like most are moving to battery power impacts in recent years. The price of entry is higher, but they are quieter and, obviously, don’t require a hose or noisy compressor. I prefer my battery Dewalt and Milwaukee to my SnapOn or other air impacts or ratchets. Value battery tools like Ryobi, Craftsman, Ridgid, etc would be preferred over anything from HF, At least by me, if budget was a limiting factor.
I've got a 1/2" IR 231 that I've had for years and a smaller 3/8" Kobalt from Lowes. Mainly use the IR for lug nuts and the Kobalt one for most everything else. I just bought a Ridgid battery impact on sale since it uses the same batteries as all my other Ridgid tools. Haven't used it yet so time will tell. But with the 8amp battery it's heavy.
I have used both the Milwaukee and dewalt electric impacts, both are pretty incredible. On top of their performance, not dragging a hose around or needing a big bad air compressor is really nice
since I got the Milwaukee battery impact a few years ago, I haven't touched my old Mac air powered one.
Breakaway Torque 600 ft-lb,....Fastening Torque 425 ft-lb. That seems plenty https://www.grainger.com/product/2Z...UYS1aZAskpFLTUTO_whoCLncQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
With air impact guns be careful not to over tighten your lug nuts, could be a problem breaking them loose out on the road if all you have is a OEM "L" style lug wrench.
some guys don't get them real tight with the impact, then use a torque wrench to finish tightening. If you get to know the impact well, you can get the torque pretty close with it, and just a little snug required with the torque wrench.
Amen to these. I was trying to get the yoke off the back of a SM465 with my air wrench, it would'nt do it. Borrowed my son-in-law's 18V Milwaukee, came right off. Ordered my own and liking it.
Yeah , Ive been thinking of getting lithium-Ion tools ....... Hope the dont catch fire and burn my shop down
When I was a kid I bought most of my air tools at the local pawn shops including my impact wrench. 35 years later is my go to air tool. Best money I ever spent. Like someone said above, put a cheater valve on that HF tool.
I bought a cordless Makita a year ago, mid-torque model, which is still way too much torque for wheel nuts unless the torque setting is turned down lower.
If you don't mind buying $$$$$$ batteries , my compressor is nearing 50 years , all it needs is clean filters , oil changes & electricity
I have a Milwaukie 18V and the HF Earthquake wrenches and I seem to find that I use them for different jobs. The Milwaukie is a heavy ****er with the big battery.
I had one of those Mikita battery drills with two batteries before the new fangeled lithium-ion trick.... The Batteries would not take a charge anymore, drill was still like new........new batteries were more than a whole new drill.... Fug dat sheet.... Ive never bought a battery operated tool since
Milwaukie 18V for me. Tiny batteries seem to run for ages. 3 torque settings seem to work for most stuff.
Understand your reasoning but can't use the air or electric tools in the middle of the woods. I admit the batteries are expensive. Ryobi are my choice, been pretty reliable except when dropped from 3rd floor.
It’s funny, after being in my shop for over 50 years, I recently ran pipe to all of the areas, with 3 hose reels. And have since discovered just how much you can do with a 20 volt drill and impact. As always I am slow to adapt to newer technology.
Do certain Lithium-ion bats last longer like- 20v, 18v, 12v etc, .......3AH, 5AH ? Looks like HarborFreak only has 20v and 12v
I use 18v Ryobi, the higher the number the longer run time. A few months ago I got a vacuum cleaner as I dislike the 115v cord. My wife loves it!
I bought an air powered Earthquake several years ago because my existing impact wasn't up to those occasional tasks that I needed more torque for. It was a beast and I liked it. Gave it to my son because I can always borrow it back if I do need it. I'd go for the 3/4" drive and get a 3/4-1/2 impact socket adapter with it. It WILL do the tough jobs. You can turn it down for smaller needs, but its there when that stubbrn one comes along. I really like the newer Lithium powered battery tools. Much better than previous battery powered tools. I would however stay away from a battery powered impact for the bigger jobs. The battery impacts are great for tightrning and loosening smaller stuff quickly and do a decent job loosening tight nuts up to a point........but when you move to a larger size impact suitable for loosening lug nuts........you might as well get one that will break those frozen ones loose too. 98% of lug nut loosening is not a problem for most impacts.......but that other 2% will wear you out. Then there are suspension bolts that just will not come loose. The problem (IMHO) as I see it is that when you buy battery powered tools, you want them to all be the same brand and have several interchangeable batteries for them. If you buy a different brand and only have the battery that came with it..........will you use it enough to keep the battery charged and will it make as much power as the air powered Earthquake (NO). The air powered impact will always be there when you need its power. I would buy most any lithium battery tool EXCEPT the big impact.....so I'm not knocking battery power, just saying I would only buy the 3/4 Earthquake if I bought another one. And a quick look showed HF has a 30% off sale on them right now.
My suggestion is to wait for the next Holiday and go to Lowes and purchase a Kobalt drill/battery/charger 24V Lithium . They usually run them on sale for less than $100 for the whole kit. While you are there, compare the same thing in ****sman, and Dewalt. Specifically look at what they want for the 4AH (amp/hour) size battery and what Kobalt wants for its 4AH. Notice that they only give a 2 year battery warranty while Kobalt is 3 years. My ****sman and DeWalt batteries always seemed to die one day after the warranty expired. (Now everyone will tell me/you that they never had that problem) I had it happen over and over. I have 5 year old Kobalt batteries that are still working just fine. In fact, so far not one battery has failed on me. Plus, Kobalt gives a 5 year tool warranty.......and again, not one of the appx 10 Kobalt tools I have has failed........or the ones my son has. Check the other brands warranty length. The whole thing with most of these brands is to get you to buy their tool and then gouge you on replacement batteries. All I can say is invest appx $100 in a Kobalt drill and see if you like it. You can even return it if you don't. www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-24-volt-Max-1-2-in-Metal-Ratcheting-Brushless-Cordless-Drill-1-Battery-Included-and-Charger-Included/5013207487 Prices are a little higher now, but they always run these on sale on holidays. Also, they have some really good sales on the other battery powered tools, so look if there is a display and check out the other tools and their prices as well. Take a look at the Craftsman battery 4AH price at Lowes. Right now they have a great price on it......but thats with an $80 sale discount. Compare normal pricing on the Craftsman 4AH ($139) vs a Kobalt ($79). Kobalt runs battery sales a lot, Craftsman usually is way higher. Look at DeWalt battery prices too. They all make good tools, its the batteries that they get ya with. (Just a happy customer, not a Lowes or Kobalt employee)
yeah, if you really NEED a 3/4 impact, then get an air powered one. A good 1/2" cordless impact will handle almost everything on normal cars and pickups.
I just bought one of the Earthquake Stubbies a couple weeks ago. I keep running into situations where my good impact does not fit. It does have an output adjust control knob. I haven't had a chance to test it out yet.
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