Cordless Impact

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Last month I found myself far away from any air source and could have used a cordless impact, I had a IR W7150 for a short time and hated it, too big and heavy, etc so time to go shopping.
The first one that caught my eye was the Makita XWT08XVZ (Milwaukee isn't even on the list) and to my surprise it is made in Japan not China, my knee jerk reaction was this is the one but after thinking about it for a min reality hit, this thing weighs in at almost 8lb and almost a foot long with socket.

These factors alone make this tools almost useless under the hood and many places under the car, using it for any length of time would be an arm breaker. On paper its a great machine for a cordless but in real use a nightmare. I had to find something better.


https://www.amazon.com/Makita-XWT08XVZ-Lithium-Ion-Brushless-Cordless/dp/B01JLBII84

Then I came across this one, I found it for $175 and the best price on the big one was $205 so only $30 difference makes this one look like a loser right off the hop and its made in China to boot.


Doing some research the advertised 210ftlb torque rating is very low, it has been tested and shown over 300ftlb removing bolts.
It is small, very small, in fact it is almost the same size with socket as the 1/4" model and its light even with battery.
With the same 5A battery the bigger one uses its run time is incredible.

I was looking at my old 1/4" that is now over 10 years old and been worked hard and still running fine and its made in China so that is not a real issue.
The 1/4 and the 1/2 together. Notice the clear plastic protector on the 1/2



A nice feature is the pin socket holder, usually I hate them, you need to push the pin with something to get the socket off, Makita tapered this one so it acts like a ball socket, it does hold the socket firmly because it goes in the hole but requires no theatrics to remove the socket,very nice but you must use impact sockets as they have the retaining hole. The pin is serviceable and replaceable.


It has 3 speeds and variable trigger, there is also a light off feature by holding the button down down a few seconds. It also has a battery indicator which also works when older non star batteries are used.


The 1/4" and 1/2" weight. 940 and 1134 grams.



Some pics of the unit.





Makita claims more power with same weight as the 3A for their new 5A smart batteries AKA star batteries. The newest have a built in charge indicator. They are close but the physical size is same. The 4 3A batteries I have are all 10yrs and more old and never failed.
I had some Milwaukee tools but battery failure and poor CS for warranty put an end to that right quick. Never again.
Some comparison pics of the batteries, the old non star batteries work fine in both old and new tools and vice versa. The Rapid charger charges the 5A in 45 min.







I have had chance to use this gun and its fantastic, it fits in tight places, in reverse it can run on a low power setting to "rattle" fasteners loose where most air impact except the IR231 and clones are balls to the wall in reverse.
It has taken brake caliper brackets, control arm bolts, strut nuts, intake bolts and exhaust hanger bolts out with no problem and yes lug nuts are a breeze.

Build quality is excellent, it is solid as a rock. On paper the bigger unit beats it like a red headed stepchild but in the real world it cant hold a candle to this one when it comes to using it all over the car.
This will be my go to gun for removing interior bolts where I don't want to drag a dirty air hose through someones interior.
If I had to own just one gun and no compressor this would be it. For bigger stuff you would still need a breaker bar but most of the stuff will come loose with this.
 
Originally Posted By: azjake
I picked this up for $59 after sale coupons at Harbor Freight. While probably not durable enough for a professional, it works great for the weekend DYI.


https://www.harborfreight.com/20v-hypermax-lithium-12-in-drilldriver-kit-63531.html

That is a drill, not an impact wrench.

I have a Craftsman 19.2V Impact that is supposed to have 300 ft/lbs of torque. It works great and I hardly use my air impact anymore. Much handier and portable.
 
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Trav, why wasn’t Milwaukee on your list? I’ve recently picked up both 1/2” and 3/8” drive Milwaukee impacts because I don’t have access to high volume compressed air anymore. So far, they’re working great. The 3/8” came with charger and 3 5ah batteries. I bought the 1/2” as a bare tool. The prices were cost competitive. So far so good. Did you have bad experience with Milwaukee tools? Just curious...
 
Wait till you need CS for one of their POS batteries. I bought a pipe cutter and 2 batteries at HD I have the original receipt. One of the 12v batteries died after 2 charging cycles.
My biggest mistake was not returning the whole business and getting another instead the Milwaukee rep sent the battery in for replacement.

