Looking for new air impact wrench

[demarpaint]

This policy is becoming widespread due to customers trying out product before they commit to themselves to buying it. I sort of understand the policy and agree with it, the seller must now sell this as used merchandise at a discount price or worse have to return it to the manufacturer and only receive wholesale price compensation, it will then be sold at a refurb price, quite a few of the big name power tool companies do this.

The airgun in question almost certainly consumes less air that your old one. Personally if I really wanted it and was fairly confident that it will work as intended I would buy it but that's me.

I agree, and I'd go for it too. In the OPs case it will work fine with the size compressor he has. Fine as in he will have to wait for his tank to refill from time to time. That is going to be the case regardless of what air powered impact gun he buys.

 

[GaryMX5]

I bought my Dewalt 899 about 2 months before the 900 came out....grrr.

FWIW, I haven't used my air impact since I acquired the DeWalt 20V 1/2" impact. The 20V accessory list is plentiful and a good rabbit hole...same for the M18 Fuel.

I may have to suck it up and consider a cordless impact wrench. But I'm not quite ready to give on air power. I do currently have 5 or 6 18v Hitachi/metabo tools and as many batteries of various Ah capacity. A new 18 volt Metabo impact is a little on the weak side at only 225 ft. lbs. They do make a much stronger and highly rated one but it runs on their dual voltage system and requires the 18/36v battery. It's pretty pricey as are the batteries for it. The one good thing is that the battery can be use with my 18v tools if needed. I would only use it about 4 times a year to mount and remount my snow and all season tires on 2 vehicles. I sometimes rotate my PU tires at the same time of one of my swap overs. I have to decide if it's a cost effective option based on the limited use. I really don't have a lot of interest in introducing a new brand of tools, new batteries, and chargers at this point.

 

[i6pwr]

I really don't have a lot of interest in introducing a new brand of tools, new batteries, and chargers at this point

I absolutely understand that.

I do keep my air gun around the house, but slapping on a battery and removing anything I need is sweet.

The hardest part would be deciding which platform.

DeWalt has more going for it, Milwaukee is solid and built well.

I went with DeWalt for the cutoff tool ( insane power) reciprocating saw, circular saw, ratchet, 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2" impact.

I do have the M12 1/4" ratchet and the M12 hatchet (limb saw) which also has a ton of power, very impressed.

The new DCF891 DeWalt 3/8 mid torque is a beast, that with the DCF900 cover most bases. I would do the DCF900 and a smaller 3/8 mid torque as the 891 is so good ot tends to overlap some of the DCF900's capabilities...so a pricey endeavor.

I gave up on the cheap stuff, wait for sales.

 

[RyanY]

Another option, given the low usage, is an electric impact wrench. I had the mid toeque Harbor Freight 1/2' before i switched to battery. It had plenty of power for most things (600 breakaway) and I found a cord to be much easier to drape around the car than an air hose. They now have a Bauer high torque (1050 breakaway, $80) electric that is reportedly a beast.

 

[Delta]

I have the older version of the Harbor Freight XT 1/2 stubby. Works great for what I used it for. Even used it to take the axle nut off on one of my Toyota trucks. It isn't the most powerful, but gets the job done. If I have a real stubborn lug nut I have a second hand Snap On MG725 that will take about anything off, in one piece or not!

 

[Trav]

The XT 1/2 stubby uses more CFM than the mid sized Earthquake compact XT, 5.8 vs 4.8.

 

[GaryMX5]

While I like the "compact" XT for numerous reasons I've decided to go with the Husky I mentioned in my first post. I choose it primarily for it's no nonsense 3 year warranty ( the XT is 90 days unless you purchase an extended warranty) and a little upset by HF's return policy if for some reason it didn't work for me. It weighs 4.3 lbs vs 3.7 for the XT so not an arm breaking difference. Breakaway torque is less at 800 ft. lbs vs 1000 for the XT (but as we know the claimed torque is often exaggerated). It's air consumptions is also claimed to be less at 4.0 cfm vs 4.8 for the XT. My compressor may appreciate that even though that's not much difference in the realm of things. I also had a 25.00 gift card from HD I had forgotten about (you know the ones on your dresser you got for Christmas or your birthday) so my price was 104.00 (+ tax) or 5 bucks more than the XT (129.00 vs 99.00 regular price). I'll fess up and report back if I made a poor decision. Thanks for all the helpful comments.

 

[JHZR2]

Learned my lesson about that. Bought a cheap die grinder and used a wire wheel to clean up some angle iron. That turned out to be a useless exercise with my compressor!

They sell storage tanks. I’d think that unregulated air from a compressor tank to a slave tank, then the slave tank close to the tool with optimized hose would maybe work better. But tools like this, cheap or not, need a lot of continuous air, so the slave tank may not be enough, even if your duty cycle is low.