Best value impact wrench

[Joe 90]

Is the dewalt dcf899b the best value impact wrench at about £150 for big bolts at the minute.
I've dewalt and milwaukee spare batteries. But the milwaukee range is confusing and I think more expensive.
Even open to suggestions of new air impact wrench. But cordless seems so much handier even just to do a job outside the garage.

 

[gaz1]

@roofman has one in the sales section if your interested in a better model

 

[Chris Snow]

dcf899b

I have one. Not given it much abuse but its been no trouble.

 

[armalites]

I have the Dewalt DCF899 with hog/friction ring and value for money it's very good. My lad has some Milwaukee kit and he has just bought the M18 Hi -Torque. They feel very similar in the hand. We had a back to back test on Friday evening when we were swapping the the centres on big tractor wheels. The Milwaukee had a clear edge in performance but you are looking £100 more.

 

[Brad93]

Milwaukee have a tonne of power options

 

[Joe 90]

I have the Dewalt DCF899 with hog/friction ring and value for money it's very good. My lad has some Milwaukee kit and he has just bought the M18 Hi -Torque. They feel very similar in the hand. We had a back to back test on Friday evening when we were swapping the the centres on big tractor wheels. The Milwaukee had a clear edge in performance but you are looking £100 more.

Is it strong enough to remove tractor wheels. I remember my air impact not being able too.

 

[frank horton]

Just bought the top of the range 1/2 Milwaukee, M18 fuel, key (can be set by bluetooth)....(bare)...€266 euros delivered......
there's a place in the midlands doing it for £240 English pounds now.....was over 300 bare.....

 

[armalites]

We were doing 27mm wheel nuts, they weren't seized but they were tight, Dewalt did fine but not as well as the Milwaukee.

I guess it all depends on the size, I have a CP 7748 1/2" air impact which at one point was the most powerful 1/2" and both battery impact out gunned it.

When my lad tightened the centres with his M18 I couldn't get them any tighter with a 36" breaker bar.

 

[zzr1200]

For an air wrench my personal choice is an Ingrsoll Rand 1/2" 1760nm of grunt


2235QTIMAX SERIES IMPACT WRENCH

 

[Bornfree]

For tractor rears you need a 3/4" air wrench minimum , I tend to use a 1" drive one. I've never seen a 1/2" air wrench that will touch tractor wheel nuts. I've no idea about battery ones. Too expensive and the hassle of flat batteries just when you need to use it puts me off.

 

[zzr1200]

For tractor rears you need a 3/4" air wrench minimum , I tend to use a 1" drive one. I've never seen a 1/2" air wrench that will touch tractor wheel nuts. I've no idea about battery ones. Too expensive and the hassle of flat batteries just when you need to use it puts me off.

Have a look at their web site, they will happily sell you a 2-1/2" drive fun gun if you have enough beer tokens...

 

[roofman]

I have the Dewalt DCF899 with hog/friction ring and value for money it's very good. My lad has some Milwaukee kit and he has just bought the M18 Hi -Torque. They feel very similar in the hand. We had a back to back test on Friday evening when we were swapping the the centres on big tractor wheels. The Milwaukee had a clear edge in performance but you are looking £100 more.

I have the same model with a couple of 5Ah battery's and with 950Nm its more than adequate for my needs

 

[conor1n]

I looked into these about 12 months ago. The DCF899x is a pretty hot machine for £150. I paid £150 for a lesser Dewalt model, that had only 450Nm torque. The logic being that I would be able to access more places with it for automotive work.

I cannot comment on heavier work, but for automotive this will get you very far.

 

[armalites]

For tractor rears you need a 3/4" air wrench minimum , I tend to use a 1" drive one. I've never seen a 1/2" air wrench that will touch tractor wheel nuts. I've no idea about battery ones. Too expensive and the hassle of flat batteries just when you need to use it puts me off.

Both our 1/2" battery units did the rears with no issues. If you have a look at the Torque Test Channel on Youtube the Milwaukee M18 Hi-Torq is the highest tested 1/2" battery unit but they have 1/2" air units that have tested way higher.

All of the "nut busting" numbers are total nonsense in the real world, the Milwaukee M18 lists 1898NM! which it will never achieve in practise

I like air impacts but it's hard to argue with the new battery units, with modern batteries it actually better for them to be charged before they get too low and if you have 2-3 batteries there isn't really a good excuse for not having a charged battery available.

My lad has the Milwaukee M18 grease gun too and they are about £160, he took it work recently he went through 8 cartridges and greased everything in about an hour when it normally takes all morning with a manual unit and he'd done all the difficult to reach ones to because all he had to do was pull the trigger

 

[northwest]

I have the little 12volt Milwaukee 3/8" drive impact.
Impressed the hell out of me when it took the wheel nuts off the Ford KA, they had been hammered on.

 

[mtt.tr]

I wouldn't think twice about the dewalt one, my local tyre fitters have them so

A: they must undo nuts well
B: they must be tough
C: they must do up nuts beyond a sensible level

 

[Craig-SM]

I have the little 12volt Milwaukee 3/8" drive impact.
Impressed the hell out of me when it took the wheel nuts off the Ford KA, they had been hammered on.

I have the M18 Hi Torque and the M12 Stubby, both in 1/2 inch. The M12 Stubby is great to use and 340nm has loads of grunt for most jobs. The M18 Hi Torque has yet to beaten but for most jobs it’s just too big

 

[armalites]

I wouldn't think twice about the dewalt one, my local tyre fitters have them so

A: they must undo nuts well
B: they must be tough
C: they must do up nuts beyond a sensible level

A good test environment for sure and they are cheap enough not to get too stressed if they get driven over. If you already have the batteries then they are hard to beat for £150

I have the same model with a couple of 5Ah battery's and with 950Nm its more than adequate for my needs

I wonder how many wheels you could change on a 5ah, I can't ever remember charging a battery on mine because it was flat.

 

[Bornfree]

Both our 1/2" battery units did the rears with no issues. If you have a look at the Torque Test Channel on Youtube the Milwaukee M18 Hi-Torq is the highest tested 1/2" battery unit but they have 1/2" air units that have tested way higher.

All of the "nut busting" numbers are total nonsense in the real world, the Milwaukee M18 lists 1898NM! which it will never achieve in practise

I like air impacts but it's hard to argue with the new battery units, with modern batteries it actually better for them to be charged before they get too low and if you have 2-3 batteries there isn't really a good excuse for not having a charged battery available.

My lad has the Milwaukee M18 grease gun too and they are about £160, he took it work recently he went through 8 cartridges and greased everything in about an hour when it normally takes all morning with a manual unit and he'd done all the difficult to reach ones to because all he had to do was pull the trigger

They are well out of my price range. I paid £50 for my 1" drive and £80 for my 3/4" both 2nd hand over 15 years ago and they are still going strong.

 

[Joe 90]

Is hog ring easier to take sockets on and off than the detent pin?