Impact gun buying questions

[Willis Fecon Bushhogging]

Robert, your first link appears to be an IR 231 and I think they've sold more of them than any other half inch impact wrench ever made. The first time I saw an impact wrench with a "composite" body, I could hardly believe it, but they turned out to be very durable and very powerful.

I think I gave $40 for my current IR231 at a pawn shop. I knew where to get the parts if I had to do anything to it, but I haven't had to do anything but oil & grease it. So far, I've not seen a mower blade a 231 wouldn't remove, but a lot of diesel mechanics bought the composite half inch Ingersolls because they're powerful enough that it keeps them from having to use the much bigger and heavier 3/4" impacts.

I agree with Bird, IR231, they are priceeee, but sometimes/all times money is a factor. Try to find this unit somewhere used, check pawn shops or Ebay. I really dont think your air compressor will handle this gun. Just to let you know how strong this gun is, I have a commerical compressor, 1/2" hose and this gun will break a 5/8" bolt with no problem. Great gun, but need the proper equipment for it

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I agree with Bird, IR231, they are priceeee, but sometimes/all times money is a factor. Try to find this unit somewhere used, check pawn shops or Ebay. I really dont think your air compressor will handle this gun. Just to let you know how strong this gun is, I have a commerical compressor, 1/2" hose and this gun will break a 5/8" bolt with no problem. Great gun, but need the proper equipment for it

What if I hook the gun to both twin tanks with an adapter? This way I would double the available air supply and refresh rate. I know our compressors will run 3-4 air nailers at a time with no trouble. I know they won't keep up with the impact but I was hoping they would be able to handle it for one or two bolts at a time as changeing blades is my main use for this gun and that is a pain in the butt job.

 

[Bird]

Robert, you may already know it, but the guns are all rated at 90 psi and some particular volume, but they'll work on more or less. If you have less, the gun will just have less power, but if you have more pressure, the gun will have more than its rated power. Of course, you might also break something internally and you'll accelerate the wear on the tool. However, it's not unusual for mechanics to run compressors at 175 psi, have more power for their impacts, but have to spend some money on repairs or tune-ups. For most of us with occasional use, even running higher pressure probably won't hurt anything. My current compressor runs up to 155 psi, and even though it has a pressure regulator I could turn down and my 231 would still have all the power I need, I don't bother to turn it down. And a half inch hose, as mentioned above, will let more volume through faster, but I never use anything bigger than 3/8" hose myself, and the quick couplers and air inlet are only quarter inch anyway.

And you're right in that the impact will have the power for a brief period of time if you have enough pressure, but if your compressor can't keep up, you just have to work slower, maybe even wait on it to catch up now and then. And for one or two bolts at a time, I don't really think you have anything to worry about. And pawn shops really are not a bad place to find a bargain. I just checked to see if my memory was right, and I bought this 231H on 11/6/05 at a pawn shop for $40 plus $3.20 sales tax.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I was checking Ebay and ran across the IR 2132G for $95 shipped to my door. I am still leaning towards the 231 from TSC but is this a good gun and price? The seller list it as new and is a power seller with 99.5% positive feedback so I believe that it is new. If I could save $25 and get a more for my money then I might go for it and hope my compressors work. If the twin tanks don't work I will just pull the bigger tank down and set it in the barn till I get a large upright.

 

[Bird]

Robert, Lowe's price on that impact is $179.00 so the ebay deal sure sounds good, if you want the composite body tool. As we've said before, it's more powerful than a 231; just needs to be cared for a little more carefully.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Robert, Lowe's price on that impact is $179.00 so the ebay deal sure sounds good, if you want the composite body tool. As we've said before, it's more powerful than a 231; just needs to be cared for a little more carefully.

I don't think I would complain about owning either the 231 or this ebay one. There is a 231 on Ebay also for $95 shipped so basically for the same money I can have either the 231 or the 2132G. My bang for the buck scale is telling me to go for the 2132G but does anyone have any experience with this model? Good/Bad?

 

[SPYDERLK]

Eddie, we all have to improvise occasionally. It wasn't easy to find, but I found an adapter to go from my half inch 231 up to my 3/4" sockets. There are lots of adapters to go from bigger wrenches down to small sockets, but not the other way. So I used my half inch impact with 3/4" sockets to remove the big bolts on my rotary cutter.

Im surprised you can loosen adequately tightened RC blade bolts with a 400# tool. I assume you are not relying on that impact to tighten them. I use my bushog firmly and my blades loosen promptly when tightened with my CP734 400#run at 140psi. Ive gone to snugging them to stall with an IR2135 600# Titanium and then hitting them a short burst with the IR 261, 3/4". They stay tight. Usually I cant get them off with the 600# tool.
larry

 

[keving]

I almost thought this thread was about impact guns

Machine Guns at Impact Guns Home

 

[Bird]

Im surprised you can loosen adequately tightened RC blade bolts with a 400# tool. I assume you are not relying on that impact to tighten them. I use my bushog firmly and my blades loosen promptly when tightened with my CP734 400#run at 140psi. Ive gone to snugging them to stall with an IR2135 600# Titanium and then hitting them a short burst with the IR 261, 3/4". They stay tight. Usually I cant get them off with the 600# tool.
larry

Larry, I won't say it's right or wrong, but yes, my 231 had no problem at all removing the rotary cutter bolts, and yes, I used it, an only it, to put them back on. And of course, as you said, the CP734 is the same power rating as the IR231; just an entirely different design. I preferred the IR, while my brother preferred the CP. He preferred the CP ease of changing forward to reverse with one hand. I preferred the IR because it has a great deal fewer number of parts that can go bad. I've repaired a half dozen IR261 impacts, but as I mentioned earlier, I only had quarter and 3/8" air hoses, and you really need half inch hoses for the 261 to get anywhere near its rated power.

 

[DocHeb]

Different topic, same general area - is there much difference between the socket sets (SK vs SnapOn vs Craftsman vs Generic)? Is there any advantage to standard depth sockets as opposed to deep sockets (you could always use a deep socket on a nut, but may not always be able to use a standard - so why even buy standard depth sockets and just get deep)? How often do sockets break?