Buying an electric impact wrench?

[BavMoWo]

I've reached a point in my current project where I could use an impact wrench. Since I'm basically a mechanic operating from the trunk of my car, I decided to go for a cordless electric model rather than any pneumatic stuff. But I'm not sure what torque rating I need. Mostly I'll use it for taking off stuck nuts and bolts. I prefer to use a manual torque wrench whenever possible so I know for sure I'm getting it right. But what sort of torque rating am I going to need to make it worth while? I'm trying to hit the balance between compact and powerful. Found a fairly compact DeWalt that claims to do 700 ft lbs tightening torque, and 1200 ft lbs of breakaway. But there are smaller models that only do between 200-300. Compact is better, but what's the point of buying an underpowered wrench that won't do what I need it to do?

So what do you guys suggest? Is something between 200-300 ft lbs enough to undo stuck bolts? Am I going to risk spinning the heads off of older bolts if I go with the harder hitting models?

[PR1AWRet]

I just got the Dewalt 400ft pound one that's pretty big. It needs the 5ahr battery for it to work good. This is the one with brushes and uses the 20v battery. If I had to do it again, I would buy the 700/1200 brushless one that runs on the 20v battery and get a 5ah battery for it. That 1200 ftlbs would be nice and it's also compact. You would still need a torque wrench for the final tightening.

[pbonsalb]

I've reached a point in my current project where I could use an impact wrench. Since I'm basically a mechanic operating from the trunk of my car, I decided to go for a cordless electric model rather than any pneumatic stuff. But I'm not sure what torque rating I need. Mostly I'll use it for taking off stuck nuts and bolts. I prefer to use a manual torque wrench whenever possible so I know for sure I'm getting it right. But what sort of torque rating am I going to need to make it worth while? I'm trying to hit the balance between compact and powerful. Found a fairly compact DeWalt that claims to do 700 ft lbs tightening torque, and 1200 ft lbs of breakaway. But there are smaller models that only do between 200-300. Compact is better, but what's the point of buying an underpowered wrench that won't do what I need it to do?

So what do you guys suggest? Is something between 200-300 ft lbs enough to undo stuck bolts? Am I going to risk spinning the heads off of older bolts if I go with the harder hitting models?

I use the Milwaukee 18V Fuel brushless. It has 3 settings. Also have some other Milwaukees. Try cpotools for a refurbished model.

[BimmerBreaker]

I usually just use a smaller capacity impact and hand-tighten to finish off. I use these sorts of tools to save times from repeated ratcheting, vs. doing final tightening for me. YMMV

[pbonsalb]

I usually just use a smaller capacity impact and hand-tighten to finish off. I use these sorts of tools to save times from repeated ratcheting, vs. doing final tightening for me. YMMV

Smaller capacity impact wont take off some stuck nuts. Some wont even do lug nuts. But smaller is lighter and fits in more places. I have several sizes of 18V impacts, and even a 12V ratchet. Certainly always do the final torque to spec by hand with a torque wrench.

[m3bs]

Another vote for M18 Fuel. I went with the 3/8" which probably won't handle the toughest bolts, but I've had it about a year and haven't used my air wrench once. Light, compact, much more controllable than the air gun.

[pbonsalb]

And once you have a couple of batteries, you can buy "bare" versions of other tools for reasonable prices to expand the collection.

[BimmerBreaker]

Smaller capacity impact wont take off some stuck nuts. Some wont even do lug nuts. But smaller is lighter and fits in more places. I have several sizes of 18V impacts, and even a 12V ratchet. Certainly always do the final torque to spec by hand with a torque wrench.

Ive yet to encounter anything a breaker bar wont free, worst case scenario i hit a trouble bolt with some pb blaster. Impacts powerful enough to free stuck bolts are also powerful enough to strip bolts which is why i generally avoid them

[pbonsalb]

Ive yet to encounter anything a breaker bar wont free, worst case scenario i hit a trouble bolt with some pb blaster. Impacts powerful enough to free stuck bolts are also powerful enough to strip bolts which is why i generally avoid them

I have breaker bars as well. I have not stripped any bolts with my impacts that I can recall, so if its happened it has been so rare that it has not been a noticeable issue. I totally agree that you can do manually just about anything you can do with power (and its cheaper), but I am at a point in life where I like using the power tools. I even have a lift so I dont have to jack up the car and crawl underneath.

[wmrcs]

I purchased a Kobalt 20v Lithium impact driver from Lowe's I think a while back on sale for almost less than $200 if I remember correctly. I think it's rated at 270 ft-lbs and it does EVERYTHING I need it to, yet it's gentle enough to remove smaller bolts. I have only broken the head off of one bolt using it and the bolt was rusted. I also used it to remove some super nasty rusted bolts that hold the muffler up on my touring last week. It rattled away and removed them with such a satisfying sound. Great in between gun for around the house and car.

[Stück]

I've got the SnapOn CT761. Small, perfectly weighed, and very powerful at 120 ft. lbs. of torque. I use it for everything I can. Its rare I have to break out the SnapOn MG375 air impact for something it can't handle. The batteries last forever too. I have two of them, one lives in the impact and the other in the matching CTR725A 1/4" ratchet. I use these tools so much now its hard to imagine how I got by without them. The little impact is nearly an extension of my arm. The forward/reverse rocker switch is awesome and the trigger is variable so you can lightly drive fragile fasteners or pound them out. It works just fine for delicate jobs so long as you're not a bonehead.



https://store.snapon.com/CT761-Serie...--P819567.aspx

[BavTuner]

Ingersoll Rand makes a 20v li-ion impact that we use at work. It's pretty awesome and have been very impressed with it, takes off lug nuts without even thinking about it. I highly recommend it.

Your better off using an impact with a little bit of heat/pb blaster to free stuck bolts than a breaker bar. A breaker bar puts a lot of stress on stuck bolts and can easily snap and strip them. A lot of people just go all Rambo on rusty bolts with impacts and that's when you run into issues