Impact Wrench

I think it is about time I invest in an impact wrench to do minor jobs around the house. Any idea what is a good all-around size (1/2" or 3/4") for around the house? Any help is appreciated.

You get what you pay for but you never go wrong with Ingersoll-Rand.

I guess the more "adequate" question to ask is...is 250 ft. lbs. max torque enough to handle everyday jobs around the house? Sorry for the dumb questions, I just don't know much about it.

Well, just as a kind of a general guide,1/2 inch drive is probably the best size for you for home use. The CP (Chicago Pneumatic) 734 is a good old general purpose model that's been around a long time. It's a 1/2" drive that's easy to use and is not overly heavy. It's not the fastest or the strongest one made, but for general use it's a pretty good one. I'm on my third 734 in a span of 30 years. I do have other air wrenches, both bigger and smaller,in various brands but the 734 seems to be the one I use the most. Ingersol Rand makes good ones too and is definitely worth looking at.Jim

Ingersoll rand 2135. have one for 6 yrs heavy use and just now starting to get a little weak but still more poewer then most other new brands.

I have used an IR 1/2 one for many years, and does great. I also had a Campbell Hausfield I purchased that was a 3/4 inch drive. The 1/2 IR had more impact power than the cheap CH.

I found one on Harbor Freight. It is a Central Pneumatic with 425# torque for $50. Does this seem like a "decent" one?

I have a Bosch impact 14.4V and it is the greatest! No more cam out on screws.

You have a 50/50 chance of getting anything decent from Harbor Freight. Buy it only if you can test it first.

O2--you've got an excellent point--it's rapidly getting to the point where the bigger cordless impacts are taking over many of the jobs once done by both air impacts and for that matter cordless drills. I bought a used 18-V DeWalt a couple of years ago and it has all but put my 1/2" impact out to pasture, not to mention almost completely taken the job of putting in things like deck screws away from my cordless drills. A 1/2" air impact is a very useful tool, but it still requires a fairly good sized compressor, not to mention enough hose to reach the work, while a cordless impact requires neither of these. A good one is on par price-wise with a decent air impact and if it has the 1/4" quick-change connector (as mine does) it can be used for many things beyond sockets.

gpoing to depend on what you are going to do with it and what is your budget. i see you were looking at 1/2 or 3/4 drive impacts. if you are planning on using a lot of 3/4 drive stuff for big bolts, you need a good quality impact. if you are an occasional user and not doing a lot of major mechanical stuff, the cordless impacts like dewalt would be a better choice. the cheapie bargain air impacts dont have a lot of power, use a lot of air and dont last that long. my last 1/2 drive i bought from snap-on. 1000 lbs breakout force in reverse, about 850 ft lbs in forward. one bad impact. you gotta wear hearing protection, about 400 dollars for the gun new. you can check with the tool trucks, snap on, matco, cornwell, mac ect and see if they have any used or rebuilt guns too, save you prolly about 1/2.

Don't waste your money on cheapo units, I have been a mechanic for thirty plus years and had good luck with the old Snap On wrenches, but the newer ones are junk in my opinion. A good IR will out torque and outlast most any others. Buy a good one and you will not regret it. Buy a harbor freight one and it will probably break in the middle of the night on a weekend when you can't get a replacement.

