Impact gun Question?

How do you guys set up an air line for your impact guns?

Dad has a Harbor Freight Brand 1/2 impact- it always was wimpy. By my research, it is probably one of the ones that makes 250-400 lbs of torque. Today I bought the highest torque 1/2" at sears- rated at 700 Lb. Well, It still wouldn't remove the bolts for the wheel bearings on my 3/4 ton Chevy, still had to wrestle with a Breaker bar and pipe- only took 2'. Now, I only weigh 175, How Could I exceed 700 Lbs force on 2' of pipe? I can't.

My air line is 3/8", with the larger couplers, going through a filter/ regulator unit. It's set for max flow, but is it possible that regulator is too restrictive for running an Impact gun? I'd like to know how others have set up their air lines for their Impact guns- my setup seems to suck.

By the way- The new impact sounded healthier than our old Cheap-o, but didn't seem to make any more power.

I'm at a loss. It sure would be nice to have the Impact guns run properly- could probably save lots of time fixing stuff rather than wrestling things like we always have. -Andy

Do you have a two stage air compressor that has an 80 gallon tank and will produce 175 psi? If not, get one. Use 1/2 inch air lines with 3/8 or preferably 1/2 inch couplings.

Can you explain this 3/8 line and some data on your compressor??

I run a CP734 and often work with 5/8 and 3/4 bolts, works fine.

I do have an IR 3/4 drive for the tough stuff!!!

A better rating of the capabilities of an air wrench is the CFM (cubic feet/ min). A 1/2" air wrench requires at least 5 CFM, which means at least a 2 stage compressor with 1/2" hoses.
I know where you are coming from, i have same problem. As soon as I hit the lotto i will buy a decent compressor.LOL!!

i run 175 psi line pressure here at the shop. 3/4 inch iron air lines. take the regulator and filter off the impact gun line. if you have dirt in the air lines and need a filter, get a big high flow filter. for most air tools i run 3/8 air lines. for my 1 inch impact gun. i run the 1/2 id high flow hose. also add a few drops of air tool oil to the impact before each use. it will give it a little more oomph and the gun will last longer. i run the snap on mg 725 1/2 inch guns, 1100lbs of break out force, but they are loud as h*ll. you gotta wear ear protection.

The 3/8 line I refer to is just the hose I'm using to supply the tools I use. I have mine set up with a pressure gause on top of my tank, 3/8 pipe fittings to a valve, then a Filter/ regulator, then 2 Quick connects for hoses.

My Compressor is old, I can't remember the brand. I bought it cheap on a yard sale, the guy had a 1/2 horse 1750 RPM motor on it, and it wouldn't even pump up to 120 psi. I put a 2 horse 3450? rpm motor on it, and that runs the compressor adequately. It's not much, but better than what I had, The previous compressor would barely pump up tires it was so tired. It's not a DeVilbiss, but the brand (if you'd say it I'd Know it, now I'll have to look at it tomorrow) is on the same level of quality, in my opinion. I want to say Johnson Controls, but don't hold me to it. I have only about a 30 gallon tank. I know it's not enough to continually supply most tools, I'm ok with that for the time being. I just do what I can with it until the air pressure is low, then walk away for a couple minutes until it pumps up again and I can continue.

Some day when I have money I don't know what to do with (maybe next year's tax refund?) I'll get around and buy an 80-120 Gallon unit with a 5HP 220V motor. I'll pick a good one later when the money is there.

My frustration or confusion lies in the fact that I feel the impact guns don't put out the power they should while the air pressure is above 80-90 psi. I have the pressure switch set for 120 psi cut out, 80 cut in.

Hope I explained myself well enough! -Andy

I also have my airline running through a regulator, but I added a second air hose coupler that by-passes the regulator, specifically for use with the 1/2" air impact. Made a world of difference.

Once you get past how quality air tools produce more torque then a cheapie, its basically all a matter of CFM and Pressure. If the Compressor cant supply X CFM at X PSI the air wrench requires, performance suffers. A way to help if the CFM isnt adequate is to raise the operating pressure. In my shop (no expensive air tools) I run my two stage compressor at 160 PSI and such made a hugeeeeeeeeeee difference in the torque my wrench produces verus when I was at say 120 PSI.

