Nothing wrong with the Harbor Freight, but for the same money I prefer the Astro Nano. I think it ranked pretty fair on the Torque Test Channel.

Make sure you are using 3/8 air hose and try and use high flow fittings. Also Marvel's Mystery Oil.

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:

Not to be confused with an Impact Wrench though.

Milwaukee's 1/4" hex bit impact drivers are very nice. I actually "downgraded" to an M12 Fuel Impact Driver and Drill for the reduced size. Still handles everything I throw at it, which admittedly isn't a whole lot. In fact, I just cut a hole for a water filter through a quartz counter top yesterday using a diamond tipped hole saw using my little M12 drill.

You are correct of course. They had their impact wrench on display next to the driver but it was not on sale and I was looking for the driver.

 
I use my SK 24" 1/2" breaker bar to loosen lug nuts. After that, I use a cordless impact screwdriver (or drill) to spin them off (and back on..the impact screwdriver will put just enough torque on them to snug them up well, ready for the torque wrench).

quote:

Originally posted by Texas Bob C.:
I have a 6 gallon Rigid compressor that handles my Kobalt 1/2" impact just fine. The compressor is 150 psi and I run the impact on about 125 psi. I do have an empty 50 pound Freon tank I can piggy back with the compressor but have never needed to.

I have a six gallon slave tank inline after my stacked tank Rolair. It DOES make a difference in run time for tools with high air demand.

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:
4) Or YOLO on a Milwaukee M18 Fuel brushless cordless impact like this: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Mi...ly-2962-20/313511878 Note: I don't have batteries/charger for the M18 platform, so add another $150-300 on this (but, I'll eventually expand the battery platform to other things).

Yep. There ya go. When I rotate tires on my truck, my Milwaukee cordless impact gun makes the process quick and simple with no need for hoses and compressors. And when someone calls for help with a roadside flat tire, you'll really appreciate the tool.

I have a 1Gal California Air Tools compressor (the quiet, low output type) and the IR impact in the OP link (maybe an older model, it's 10+ years old)

It will pull lug nuts off at least 2 wheels, torqed to 140ft-lb w/o bogging. If you have to hammer on something stuck, be prepared to wait for it to catch up.

For air tools, buy once cry once or else you'll throw the damn thing every time you use it. Before the IR, I had a cheap-ass impact that wouldn't pull lugs off anything without bumping pressure up to at least 110psi.
If you can swing the $$, an 18V would be more handy & probably plenty powerful. I grab one from the farm when we go long distance. The tire I changed in a parking lot went a lot faster. some jacks have a hex that a socket will fit on..... I know dewalt also has an 18V compressor.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
Find an old compressor tank and put it in your system to give more capacity.
Get an IR gun, maybe shop for a commercial grade good used one.
Buy some impact sockets in the common sizes so you don't destroy your regular sockets.

Putting a $40 5 gallon tank in line with my 6 gallon compressor does not seem like a terrible idea...wheels are turning in my head, haha.

At work my air stuff are the IR composites.
I have some older aluminum ones at home but don't use them at all.

I have a small compressor good for airing up the tires or blowing the inside out but nothing else.

I've had a lot of electric impacts over the years, most just tossed out when the batteries failed.
I have an older IR 3/8" impact for home stuff that I used to use at work till I tried Milwaukee.
Now all my work stuff are the M12 and M18 drills, impacts, lights etc.

A lot are too small of an air outlet. Mine is 25 gallon and is weak for an impact due to the tiny restricted outlet, even using large size air hose.

If you end up having any interest in the 18v Milwaukee Fuel 1/2", shoot me an email.

quote:

Originally posted by Oz_Shadow:
A lot are too small of an air outlet. Mine is 25 gallon and is weak for an impact due to the tiny restricted outlet, even using large size air hose.

https://www.miltonindustries.c...w-couplers-and-plugs

Makes a huge difference. 80% more air flow.

Milwaukee 18v all the way.

I have their mid-torque impact and it's wonderful for car work.

Could not imagine having to hassle with a compressor, hose, etc.

But I must caveat that I use Milwaukee for all my cordless tools so I standardized my battery/charging systems.

My impact sockets are old, they're Craftsman when it was made in America.

I own and work every day in a 3-bay auto repair shop. My primary 1/2” impact is a Milwaukee fuel full-size m18 impact gun. If someone forgets to turn the air compressor on in the morning, we often don’t realize it until mid-day when someone goes to fill a tire and finds that there is no air. My other tech uses the same. I have a 15 year-old IR titanium gun that almost never gets used, but is a great tool. I also have another milwaukee gun in my truck, as well as one at home. I would buy the cordless gun and never look back. They are a little bigger than an air gun, but the versatility and power can’t be beat.

Two things to consider when running those little pancake compressors:

1 - They usually do not have the CFM (cubic feet per minute) of air volume to push impact tools. If it does run them, there won't be any "oomph" behind it.

2 - The smaller compressors and the lower CFM's will cause a compressor to run a lot more on high demand air tools (any air tool really). This causes more heat which generates a lot of moisture in the tank. Moisture is the enemy of your air tools.

I have both Ridgid 18V impact, which is great for something like what you are looking for (Lifetime warranty to boot) and air tools (Ingersoll-Rand). I have a large 2 stage Quincy air compressor that can run all of those tools and my sandblaster. Unless you plan on expanding your line of air tools, I say go with the corded or cordless. The Harbor Freight Bauer corded impact gun actually is not a bad tool. I bought one to start the crush sleeve when I rebuilt the rear end in my truck. Those crush sleeves require a lot of force to get started.

