The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest Cordless Impact Wrench

Currently I am dismantling some vehicles and where they are sitting is away from buildings and things like electricity and an air compressor. So, I started looking into 18v cordless impact wrenches.

I ended up buying a Makita BTW450 1/2" wrench after reading a lot of good reviews about it. The biggest complaint about the wrench in reviews was the weight. It is heavy, but very durable. It is also isn't cheap. The kit came with the tool, 2 batteries, a charger and a nice canvas carry bag for a little over $400.

Pros: Powerful! It zipped off everything I tried to remove pretty much instantly. Lug nuts are off before you can blink. Battery life is good and the batteries charge quickly. A dead battery can be fully charged in under 30 minutes. The wrench is coated with rubber where you hold it so the transfer of the impacts to your hands is subdued. It is a very heavy built tool that looks and feels like it can take a bit of abuse.

Cons: There is no way to dial back the power so you really don't want to use it for tightening anything, only removal. It is rated to tighten up 350 ft/lbs. The trigger is a rocker switch that controls direction. Press the top of the trigger to spin counter-clockwise, press the bottom of the trigger to spin clockwise. I don't care for it all that much, but it does seem to work well.

All in all this is one of the handiest and most useful tools I have purchased in a while and feel it was money well spent.

When I was a vw tech I purchased the snap-on battery impacts in 1/2" and 3/8".
Awesome tools to have. Great for camping trips also. Flat tires and tire irons are a hastle.

I have a Bosch 12V that is small and is handy get into small spots. I also have a Metabo 18V that does some serious work. And it uses the same battery as the rest of my Metabo cordless. The older ones are still made in Germany. I was at a going out of business sale at a store like our Home Depot in Germany last November and noticed Metabo tools made in PRC. I'm not sure that most Germans know what PRC stands for.

I have one of each from Snap-On, too, plus their smaller 3/8" impact and recently, the 3/8" battery ratchet. Love 'em. Only problem is that I have a habit of bringing them home to work on stuff here, and forgetting to take them back to the shop!

Be glad it is a little heavy, that will keep the vibration out of your hand, the lighter ones will usually rattle apart under hard use. Sounds like you got a good one. Is it lithium-ion???

I have the 3/8 Makita 18V lithium Ion and love it. Very light and small but serious torque. No problem taking rusty lug nuts off an old truck.

All I buy any more in cordless is Li. Metabo now has a battery with 5.2 Amp hours.
http://www.metabo.us/NEW-Battery-pack-with-5-2-Ah.47683.0.html

In the past 30 years I have lost count of how many cordless tools I have thrown away, but I started using Metabo before they were available here and I had to use a step up transformer to charge them.

Spareparts2, yes, it is lithium ion.