impact wrench

[Evan528]

im am in the market for a electric impact wrench to remove the blades on my mowers. i assume i need a 3/4 inch impact wrench because the bolts on the blades on my z master are 3/4 inches. what kind do you have and where did you buy them. im am looking to spend about 100 bucks. just some thing that will do the job... nothing fancy! i went to home depot and sears tonight but all they had were 1/2 inch impacy wrenches... please help! im tired of taking the blades of with a socket wrench every damn day!

[firedog]

you will only find 1/2" in electric they don't make a electric 3/4". just becouse your bolts are 3/4" that does not mean you need a 3/4" impact. what you have to look at is the amount of torque that is on the bolts. the 1/2" one for sears should be more than enought for what you are doing. I have that one and use it a lot.

[gene gls]

You guys that are useing impact wrenches need to check your machine spec's to make sure that you are not over tightening your blades whitch will cause other problems later on.If you run a Walker its only 40 ftlbs. Thats not much.

[Eric ELM]

Evan, the impact wrench is a 1/2&quot; drive, you then put on a 3/4&quot; socket. I agree with Gene, don't tighten them to much. <p>----------<br>&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.townserver.com/elm/&quot;&gt;Eric@ELM&lt;/a&gt;<br>

[DMC300]

IF YOU USE AN ELECTRIC IMPACT GO WITHH THE CRAFTSMANN 1/2&quot;,IT IS A VERY RELIABLE PRODUCT. IF YOU HAVE A SHOP AND COMPRESSOR,MAC MAKES A GOOD PNUEMATIC IMPACT.MINE IS 12 YEARS NEW!<p>----------<br>DON<br>LIANNES' MOWING

[Evan528]

how do you no whe to let go of the trigger? (to no when its tight enough?) do you just hold the blade with one hand and use the impact wrench with the other? a friend told me that wiith a impact wrench it spins so fasdt you dont have to hold the blade....what are the 3/4 ones for then if you put difffrent sockets on them anyway?<br><br>

[JJ Lawn]

Not sure about all brands of mowers, but I'll bet that most spec books will tell you to tighten blade bolts with a torque wrench. And probably anywhere from 40 to 65 ft pounds depending upon manufacturer. If you tighten with an impact wrench you will probably overtighten, which will cause too much pressure on the spindle bearings which will cause them to wear faster. And you can also damage the spindle housing. You could also void your warranty.<p>Your best bet is to use a little never sieze on the nuts and tighten with a torque wrench. In 5 years I have never had a blade come loose nor a nut too tight to remove using this method. <p>Jim

[southside]

I would go with the torque wrench.If you<br>must use a rattle gun(impact wrench) then go<br>for a pneumatic 1/2&quot; Snap-On gun.They make the best gear and last for ages.<p>Karl<br>

[grasscapeinc]

DO NOT use an impact wrench to put the blades on. Only to take them off.<br>Most impact wrenches are adjustable, but usually the minimum is 135lbs. That is WAY to much for the blades. Use a torque wrench. About $20. Also if you plan to use power tools for your equip, invest in a good AIR compressor, and air tools, you wont be disappointed. Much less expensive, and longer lasting than electric.

[FIREMAN]

check the torque specs for your machine then find a snap-on/mac dealer and ask them for a torque wand...this in an extension that you put between the gun and the socket...it will not let you overtighten the nuts.. also snapon makes a cordless impact driver that is unbelievably powerful...i'm not sure of the specs but it does work very well.

[Alan]

First off, Firedog, they DO make 3/4&quot; drive electric impact wrenches. Black & Decker, for sure and I think Makita and Ingersoll-Rand as well.<p>Secondly, Evan 528, I am sorry to be offensive with this, but if you don;t understand the concept of interchangable sockets on a given drive size, ie 1/4&quot;, 3/8&quot;, 1/2&quot; and 3/4&quot;, maybe you should avoid tools completely. <p>I'm sorry, but sometimes the lack of &quot;common sense&quot; knowledge I find in online discussions is really pretty scary. In my opinion anyhow, before you even think about working with equipment you should have some idea of things mechanical.

[bondlawn]

I just happen to have the Snap-on catalog and price list on my desk here. The 1/2&quot; Snap-on cordless impact wrench developes 80 ft.lbs of torque. It is a 12 volt battery unit. Unit costs $371.16 plus an additional $51.50 for the battery charger. In MHO that is too pricey even though the ability to use it away from the shop does have advantages. <p>Does anyone know of a 12 volt impact that plugs up to a car battery? I wouldn't mind wiring up a cigarette lighter on my DC if I could find the impact wrench. Someone mentioned an impact from Northern, but I can't find it in the catalog.

