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Tool recommendation? V. cordless impacts

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botboy

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Delano, MN, USA
Last year, at a job I had in Story City, IA, working on a large-scale farm, I was provided with a Snap-On CT30 9.6V Cordless impact, and several batteries. I really liked using the cordless impact, and thanks to a new restoration job on a Porsche 914 I just scored, I've got some tool money to blow.

That said, the CT30 is a nice little unit, but seems a bit, uh, small for most of the trucks I work on. Eventually I'd like to get a CT30 in addition to whatever I decide to buy right now, but in the meantime I'm going to buy something bigger.

I'd love to buy a Snap-On CT3850, 1/2" drive 18V, the unit looks burly as hell and I'm sure does an awesome job - but a quick ebay search showed them at $325+ used with a battery, charger and the carry case.

Accordingly, I'm looking at the Dewalt 18V Cordless 1/2" impact model DW056, which I think can be gotten used for inside of $120, which would leave me with enough money left over to also buy a descent milwaukee sawzall (another thing I've been craving for some time now).

Does anybody have experience with the DW056? Would you say yay or nay to purchasing one? I've also got a Dewalt DW972 12V cordless drill that I've been very happy with. If the Dewalt is going to suck or be comparable to the CT30 in capability, I'll probably buy the CT30 + sawzall now and save my money for a CT3850 in the future. What do you think?

Some ebay auctions I was looking at:
CT3850: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SNAP...ewItemQQcategoryZ35000QQitemZ4585251214QQrdZ1

DW056: http://cgi.ebay.com/New-DeWalt-18v-...558757772QQcategoryZ42272QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

CT30: http://cgi.ebay.com/Snap-On-Cordles...ryZ73110QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
 
I use a DeWalt 18v cordless impact on a daily basis. I am a sheetmetal installer and it beats a cordless drill hands down for driving screws and tightening bolts all day.

I have the impact that is setup for 1/4" chucks though not the 1/2" sockets. I have the 3/8" chuck adapter so I can use 3/8" drive sockets on my impact.

I used my impact to tighten a 3/8" bolt the other day and I went to recheck the torque with my hand ratchet and the bolt was very tight. I couldn't really get it to go much tighter with my ratchet unless I put a hell of a strain on it. I am a big guy and I can put a hell of a strain on bolts so I knew it was tight.

I purchased the 6pc DeWalt Cordless kit about a month ago. I am VERY happy with it. It has a cordless drill/hammer drill, impactor (1/4" chucks), sawzall, grinder, circular saw, and work light. It is a kick ass kit and I only paided $500 for it all.

I bought Dewalt because I already had a beat up old 18v cordless drill that I bought wellused and I have beaten on hard for over 6 months. It has done a great job and I figured if that old used beatup drill did that good of a job that new stuff would be well worth it.

Harley
 
Alot of people, Milwaukee guys mostly, are going to tell you that Dewalt sucks because the batteries aren't as durable, but don't listen to them. Those slide on Milwaukee batts are a pain to use. I am an electrian and I use my Dewalt sawzall and Dewalt Hammerdrill, both 18V everyday, all day, without a problem. I debated because I like the Milwaukee sawzall better, but the new Dewalt sawzall is great, and you can't beat a Dewalt drill. Now I have no experience with an impact but like the rest of your tools, it is a matter of taking care of your stuff, sure the batts may not be as durable, but if you take care of them, they will last just as long. Lots of guys throw their stuff around and treat it like crap then blame the tools when they break, now I use my stuff, but I also take care of it. So go with the Dewalt and save some cash, it is a good choice.
 
milwaukee stuff is great- their battery packs are more durable, but they pretty much designed the tool around the battery pack. (and it shows).

Dewalt battery packs are a plenty though.

I just bought a rigid 12V right angle impact and a drill- very happy with both, and rigid gives a lifetime battery warranty.
 
Looked up ratings...
Dewalt 056 18V cordless impact 98 ft/lbs torque
Snap-On CT3850 18V cordless impact 210 ft/lbs torque
Milwaukee 9027 18V cordless impact 240-270 ft/lbs torque (depending on model)

Looks like that just made my decision for me. And the milwaukee unit is about $120 cheaper than the snap-on, and the snap-on doesn't carry a lifetime warranty!
 
I can only comment on the snap on one. It's a great tool. Powerful and lasts well. I did 2 ring and pinion swaps without a recharge! The batts recharge quick too. Plus, as I have their latest cordless drill (awesome!) and work lamp, they all use the same batteries so I can swap them around if need be.
 
botboy said:
Looked up ratings...
Dewalt 056 18V cordless impact 98 ft/lbs torque
Snap-On CT3850 18V cordless impact 210 ft/lbs torque
Milwaukee 9027 18V cordless impact 240-270 ft/lbs torque (depending on model)

Looks like that just made my decision for me. And the milwaukee unit is about $120 cheaper than the snap-on, and the snap-on doesn't carry a lifetime warranty!
Click to expand...

