Cordless Impact / Nutrunners

[kimmerkaze]

In the market to pick up a good cordless impact and hopefully right angle nutrunner too next time I'm down in the states.

For those that use these, which do you find best? If you have impact and nutrunner, did you purposely buy same brand to share batteries?

Somewhat looking for value since it is for just home use but reliability (or good warranty) is important.

Right now I'm only seeing Makita is an option but I'm not 100% familiar with what Harbor Freight has so was wondering if you guys can share what you like.

[nando]

I've only had one, but I got a hitatchi chordless impact about 5 years ago. I use it a lot, it's definitely the most used tool I own - around the house, on the cars, lawn mower, autox/track wheel changes, etc. etc. still going strong.

[AndrewBird]

I have one of Makita's smaller 18v impact drivers and even though it is meant only for driver screws and such, it will remove lug nuts/bolts. That being said, I'm sure their 1/2" drive impact made for heavier use should be great. I plan to get one eventually.

[kimmerkaze]

Do your impacts have VSR motors or are they pretty much on or off type of deal for the trigger?

Interested in seeing if anyone has one of these cordless nutrunners and if it's VSR or you set torque manually

[nando]

VSR?

I don't know what that acronym stands for, but mine does adjust with the trigger, it's not on/off. it also has two impact speeds.

[kimmerkaze]

oh ok cool. I believe VSR is for variable speed reversible motor. Basically indicates your impact has some modulation for the trigger and there's reverse option. This seems to be a must have feature.

[nando]

oh, yeah mine does that.

[ThisGuy310]

I've used the 18v Makita, Ryobi, Dewalt, Rigid, and they're all pretty similar in terms of performance. I'd maybe give the nod to the Dewalt.
However, I don't think you'll find a better deal then this, considering the lifetime warranty that covers the batteries as well.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-203111508/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=rigid+impact&storeId=10051

[jlevie]

For cordless impacts, SnapON and Milwaukee are the best.

[Hick]

ive got a 1/2" drive Craftsman that Im pretty happy with. The batteries get pricey, and the 'free' charger takes for ever.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00931305000P?sid=IDx20070921x00003a&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=00931305000

[mrsleeve]

I love Milwaukee's stuff. Been considering a cordless impact for a while my self, have been looking at them Bosch and Porter Cable's

[flyboyx]

what is a nut runner? is that an impact driver? i have the 18v milwaukee cordless 1/2" impact wrench. it is bad ass. the sticker on the tool rates it at 240 foot pounds. i will say that i have tried impact wrenches from some of the other manufactures that are rated with higher torque. my tool will run circles around all of them. i have friends with makita and dewalt and we took the pepsi challenge by removing the axle nuts off my e30 parts cars. we tried the dewalt first. no joy. the makita second. no joy. my milwaukee last and it blasted each nut off in like 20 seconds. i have been using 18v milwaukee batt tools for years now. i find them to be far superior to what delwalt sells.

pretty cool story on how i picked up the impact wrench:

anyone ever watch that history channel show, "cajun pawn stars"? i had an overnight in alexandria, lousiana and wanted to go and check out their shop. the hotel van driver gave me the keys to his pickup so i scooted across town and walked in the door about 5 minutes before they closed. they had this tool along with two batteries that didn't work, a charger, and a case. they had it priced at 249.95. the batteries were dead, so i took it up to the counter to see if they would charge. they had been discharged for some time and thus i know that plugging them into the charger won't do any good. i also know that the earlier style milwaukee batteries(which these were) have a recall on them and that they can be replaced for free by sending them back to the factory. the sales guy(the younger brother on the tv show) checked amazon and found that a pair of batteries cost 150.00 so he offered me the entire kit for 100 bucks. two brand new free batteries later and i am good to go.

with all that said, i am obviously a big fan of milwaukee tools. i own perhaps 20 of their products. all of my 18 volt tools are red so i only have to carry one charger and one set of batteries.

for you, if you don't use them a lot, milwaukee probably isn't your best choice because they are rather expensive. don't buy a piece of shit Chinese knock off from harbor freight. the batteries are cheap(worse than craftsman which-no offense- i also think is junk.) someone above suggested the rigid. this is what i would recommend to you as well. it will cost a little more than chinese junk, but you can't beat the free replacement battery policy. no one else has that. trust me, i will swear on your mother's life that you WILL be replacing the batteries at some point while you own this tool. also you can start building a nice cordless system over time as money allows. buy a drill, then a sawzall, etc. every time you get a tool you get more chargers and more batteries to make your system better.

if you want to save more money on the rigid, take a look at your local craigslist, ebay, or pawn shops. find out what the normal retail price is and be willing to pay about half or a bit more for used. if the batteries are bad, who gives a shit? they are free.

[delatlanta1281]

Mil, Ryobi, and Ridgid are all made by TTI one world (as well as craftsman). I use the Ridgid, I have a regular 14.4, and a right angle 12v (which is nla). I use the shit out of them and have for @ 8 years. They are old but work flawlessly.
IMHO,
Makita is best overall, but Bosch is making some awesome stuff right now. As someone who sold power tools for a living, I would look at DeWalt's new Li line as well. Their compact line looks very good.
The motors in these things are essentially the same as well as the batteries, cordless tools can be such a low margin battle between companies, it has now really come down to warranty and creature comforts IE led lights, hooks, grips, and shape.
I like makita b/c of their grips, but their white coloring scares me (grease).
Ridgid has the best warranty, but it isn't a return and get a new item warranty anymore, it is a service warranty. Also, the Ridgid name is owned by my parent company, it isn't some crappy line that Home Depot puts out. We (emerson) go over EVERY tool with that name that isn't manufactured in house and veto the crappy ones. We will not allow our name to be stamped on inferior product. Ridgid is one of the oldest names in American tools and we hold many military contracts. We won't skimp on quality to make a buck.
Mil. WAS the leader in corldless and corded hand tools a couple years ago when they bought Skill, but now they are more branding than anything else. The only reason TTI bought them was to take the worm drive technology of their skil saw and incorperate it into their Ridgid line.
Thanks for reading
Rich

[slammin.e28]

ive got a 1/2" drive Craftsman that Im pretty happy with. The batteries get pricey, and the 'free' charger takes for ever.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...ku=00931305000

I've got that and either the battery or charger shit the bed. Got it for Christmas too. I've gotta take it back and get a new one.

[110stx]

I like my 18V DeWalt half-inch cordless impact.

Bought it used a few years ago.