John T NOT an air tool expert so no warranty

I think you need to clean out the filter unit. I had a similar problem and wow, that honeycomb brass type filter was plugged totally...washed in parts washer and reinstalled it works like a champ! I needed a large hex key to nscrew it from the assembly.

I found that whenever I couldn"t budge something, to start off with, I let some PB-Blaster soak in, and put the impact back on, and let her tap and tap and tap and tap and tap, over and over. Finally began to move, and tha"t worked for me.

Is it a Campbell-Hansfield or something like that as I recall seeing them at the cheaper stores for home improvement and auto type places? I've also seen used ones at several auctions and yard sales so think they are a lower line product but can probably air up a tire on ocassion to a passenger car pressure.
I'm looking to get an upgrade to what I presently have and am leaning toward a Ingersoll-Rand 2 stage with an 80 gallong tank which runs around $1200 at TSC and that type of stores. I've heard good things about their customer service (english speaking and USA based) folks which is a good thing today, Hal.

So are you plugging 50' of 3/8 hose into a filter regulator on a compressor???

If so it is not going to work well. Lose the filter and get a 1/2" hose.

In my shop I have main lines of 1/2" pipe less than 50' and short (15 to 25 feet) hoses to run tools.

Many filter units only supply limited cfm so you need to do some homework and be sure all pieces in the system will deliver the cfm the tool needs at its working pressure.

Nope, Not a Campbell Hausfeld. I just remembered while reading your post. It's a Honeywell. The tank has a build date of 1950's vintage I believe. I once looked into parts for it because I thought it might be tired, and couldn't find any. (Honeywell, Johnson Controls, They are at least into similiar businesses! LOL!)

A friend of mine has the same compressor you're looking at from TSC. He's had it 3 or 4 years and likes it. I've considered one of those for the replacement to what I have now. -Andy

"So are you plugging 50' of 3/8 hose into a filter regulator on a compressor???

If so it is not going to work well. Lose the filter and get a 1/2" hose.

In my shop I have main lines of 1/2" pipe less than 50' and short (15 to 25 feet) hoses to run tools.

Many filter units only supply limited cfm so you need to do some homework and be sure all pieces in the system will deliver the cfm the tool needs at its working pressure."

Yep, That's Exactly what I have going on. Maybe only 30' of hose, not sure, but yep. If It's just that simple of a fix, I'll be doing that shortly. That's a cheap fix! -Andy

You have flow or pressure problem. I run Snap-On guns on 120 psi all day every day and dont have any issues. I have a 60 gallon and 30 gallon hooked together with a simple old single stage compressor. 25 foot 3/8 hoses and 1/2 hard line (pipes). Your new gun shoulda been able to spin those bolts out without any trouble at all. I would try a hose directly onto compressor to bypass all the regulators and filters and see how it is then. Most auto shops don t run at 175 psi BTW, 90-125 is more common.

Just like Mike just said. I have a 40 year old CH with a single stage and a 20 gallon tank. My 30 year old Snap-On 1/2" will out pull anything HF sells.

i have an upright 60g compressor.

it has 2 taps on the side for air outlet one is a 1/2" and the other 1" ont he 1" I have it adapted to 1/2" and have a 1/2" air line on it and that is for the impact guns. i also us ethe large QD connectors.

int he top 1/2" hole I have a 3/8 x 3 head attached. one port feeds a line with an oiler.. one port feeds a straight air line.. and the 3rd port feeds a line with a regulator for my painting.

thus if i need to air a tire i use the non oiled, non regulated line.

if i need to paint i use the non oiled, regulated line. if i need to bust nutz i use the 1/2" air line, if i need some other small misc air tool, it gets the non regulated, but oiled line.

no more wimpy air guns.

also.. coiled air lines? toss em.. they restrict worse that a hose with a 1/4 id and small nip qd..

soundguy

Air line should probably be 1/2".

But distance makes a big difference too.

Think of that line as a long narrow balloon. The longer it is, the more you loose to expansion of the line - and friction flowing through it.

It's usually best to use steel pipe 3/4" or so - up to the point where you can run a short section of hose to your work area.

Obviously if your compressor is running full time while you use a tool - it's not really going to work at peak efficiency either.

You need to have a pressure gauge on the output side of the regulator, the see how much pressure you have, and here comes the important part-when the gun is working. Having 120 lbs means nothing if the pressure drops off to 50 lbs when the tool is being used.