I had the IR piece of crap that came with my air compressor years ago and it was E36 M3. So bad I never bothered using it. Then, maybe 4-5 years ago I bought a Husky at Home Depot since it was 1/2 price (I'm a sucker for a closeout). It says it's 550 ft/lbs and does almost everything I've asked it to. I think it cost $75 being so marked down.
Before you purchase consider name brand electric. My dad gave me an old IR electric impact, it is the strongest impact I have in my shop (1/2") (3 air guns IR, Snapon, Mac)
An electric gun is somewhat more portable than air.
Speaking of portability, There is also a battery powered gun many are using at the race track to change tires. (Longacre?)
I have three: 1) an IR231 that finally died (suspect rust) after 20 years of use including 7 years as a professional tech. 2) a free Husky I won at a raffle that died within a week of owning it, and 3) HF Earthquake. Not too happy with the Husky on any level. IR231 would sometimes break stuff loose that Snap On wouldn't. Guys at the shop kept borrowing my IR, so I would definitely buy one again. HF Earthquake is 90% as good as the IR for half the price and I would buy one again.
If your a pro spend the money and buy a good IR. It will last forever. If this is for your home shop buy the red earthquake series from HF. you can get both the 1/2" and the 3/4" for less than the price of a good IR, and they work extremely well.
We used IR guns at our old powerhouse. They got beat on like they say when you don't own it and made a believer out of me. I have a 2135pti, last gun I may ever need for all I do anymore. Just like Miller for welding I'm sticking w/ IR for impacts and compressors, you're gonna spend a little more but to me it's worth it.
Ian F wrote: Years ago I was stuck when trying to remove a pinion nut and my H-F quality gun wasn't doing the job. Said "f-it" and bought a IR 2135ti from my local Sears. Removed it within seconds. Loosened it so fast I thought something broke. The H-F gun went into the trash. Similar experience with a H-F tap & die set vs. Craftsman (from 10+ years ago). H-F is good for some things, but sometimes you get what you pay for.
"H-F quality gun" meaning an actual HF Earthquake or their entry level or someone else's made in China entry level gun? Because as has been said by many people here the HF Earthquake guns are really good. I'm 100% confident it would have taken the nut you're talking about off with no problem.
codrus wrote:Knurled wrote: Heck, IR231s are like $130 now, they're two or three generations old at this point. The 2131 blows it away though.Will they take an FD flywheel nut off?
With the greatest of ease. BAP and it's off. Even if you're using a weeny air compressor at home that only does 120psi.
231s have to rattle them for a few seconds before they come loose.
dean1484 wrote: At the shop I help out at some times they have a Milwaukee 18 volt and it I ok. I have checked it against the torque wrench and anything over about 90 foot lbs and it can not get it off.
Id bet something is wrong with the gun - weak battery maybe. Mine (with a new battery) took off a 120k mile nut that was supposedly at 250ft/lbs.
But there are other and more powerful cordless options out there if you just don't want a Milwaukee.
If you have air everywhere and dont have a use for it elsewhere, an air impact is prob best bang for the buck.
In reply to dculberson:
perhaps... but there are certain tools that when I pull them out I want a near 100% guarantee they are going to do the job. I don't use air tools very often. Most of the time I use hand tools to reduce the chance of breaking stuff. When I grab the impact gun, it's because I've already exhausted other options. While the H-F "Earthquake" gun "might" be good enough, after using it I feel very confident the 2135Ti will be good enough. So far, there has been no task the IR has failed at when used.
I am fortunate enough to be a point in my life where spending the extra money for professional quality tools once in awhile is worth that peace of mind.
Zombie canoe
I know you said no battery powered, but I gotta say that my Dewalt cordless is a beast. We got it for $200 last year. I use it constantly and battery life is fantastic.
Canoer deleted.
After much trial and error, the $79.00 Kobalt 1/2" drive air impact with the largest 120V compressor they have ($200ish) and a 3/8" air line was the only cheapo gun I could find that could remove a Honda B16 crank pulley nut.
Stuff that it laughed at:
Alltrade 1/2" plug-in impact
Craftsman 3/8" battery impact
IR231 1/2" air impact (used) through 1/4" line
H-F Earthquake 1/2" air impact through 1/4" line
H-F 1/2" plug-in impact
Husky 1/2" air impact through 3/8" line
Kobalt 1/2" air impact through 1/4" line.
If the Kobalt 1/2" air impact is incapable, then shorten the 3/8" air line as much as you can (10' is good, 5' is better) and turn the pressure regulator from the recommended 100 PSI to 140 PSI for the first burst.
I had a pawn shop IR 231 for decades and replaced it with the IR Ti Max a couple years ago, which is superior. Last year, I committed to Milwaukee Fuel II 18V for my first new cordless electric tools since early DeWalt XRP 18 more than 10 years ago. Recently I was doing a gig out of town disassembling and crating 2 huge biotech robotic systems and needed to drive a bunch of 1/2" x 6" lags bolts into wood to hold 450# robotic arms to the bases of their crates. Having batteries already, I bought a gnarliest 1/2" Milwaukee Fuel II impact. It drives 1/2" lags like they're drywall screws, and I gunned hundreds and hundreds of stuck 10mm stainless bolts out of tapped holes in the steel structure.
I've done the whole clutch/flywheel/driveline rebuild on my M3 w/o reaching for an air impact. The cordless is so good.
BrokenYugo wrote: The new HF gun that they're comparing to Snap On and IR stuff interests me, might actually be nearly as good as they claim considering the reputation of their standard "Earthquake" gun. http://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-composite-xtreme-torque-air-impact-wrench-62891.html
I bought this about 6 months ago. No complaints so far.
I ended up with a 1/2 drive IR. I don't remember the model at the moment. It was pricy but it will either remove a nut or bolt or brake it. The only thing that stopped it was the axle nut on my daughters mazda3. For some reason that dam thing was on there way to tight. After braking a couple ratchets and breaker bars heat was the answer to that problem. But so far the IR has been great.
What model, just to end this thread with something tangible.
I ended up with an IR 2135ti. Bought it off a diesel mechanic that was retiring. He assured me that it had been beat on its entire life and sold it to me for a song. It's never let me down
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