Corded Impact Wrench- Mine Died. Recommendations?

69hurstolds

Geezer
Supporting Member
Jan 2, 2006
8,089
17,292
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Well, I've been relegated to manual wrenching.

I went to use my 900 year-old Craftsman corded electric impact wrench to zip the pulley nut off one of the Cub Cadet rider mower spindles and I let the smoke out. These nuts are not torqued on that tight but I think it was just its time. It started to ugga-ugga, then it was over. It stopped with a puff of smoke. It was done.

I just assume the wrench just finally gave up the ghost after years of service, getting kicked, dropped, etc., over the years. It's the old-school Craftsman, the ones that actually last. Until it didn't. This thing used to be able to spin the nuts off a gorilla. And it has seen a couple of rear-end pinion seal jobs as well. Didn't even break a sweat.

This morning I've been perusing a bunch of them, and the price points are all over the map. I don't use an impact THAT often, but I do want to get one at least 300 lbs.-ft. capable and it doesn't have to be fast. I just want one that I can plug in, use it, then poke it back in its storage hole. No fiddling with an air impact.

It appears that the Milwaukee looks to be an overall great choice, but they're kind of spendy. If I made a living doing this stuff, I wouldn't care, but before I do something like that, I wanted to get some input if there's less expensive options out there that can still do a reliable job. I'm not necessarily looking for the best, I'm looking for a decent one, though.

Opinions?
 

timo22

G-Body Guru
Sep 10, 2012
550
1,072
93
St. Louis,Mo
Might as well ditch the cord. I bought a Craftsman 19,2 Volt 1/2" impact about 6 years ago. I have really abused it at the yards. It would easily take off wheels and suspension parts . Back then, I caught it on sale for 149.00. Probably my best tool buy ever. I went from 20 minutes down to about 2 minutes to yank a sway bar. I'm still using it to this day just not as frequent.Also , still using the original battery .
BTW, I have air in my garage and dont really even get out my air gun. I also have a corded 1/2" Craftsman impact I haven't used in years.

timo22
 
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69hurstolds

Geezer
Supporting Member
Jan 2, 2006
8,089
17,292
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Thanks for the response. Hmm. Cordless is convenient, but the beauty of the corded version is you take it out, pop on the socket, plug it in and go. No worries about fumbling with the battery, battery charger, etc., etc.

It's just I don't think I'd use it often enough to warrant keeping up with battery charge levels.
 

mikester

Comic Book Super Hero
Mar 10, 2010
2,904
3,639
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Small town NY
Thanks for the response. Hmm. Cordless is convenient, but the beauty of the corded version is you take it out, pop on the socket, plug it in and go. No worries about fumbling with the battery, battery charger, etc., etc.

It's just I don't think I'd use it often enough to warrant keeping up with battery charge levels.
Hate to say it but Im another fan of cordless impacts. I have a Ryobi 18V and its good for 300lbs. I started out with Dewalt 12V at least 20 years ago. When the batteries finally died I took one of friends with me to the local HD to buy two more. I paid $110 for two batteries. On the way home my buddy started busting my chops saying I was nuts for spending that much on two batteries when he bought a Ryobi drill and trim saw combo with two batteries and a new charger for $79. I was half way home. Turned around, went back to HD and bought the same set. Ive been using their stuff ever since. Ive gone through a few batteries, the original drill and a charger but I have all 18V now and I really like them. Drills, saws, lights. Their LED work light is awesome. I havent used my IR air impact in at least 10-12 years. The 1/2 Ryobi works fine on the lug nuts on all my vehicles. Used it taking apart the suspensions on both of my cars. I even take it with me on road trips. I have two fast chargers on my garage wall and one in my basement. Theres always at least 3-4 fully charged batteries so thats never an issue.
 
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slow 442

Greasemonkey
Jan 16, 2014
131
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11377
I had a corded DeWalt that was awesome for quite some time until It wasn't so awesome anymore..took it to the DeWalt factory repair center and the price to repair it was $ 30 less then a new one at the time. Picked up a harbour freight 1/2" corded impact that was total garbage, gave that away and went brushed Ryobi cordless that I picked up on sale for $80 with a charger and 4ah battery that I am very happy with. My advice is if you have a battery and charger already go cordless!
 
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tkruger

Master Mechanic
May 6, 2015
358
310
63
NY
I have the older orange Harbor Freight one. Been using it for years and it has more than enough torque. Only issue is the anvil does not lock to socket on anymore. I have not used their current corded one but reviews I have seen are good. HF has a good return policy if the tool is not up to your needs. Might be worth a try.

If mine does die I will probably go cordless. New lithium batteries can sit forever before they loose their charge. Also I have all of my tools being the same brand so I only have one battery type to keep charged.
 

L92 OLDS

Comic Book Super Hero
Mar 30, 2012
2,872
3,050
113
West Michigan
Thanks for the response. Hmm. Cordless is convenient, but the beauty of the corded version is you take it out, pop on the socket, plug it in and go. No worries about fumbling with the battery, battery charger, etc., etc.

It's just I don't think I'd use it often enough to warrant keeping up with battery charge levels.
Unlike NiCad, Lithium batteries hold a charge for a long time when not used. I have a Dewalt string trimmer with the 5ah battery. I use it all summer long but only have to charge it once a year. I chucked the two cycle trimmer in the donation pile.

I invested In new lithium ion DeWalt tools recently but if I had to do it again I would look hard at the Milwaukee lineup. Independent testing shows they perform better Than most anything out there…. Especially the torque wrenches.
 
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