I have the fedex slip for it and at first they said the warranty was up going by the battery date even though they had a copy of the sales receipt. Then they accused me of trying to pull a fast one sending an older battery in and finally they said they never got it.

Milwaukee is not the company they were when they were independent or when they were owned by Atlas Copco, this Chinese company that bought them sucks.
 
Well, that just sux! We’ll see how mine hold up and if they do the same as yours, I’ll flame the b@stards here ( though I’m sure it wouldn’t do much good). Mine are the 18v, so with a little luck I might be ok.
 
I can relate to the weight factor.

I love my dewalt cordless but it is very heavy. If I was buying again I would definitely consider weight more.

the number 2 setting (out of 3) takes pretty much any fasteners off.

I would probably shop for one with 50%-66% the power and half the weight(or less)

New models coming out are getting better too.

I have the DCF899 its 5.8lb + the hefty 5ah battery.

the DCF894 is probably better suited to my use
 
Yes it does suck, I buy a lot of tools and need them to work not die on the job after a few weeks. they treated me like I was trying to steal something from them.
The 18V battery is supposedly better but I will never know.
I had a driver and the battery died but the rep at that time replaced it with no question, good CS I figured so I bought the cutter.

The Makita has a 3yr warranty on the battery, charger and tool, the HF 90 day warranty isn't cutting it.
 
Trav
Great review! I’ve been considering an 1/2” electric impact for some of my needs. I’ve looked at corded and cordless models. The Milwaukee M18 is on my list as I already have a M18 drill. My other choice choice would be the corded Kobalt model. Your review gives me another brand to look at.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
Originally Posted By: Char Baby
"AvE Tool Reviews" found the Hazard Fraught EarthQuake XT 1200 ft lb battery powered impact gun to be quite skookum.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkPzjV-ZaTU


It may be great but the 90 day warranty isn't. No thanks.


Oh I know!
This poor warranty keeps me from buying even more from HF.
 
Well, that does look like a good impact wrench, and I am liking Makita tools a lot. Right now I have a wheel barrow full of brushless Milwaukee, both 12v and 18v, no problems, save for one. One of my 18v drills kicks out a bit more than I feel it should. It always comes right back on, but it's annoying. Other than that all the rest are awesome, but I've never had to deal with warranty issues,... yet. I have dealt with Rigid and was not too impressed, which is why I went with the red M. I'm considering when my next change occurs that I'll go Makita or DeWalt. I had trouble with DeWalt batteries, but that was eons of technology ago.
I wonder if any of the companies have decent warranty service. I know my contractor son who loves DeWalt recently switched everything over to Rigid, but don't know the reason.
On a lighter note, I bought a HF 18v 1/2" impact wrench, and it is literally awesome. I got it and two batteries for something like $75, and it has removed the bed on a 2010 Tacoma that had not been touched from the factory and was rusted underneath like crazy. It hummed a little bit and then blasted them loose. Lug nuts no problem, suspension parts no problem so far. Batteries hold charge well, and are now over a year and a half old and no complaints. I dunno if I got lucky or what, but it's amazing how well it works and everyone that sees it in use, says it's not like theirs.
 
Makita has a good warranty and good CS, I lost a glow in the dark ring off one them and called to buy a replacement, they sent one out and didn't charge me a dime.
My brother left his out in the rain and the brushes got damaged, they sent him a couple of sets of brushes out of warranty no charge.

I wanted to go Hilti cordless 100% but I have quite a few (more than the ones in the picture) Makita batteries and never had any trouble so Makita it is.
Hilti is awesome I have corded tools from them and one cordless, any trouble just call the rep and he will drop off a like tool for you to use and take yours to be repaired.

IMO for HF to really compete they need to up their warranty on air and electric tools and provide service parts but thats hard to do when they change vendors every few months.
 
It is a good one but anything that big and heavy has limited value. Look at the size difference, sure you give up some power but the tool is infinity more useful.
Don't get me wrong the smaller one wont do rusted solid CV axle nut or big truck lug nuts for that the big one is ideal, it is not a replacement for a big gun or breaker bar but it is a very useful tool that will see the most use.
 
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