Impact wrench - how many Nm?

[brewdexta]

I've got some very stubborn wheel nuts My 12 impact driver won't touch them, so I moved up to windy guns. None of them touch them either. They are quite small diameter wheels and deeply dished so not easy to get a breaker bar on them. So I have an excuse for a 1/2" 18v Milwaukee impact wrench, because I have the batteries and several 18v tools already.

There seems to be 3 models, one with 339Nm of nut busting torque, another with 881nm and has a nice memory function so you can torque up nuts to the same torque once you have set it, and another that delivers 1897hm. prices are £125, £188 and £230 respectively

My gut says the middle one will do it, but what do you think?

 

[Barking Mat]

Is the top end model that much better than the middle priced model ? Specs ?

Checked any Milwaukee tool forum things, they probably exist, their thoughts ?

 

[Pete.]

I had to remove perhaps 2-3000 M20 nuts and bolts a couple of years ago some of which were very tight . We bought a couple of Makita 18v nut guns with 1000nm break-off torque, and there weren't many that they wouldn't undo.

 

[Melvyn Best]

Impressed with my 1897NM beast that replaced my Snap On windy gun with, I think , 1200 NM the only thing I don’t like is the weight

 

[J1nx]

Check the torque channels latest YT vid, sorry to be a Gaz! They are Milwaukee fans but the latest and greatest has serious failure issues, unsure on model numbers or I would of said

Edit, found vid:

 

[brewdexta]

Looking at pneumatic impact wrenches, they seem to range from about 800Nm for a Ckarke, up to 1600Nm for a top of the range Atlas Copco titanium beast. Seeing as I tried a very old, tired Atlas Copco, and a new Machine mart type, I probably need north of 800Nm so I'll go for the big-un

 

[tigdlo]

Torque figures don't mean much between brands, torque test channel is very good, I haven't seen any bias as low a bar as that should be it's rare.

We bought a couple of Makita 18v nut guns with 1000nm break-off torque, and there weren't many that they wouldn't undo.

Sounds like the dtw700, I have one, amazing for the size. "break-off" much better than "nut-busting" I wish whoever started that all the worst luck in the world.

 

[sako243]

I've gone one of the first or second gen (can't remember) 1/2" hi torque guns (the 1200/1800Nm one) and it makes stuff like wheel nuts a doddle but it's big. Too big for quite a bit of stuff on the Defender (as in to fit into spaces).

My go to these days is actually the M12 1/2" stubby. That's an absolute joy, nice and light with a 2Ah battery and will just about manage wheel nuts on the Defender but it rattles about a bit before breaking them off. Nice and compact so fits into most spaces.

I've not tried the middle ones of the M18 range but to be honest if the M12 is struggling on up to say M14 hotels then chances are the bolt is going to shear so the M18 is then the go to and either it'll come off or snap it.

Given the failure rates of the recent M18 big guns I'd be wary of them to be honest despite being almost exclusively Milwaukee.

 

[dobbslc]

I have the 24v Clarke one and I'm not particularly impressed with it.

 

[Pete.]

Torque figures don't mean much between brands, torque test channel is very good, I haven't seen any bias as low a bar as that should be it's rare.

Sounds like the dtw700, I have one, amazing for the size. "break-off" much better than "nut-busting" I wish whoever started that all the worst luck in the world.

Yes, well the 701 but it's the same thing. It's a great balance between size and punch.

 

[8ob]

I've got some very stubborn wheel nuts My 12 impact driver won't touch them, so I moved up to windy guns. None of them touch them either. They are quite small diameter wheels and deeply dished so not easy to get a breaker bar on them. So I have an excuse for a 1/2" 18v Milwaukee impact wrench, because I have the batteries and several 18v tools already.

There seems to be 3 models, one with 339Nm of nut busting torque, another with 881nm and has a nice memory function so you can torque up nuts to the same torque once you have set it, and another that delivers 1897hm. prices are £125, £188 and £230 respectively

My gut says the middle one will do it, but what do you think?

339nm won’t quite shift a stubborn wheel stud/nut, 881nm is more than adequate for cars or vans.

Bob

 

[brewdexta]

Check the torque channels latest YT vid, sorry to be a Gaz! They are Milwaukee fans but the latest and greatest has serious failure issues, unsure on model numbers or I would of said

Edit, found vid:

Just had chance to watch this. Sounds like I need to avoid the newer compact versions.

I found the older gen high torque non-compact for 200 quid. Still a lot of dough for relatively occasionsl use. I'm going to have another go with a breaker bar tomorrow. All 16 nuts over 4 wheels are tight as hell but I only need one wheel off to do a spot of welding behind it, then I can take it to my mates garage for the rest of the nuts, I'm pretty sure he has some monster impact wrenches.

I'll probably end up getting one at some point, I'll see what I think in the morning, I've hit the tool budget quite hard recently......

 

[Craig-SM]

I have the Milwaukee M12 stubby at 339nm and the big M18 at 1897nm. The little one gets most use on wheels and suspension, very rare do I need to get the big one out and the little one gets into all the places the big one has no chance of getting to.

 

[brewdexta]

I'm thinking that once I undo these tinkers, a smaller one would suffice. I have an M12 impact driver, not wrench, but I think that's only rated to 170Nn but has still removed some stubborn nuts.

 

[Erie Fred]

I'm thinking that once I undo these tinkers, a smaller one would suffice. I have an M12 impact driver, not wrench, but I think that's only rated to 170Nn but has still removed some stubborn nuts.

I was thinking same, have you a slugging wrench ?
Or weld one up ?

 

[MetalMonkey]

Maybe try a mid torque? - my Hikoki one is a beast.
I've often been tempted by their High Torque, but I just can't find an application where the need justifies the cost.
But if it absolutely has to move, there is always the torque multiplier.

Echo what has already been said about torque figures being arbitrary.
TTC gives a good benchmark for most of the popular impacts, Milwaukee have had a couple of duff releases with known faults so it is well worth researching to pick the right generation.

 

[brewdexta]

My neighbouring farmer is coming around this morning to help finish off a bit of fencing so we can let his cows into our fields. We always wait until the wild flowers have been out for a while and there's plenty of bee forage before letting them eat it off. One field he will small square bale, I've had to swap out a 9ft gate for a 10ft so he can get the bailer in.

What has this got to do with Nm and wheel nuts you may ask Well he's a tight northern Yorkshire farmer and built like a brick outhouse. He's got a pile of rusty machinery that he coaxes back into life every year without an impact wrench so I'm guessing he'll undo the wheel I need to get off for welding the wheel arch, probably with his teeth

 

[prepman]

Bought a 2nd Makita for caravan hub nuts, as 1st smaller one couldn't shifted them....

Makita DTW300Z 18v LXT Brushless Impact Wrench 1/2" Drive 4 Speed - Bare Tool 88381898003 | eBay

The Makita DTW300 18v LXT brushless 1/2" impact wrench is ideal for engineers and mechanics. The impact wrench features a variable speed trigger and an electronic 4 stage impact power selection to suit the application at hand. The trigger switch has a full speed mode allowing you to change the...

www.ebay.co.uk

The next size up is very heavy. Wayback, I bought a torque multiplier for the tractor wheelnuts. Unused and will probably stay that way.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/375214794142

 

[Trevorleach]

Big boy version of the impact every time, you will curse yourself if you get either of the smaller units.
Only buy the Fuel versions.

 

[brewdexta]

We're just bouncing on the breaker bar. I've ordered an M18ONEFHIWF12, I'm too old for this!