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NC KS | Seems to be many discussions on cordless impacts vs air impacts. This morning I was removing a metric nut that needed a 15 mm socket. My 3/8 Dewalt DCF 890 (at or near top of line for Dewalt), couldn't moved it on multiple tries even with a charged up battery. I grabbed my Carquest pistol grip 3/8" impact. I had an air regulator on the line due to plasma cutting. It was set below 100 psi. I was embarrassed at how much time I had wasted with the cordless as the air version had nut off before I could get my finger off the trigger. I have seen this ending before. |
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NWKS | If you are going cordless impact, regardless of brand, don't waste your time with anything less than a 1/2" impact. 3/8" are good for tight spaces I suppose, but anything that has been torqued, you need the 1/2" drive. Won't get them all, but they are handy as hell for 75% of anything hook them to. |
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Nebraska, The land of corn and cattle | We use the 3/8 Dewalt more than any other, pretty much most things 3/4" head and under.
I'm somewhat disappointed with our 1/2 Dewalt impact, granted it's 18v which I've heard isn't great but Id rather use the air one |
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| I use it a lot because it is small and lightweight, it’s 20v brushless, when it won’t do it I go to the 1/2”brushless. It knocks the pants off the old 18v impact. I’m typically no where near an air compressor. I get by I guess. I really don’t use the 1/2” very often. |
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N.W. Ohio | Even at 1/2" drives... Air will out power cordless everytime. Now don't get me wrong we use the battery power in fields and saved us a lot of time dragging generator and compessor out to field but Air has more ass than battery.
Edited by Showtime 2/21/2018 13:20
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| Show me a battery that will twist off a 1/2" grade 5 bolt then we will talk. Until then ...............
I have a Dewalt 1/2" it's a joke. |
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| We have the top of the line Ingersoll Rand 1/2" drive impact and the 1,400 ft/lb Milwaukee Fuel 1/2" drive and I think they are pretty comparable but I haven't had a situation where one wouldn't loosen a bolt and the other would. |
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Sw. Ill | Thats not my experience at all, but i do have some tired old air impacts i guess. Maybe a high end air gun could compare?
Edited by Dmpaul89 2/21/2018 13:39
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N.W. Ohio | I dont want to start a color war but I will agree that milwaukee will smoke the pants off a dewalt when it comes to 1/2 drive impacts. Had a milwaukee and trigger went out and bought a dewalt to try it... yeah Milwaukee is better |
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SE MT | The Milwaukee fuel 3/8 will beat the pants off the dewalt as well. My 3/8 i/r titanium barely has more power than my Milwaukee....Will twist off 3/8 bolts no problem...much more convenient and portable.......sometimes the solution is a brand change |
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Alberta, Canada | I have a fuel 1/2" and 3/8" plus a 3/8 12volt Milwaukee ratchet and love them all. Wish I had them 25 years ago and all the years I worked as a tech in the auto shops!!!! |
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SE SD | want to sell your 20 v 1/2" dewalt? |
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Ontario | berggrenfarms - 2/21/2018 13:52
We use the 3/8 Dewalt more than any other, pretty much most things 3/4" head and under.
I'm somewhat disappointed with our 1/2 Dewalt impact, granted it's 18v which I've heard isn't great but Id rather use the air one
the 20v brushless is FAR better then the cordless impacts most are used to. i'd put mine up against any 1/2" air and even some of the 3/4" |
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Pesotum, IL | I agree with the two above. The 3/8" cordless Snap On in my box gets used more than anything else. But, like anything else, each tool has a job. The 3/8" (only a 14.4V) is great when you're rolling around on a creeper doing a lot of work above your head. You probably won't lose a tooth if you drop it. But, there are jobs where a 1/2" impact is the tool you need. That's why I have both. Also, cordless and air both have their places as well. If I were limited to just one, I'd have to seriously consider what I was working on the majority of the time. Am I changing field cultivator sweeps or changing tires. If sweeps, I'd take the 3/8" in a heartbeat. If tires, the 1/2". For what I do now and what I've done in the past, I can't say there is a one size fits all solution. |
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Ontario | tooth and nail - 2/21/2018 14:22
Show me a battery that will twist off a 1/2" grade 5 bolt then we will talk. Until then ...............
I have a Dewalt 1/2" it's a joke.
my Dewalt will twist em off all day long. you're obviously using the old ones that cap out around 450ft-lbs. the new brushless from either Dewalt or Milwaukee are over 1000ft-lbs in reverse |
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North Eastern ND | Each company makes many different models of cordless impacts. Might wanna compare apples to apples when saying this or that sucks.
I have a few Dewalt 1/2 and 3/8 impacts. My newest 20v heavy duty 1/2 has taken any wheel bolt or any bolt I’ve tried for that matter. Nothing has stopped it yet. My lighter and smaller versions aren’t even in the same league .... smaller is handier so they each have a place here. |
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McCanna, ND | tooth and nail - 2/21/2018 12:22
Show me a battery that will twist off a 1/2" grade 5 bolt then we will talk. Until then ...............
I have a Dewalt 1/2" it's a joke.
