Air impact wrench

[winnie2457]

Hello all I have a compressor which is good and provides 8bar with a 120 litre tank

Just bought a second hand Clarke 1/2inch impact wrench and it won't even undo wheel nuts

Question is how much is a decent air impact that can undo wheel nuts hopefully second hand as I can't afford new I will keep the Clarke one for little bolts etc. Thanks in advance

Brands and models will help also a guide price I've read reviews etc but real life reviews on here will be better.

I will only be using it as a hobby for the occasional wheel change.c and also crank pulley bolts and suspension struts so needs to be powerful enough to undo them

Regards

Steven

 

[rtbcomp]

What diameter (bore) air hose are you using? 10mm is recommended.

Is the regulator capable of supplying enough air? You're looking at 1/2 inch BSP rather than the smaller ones supplied with hobby type compressors.

 

[madkayaker]

i had clarke air wrench and it was hopeless even when i tried using 25mm hose!

 

[winnie2457]

i had clarke air wrench and it was hopeless even when i tried using 25mm hose!

Its 1/4bsp but runs my air angle grinder and drill no probs I have a 47kg gas bottle as an extra cylinder and the grinder and still never gives up at all using 10mm bore pipe. The impact driver does not even tickle the wheel nuts


So any recommendations for a decent impact wrench either 1/2 or 3/4 to undo wheel nuts and things I mentioned in my 1st post. Brand and model but of course cheap as possible I know you can't get decent tos cheap but the cheapest option for a impact wench that works

 

[madkayaker]

only one i would recommend would be an ingersoll rand one. i gave up with air powered and got a 110V makita one

 

[Shox Dr]

Ingersoll Rand 2130XP, 112quid delivered on the bay

 

[ajlelectronics]

Strange that you are having trouble with the Clarke. I have had one for many years and it is certainly well up to the job. I wonder if the motor is gummed up perhaps?

 

[Wallace]

Try a few drops of oil down the air inlet and check what setting the small adjuster on the bottom of the handle is set to, might be on the lowest of 4.

 

[waldershelf]

I have a couple of the cheap 1/2" impact wrenches and some times they just stop turning due to lack of lube' they seem to need more regular oiling than the more expensive ones. Try a squirt of oil in the air line and try again. I have to say though the cheap wrenches wont undo the wheel nuts on my landrover even when working OK.

 

[gaz_moose]

cheap ones are a waste of time.its one of those things you have to spend the money on as it will make your life more easy when you come to need it.

 

[pondy]

i use this one at work

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ingersoll...Air_Tools_and_Compressors&hash=item3f048f775a

it works fine for the car work I do, will undo most crank bolts, only a few times it would not shift them and I needed to use a 3/4 drive gun. its expensive but it gets used 6 days a week so for me its better to spend the money on something I know is good and reliable. if you look on ebay now there is a second hand one for £150

saying that I have a 1/2 gun I use at home of a 50l compressor, its an American pro or something? its 25 years old, gets oiled everytime but will undo most wheels and suspension work. I did find with a small hose (8mm?) and a small regulator it was lacking power. swapped all that out and found a big improvement.

a friend of mine at work used cheap guns he got from aldi, they worked but had low power and did not last long before internals snapped. he did this to about 4 of them before I got a draper gun which I have used and seems to have a lot of power

 

[Mr shiney]

I have a draper professional one that has undone everything I have thrown at it including the nuts on my Defender. It wasn't cheap but has been worth every penny. I run it on 8mm hose no problem.

 

[mfletch]

A mate of mine has one of these and its very good http://www.mactools.com/shoponline/product/tabid/120/p-331156-awp050.aspx

Breakaway torque 1260 ft./lbs

 

[normspanners]

I have just bought a snap on mg725 nut gun, breakaway 1200 ft/lbs or should that be breakawallet 318 english £s not ft/lbs.
Need one now to undo wheel nuts that stupid garages that allow their 'mechanics' to fully tighten wheel nuts, with nut guns to ridiculous torque figures stretching studs and bolts, it is not only damaging to the car but down right dangerous, I recently had a Focus here, that I had a 24inch breaker bar on and could not undo the wheels, I took it back to the garage that had fitted the wheels last and saw the boss took him out to the car gave him the cars wheel brace and said to him 'undo them', he could'nt. I always torque wheel nuts why people think it is safe to give it all you can because 'you dont want them coming off'.
The thing is there is more chance of the wheel coming off because of sheared studs. 100 NM is the average safe torque for most vehicles.
RANT OVER

 

[brightspark]

the reason it wont shift the nuts will be there only 280ft/lb and being cheap clarke they couldnt knock the skin of a rice pudding.u get what u pay for

 

[dannyp]

going to say clarke ones just suck full stop unfortunate to have bought a few in the past.

got a 3/8ths chicargo pumatic that will undo bolts that that the 1/2 clarke ones refuse to budge even with the pressure turned right up, the clarke uses a LOT of air for what it dose as well,

 

[ASL3312]

Would the ingersoll rand 2135qtimax work well with a 24l compressor? I have been looking at them for a while and have also seem the one on eBay £150.

I ask because I recently got one for my van (I'm a FLT service engineer) along with a cheap clarke gun, which as brightspark says wouldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding.

I am using 3/8" air hose directly from the the hole in the end of the tank, so no regulators to restrict flow etc, along with PCL XF euro style couplings.

I've fitted a new pressure switch with adjustable differential so it cuts back in at around 7bar.

Also what are the implications with leaving a compressor in a van permanently with regards to condensation building up on the tank? I don't use it everyday but I do drain the tank regularly.

 

[brightspark]

Would the ingersoll rand 2135qtimax work well with a 24l compressor? I have been looking at them for a while and have also seem the one on eBay £150.

I ask because I recently got one for my van (I'm a FLT service engineer) along with a cheap clarke gun, which as brightspark says wouldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding.

I am using 3/8" air hose directly from the the hole in the end of the tank, so no regulators to restrict flow etc, along with PCL XF euro style couplings.

I've fitted a new pressure switch with adjustable differential so it cuts back in at around 7bar.

Also what are the implications with leaving a compressor in a van permanently with regards to condensation building up on the tank? I don't use it everyday but I do drain the tank regularly.

comp will be ok left in the van . the only time u would get problems is would be freezing weather if there was any water in the lines

 

[ASL3312]

I disconnect the air line after use and roll it up so any water left inside would surely be minimal?

 

[brightspark]

I disconnect the air line after use and roll it up so any water left inside would surely be minimal?

yes ive never had any problems whether comps have been left outside or in