Snap on impact gun alternative

[adamfitz]

Afternoon all, I've been browsing the net over the last few days in search of an impact gun for work. The snap of 3/8 14.4v springs up due to its compact size and packs a punch. However the price is eye wateringly steep!

Has anyone got any alternatives? Ive got some 18v dewalt tools so thought about going down that route as I could potentially by just the bare unit, however my other tools are home use so they wouldnt all be together.
Milwaukee M12 fuel-nice and compact, seems to have a reasonable amount of torque, another option is the bosch.
Anybody with first hand experience?

Thanks

 

[Badger1bear]

Milwaukee impact, all the way from the 3/8 up to the 3/4

I have my eye on the 1” impact m18 Milwaukee are developing

 

[gaz1]

i have the 18v 3/8 and 1/2" and also the drill and reciprocating saw all for sale

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/snap-on-battery-tools.79756/#post-1151171

 

[anto44]

I've had snapon battery impact guns for the last 15 years and the newest model ones are useless. They're very underpowered, the Milwaukee and dewalt both have way more power. The other thing is reliability, I never had one issue with the older ones but the new lithium ion ones are just soft, the connections on top of the battery go loose, the chargers just pack up and stop working. The guns themselves suffer from solder connections breaking and I know of a good few that have caught fire over this. There's only 1 year warranty on them also.
I'd say go with the Milwaukee or dewalt.
We tested the snapon,dewalt and Milwaukee against each other in work and the Milwaukee was the best, dewalt a close second and the snapon was miles behind

 

[mr haynes]

Hazet, german left field option?

https://www.hazet.de/en/products/pn.../1480/cordless-impact-wrench?number=en_9212-3

 

[123hotchef]

i have the 3/8 milwake it is great but would not do lug nuts

 

[adamfitz]

I've had snapon battery impact guns for the last 15 years and the newest model ones are useless. They're very underpowered, the Milwaukee and dewalt both have way more power. The other thing is reliability, I never had one issue with the older ones but the new lithium ion ones are just soft, the connections on top of the battery go loose, the chargers just pack up and stop working. The guns themselves suffer from solder connections breaking and I know of a good few that have caught fire over this. There's only 1 year warranty on them also.
I'd say go with the Milwaukee or dewalt.
We tested the snapon,dewalt and Milwaukee against each other in work and the Milwaukee was the best, dewalt a close second and the snapon was miles behind

interesting stuff thanks bud. Ive done a bit more internet browsing and it seems like the dewalt 18v impact drivers pack some good torque. I have one already which gets used a fair bit in my own workshop and around the house. looking at some of the brushless ones they are up at 200nm of torque and reasonable money

 

[gavcarter]

I've got the 3/4 Milwaukee m18. Havnt met anything it can't undo yet.
Get the hang of using a UJ on one and you can poke exensions into all sorts of places to undo tight nuts and bolts.....
It does hammer the UJ's mins so don't use a good one lol

 

[Bill Edwards]

Milwaukee are widely considered to be the best choice for cordless impacts, and that's well earned. Nothing seems to match their performance, compact size and long warranty.

Milwaukee impact, all the way from the 3/8 up to the 3/4

I have my eye on the 1” impact m18 Milwaukee are developing

Looked this up, could be interesting but it's not gonna be cheap!

 

[Migmac]

The wind farm boys here use the 1/2 inch Milwaukee fuels, they have some big stuff to deal with. They haven’t come on anything these Milwaukee’s won’t shift. One of my sons work mates has just bought one to use on the heavy plant

 

[arther dailey]

bought a 18v milwaukee fuel mid torque half inch, reasonably compact, and undo s my 3500kg van wheel nuts no problem, I really rate it. reckon the full torque would turn the van upside down!

 

[Ashley Burton]

Another thumbs up for Milwaukee here. I've got M12 & M18 3/8 Fuel Impact's & they are fantastic!

 

[Ruffian]

Got the 18v xr dewalt range,

And love it to bits,

In America they do a 3/8 18v gun, and need to speak to the UK dewalt distribution agent to see if available

Dcf890

 

[Bill Edwards]

This never fails to make me smile

 

[123hotchef]

i might invest in the 1/2 18v gun when i go to the usa this year then

 

[armalites]

If you've already got Dewalt tools then it makes sense to go down that route but as you say they will be in separate locations. I've got a Dewalt DCF899. It compares very closely to the Milwaukee and in the tests I saw it was slightly up on power. Having just replaced my cordless kit I had planned to go Milwaukee but the price differential far outweighed the benefits for me. Some of the Milwaukee bare tools are £200 more than the equivalent Dewalt unit. Availability of the Dewalt kit is far better too.

Which ever way you go I'm sure you'll be happy.

 

[p0689109]

Milwaukee impact, all the way from the 3/8 up to the 3/4

I have my eye on the 1” impact m18 Milwaukee are developing

Your are aptly tagged Bear then as my Dewalt 18v is hefty enough to handle especially lying on your back under a car undoing nuts of different sizes and torques.

 

[Badger1bear]

Milwaukee are widely considered to be the best choice for cordless impacts, and that's well earned. Nothing seems to match their performance, compact size and long warranty.




Looked this up, could be interesting but it's not gonna be cheap!

Good things rarely are buddy if you want reliability then its Milwaukee

 

[wristpin]

Hazet, german left field option?

https://www.hazet.de/en/products/pn.../1480/cordless-impact-wrench?number=en_9212-3

The one in that link looks a dead ringer for my Makita!

 

[hotponyshoes]

I have a bosch 18v 1/2".
It's the high-torque version that they do.

Made sense for me as I have all the bosch batteries so I bought it as a bare unit.

It has just as much power as a snap on. Build quality is not as good (although all parts are individually available). It's also nothing like the same sort of finish as the snapon / milwalk versions. The plastic casing will get scratched up easily and the rubber grip is no were near as tough.

Suits me as I only use it for machine assembly and the odd wheel change on my own car. I would think it would end up looking tatty pretty quickly if you used it in a garage or for farm work etc.

Having said that I have had it a couple of years and taken a fair few rusty bolts out of farm machines etc. and it's held up pretty well considering it was half the price of the snapon gun.

The bosch is also a fair bit lighter than the others which helps a lot if you are working under a car on a ramp (or on your back) or going up and down ladders with it.
You can make it lighter still by using the 1/4 size batteries and bosch also do 9ah (think a 12ah is due soon) and batteries with wireless charging which can be a big advantage over the snapon (depending on what you use it for)

To sum it up, the bosch will do anything the others will do and do it as often as you want.
If I was going to use it all day every day I would get the snapon. I think dropping the bosch from the worktop would be enough to break the casing up. I have dropped my mates snapon gun loads of times and he's never even noticed!