 
I would not trust any impact tool for final torque when installing lug nuts (or any other nut/bolt). Use something to bring them up, but below the final setting, then a real torque wrench for final tightening.

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:
4) Or YOLO on a Milwaukee M18 Fuel brushless cordless impact like this: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Mi...ly-2962-20/313511878 Note: I don't have batteries/charger for the M18 platform, so add another $150-300 on this (but, I'll eventually expand the battery platform to other things).

Yep. There ya go. When I rotate tires on my truck, my Milwaukee cordless impact gun makes the process quick and simple with no need for hoses and compressors. And when someone calls for help with a roadside flat tire, you'll really appreciate the tool.

This right here. The 1/2” cordless impact from Milwaukee is pretty hard to beat. This is an impact you won’t use much… skip the hoses and compressors, the noise, the cold hands, and get the M18.

Henry’s advice on torquing lug nuts is spot on also. Always use a torque wrench and never an impact for final tightening.

OP suggested his pancake would be ok, I'm at that point. Old 5 gallon Montgomery Wards I reconstructed after it fell out of the back of a framers pickup - they used it for nail guns in the 90's.

CFM is the key, most pnuematic auto tools have a 10-12 CFM at 120# minimum, and the big tanks we see installed at shops are to supply multiple tools at the same time. Those tanks kept getting bigger when air lifts and single post hoists were retrofitted. I can run an impact, either a "Coats" CP with extended anvil, or a HF with polymer case. The Coats is set and will torque right on 85-95 pounds, I check with a torque wrench and its close. The HF on the end of 50 feet of hose tho will max out on lug nuts - the F150 is the limit. I just let it hammer and it will finally rip them off, but nothing like the older tools in a shop with 100 gallon tanks up. Some shops have as much as 1,000 gallons of air, it takes 20-30 minutes to run them in the morning to fill them.

This is the crossover point in air vs electric now - when you go pnuematic, you have to include an adequate compressor. The gun is cheap in comparison, it's tethered, and $500 up for an 80 gallon upright with large compressor caps your budget quickly. It would be easy to bust $1,000 on the installed price to get work out of pnuematic.

On the other hand you can sand with air tools aka bodywork, using water with them, and you don't get shorted out or electrocuted. Might be important. Also in daily use, they take a major beating getting thrown under a car, dropped multiple times a day, and the tether factor tends to limit their disappearance - it takes a good compressor to run one and that practice has been diminishing over the last 30 years. On the other hand, the better rated Milwaukee impacts are highly portable - and no, I would not leave it in a vehicle unless it's secure in a heavy bolted down locked tool box. They are, again, highly portable - as contractors know when they return to work on the job site every morning. You "bank vault" store them or That Guy hanging around from another contractor might convert them into Christmas cash for his kids presents. In our area, minimum requirement for laborers is a felony conviction.

If a compressor for other uses in an appropriate size is already on site or needed, then pnuematic works. I have taken cam nuts off a Subaru with them (the HF will), that require a 275 ftlb install torque and when breaking something off "takeoff" torque can be 50% higher. Some have Milwaukee impacts that will take off OTR Truck lug nuts, which is usually a 1" drive two handed pnuematic monster. That Milwaukee isn't small or cheap, either. There are limits for everything and tiers of performance.

In the case of homeowner use, with an inadequate compressor - and I just get by with one - the electric impact guns are a better deal up front. Long term, there are battery replacement costs which you have to game. I use Ryobi at home, it is a wide wealth of different tools and buying say, a compatible voltage leaf blower nets you a large power pack standard. That is how you acquire and upgrade, manipulating your purchases of accessories to reduce the cost of the "fuel." I've gone from NC to lithium and the next jump is a better lithium battery with brushless - but I gotta wear out my drivers, which isn't going to happen soon. I still run a blue drill driver, altho its showing signs of giving up after 10 years. On the other hand, the Coats pnuematic dates back 30 and parts to rebuild are still out there.

Oh, BTW, there are some of us who do use a 5 gallon tire tank as a remote for things like a nail gun. The trick is to use an adjustable pressure gauge on the output side to set nail depth, and when it starts leaving them proud - 20 - 30 nails - you refill. When you have a small job and dont' want to run hose all over the house - which may have grease oil dirt etc on it - the tank does pretty well. Even if the instructions of the gun state do not do it. Because, some do, then blame the gun for their lack of understanding how to do it right. Kinda like taking the FCU out of a P365 and then wondering why parts fell off.

We have to be smarter than the tool.

Oh I found out my compressor wasn't up to it - as said earlier. I hooked up a random orbital sander and the tank ran down in 20 seconds. Air tools are air hogs.

quote:

Originally posted by henryaz:
I would not trust any impact tool for final torque when installing lug nuts (or any other nut/bolt). Use something to bring them up, but below the final setting, then a real torque wrench for final tightening.

This ^^^^^

quote:

Originally posted by Tirod:
Air tools are air hogs.

Some are. Some are not.

My ancient Craftsman 10 gal. compressor has no problem with my nailers, stapler, IR air wrench, or butterfly impact wrench.

Go with the cordless impact but consider the made in US Dewalt version since you haven't yet settled on a battery platform.

I use this model for removing and snugging lug nuts and its great.

DeWalt US Made 1/2" Impact

.

quote:

Originally posted by henryaz:
 
I would not trust any impact tool for final torque when installing lug nuts (or any other nut/bolt). Use something to bring them up, but below the final setting, then a real torque wrench for final tightening.

I do like my old Makita 12v impact driver for this when putting lug nuts back on. Makes for quick work, just bring to spec.