Tools.....air or electirc

B

BotakBeng

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Las Vegas
Hi ya,
Just got myself into the wrenching/4x4 scene early this year and i'm loving it.

Started with a Craftsman's 154 pcs set and accumulated a few sockets along the way.
Anyway, as much as love wrenching and working on my Jeep, its wearing out my "old" body and taking a little too long for some simple projects.

My next "big" project.....Long arm kit :clap:.

I will like to get myself some air or electric tools and would appreciate if ya can advise.

Thx in advance!
 
well it all depends where you will do a lot of your wrenching....me. i like electric. my impacts and screw drivers are electric. i do have a 1/2" impact and grinder and quiet a few other tools that are air. but those are at the shop...where they provide a compressor. if you go air you have to buy a pretty decent compressor to run all those tools. if you buy a GOOD electric set alot of them come with 2 batteries. as long as you keep one on charge at all times you wont be without. my cordless snap-on impacts will last a couple days on one battery. plus if your out on a trail you have impacts screwdrivers saws drills whatever to wrench right there without all the cords in the way. alot of it just depends on where your wrenching. electric is convenient but air is more powerful. they both have their advantages.

just my .02 cents
 
Thx for the comment.

I'm incline to cordless electric tools as well mostly cos they are portable and i can always have them in the Jeep but i'm concern about working on tight spaces since electric tool are much bigger than air ratchet.

Any thoughts?
 
I like air, but you need a good compressor for most tools. The air is more unlimited vs batteries needing to be charged if used a lot. With air I find I have more tool control, as for speed of the grinder or impact.

For the trail I bring a breaker bar and call it good.
 
ive got a full set of air tools, that i allmost never use, due to an undersized (and loud) compressor... the only thing i use AIR for, is filling tires, blowing stuff off, and to break loose d30 axle nuts. air tools are also loud, and can be somewhat annoying... im not interested in putting ear muffs on to drill a hole. AND this hampers the home mechanic.

most air tools are pretty good though, i wish my air drill got more work. but when you take the 10 minutes to run an air hose, oil the drill, and connect everything, you couldve just grabbed the 18v cordless drill.

what tools are you trying to obtain, or what jobs are you trying to complete? for a suspension life, an impact gun may save a couple minutes sure... but i wouldnt bother running the compressor out for it.

in short... theres no good blanket answer...
 
xcm said:
ive got a full set of air tools, that i allmost never use, due to an undersized (and loud) compressor... the only thing i use AIR for, is filling tires, blowing stuff off, and to break loose d30 axle nuts. air tools are also loud, and can be somewhat annoying... im not interested in putting ear muffs on to drill a hole. AND this hampers the home mechanic.

most air tools are pretty good though, i wish my air drill got more work. but when you take the 10 minutes to run an air hose, oil the drill, and connect everything, you couldve just grabbed the 18v cordless drill.

what tools are you trying to obtain, or what jobs are you trying to complete? for a suspension life, an impact gun may save a couple minutes sure... but i wouldnt bother running the compressor out for it.

in short... theres no good blanket answer...
Click to expand...



Thats how I felt about air before I got the new compressor, I guess it is personal preference. I now keep my tank pressurized most the week and purge water at the end of the day.
So there is no waiting for it to pressurize and having hoses hooked up all the time I find myself grabbing the air tools more than the electric. The air sanders I am using now are quieter than electric grinders and easier on the wrist.

If noise is an issue I can see that, before I put mine in the back room I hated running the dang thing!

Yes a oiled compressor is a must also a belt driven will be quieter and normally faster than a direct drive.
 
Depends on the level of work you want to do and your overall goals. I LOVE my electric impact. I can use it in the garage. My HOA cant b***h about noise and the trail repairs are super speedy. i have multiple batteries that are interchangable between different tools and my charger I can plug into the jeep.

My electric is strrong but nothing like my air was. Upside is my electric tools dont need a compressor, or hose, or oil, or more space, and I cant take them anywhere. So that was the best choice for MY situation. Yours may not be the same
 
Thanks for all the suggestions and comments, i really appreciate it.

I've also read many comments on getting an oiled instead of an oil-less compressor but i don't see alot on sale here (Craigslist).
I'm also concern about our HOA which is a PITA.

Like a mentioned, the plan to "upgrade" my tools collection was i've been spending alot of time wrenching (is more like a learning project and to keep me away from trouble.....the risk of living in Sin City) and i'm planning on doing a LA lift kit sometime soon and i'm sure i'll come up with something after i'm done with the lift.

If i would to go with electric (mostly cos they are portable), what are the basic i should cover.
-Impact wrench 18V (3/8 or 1/2)
-Electric ratchet? If there is even one :dunno:
-?
-?


Thx ya.
 
get a good and strong 1/2" drive impact. Get a little 1/4" drive drill type tool as well. It will be good for little nuts bolts, small drilling, and tight space work. one with an adjustable head (the angle of it) worls best. You would be surprised how often you would use it.

the air ratchet is cool, but most of the time a simple combination of extentions, a wobbly, and the right socket can get you into some interesting places.