Your info on the dewalt is only half correct. I have a 18v DeWalt Impact that has 300 ft/lbs of torque. There are 3 different models of dewalt impacts.

I have the 300 ft/lb one, and it works like a champ. Not to mention, I only paid 150.00 for it on ebay, brand new.

DW059K-2_1.jpg
 
Get the Milwaukee 18 volt impact. I have one and it blows my buddies Snap On away. If you are looking for alot of power Milwaukee has a new 28 volt impact with 325 ftlbs of torque, kinda pricey though.
28 volt impact
 
Just an update:

I ended up buying a Milwaukee 9079 electric impact, auction here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4414499150

Ended up costing me $185 when all was said and done, picked it up from UPS this past friday.

I love this thing. Build quality is good, it fits my hands well and has lots of power. Battery life is above average but I will probably be buying another 18v pack because it died when we were about 2 bolts from finishing assembly of the flatbed trailer we were working on, murphy's law I suppose :rolleyes:

It has plenty of power, the only faster I couldn't get it to take off so far was the CV nut on a '73 Porsche 914 I was disassembling this weekend, after hammering on it for about 5 minutes with the electric impact I tried using a 4' cheater pipe on a 1/2" ratchet with another 3' steel rod dug into the ground and wedged into the lug nuts to keep it from spinning, only resulted in me exploding one of dads sockets :D whoopsies, at least craftsman replaces for free. Tried heating it up red hot, hit it with the milwaukee again and the nut came right off though.

One more thing, this thing looks absolutely BAD ASS under a blacklight, as I found when I brought it into a friends house to throw a battery on the charger.
 
Cool!!! Thanks for the update, brother. I've been looking at cordless impacts lately and have really wondered if they worked as adverstised. Now I know......
 
CanmoreK5 said:
Cool!!! Thanks for the update, brother. I've been looking at cordless impacts lately and have really wondered if they worked as adverstised. Now I know......
Click to expand...

Yeah I highly recommend them, even if you get a smaller unit, they make so many jobs so much easier, so long as you don't round off a bolt head or nut. Looking forward to junkyard parts-pulling with this baby :D
 
milwaukee

I also am an electrician. I have 3 milwaukee 18 volt hammer drills, 2 18volt sawzalls and various other milwaukee electric tools. A few guys I work with have Dewalt and they don't impress me, especially the sawzall. Also a few have the Rigid drills. I haven't used one yet but they feel good and heavy duty. The only compiant I have heard from the guys that use them is that the batteries don't last very long. As far as the milwaukee 18 volt 1/2" impact goes, I have never personally used one but I have seen the milwaukee rep demonstrate one. It does an awesome job running lag bolts and big self feed auger bits. I asked the milwaukee rep how strong it was and he sadi that "You could change Tractor/Trailer tires with it." Yeah right. :surepal: If any of you have seen some of the impacts the use to do that you know that is Bulls**t. I guess it all depends on what you are using it for. I myself prefer AIR power, I just can't justify paying that much for a cordless impact no more than I would use it. but if you need sometihng more portable A cordless may be the way to go. Just carry a breaker bar with you just in case if you are planning on changing tires. You could argue all day about ford or chevy, milwaukee or dewalt, this or that everyone has their own opinion. Thats just my 2 cents. :burb: :usaflag:
 
gotchevys? said:
I myself prefer AIR power, I just can't justify paying that much for a cordless impact no more than I would use it. but if you need sometihng more portable A cordless may be the way to go.
Click to expand...
That's the only reason I got mine. I figured the time & money spent trying to run air tools out of the K5, would be a little more wisely spent on just getting some cordless stuff that was up to the task. I'll leave the on-board air for the tires. Theres nothing wrong with a good ol four-way or any other manual lug nut removal method.. but with a wife and kiddos with me, I just want to get it done, for sanitys sake. :p:

I've got a chance to use my DeWalt impact a bit more, and I'm not only happy with it, but very impressed.
 
hmmm.. for some reason i have never thought of a cordless impact, at least not as impressive or really that good, i have used an electric impact with a cord, but never cordless. how do they compare to AIR impacts?? i honestly never was in the market for an AIR impact, the shop i trained at already had them, so i have no idea on the numbers.. can these cordless jiggers do all the tasks of the AIR cousins, or are they limited by power, if so how much in your experiences (like example of what you couldnt get off on the truck with one, etc).. thanks... no mean to hi-jack, but it appears the situation is already solved :D
 
Last year I was sent out to a remote desert race pit with a Milwaukee impact for changing flats. I didn't think it would do the job, but what the heck, it beats turning the star wrenches by hand.

We changed 5 flats that day. One of them took the two of us less than a minute and most of the delay was waiting for their crew to get the spare to us. That cordless impact showed no sign of slowing down and impressed the heck out of me. I just wish that their cordless sawzall was on par with the Dewalt.
 
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