Air Impact Wrench

CP7748 Chicago Pneumatic 1/2" Composite Impact Wrench

Anyone got one like this, or an Ingersoll. Gettin one for the tool box and looking for advice. Got one in garage somewhere I got cheap, but it's ****.

That's quiet a price, would hope it would do everything I needed it to do, I don't have one but would it not be size of air compressor that dictates how good they work??

that and the gun ,guns vary a lot but battery is the better option

b20wnx said:

That's quiet a price, would hope it would do everything I needed it to do, I don't have one but would it not be size of air compressor that dictates how good they work??

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Is a bit dear, but been shopping around and these are kind of reasonable for a DIY'r to be honest. I've got a 3hp 150ltr comp so should be up to the job....i hope.

Battery been the better option? Don't really like battery operated due to the battery life span, saying that I only have experience with the DIY tools

b20wnx said:

Battery been the better option? Don't really like battery operated due to the battery life span, saying that I only have experience with the DIY tools

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it is air guns are old hat now battery guns have more torque for size ,and normally you have 2 batteries which under normal use equals constant use

jamesmartin said:

it is air guns are old hat now battery guns have more torque for size ,and normally you have 2 batteries which under normal use equals constant use

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Looked at the battery guns. Used my mates new Snap On one and they are the business. Way too dear for me to justify the outlay though. I do all my jobs in the drive next to the compressor, so air will suit me fine.

meego said:

Looked at the battery guns. Used my mates new Snap On one and they are the business. Way too dear for me to justify the outlay though. I do all my jobs in the drive next to the compressor, so air will suit me fine.

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i wasnt suggesting you do ,cost does play apart if your not using them every day

jamesmartin said:

i wasnt suggesting you do ,cost does play apart if your not using them every day

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Its one of those things you might not need from one month to the next. But when you need it, and you have it, life is a lot easier eh. Would love one of them Milwaukee jobs but the cost...

After a naff air driver experience I bought one of these:

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/clarke-cew1000-electric-impact-wrench

Best sixty-odd quid I ever spent (even if mine is black)!

milwaukee battery guns are the dogs danglys i got one after i discovered my compressor isnt up to the job and my air gun is shait.
i did consider a cheaper sealey model but went for the m18 milwaukee. it is an absolute beast! came with 2 4amp lithium ion batterys which last hours and charge in an hour. paid 260 with trade discount but would have paid the full price and still be happy

Hi meego, I have been working on crash barrier for 20 odd years. I have subbied to a lot of different firms so have had experience with plenty of different guns.

I use ingersol rand 231 Gxp. Half inch drive about £130.
I preferred the 231 model a b c and classic as it fits in the hand better and exhausts out the front on to the beam but now discontinued. I still have a model a from the 1980s. It has had a service kit in the past £50 fitted by dealer and probably worked millions of m16 bolts.
The gxp exhausts next to inlet hose and is stuffed with foam when supplied. Works twice as fast with foam removed.

Next best is chicago pneumatic cp redair series.
I have used this one a couple of times and it was fine. Don't know cost.
The cheaper cp guns are er cheap. Will probably be fine in a workshop.

Don't know what snap on and Mac tools are touting at the most but in the past they have rebadged Ingersoll rand guns. You do not get a lifetime guarantee on nut guns.

I remember snap on selling the most powerful half inch but gun in the world.
It was an Ingersoll 2131 and is NOT. AVOID. These are the ones with The black plastic case. We were given some to trial years ago. If you start using them for tightening they have no power for loosening and vice versa. IE they bed in one way. They also melt when you try and thaw them on the compressor exhaust.

Everything else is total ****. We did however try one from ALDI!!! recently. Surprisingly it was powerful for the money but didn't last long.

BTW all these Ingersoll nut guns are budget and are built with parts out of tolerance for the better guns. You can spend over a grand on their better ones. they do a nascar branded one for 900 I think.

Thanks cooltide. Great reply and appreciated. That was my point that 150 quid sounds expensive, but for these things it's not. As you say this is the budget end of the market.

231gxp next to atlas copco non impact sidewinder £2500

We do tend to break them every now and again but they are always fixable. We turn up the compressors to 120psi when they are meant to get 90 which is probably why. Also we don't run oilers or water traps. We drop a cap full of engine oil in the far end of the hose before we start and squirt wd40 into the inlet pipe with the trigger pulled if we are putting them to bed for a while

I'm a big fan of the Milwaukee HD 18 HIW. A bit dear but it's great. It's much easier to pick up something the size of a cordless drill which will undo pretty much anything on a Land Rover than get the compressor out and plug it in, get the hoses out and plug them together, get the air wrench out, by which time the compressor might have filled the tank up to pressure if I've remembered to switch it on as soon as I plugged it in. Milwaukee for me, thanks!

Interesting reading, especially close to Xmas, had the debate electric v battery today (all tools) and I think it was a draw in the end, suppose it's all down to the size of your pocket, personal preference (given reviews and other advice) really.

I use an ingersoll rand qti max 1/2 inch and 3/8th daily. It's my job
By far more power and nice and light weight. Had the older one aswell that lasted at least six years garage life and was still going. The qti max is now I think seven years old and still has the same power as when it was new .
Just to prove I'm not brand loyal I have the cordless ingersoll 1/2 gun but also the latest this years snap on 1/2 gun and the snap on wins hands down but it is £650.
I couldn't work with just a battery gun something's an air gun is just better at

td5tool said:

I use an ingersoll rand qti max 1/2 inch and 3/8th daily. It's my job
By far more power and nice and light weight. Had the older one aswell that lasted at least six years garage life and was still going. The qti max is now I think seven years old and still has the same power as when it was new .
Just to prove I'm not brand loyal I have the cordless ingersoll 1/2 gun but also the latest this years snap on 1/2 gun and the snap on wins hands down but it is £650.
I couldn't work with just a battery gun something's an air gun is just better at

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All these plastic composite guns are marketed as super powerful. They are light and low vibration. So if you equate power as power to weight they win. They are great when new and wear in one way and lose power quickly with use. We had a qti and I would have recommended it, it was great, couldn't believe how good it was because it felt like nothing in the hand. 3months later we stuffed it in the shed.
A 231 will **** all over it in the real world. All of the super duty ir guns follow this basic design, no plastic power controls, just a rocker knob forward reverse turn to adjust power. We do still favour a 3/8 qti for 13head bolts when doing hundreds at a time because it is a light weight and we only need 15 ft lb.

The problem we have is with vibration so we publish the figures for a composite gun which you can use all day and actually use a 231 because we don't want it to take all day

We also carry a makita 110v for times without air supply. Can't access tight spots due to size and slow. You have to wait for it to stop before moving to the next bolt as it is pulling a lot of torque till it stops. It torques the bolts well, but slowly

Was it the qti or the qti max as there's a massive difference

Qti, can't comment on the Max, never used one
We were given 6 x 2131 to trial from the ir rep around 1995 when I was subbed to a big co. Down south
Melted one and rest lost power one direction.

Had same experience with another recently qti, thought it was great until it lost power a few months in.

If ir start using this design in their high end guns, I might look again

If you could pick up a plastic gun for 60 to 80 quid I'd say it was worth a punt for a mechanic or tyre fitter since they aren't getting abused.

Just noticed the latest 231gxp says made in china!
So are quite a few crash cushions we install to be fair - USA design tho