On 2012-06-18, Ecnerwal wrote:
In article ,
Joe wrote:

My son has been wanting a battery powered impact wrench (hence the
subject line). He'd prefer one with Li-ion battery pack - this is for
removing lug nuts from his cars, as well as other things.

He has a birthday coming up this weekend, and I'd like to get him one.
Anyone have any specific recommendations - besides to just get a good
pneumatic model (I've tried that route, but he wants portability, as
he does dirt-biking in the wilds of wherever)? I need a heads-up
pretty quick, so I can order it from Amazon, or whoever.


My experience with electric impact wrenches suggests that a "cross
wrench" is a heck of a lot more reliable for getting lug nuts off. Add a
can of antiseize and they come off nicer the next time.

For small stuff (most motorcycle) and the backwoods, a "manual hammer
driven impact tool" works. Both Snap-on and Sears should have them, at
differing price points of course. For JIS or Phillips head screws, it's
the best tool (JIS do work a lot better with a JIS bit, rather than a
Phillips bit, of course - just being X shaped does not make it Phillips,
especially if it came from Japan.)

McMaster has both 3/8 and 1/2" drive versions of those - probably better
than Sears, at a guess, and Sears does not have a 1/2" drive version.

IMHO, also far better in the "wilds of wherever" than packing a battery
powered tool a long way from an outlet for its charger.

McMaster also shows torque ranges for the electrics (& pneumatics) they
sell, so you could use that information in your shopping.

I've yet to see an electric "impact wrench" that was more than a
nut-spinner - ie, anything they can move a wrench without a cheater bar
can move, and if the wrench with a cheater bar failed, they fail too. As
far as I can tell from what I see in the catalog, little has changed and
the price on the "high torque" one will buy a pneumatic that can run
rings around it...


I have two electric impact wrenches, a 1/2 and 3/4. Both work
great. The 1/2 is an old Black and Decker, and the 3/4 is a Dewalt.

i