Air Tool

[Crocodile Dundee]

Hello, would like to ask if anybody can advice me on what i should be looking for when purchasing a 1/2 inch air rachet, what brands should l be looking for and what brand should i stay away from would like to add it to my tool box for me Defender, l haven't got much knowledge would like to know should l go for Sidchrome, Snap On etc

[oldyella 76]

I have a couple of kinchrome rattle guns one 1/2 inch and a 3/4 inch they are quite good for the price and have had no problems with them.
Lindsay.

[weeds]

If your considering snap on price bracket than consider atlas copco, I have these I'm our service vehicles......and the get a real workout on certain jobs.

For DIY on a defender I wouldn't invest too many dollars as it not like you use it weekly or even monthly.

I reckon you would get more use out of a cordless due to convenience

[Homestar]

Yeah, I use my cordless rattle gun more than my air powered ones or my air ratchet. After the cordless 1/2" I then use my 3/8" air powered rattle gun the most, then the air ratchet. My cordless 1/2" unit is a Snap on - it is superb. The 3/8" unit is Bluepoint as is my air ratchet. As suggested, maybe a cheaper air ratchet if you're not using it daily?

[loanrangie]

The occasions that you would need an air rattle gun will be few and far between, a cordless rattler would be a better investment as said above.
I have only used an air rattler once in 20 years on a LR when a suspension bolt was seized.

[steveG]

I've got a cheap 1/2" rattle gun from supercheap. Use it for undoing wheel nuts and suspension bolts. Mostly now though I take a breaker bar and my Makita 18v cordless impact driver as I'm only doing one or 2 wheels - not swapping full sets.
I have to take the breaker bar anyway to do the final tightening and the cordless has enough guts to spin the nuts off and then do them up firmly without having to run compressor and hose etc.


Steve

[Warb]

Hello, would like to ask if anybody can advice me on what i should be looking for when purchasing a 1/2 inch air rachet........

"air ratchet" (edit - oops, I wasn't correcting your spelling, just clarifying the tool in question!)

All the previous answers are talking about impact wrenches, AKA rattle guns. These are great for undoing really tight nuts and bolts, especially wheel nuts, but unless you're making a TV show they shouldn't be used to tighten up anything you care about because it's too easy to overtighten with them. Do up your wheel nuts with one and you'll struggle to change the wheel at the side of the road with the factory tool kit. Someone has used them on the drive flange bolts on the Series 3 I'm currently working on - I now have to replace all the bolts because one had sheared (held in with Hylomar) and the others were all necked.

I've always translated "air ratchet" as the powered version of a normal ratchet, i.e. drive at 90degree to the handle, AKA "nut runner". These are lower torque devices, used for running in (or out) bolts and nuts before final tightening with a torque wrench. In my experience they are far more use than an impact wrench and I use them all the time, though more often in 3/8" or 1/4" drive.

As for brands, they are all much the same these days. Snap-On, Shinano and a few other brands are sold at a premium price, and you can normally get spare parts for them. Most of the other brands are rebadged Chinese made tools (those "named" brands often are too, by the way), which last until they break and are then thrown away. However given that a Supercheap "Blackridge" 1/2" ratchet for $45 will likely work just as well as a Shinano for >$250, and for home use it will last just as long, why pay the extra money? Unless you are label conscious, of course! If the tool has rough edges, bad looking castings etc. then move on, but most are acceptable.

Most of these tools fail because of abuse or lack of maintenance (oil) rather than being worn out....... An air ratchet can be used as a normal ratchet when it stalls, but just like a normal ratchet it will eventually break if too much stress is applied, so use a breaker bar instead!

For information I have air tools by Snap-On, Shinano, Blackridge and a host of other companies. They all work within their design limits. The impact wrenches (rattle guns) are about the least used tools, right up there with the needle scaler....

A cheap spray gun will (often) do a poor job and the results will be on display forever, but will anyone be able to tell that a bolt was run in by a Chinese air ratchet that took 0.5 seconds longer than a Snap-On would've?

[Warb]

A few more thoughts...

When selecting an air tool, consider the design.

Where does the exhaust go? The exhaust air tends to be cold, so you may not want it blowing on your hand if you have to spin up 14 or more cylinder head nuts. Equally, if you're working under the vehicle you don't want it kicking up dust or blowing back in your face.

The casing of the unit is also likely to cool down, so a plastic/rubber casing might be good but make sure you can still grip it when it's covered in oil!

The more expensive brands normally take these kind of things into consideration to a higher degree than the "cheap" brands, but on the other hand I have a very nice brand-name 1/4" air ratchet on which the forward/reverse "dial" is very small and tricky to turn - nearly impossible when covered in oil, and this can be very frustrating at times.

Finally, remember that air tools can require lots of air, so make sure your compressor is sized appropriately or it will be running all the time trying to keep up! And don't run an in-line oiler on a hose you want to use for spray painting.....