I know what you mean about the 702. I used to live all over that crap hole lol
 
Milwaukee has great batteries. Plus you can get sawzall, grinder, and other tools that will all run off the same batteries. GREAT set to get into. Power is a lil lacking compared to the snap on but they weigh WAY less than the snap on impact. tiny bit smaller. the snap on is also a little more nose biased weight wise compared to the milwaukee - so the milwaukee is a lil more user friendly for long use durations and tool variety. snap on has the better power.


Oh, and milwaukees are usually pretty easy to warranty. way better than the crap ass barely covers anything 1yr warranty the snap on has
 
I am all about the air tools and I hate batteries. I bought a decent cordless drill a few years ago and it came with 2 batteries. I never abused the batteries and always charged them after use. The drill never saw serious use, I think the hardest job it ever did was drill into a few wall studs to hang blinds. Both batteries are paper weights now and will not hold a charge for anything. The cost of replacement batteries make it more cost effective to just buy a new drill/battery combo. I know the cells in the packs can be replaced but still it is not exactly cheap.

With air, I drag the air hose over and can swap out any tool I want instantly and run it all I want without battery draining issues. I will only buy a battery tool if I know I will use it primarily where I have no power. In my garage, I have power and air so I would always go air first corded second, never battery. I don't see the point of using a battery tool if you have power near by anyways. A cord isn't that big of a pain, I think the bulk, added weight and longevity of a battery pack outweigh running a power cord.
 
I have a Milwaukee drill and impact driver set and use them daily with production of the fan kits and other products. They have about 2 years of life on the batteries and still work great, the drill died and they fixed it for free.

For larger stuff I got to the 1/2" DeWalt drill.
 
iwannadie said:
I am all about the air tools and I hate batteries. I bought a decent cordless drill a few years ago and it came with 2 batteries. I never abused the batteries and always charged them after use. The drill never saw serious use, I think the hardest job it ever did was drill into a few wall studs to hang blinds. Both batteries are paper weights now and will not hold a charge for anything. The cost of replacement batteries make it more cost effective to just buy a new drill/battery combo. I know the cells in the packs can be replaced but still it is not exactly cheap.

With air, I drag the air hose over and can swap out any tool I want instantly and run it all I want without battery draining issues. I will only buy a battery tool if I know I will use it primarily where I have no power. In my garage, I have power and air so I would always go air first corded second, never battery. I don't see the point of using a battery tool if you have power near by anyways. A cord isn't that big of a pain, I think the bulk, added weight and longevity of a battery pack outweigh running a power cord.
Click to expand...

agreed.

but i dont have to wait for my compressor to run, piss off my neighbors, roll up a hose. buy a compressor, hose, fittings, etc. and my tools are always with me. on the trail in the house, wherever
 
i use 18v dewalt stuff all day, everyday at work, dropping stuff from scaffolding, drilling into 1/4 steel upside down in van nuys heat... not all 'decent cordless drills' are the same. what brand?

i can give you address's of buildings with entire walls of glass i installed with 18v cordless power... it gets shit DONE, no probrem. have i had a couple batteries go dead? for sure. have i had defective drills that lasted a week and burnt the brushes out? for sure. thats what warranty is for. ereplacementparts.com also sells parts to rebuild any dewalt tool... and my crew at work has rebuilt MANY 18v dewalt tools. it also helps that at any time, i have 5-6 batteries charged in my toolbag/toolcart. keeping batteries charged is a job requirement. when you have a small job to do, having a cordless circular saw, sawzall, hammerdrill, impact, grinder, and radio can do a WHOLE LOT, REAL QUICK, anywhere.

...just sayin.
 
Last edited:
xcm said:
i use 18v dewalt stuff all day, everyday at work, dropping stuff from scaffolding, drilling into 1/4 steel upside down in van nuys heat... not all 'decent cordless drills' are the same. what brand?

i can give you address's of buildings with entire walls of glass i installed with 18v cordless power... it gets shit DONE, no probrem. have i had a couple batteries go dead? for sure. have i had defective drills that lasted a week and burnt the brushes out? for sure. thats what warranty is for. ereplacementparts.com also sells parts to rebuild any dewalt tool... and my crew at work has rebuilt MANY 18v dewalt tools. it also helps that at any time, i have 5-6 batteries charged in my toolbag/toolcart. keeping batteries charged is a job requirement. when you have a small job to do, having a cordless circular saw, sawzall, hammerdrill, impact, grinder, and radio can do a WHOLE LOT, REAL QUICK, anywhere.

...just sayin.
Click to expand...

Obviously battery powered tools have their place such as on a job site. I don't see the reason to want battery powered while in your own garage though if you have a power cord.
 
corded tools and battery tools make no sense when you can have just battery and spend half the money.
 
i have both, i have a 18v dewalt xrp, a 1/2 dewalt corded drill, and a drill press... which will i grab to drill 1-4 holes in 1/8 or 3/16 plate? the cordless. its got the best chuck and is ready to go. of course i wouldnt put the cordless drill on my tubing notcher, or if i have a 100 holes to drill in 1/4, i'd grab the corded drill... but the 18v xrp is a badass cordless drill, and there are otheres.

i see a power cord as a tether.... i do a lot of work INSIDE the jeep, or down at the street, running a cord into the jeep seems like a lot of work.

time and a place for everything..
 
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