Air Compressor vs impact wrench

[sLADe781]

What's the difference between an air compressor and an impact wrench? We're thinking about picking up one of them so which one do you guys think will be better for repairs. Thanks.

[Linebckr49]

an air compressor is simply a tank with a compressor attached that will compress air. air tools can be attached via an air hose. the compressed air operates the air tools. various air tools include an air hammer, spray gun, impact wrench , and many many others.

so basically, you would need an air compressor if you got an air powered impact wrench.

however, there is an alternative, one that i took. since i did not want to get a bulky compressor, i chose to get an electric impact wrench. the electrics don't put out as much torque as the air wrenches, but can be used w/o a compressor.

as for electric impact wrenches:

--Kobalt sells one (sold only at Lowe's--Kobalt is made by Mac Tools, very good high quality brand). the Kobalt electric impact wrench (one that i have) is around $100, maybe a bit more. puts out 240 lb-ft of torque. and comes with a carrying case and an impact socket set. nice package.

--DeWalt sells one for around $175 (i've seen it at Lowe's as well). puts out around 275-300 lb-ft of torque. don't think it comes with impact sockets. also, it is larger (bulkier) than the Kobalt one.

--Rigid (brand sold at Home Depot, very dependable and has been around for a long time) sells one for around the same price of the DeWalt wrench. unsure of the package. the Rigid impact wrench puts out around 400 lb-ft of torque, but yes, is even a bit larger than the DeWalt.

i almost sold my Kobalt impact wrench to get the Rigid one for that extra torque, but honestly, i don't use even the Kobalt one enough to justify getting another. if the 240 lb-ft of torque isn't enough, then simply get a long pipe extension for the breaker bar / socket driver and use your leg to push.

yes, impact wrenches can make everything go faster, but can you justify the cost? ideally, if i wanted to make everything go faster, i would get a compressor, impact wrench, then an impact RATCHET for those smaller bolts that don't require the huge amount of torque that a wrench puts out. impact ratchets are probably used more often than impact wrenches, b/c of their small size so that they can get into small places that a wrench wouldn't fit.

hope this helps.

[xXxRocker5150]

^wow man, good write up .

[Linebckr49]

Originally Posted by xXxRocker5150

^wow man, good write up .

thanks, man. i did my research before buying one. when i had to replace my rear suspension crossmember, i knew i would probably need an impact wrench b/c some of those bolts are torqued down very tightly. i found the Kobalt and DeWalt wrenches at the same time. it was only later that Rigid came out with one as well. since then, i've seen others, but they like to give you the torque output in IN-LBS rather than FT-LBS. so you just have to do a little conversion, to find the true magnitude of power.

i think its quite funny how advertisers appeal to the average shopper by simply putting big numbers on a product thinking that will sell it. any moron would ask what those numbers mean, and what relevance they have.

the electric impact wrenches i've mentioned are corded. some manufacturers actually sell cordLESS electric impact wrenches; these are supposedly great for last-minute repairs at the track (or any place you don't have an electrical outlet). however, these cost a pretty penny, nothing under $250, most likely all over $300. and you would obviously need a second battery (quite expensive as well ~$50 at least for ~18v battery) b/c you can't recharge ur cordless impact wrench if there is no electrical outlet nearby.

The downside of batteries is that when they are recharged, they cannot recharge to full capacity. this recharging capacity continues to diminish every recharge cycle, until finally after 100 or so cycles, the battery will no longer hold a charge and becomes "bad" or useless. This is where the corded electric impact wrenches (AND air powered impact wrenches) have the advantage.

[sLADe781]

Linebckr49, thanks for info. I always thought that the air compressor was the actual tool that I would be using to remove the bolts and so forth. I didn't know that I would need an impact wrench as well. So yeah, I will probably getting an impact wrench then. I tried looking for an impact RATCHET as well but couldn't really find any (actually, I didn't find any at all). We'll see....thanks again...

[talskinyguy]

Originally Posted by sLADe781

I tried looking for an impact RATCHET as well but couldn't really find any (actually, I didn't find any at all).

Probably because such a tool does not exsist. What exactly are you looking for? Maybe an air ratchet? Or what are you looking for the tool to do?

[Linebckr49]

Originally Posted by talskinyguy

Probably because such a tool does not exsist. What exactly are you looking for? Maybe an air ratchet? Or what are you looking for the tool to do?

ya, air ratchet. whateveryouwannacallit, talskinyguy . na, i get what you're saying. technically, the impact wrench looks like a gun b/c it delivers impacting blows to the bolt it is trying to loosen/tighten. hence the 'impact' wrench. the ractchet doesn't do this b/c its rated for a much smaller torque output, so we just call it an 'air ratchet'.

thanks for the clarification, talboy.