18v or 20v li Ion 1/2 inch impact driver wrench??????

[GhosT]

Im talking about a real impact driver wrench.. not a "screwdriver wrench". A lot of people call screwdriver impacts impact wrenches, and I'm sorry but they are not. I prefer dewalt for my cordless or corded needs. I work in a machine/overhaul shop, we have dewalt and milwuakee tools, all corded, Some guys have cordless impact wrenches. In 1/2 inch and 3/8 inch.

Here is my problem. I love dewalt tools, want nothing but dewalt. But dewalt is so slow and behind the times in tool development. Why does milwuakee  have tons of LI ion 18 and 20v impact wrenches (cordless) as well as cordless impact ratchets in 12v, and de walt has yet to manufacture any of these tools.  Im looking to replace my 18 v nicad tools at work with 20 or 24 v li ion tools. Mostly so i can take my nicad dewalt stuff home for a home improvement set.. I have been nothing but happy with my nicad dewalt tools, but  nicads are heavy and i want to upgrade.

Here is my question, how much money does dewalt want to lose before joining the club and making tools to dominate the market? I can honestly say dewalt hands down is the best.. oiur shop cordless dewalt grinder is three years old.. is no longer yellow, its black from hard daily use. Our new milwaukee grinder which was shiny new, i used today. i was so happy thinking it was going to be top quality, this idea was from using other employees cordless 18 v li ion impact wrenches. The milwuakee was  such a disappointment. It had poor RPM. was using a 8 inch cut off wheel on the tool, the same wheel i used on the shop dewalt time and time again, the tool could handle the wheel, slowing to  a turtles pace, i switched back to my dewalt and it ate trhu the 4 inch cast iron bearing i had to cut off. Long story short I'm having mixed feelings about milwuakee. Their cordless impacts seem to perform, while the grinders are garbage.

Here is the problem.. i NEED impact cordless wrenches NOW.. I'm tired of pulling a 1/2 inch hose over 80 feet to get into a confined space, when a quality cordless wrench is all i need. I have waited and waited for de walt to come out with li ion impacts at 1/2 inch for ages, they havent. They haven't developed any cordless ratchets, tools which i also need. Im ready to spend top dollar on a new dewalt tool kit. Cordless impact wrench, cordless drill, cordless ratchet, cordless grinder, all in 18 or 24 v LI ION. and they still won't develop them.

Is there any chance in the NEAR future of seeing these tools? Or should i spend the cash on milwuakee tools which are on the market now? What do you guys think about milwuakee? I know their impact wrenches are good from personal experience. And from my experience de walt would be better, but they don't exist yet. should i wait? should i go milwuakee? should i spend an extra 200$ and buy HILTI cordless tools? I had a chance to demo  a cordless hilti impact wrench, it was compact and had no problem breaking rusted 1 1/4 nuts off of compressor valves. I was impressed. what should i do? I needed the tools yesterday so I'm buying soon, Is de walt working on these tools? or should i go milwuakee or hilti? let me know please

[quig1984]

hey buddy I have to agree with you they have been extremely slow releasingthings . but I can say this all the 12 and 20 volt stuff that I have is top notch . you probly miss the release of new 20 volt tools that was that came out like 2 weeks ago it's on facebook . they are coming out with 2 new torque wrenches for the 20 volt line one is 3/8 and 1/2.  there has also been a 12 volt max 3/8 wrench u could order for about a year and a half now. there has also been a bear impact sold at every big box store for the 18 volt once they would easily have accepted a lithium  battery.anyways the new half inch wrench is just like the 18 volt and will deliver 300 foot pounds of torque . I do notice that milwaukee and others are getting a lot higher torque numbers from theirs . I bought the 18 volt 1 but after have invested into the 20 volt line when I read about the new coming I returned the other 1 . the 18 volt has great reviews from people that I know and have read that use it . I believe you should be able to have the 20 volt lithium by may . hope this helps

[GhosT]

Awesome news. Can you provide a link for the 20v li ion 1/2 inch wrench? I must of missed it when i browsed impact tools on their site i didn't see it. OR if you know the part number i can probably research it. Thanks for the news!

[kjones]

Awesome news. Can you provide a link for the 20v li ion 1/2 inch wrench? I must of missed it when i browsed impact tools on their site i didn't see it. OR if you know the part number i can probably research it. Thanks for the news!

You can find it on the micro site from the DeWALT home page.

[burlguy]

I have the 36v 1/2" impact. I am not impressed with it. It does not have enough torque to spin lug nuts off my toyota. I did however buy a factory reconditioned unit. The torque on it appears to be a little strange. While it cant break free 90ft lb nuts it can drive a 12" lag bolt all the way into a beam? I use mine for construction so for now the longer battery life and generous rpm's keep me happy. The max torque I can put on a bolt with my 36v, measured with  my torque wrench is 95ft lbs.

[tooljoe]

dewalt has impact wrenches out...

http://www.homedepot.com/buy/tools-hardware-power-tools-impact-wrenches-ratchets/dewalt-1-2-in-impact-wrench-kit-151523.html

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=203054811&storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=203054811&cm_mmc=shopping-_-googlebase-_-D25X-_-203054811

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=202512400&storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=202512400&cm_mmc=shopping-_-googlebase-_-D25X-_-202512400

http://www.dewalt.com/tools/cordless-impact-driverswrenches-high-torque-wrenches-dw059k-2.aspx

http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DC823KA-18-Volt-8-Inch-Impact/dp/B0015VT0K4

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SP101A10124S4648998801P?sid=IDx20070921x00003a&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=SPM5896812907

http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11085504&CAWELAID=742952538

here is a video of my 18v torque wrench...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWADI10ULmU&feature=g-upl&context=G2bc004dAUAAAAAAAFAA

It does not have enough torque to spin lug nuts off my toyota

hmmm... either your 36v impact is defective... or your mechanic over tightens your lugs nuts... if you have aluminum rims, then the lugs get tighter and tighter each time you tighten them up... more if you over tighten ( the rims hole tend to get the shape of the lug nuts...metal is soft)... in other words... there are variables but over all... i find it hard to believe that a brand new 36v impact has trouble removing a toyotas lug nuts.

[burlguy]

It does not have enough torque to spin lug nuts off my toyota

hmmm... either your 36v impact is defective... or your mechanic over tightens your lugs nuts... if you have aluminum rims, then the lugs get tighter and tighter each time you tighten them up... more if you over tighten ( the rims hole tend to get the shape of the lug nuts...metal is soft)... in other words... there are variables but over all... i find it hard to believe that a brand new 36v impact has trouble removing a toyotas lug nuts.

I have been head shop mechanic in 3 different heavy equipment businesses. I aint over torquing my lug nuts

No, I went and tested my impact no more than 10 minutes before posting the above. I torqued a bolt and nut down as tight as it would go with the 36v impact and then used my torque wrench to remove it. 95ft lbs is all it can do. And if the aluminum rims grab the nut at all forget about. I also tried this with a steel nut and bolt securely mounted and put the impact on it for 10 seconds and removed it with my torque wrench set at 95 lbs. In order to make sure I was not skewing the test I tried many variations and it just would not do better than 95 ft lbs. It is what it is and I figured that is the best it can do?

Is it defective? I will have to check into this more. Any mods got any ideas?