Which windy gun?

[Dads Toy]

I'm looking to get an air impact wrench but the questions' in the title - what do I go for?

I have a 2hp compressor with a 50litre tank giving 9cfm.

I've seen stuff from SIP,Sealey,Clarke but what's the difference between all the different one's?

I've also hear Chicago Pneumatic are very good, but would I run out of puff with them?

Any help appreciated.

Malcolm

[stuck]

Don't wish to be rude but you would be better off giving a paraplegic a ratchet than trying to use sip, Clarke etc on a LR.

I have Ingersoll Rand air tools, haven't found better yet.

To be honest I think your compressor is a bit on the small size but you can always have a cup of tea and let it catch up if you are doing a lot of work.

[longlandy]

anything from a proper company other than clarke sealey and the like

[Vit rich]

ingersoll rand

[Paul90]

+1 for Ingersoll Rand

Mine is a 2135TiMAX. Awesome piece of kit.

I've also got a Sealey and a Clarke gun, they don't come anywhere close.

Cheap yes. Good no. They just gather dust now, you can have the Clarke one for beer money if you are local ;-)

The IR uses less air (don't know how?) is smaller, lighter and is far more powerful.

RRP is stupid but I paid £130 brand new off eBay.

Paul

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

I have 2 x Ingersol Rands, bought on recomendation of Jon White here, and he wsan't wrong

I have (bought 1st) the monster 1/2 one, but then bought the smaller lighter easier to use 3/8 drive one

Still man enough to undo wheel nuts that lesser 1/2 stuff won't, truly unbelivable power for isize

They are not cheap, but can be got for a huge amount off RRP :

1/2 : http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ingersoll-Rand-IR2135QTI-1/2%22-drive-Titanium-Impact-Gun_W0QQitemZ270659450714QQcmdZViewItem?rvr_id=204172381745&rvr_id=204172381745&cguid=78ece24f12c0a0aad4d54175fe839f47#ht_1239wt_905 Max Torque: 1054 Nm

3/8 : http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/INGERSOLL-RAND-IR2115QTIMAX-TITANIUM-IMPACT-GUN_W0QQitemZ310203015436QQcategoryZ30917QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m263QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%252BC%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D15%26pmod%3D270659450714%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D6671148349912909352#ht_1438wt_1139 still MAX TORQUE : 407 NM

Not all air tools are the same, these are seriously good

Nige

[bob86]

Another vote for Ingersol Rand. Dont think i'll go back to using CP. The model I use is a 2130xp, Its pretty quiet as well.

[Ally V8]

I have an old 1/2" Snap on - brilliant bit of kit,never failed.Also a 3/8" one probably 4 years old,again no problems.

I bought an IR air chisel and during the first job,(Disco boot floor) the spring that holds the tolls in shattered.....

Couple of months on I'm still waiting for it to be replaced - not impressed.

Alot of Snap on stuff is just as cr-p as everything else now,but at least they fix stuff or give you a loaner.

[zim]

IR

They seem to last longest at work

Got a 1 1/2" drive CP which isn't as strong as our 1" IR...just so damn heavy

G

[jericho]

I have the IR 2135QTi too. Malcolm,your compressor will not keep up with it - I have tried it.

[Handy_Andy]

if I were getting a new one i would get the new IR, but my blue point has never let me down over the last 5 years..

[Jeff Young]

I don't know; SIP/Sealey/Clarke have their uses.

You could hold a door open with one. Or if you're working outside on a windy day, it would do a fine job of holding your workshop manual open at the right page. Heck, if you were really in a bind you could probably dig holes with it to plant bulbs or something.

Jeff.

[stuck]

[Warthog]

Sell the little Compressor and put the money towards a bigger 2nd Hand Air Compressor.

Then go out and buy a Budget Rattle Gun

[Dads Toy]

Thanks everyone - it seems my initial thought when buying the compressor was right - get the biggest you can! Pity I didn't go with that and was persuaded the smaller one would be fine.

I shall look at upgrading that then go for an Ingersoll Rand gun.

Malcolm

[lexi]

I use this 240 volt model. I only have a 3hp.

[Paul90]

I've got one of those as well as the IR 2135

Has some grunt but is blooming heavy and big too.

Paul

[UdderlyOffroad]

Ok I can only speak for myself as an amateur user but I have a £15 eblag rattle gun and a 2hp compressor (like the one you see advertised in the back of tabloid newspapers) and really for the uses I put it to its fine and will undo almost anything. If I do come across some nuts that are too stubborn, I tend to find that these will need work (freeing up with penetrating lube) or a breaker bar first. Just because you have the thules that will go into the >1000Nm range (that's a wrist-wrecker...), don't blindly set the undo-power to 11 and expect old LandieBolts to come apart. You'll damage something, worst case yourself.

