Low-Cost Impact Guns

[Matchless]

Generally, you want a brushless motor one.

However, the Lidl Parkside ones were recently sold for £20 as the bare tool. It does wheel nuts no problem, enough power/gear reduction to work well and it is not likely to burn out any time soon.
I payed £70 a while back which came with battery and charger.

I'd also recommend a cordless ratchet, far more useful for general work, saves a hell of a lot of time when in an arkward position for spannering.

I have a Lidl 1/2" impact, does a great job, adjustable torque, never use my air ones now, 3 year warranty, they do need a 4ah battery though!

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

My initial thoughts on the thread title…..low cost and guns doesn't normally go in the same sentence. Mine is red and very good.

I think at this point all of the serious tool manufacturers (Red, Teal, Green, Yellow, & Blue) produce a range of very decent battery impacts, at varying price points commensurate with the performance you get, and how tightly packaged it is.

We have also reached a point where if you do your research to pick the right one, some of the cheap Chinese clones can be very good, and many more are wholly adequate for occasional use.

The important thing is making sure you buy something that suits your needs, and not being drawn to buying a cheaper model that doesn't actually have enough torque, or is too big to fit the stuff you work on.


If I'd bought my little ⅜ impact first I would probably have concluded that battery tools were not up to the job and written them off entirely, because it doesn't have the oomph for lots of the bolts on the truck once even slightly rusted.

However I spent a bit more money than I was initially comfortable with to get a beefy ½ first, then saw the light, and after a few years subsequently got one of the smallest, cheapest ⅜" models available from Makita knowing I only wanted a really compact gun to get into awkward spaces and was able to compromise a lot of torque for small size.


For the handful of people who really need both very small and lots of torque, then air remains the better option, but only if you're willing to spend at least the same as you would on a top end battery tool, on both the impact and the compressor!

 

[premmington]

@premmington I'm looking for a 3/8" cordless ratchet but Bosch don't make one
All my gear is Bosch so it'll be a wrench to change to Milwaukee but I'm getting tempted.

 

[Ross365]

the feytori ( perhaps the cheapest impact gun on ebay) arrived today and it was already dark when i got home. I'll probably take it to my mate's garage to test it on one two suitable tasks My out-of-the-box impression of the look and feel of the gun is good. The charger is def on the cheap side, but works ok.

 

[GRW]

the feytori ( perhaps the cheapest impact gun on ebay) arrived today and it was already dark when i got home. I'll probably take it to my mate's garage to test it on one two suitable tasks My out-of-the-box impression of the look and feel of the gun is good. The charger is def on the cheap side, but works ok.

Mine was on the table when I got home last night too. I charged it last night, but not tried it yer either.
Having had "proper" ugga duggas in my hands (while assisting engrs with expensive tools work on big industrial engines) .... this certainly lacks the "heft" & confidence inspiring solid feel in the hand of a DeWalt or Milwaukee - but at £40 what else can you expect.
The battery gives the same impression for its size - a premium brand would be meatier at the same physical size.
It'll be interesting to test it out. I think I'll try it on a wheel bolt on my Renault Master & see if it'll undo it.

 

[GRW]

Update: I just tried this gun to undo the 22mm head alloy wheel bolts on the OH's Kia.
The gun took about 1sec to 1.5s of rattle, then spun the bolt loose.
I tried it then with it set on the lower of the 2 torque/power settings - same result.
OK its not so scientific & maybe not the toughest test (plus I never assumed its huge Chinese nm claim to be real-world torque capability) - but it seems to have enough shunt to be handy & much more prod than my Erbaur impact driver (that's been a great tool & used loads).
At £40 I don't think you can complain.

It looks like the battery is a clone of the Makita stuff as well? (I don't have any Makita battery stuff, so can't say for sure)

 

[8ob]

Mostly windy guns or the petrol engined gaddagger. Feeling the love for that 3000nm thing that @Memmeddu done a review on, think that will live happily behind the seat of my plant lorry.

Bob

 

[Memmeddu]

Mostly windy guns or the petrol engined gaddagger. Feeling the love for that 3000nm thing that @Memmeddu done a review on, think that will live happily behind the seat of my plant lorry.

Bob

I've found that later Chinese impacts are way better than the first ones came out over 5 years ago.
Even my DTW300 clone is doing great till now.
And it's very comfortable to use because it's small and lightweight.
The 3/4" beast would be spot on the price if in the 150 euro (110£) range.
But its performances shocked me when I've tested it at my workplace, it did great on an excavator hammer.
I'm sure that it would be even better on OEM Makita batteries