Looking for a great cordless impact wrench? Here I will be going over 3 great choices. The Hitachi WR18DL, the DeWALT DW059K-2 and the Milwaukee 2662-22. I'm not sure what your budget it for buying a new impact wrench, but I do want to caution you that with cordless impact wrenches, you get what you pay for! If you buy a good one from the start, it'll be with you for a long time, where a cheap one will very quickly be in the trash!
The first, and most expensive cordless impact wrench is the Hitachi WR18DL at $259.99. The standard specs from the manufacturer are:
- 1/2" drive
- 1,950 in-lb torque (or 162.5 ft-lb)
- 2,600 RPM with no load
- 3.5 lbs (shipping weight is 12.2 lbs with wrench, 2 batteries, charger and carrying case)
- Hitachi HXP lithium ion batteries
This is a pretty lightweight impact wrench, 3 lbs and 4 lbs lighter than the other wrenches that were tested.
With that said, it's also got the least amount of torque, and it struggled a bit with the lug nuts on a friend's F-150 (I did see a review of someone saying that on a fully charged battery they got 710 in-lbs, or 59 ft-lbs).
It comes with a funny little work light, but it actually works surprisingly well if you find yourself working in a dark place!
The lithium ion battery is quite good too.
Overall this is a good quality, light cordless impact wrench, and so long as you don't need to torque down anything more than 80-100 ft-lbs, this is the torque wrench for your smaller tasks.
The next impact wrench is the DeWALT DW059K-2, going for $232.25. Here are the specs:
- 1/2" drive
- 3,600 in-lb torque (300 ft-lb)
- 1,650 RPM with no load
- 7.55 lbs (15.4 lbs shipping weight with wrench, 2 batteries, charger and carrying case)
This wrench is a step up in power (300 ft-lbs), and has more than enough for working on cars and light trucks.
The battery life is great, and can last an entire weekend out at the track, but they are Ni-Cad batteries (which accounts for it being the heaviest impact wrench in this article)
This is a quality wrench. The downsides worth mentioning are that there is no variable torque, no electric brake, and it's a bit heavy, but there's no mistaking the fact that this is a well built, quality tool.
The last impact wrench is the 2662-22 from Milwaukee, going for $320.00. Here are the specs:
- 1/2" drive
- 450 ft-lb torque
- 1,900 RPM with no load
- 6.7 lbs (shipping weight is 13.9 lbs with wrench, 2 batteries, charger and carrying case)
One of the things that comes with this wrench is a "pin retent", which is pretty much a rounded pin that's there to keep your sockets from falling off. It works, and it keeps your sockets on there, but it's a bit of a pain if you have to change sockets frequently.
The 450 ft-lbs of torque spec seems reliable, and it's taken off bolts that were tightened down to 330 ft-lbs and 375 ft-lbs.
The lithium ion battery held its charge, and there's variable speed/torque which is nice.
This is the high power wrench of the bunch.
Overall, the most important thing about buying an impact wrench is getting the torque you need. If you're looking for a great wrench for those smaller tasks, the Hitachi WR18DL is a great choice. If you need a lot of torque, the 2662-22 from Milwaukee would be a great addition. And if you're looking for mid range power, with enough to work on the cars but not overkill, DeWALT's DW059K-2 is a great choice, that'll last you a long time.
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