1 impact wrench

Mike Aylward

Well-known Member
I am looking for a 1" impact wrench. I don't need a high dollar outfit but I don't want a tinkertoy, either. What kinds are folks using and are you happy with your purchase? Mike
 
I had been so unimpressed with the 3/4" ones I had seen that I bought the cheapy 1" from Harbor Freight. This was years ago now. It has worked fine for me. I have no idea what they have now. I know this one takes two hands, and before long, a younger person to run it!
 
I bought a 3/4 and it would not perform any better than a 1/2 because I did not have big enough air hose. You may want to take a serious look at your compressor and hoses
 
If you are going to use it for truck wheels and the like. You will want the longer shaft or anvil as they refer to it as. Other wise the gun will hit the hub as you loosen the nuts. This is from experience as it was bought as a present years ago. Not sure what brand. It is a cheapy though. If I was looking I would start at a pawn shop or such.
Oil is the best maintenance. Not just any oil.
 
correct Any air tool must have adequate volume of air as well as pressure. On impact tools I use the rule of thumb one inch of hose, or supply line to hose for each inch of impact shaft size.
 
I have a IR 261 3/4 and I went to buy a one inch. The guy at the store asked why I needed anything larger than what I had. He guessed, correctly, that I was using 3/8 and 1/4 hoses. I have my shop plumbed with 3/4 pipe with 1/2" drops. He suggested I try 1/2 fittings and 1/2 hose before I spent a lot of money on a 1 in. impact. It made a world of difference. I couldn't believe how it woke up my impact gun. It takes pressure and volume to make them work good. I still don't have a 1" gun and don't think I need it.
 
To clarify, I am needing to remove semi wheels in addition to grain cart and combine wheels. I already have a large compressor and large supply lines. Mike
 
Yes, I am sure the air supply was inadequate where and when I was using the 3/4". It was no more powerful than a 1/2". I have 3/8" hose with 1/2" couplers and it works fine. If I was using this a lot, I would probably want to get bigger hose.
 
A cheaper 1" drive typically isn't going to be any stronger than a good 3/4" drive. Your best bet will be to hit the pawn shops, Craigs List, etc, and find a good, quality impact for a decent price. There's not that much to one of them, so even if it needs a rebuild (usually bearings will fix most problems), you can come out cheaper than buying a new China brand.

Personally I've got both IR, and CP impacts in both 3/4" and 1" and I wouldn't have anything else.

Now if your just looking for the occasional use, check out the Swench Wrenches. They are manually operated impacts, and are usually found on Ebay for a decent price. The 3/4" is rated at 750 foot pounds, and the 1" is rated at 2000 fr lbs. They will do things an impact won't do. In fact I put my 1" IR,((( feeding off a 1/2 line with a 75CFM, 150 psi screw compressor))) on some track pad bolts the other day. The bolts laughed at the impact. I broke out the 1" Swench, and gave it a couple of pops. The bolts broke right loose and I was able to take them off the rest of the way with either my impact, or by hand.
 
For truck and machinery wheels, the good 3/4s will usually get the job done. That said some days you need a 1 inch. I would recommend Chicago Pneumatic. From time to time I see them on sale for around $400.
 
I work in the family ag / truck shop. I tested a snap-on 1". Not a fan. I have a cp. Short shank I use for undercarriage work on dozer. I use a IR long shank on truck wheels. There is no 3/4 on earth that will adequately torque unmount wheels once you put the necessary extension on it. We have had two ir 1" since I can remember. We bought the first one used 27 years ago and it finally quit this year. Bought a new version of the old one and am very happy. I have always used a 1/2" hose.
 
Rereading some other posts if you want a 1" to actually work or to last for that matter (inadequate air is the second worst thing on one after water) you HAVE to have 24 cfm and 1/2" hose. If you dont believe me read the specifications.
 
I bought a 1" low end impact at Harbor Freight, rated at 1,000 ft-lbs. It has worked great for me, even on a small hose, does not hit as fast as it should without enough air but it still hits harder than any of my 1/2" impacts. It was $99.
 
Interesting. I never heard of a Swench Wrench before. Looking at their website, it appears to be basically the same thing as a torque multiplier.
 
Mike in the 22 years I owned a tire repair shop we found the only air guns worth a hoot were Ingersol Rand. Cp's would last a year if we were lucky. Thesewere in constantuse sometimes seven days a week.weusedthem till the end of the shaft where you put the socket was so worn out the sockets would fall off. They would still operate fine but we could replace them cheaper than repairing them. One of the most important things to do--Use Air Tool Oil in them and nothing else, use it daily, anything else can gum it up.
 

I find the ir hd line of impact wrenches work very well. Their 1/2 inch impact puts out as much as most 3/4 inch guns 780lbs forwards and 1100 lbs in reverse...

And their 3/4 inch ir will do most simi lugs... I do have a special 1 inch electric IR impact gun for the occasional stubborn bold or lug... It was made to remove lugs off of military vehicles, is very slow, but will sit there and break loose any thing if your strong enough to hold it up. After picking up a ir (Ingersol Rand) impact gun, I gave away all of my others. Light weight, very quiet, and double the power. As I said, the half inch will do what most 3/4 inch gun will do with over 1100 lbs of removal force.

But I run a special line with over sized fitting and an oiler for any impact work. Even the half inch gun has the larger oversize coupler on it so it can use the large line. I have the air set at 125lb as this seems to be the cutoff point for good work. Any higher does not help. any lower and the bigger guns slow down.
 
Check the fine print, and you'll find the CFM requirement given in most specifications, is only good for a 15 second trigger pull. If you need it to run continuous for a minute or more, then take that figure times 4 to get the true CFM required.
 
It's nothing like a torque multiplier, but that's what most folks think on first look. A torque multiplier is nothing but a planetary that uses gearing to increase the output in relation to the input. A Swench has no gears. What it has is a ratchet mechanism, a hammer mechanism, and huge spring. As the handle is pulled, the spring is compressed until the ratchet mechanism causes the spring tension to unload on the hammer. The best way to describe it is a totally enclosed hammer wrench. Just like a regular impact, the hammer action causes the torque. I don't know what the difference between the Swench and other impacts, but the Swench seems to have a "different" torque than the others do. I don't use mine all that often, but it has saved my butt quite a few times when I ran up on a bolt my air impact wouldn't break loose, or couldn't get to. I've had both the 3/4 and 1" ones for years, and I need to get a 1/2 drive one, but haven't done so yet. I kick myself in the rear every time I run up on a situation where it could be used......
 

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