[Getmow]

I guess I've been ignorant for more years than I care to count. I have been using a pnuematic impact wrench to change blades for 9 of 11 years. I didn't know I could over tighten blade bolts. I haven't had more than normal problems with spindles. <br> Eric, am I being too hard on my choppers???

[lawngator]

I use a cheap-o generic 1/2&quot; air impact. I use it on my blades bolts because it has enough torque to turn them, but not enough to do damage them. Snap-on and Ingersoll have way to much &quot;balls&quot; for spindle bolts. <br>

[DLC]

craftsman are the best never had a problem with it.about 160.00. also northern tools and harbor freight has a 12v to hook up to a car battery or mower battery that works well. you can also use these to change flats on your mower,truck or trailer when your out in town and not home at the shop.

[Evan528]

well last night i bought a air compresser and a air impact wrench.... the impact wrench was in a kit with a hammer drill, a pressurized air tool, and a grinder. there awsome... just sharpened my blades.... cuts my time in half.... all of it costed me only 300 bucks!

[grasscapeinc]

Godd job Evan. You will be very happy with it. DONT forget to oil the tools.

[gene gls]

Use only AIR TOOL OIL, a few drops every now and then.

[sildoc]

A couple of questions here. I have really been looking into the electric impact wrench thing lately for one reason. I have been having trailers of grass and the reason is in the wet lush turf we have my trim side blade has been spinning on the spindle. I have checked the torque on them and they have been fine. I have also had a few times where the spindle bolt has started comming loose. I am not sure how to stop this other than using a lock washer. Any other ideas.

[LwnmwrMan22]

I've been mowing for 17 years.

I've ALWAYS used an impact wrench to take blades off and put them back on.

Last Christmas my wife bought me a Milwaukee Cordless impact wrench so I can carry it in the truck.

Now I can swap out a tire on the mower and just drop it off at the tire shop later, not worry about waiting around for an hour for it to get fixed.

You people that do everything by the book.... do you read the back of the manual where it shows how to do a mowing pattern too??

Sheesh, I swear sometimes. :dizzy:

[orangejbird]

Years of mechanical experience (turning wrenches) on farm equipment, pulling tractors, cars, etc. will give you a feel for how tight you're going w/a impact.

Unless you regularily wrench, don't use the impact to tighten.

[Harry0]

Chalk up another for using impact to take off and put on blades. No problem with spindles-
We use one from Home Depot. We donot hold the blades when tightening-
I think its much safer than turning nuts or bolts with sharp blades using a wrench.
Harry

[jason1978]

Im in desperate need of a tool that I can use to adjust my deck and take the blades off and put them back on with.

Will an electric impact wrench do that job? I found one on ebay for a low price.

[lawnman_scott]

I've been mowing for 17 years.

I've ALWAYS used an impact wrench to take blades off and put them back on.

Last Christmas my wife bought me a Milwaukee Cordless impact wrench so I can carry it in the truck.

Now I can swap out a tire on the mower and just drop it off at the tire shop later, not worry about waiting around for an hour for it to get fixed.

You people that do everything by the book.... do you read the back of the manual where it shows how to do a mowing pattern too??

Sheesh, I swear sometimes. :dizzy:
Really. Just use common sence and dont hold down the trigger for a minute and a half to tighten it. I have never had a spindle problem. And the cordless impact is the best tool to have, makes life alot easier sometimes.

[glenjr10]

Last time I talked to my dealer, they told me 125 ft-lbs is where i need to tighten my blades to.

Oh, and by the way, the dealer that i am using, does not torque the blades, they hand "start", and them impact them on.

[Something D]

Just bought a DeWalt cordless 1/2 impact. I believe the most powerful cordless on the market. Its 18v with 300ftlbs torque. I love it. Keep it in the truck change tires, blades etc quick. Bought it online at amazon.com for about $275.00 approximately. IMO one of the best tools to have in the truck for maintenance.

[pagefault]

This was mentioned earlier, but I don't know if it was clearly explained. Here is a solution to the torque issue with impact wrenches.

http://www.torquestick.com/cart/customer/product.php?productid=27&cat=0&page=