</grandmother-egg-sucking-lesson>

That said, no-one is paying me for my spannering time. If I was doing this on the clock for a paying customer I would a) get trained b) invest in some decent tools.

In other words the comments of the above folks may be valid for them, but I do sometimes question the advice doled out on this forum; the majority of us are amateurs and do not have the funds available to by 'pro' quality kit, nor should we need to for most jobs.

All that said...I want a bigger compressor

[BogMonster]

In other words the comments of the above folks may be valid for them, but I do sometimes question the advice doled out on this forum; the majority of us are amateurs and do not have the funds available to by 'pro' quality kit, nor should we need to for most jobs.

All that said...I want a bigger compressor

I agree with that ... what is appropriate for a commercial workshop or some of the overkill enthusiasts who spend every evening and weekend in the workshop is probably a bit much for somebody who just does a bit of stuff on their own truck. I have just looked at the above as my old Draper rattle gun is getting tired and was never great when it was new so I think I'm going to get a CP734 which seems like a reasonable compromise of price (£77 ex vat) and ability (425lbft) for something that will most likely only get used a couple of times a month. I'm not poor but there's no way I'd spend £250 on one for occasional use, obviously a different story for workshop use but even a cheap rattle gun works quite well if you put 160psi though it instead of 90

I need a bigger compressor too

[Jeff Young]

I think it depends on what the question is.

Some of us want to know "will cheap-and-cheerful get the job done?"

Others want to know "is the step up to middle-of-the-road worth the cost difference?"

And still others want to know "is the bees-knees tool something that will make me smile every time I use it?"

All three seem to me to be valid questions. Trouble is when someone asks "what should I buy?" we don't really know which question they're asking. Some of us provide the answer to 1, while others provide the answers to 2 or 3.

Jeff.

[Dads Toy]

Good point Jeff.

I think I've got the answer to question 3 with the Ingersoll Rand but my compressor won't run that. So until I can upgrade I'm looking to see if there's an answer to question 1 for the interim and if so what?

"The answer's easy, it's the question that's difficult" springs to mind.

Malcolm

[zardos]

I think it depends on what the question is.

Some of us want to know "will cheap-and-cheerful get the job done?"

Others want to know "is the step up to middle-of-the-road worth the cost difference?"

And still others want to know "is the bees-knees tool something that will make me smile every time I use it?"

All three seem to me to be valid questions. Trouble is when someone asks "what should I buy?" we don't really know which question they're asking. Some of us provide the answer to 1, while others provide the answers to 2 or 3.

Jeff.

May be this 1,2,3 approach should put as a pinned guidance post for the Tools and Fab forum, so if you recommend tools then you say if your answer is 1,2 or 3

[zardos]

Good point Jeff.

I think I've got the answer to question 3 with the Ingersoll Rand but my compressor won't run that. So until I can upgrade I'm looking to see if there's an answer to question 1 for the interim and if so what?

"The answer's easy, it's the question that's difficult" springs to mind.

Malcolm

I would say that a cheapy like Clarke with the pressure wound up is nearly as good as an Ingersoll Rand at lower pressure.

This is comparing an Ingersoll Rand at 7bar vs Clarke at 10 bar

[BogMonster]

I think it depends on what the question is.

Some of us want to know "will cheap-and-cheerful get the job done?"

Others want to know "is the step up to middle-of-the-road worth the cost difference?"

And still others want to know "is the bees-knees tool something that will make me smile every time I use it?"

All three seem to me to be valid questions. Trouble is when someone asks "what should I buy?" we don't really know which question they're asking. Some of us provide the answer to 1, while others provide the answers to 2 or 3.

Good points. I suppose asking for tool advice without background is a bit like the posts (and phone calls for those of us who work in the business) along the lines of "my rover is broken can anybody tell me what is wrong" with no further info on either the vehicle or the problem

In fact in reality the answer to all three above questions is usually Yes (yes a cheap one will more or less do the job, yes a better one will do it better and yes a bling one will give you a throb if you like that sort of thing) so then it's just a case of how much you want to spend

My spec and I think a good base spec on a rattle gun is that if it can't take off slightly overtightened wheelnuts at 100psi then it ain't much good. That's why I'm buying a new one - Draper might claim 250ft lb for the one I have, but it won't take off wheel nuts done up to half that unless I crack them off first with a breaker bar or stuff 150psi up it and my compressor only does 115.

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

^^^

I Like that

I HATE paying out money for something that when you try and use it it is less than F useless

and I've wasted my money - whereas some cheap things are fab (Speedglass cheater lens for example)

Nige