BTDT. Made a puller for a stump jumper bolt sheared before stump jumper came. Took a welder 3-4 hours with a combo of torch/plasma/air arc to get it off |
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Pesotum, IL | Lots of variables to consider. At 90psi (which the craftsman in our shop likes to run at) the air impacts are pretty gutless. I'd say the 1/2" cordless Snap On I have can certainly hold it's own with the 1/2" Snap On air impact. But, put 150+ psi to the air impacts (like our dealership air system) and the 1/2" air will walk all over the cordless. Air tools are only as good as the volume and pressure of air you can supply them with. Comparing air tools at low air pressure and volume is no different than comparing cordless tools with a weak battery. |
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| Only thing a 1/2 inch air impact is good for is telling my kids the struggle I had before the battery powered impacts came along. I still have a one inch impact that every month or two gets wrestled out. |
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SE Nebraska, Near Misery and Cans Ass! | tooth and nail - 2/21/2018 13:22 Show me a battery that will twist off a 1/2" grade 5 bolt then we will talk. Until then ............... I have a Dewalt 1/2" it's a joke. Harbor freight Earthquake will do it all the time! |
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North Central Iowa | If you have a air system set up right they are hands down much better than an battery gun. Very few shops have a good air system. Battery guns have their place and they are perfect for it. |
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The Internet | My Makita has 1050nm of tightening torque, which is a little over double the Chicago Pneumatic air gun we have. |
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Somewhere in North central Iowa | I have both. Air wins every time but the dewalt battery one is awesome to have when not in the shop.
John |
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100 miles north of the NYC crapper | tooth and nail - 2/21/2018 13:22
Show me a battery that will twist off a 1/2" grade 5 bolt then we will talk. Until then ...............
I have a Dewalt 1/2" it's a joke.
Milwaukee Fuel 1/2”
Twisted off 9/16” lug on our dump wagon and it had no problem with the 5/8 cutterhead bolts on 900 forage harvester |
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Pasco WA. | https://www.ingersollrandproducts.com/en-us/power-tools/products/imp...
Read what Ingersol Rand says. I have that cordless and its a beast. Never use the air anymore. |
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Mather, Manitoba | No comparison during construction. Especially building bins and doing work know here near a power source. Not tripping over air lines. |
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Clark, SD | +1 on that. Milwaukee 1/2 will beat anything out there, even the snappy one |
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Glad Valley SD | A dcf890 is a long way from the top, it's only rated at 150 ft lbs a dcf899 is rated to 700 ft lbs and 1200 ft lbs in reverse. |
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Pasco WA. | I have a IR 20 volt. Its a brute. How will the Milwaukee compare? |
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Hillsboro, OH | tooth and nail - 2/21/2018 14:22
Show me a battery that will twist off a 1/2" grade 5 bolt then we will talk. Until then ...............
I have a Dewalt 1/2" it's a joke.
I've broken 1/2" grade 8 bolts with my old Bosch cordless impact. My new Milwaukee will not think twice about it. Get yourself one. You'll be glad you did. |
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Southern Missouri | We carry the new 1/2 inch fuel milwaukee high torques and the fuel 3/8 and wont let the less experienced help use the high torque half inchers cause theyll screw up bolts and threads that are just fine till too much torque applied,in my operation for last couple years only air impact ever touched is the 1 inch,all the smaller ones are covered up in junk laying in the corners dont miss them one bit. |
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NC KS | I was comparing 3/8 drives not 1/2. The 899 is a half drive.
The DCF890 is brushless 20 volt. If it isn't the best 3/8 drive Dewalt has, it can't be much lower than 2nd place. The air impact I compared it to is a $70 air tool-long ways from the top of the line in 3/8 drive. |
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| Why tho? I don't need to drag a hose around, worry about dust, worry about oiling, or worry about water. I'm sure there's applications where it makes sense but for farm use 95% of the time a battery impact is a better fit. I wonder if the same guys arguing against a battery impact are the ones that were dragging there feet on row shutoffs, yield maps, hydraulic drive planters, and other technology? |
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| Guy had a video on YouTube measuring the torque on the new Milwaukee with a 1.25 inch bolt and did get 1400 lbs. He actually ended up breaking the nut and he redid it. |
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NW KS | I have two good cordless Milwaukee impacts but still use the air impact occasionally. I have found that the 1/2 air impact does seem to hit a little harder than the 1/2 cordless. It isn't w whole lot more but can be enough to make a difference. If an impact doesn't take something loose in the first 10-15 seconds I usually move on to a larger tool.
Something else that hasn't been mentioned is the weight. A good composite 1/2" air wrench will weigh considerably less than a 1/2" battery impact. When I have several bolts to do I generally use the air impact. The gun weighs less and I don't have to worry about keeping batteries charged. The cordless impacts are very convenient but the air impacts still have still very useful at times too. |
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Macon, IL | I am pretty happy with my dewalts-but agree-my 10 year old HF Earthquake is still a great gun when I need umph.
Bought the 1" Central Pneumatics from HF too-that thing is downright dangerous-but kicks butt! |
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Ludington/Manistee MI area | Got 18v Dewalt and gave my air impact to the neighbor. He had issues with his old one and the air impact sat on the shelf for a couple years. Rather use a breaker bar than a air impact.
I have Dewalt at home and Milwaukee at work I like Dewalt much better. |
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Clark, SD | It will blow it away. I think the milwaukee is the best impact on the market and its brushless so there's no brushes to wear out. Also as far as I've found they have the best warranty especially compared to the snap on impact which also cost a couple hundred dollars more. |
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Pesotum, IL | You ever assemble a tillage tool and you will realize the need for air powered impacts. After a few dozen lock nuts and changing batteries ever ten minutes, it’s time to pull out the air impact.
I even bought a 3/4” specifically for that reason. The big 1”+ lock nuts were burning up 1/2” air impacts |
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| My 3/8 Earthquake 20v from Harbor Freight will definately outperform my old 3/8 air impact. |
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Cordless impact vs air impact
