Harbor Freight 1" pneumatic gun

[FloridaCliff]

Anybody own one of these?

Looking for opinions  on quality of this item for my private use




http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=92622

[Al Bass]

A buddy of mine borrowed his bosses new 1" impact (Harbor Freight) to change all 10 wheels on his 4501 and we were really impressed with it. it looks like good quality but dont know how long it will last, my friend was the 1st one to use it ,so it hasnt been used a lot.
just my 2 bits worth, good luck
AL

[Dallas]

I spent about $100 on an Ingersol Rand 2135PTI 1/2" drive on eBay. 700ftlbs torque in reverse, 600ftlbs forward. 9500 RPM free speed.
It took the lug nuts off my 4103 with no problem. They hadn't been off in at least 8 years. I had tried earlier to remove them with a lug wrench and cheater pipe, but had no luck.
The gun is only about 3 lb.s in weight and very comfortable. Much better than my IR 231N 1/2".
FWIW
Dallas

[Kristinsgrandpa]

Cliff, my brother and I both have the same wrench. Mine is unused but he changed a copuple of tires with his and liked it. He is critical of things that are junk so it must be pretty good.
  If I were going to use one daily I'd get an Ingersol-Rand but for the few times I'll use mine I opted for the el-cheapo.

Ed.

[kingfa39]

I would recomend you go bite the bullet and buy ingasol rand, i have had three of the chinneese units , they do not have the power and you will be dissapointed in the performance, my little 1/2 in drive has more power than the 3/4 chineese one i have. anyway ive been using this kind of thing for yrs and i just dont think you will be happy with the harbour freight units
Frank Allen
4106

[JackConrad]

      I purchased one of these and have only used it a few times on my bus and a couple friends buses. It has always been able to break loose the nuts (so far). I also purchased a 1" drive 475 ft. lb. torque stick to use when re-installing the wheels. The torque stick is carried in the bus and will be used by any road service truyck that I may have the mis-fortune of needing.  Jack

[FloridaCliff]

Jack,

Where do you get a torque stick?

Sounds like a good thing to have on hand.

[Mrbill4108]

I have have this torque stick and it works good.....

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=3293

On sale now for less then $150.00

Mrbill4108

[NJT5047]

Anybody own one of these?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=92622

I got one and it works fine.  However, it won't work on anything less than 1/2" air hose.  I use a 3/4" sandblaster air hose to operate it.  It seems a little air hungry.  Working for about 3 years now.
I have a torque head and ratchet adaptor that I carry for emergencies.  I can easily get any wheel off the bus without an air supply.  I don't believe that the Harbour Freight unit could be powered by the bus air, unless you have some sort of reservoir. 
Tried to post a pix of my torque unit but getting an error message...."upload folder full" ....?? I broke it? 
Cheers, JR

[NJT5047]

This is what I was trying to post.  It's one of the few sure-fire ways to quickly remove a bus wheel when no air, or not enough is avail....Road Service is still better, but, sometime things just don't work out. 
These things are better bought used...the whole thing would cost about $800 bucks new...I wouldn't pay that.  However, they turn up used and are handy if you can find them.
Cheers, JR

[JackConrad]

Cliff,
    I purchased my torque stick at www.torquestick.com  Hope this helps, Jack
PS: I also carry a plastic protector that goes over the nuts before removing them to protect the aluminum wheels from getting scratched.

[FloridaCliff]

Hey Everbody,

Thanks for your replies.

A lot of good information.

[kyle4501]

The torque sticks that I have require you to calibrate them by regulating the air pressure to the impact gun. If you run too much pressure to the gun, you will exceed the torque rating of the stick & over tighten the nut or bolt.

Jack, is yours different than the ones I have?

[NJT5047]

PS: I also carry a plastic protector that goes over the nuts before removing them to protect the aluminum wheels from getting scratched.

Jack makes an excellent point with protecting polished wheels.  To carry the protection one step further, I taped up the impact socket with duct tape to protect the wheels.  The socket will slip off the lug nuts and mark up a wheel big time.  Ax me how I know this.   
JR

[NJT5047]

Jack, do you have stud piloted Alcoas?  Wondering what the torque-set is for your torque stick. 
Also saw the post on "air calibration" for the impact wrench....please elaborate.  Never heard of calibrating the gun?  How do you do calibrate the impact wrench to set the correct torque thru a torque stick? 
Thanks, JR