Which one you should buy and how much you should spend has a lot to do with how much you are going to actually use it. If you are buying one for general home shop use that is only going to get used once in a while, I would probably look at some of the lower priced 1/2" drive air impacts that Sears has. I don"t own one myself, but my father in law bought one last year when he was putting a trailer hitch on his pick up and had to remove some 14 mm rusted bolts. I had been skeptical, but he said it worked great, and he has just a 1 HP Craftsman compressor. If you are going to be using it on an every day basis for general tractor and equipment repair, I would still go with a 1/2" air impact, and I guess I would have to recommend Ingersoll Rand. Back around 1982 I bought a brand new Snap-On, what was supposed to be their top of the line, for about $385 with sockets. A guy that worked in the same shop had an Ingersoll Rand that was probably 6 years old that he had beat to death, but it would twist off a 1/2" bolt with no problem if you weren"t careful. My Snap-On always worked fine for me, but it never had that kind of torque. I remember at the time I was so impressed with it that I asked the Snap-On salesman how much a new IR gun like the one the other mechanic had would cost. I was kind of disappointed when he told me it was $150. I had spent over twice as much on mine. I still have my Snap-On, but if I were going to buy a new one today, I would go with an IR. IR also makes them for other companies, and I know at one time or another they have made some models for Snap-On, Mac, and others, and probably still do. We had a DeWalt electric 1/2" impact at the shop I last worked at, primarily for road service. I never used it, but the technicians used to tell me it definitely didn"t have the power of a good air impact. I"m just going by what they said. I suppose if you had a small air compressor this would not necessarily be the case.

I have a Cambell Hausfield 1/2 ,bought it new about 5 years ago and a used Devilbiss (?) 1/2 that I bought used in a yard sale. It's smaller than my Campbell Hausfield. They both do a good job hooked up to my 60 gallon air tank with a pressure of 125 psi. I also have a Famhand
( TSC ) 3/4 drive that I bought used ,but not very old , but it works . Came in handy serveral times. So depending on what you are going to use it for I recommened both sizes. But try to get a decent name brand.

Whizkidkyus

Had some tire work done recently. They were using cordless 18 volt impact wrenches. They admitted to wearing them out occasionally, but air wrenches in a tire store don't last forever either. I think it was a Snap-on cordless.

KEH

To answer your question about the max torque, I would rather have something with at least 385 ft/lbs. When you go to loosen something like wheel lug nuts or bolts on your tractor or car, or rusted bolts on anything, you will wish you had it.

I'm kinda curious as to your intentions of a 1/2 or 3/4" impact for "minor jobs around the house".

Anyways,an IR is dang tough to beat for the money.

As stated in a previous post, I am NOT familiar with impact wrenches, so I am trying to figure out what size would meet my needs.

i think start out with a 1/2" impact, will take lug nuts off, you can turn it down for use on smaller stuff, i wouldnt get a 3/4 unless your taking lugs off a tractor trailer and have an armm like a gorrilla ..3/4 is heavy..you compressor must be big enough to run it too, a 60 gallon tank at 125psi is the smallest id go.

Also, make sure that the wrench you buy has the speed adjustor on the handle so you can turn it up and down as needed. But what ever you buy try to stay away from the China brands like Harbor Frieght ,etc . A cheaper brand like Campbell Hausefield may not be as good as a IR but their better than China namebrands . But ,of course, whatever you buy depends on what is available in your area and your budget and also what ever you plan on using it for. For minor work ,you can probably get buy with a cheap Walmart brand but for heavy duty use or everyday use you will need a better brand like IR.Just keep in mind that the bigger the wrench the bigger the air compressor needs to be .

Whizkidkyus

I had only a 1/2 impact for about 16 years. It did all you mention and more. However some of these tractors need larger sockets, and more torque. I bought a cheap 3/4 inch, half what I paid for the good 1/2 inch, and it's worked fine for the 8 times I used it in the last three years.

Gordo

Leave the cheap junk in the JUNK BIN. I think I'd suggest you go with a 1/2" for now. Look at several and you will see torque ratings from probably 200 pounds up to 800 or so pounds. The cheap ones are the low torque. The goos ones are the high torque. The good ones are expensive. The good ones are usefull. The cheap ones are not....
A good 1/2" will far outperform a cheap 3/4" and have less weight.

Also, a good 3/4" will require a 1/2" line to supply it along with a big compressor if you really want to get the full value of the gun... so probably no need to goint that direction right now.
Just do yourself a favor and stay clear of the Campbell Hausfeld and Sanborn stuff.
Jet, Ingersoll Rand, BP, SnapOn and some others all make good guns. Even NAPA may have a decent price on a good gun. Have a look...

Rod