Customer Reviews

Ingersoll-Rand IR-231 1/2-Inch Super Duty Impact Wrench

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the ONLY 1/2" impact wrench I would ever recommend. It's relatively lightweight. The knurled knob allows you to change the impact force and direction, even with very greasy hands.
I used this for 5 years when I turned wrench, and gave it a good workout. I have dropped it, kicked it, forgotten it in the rain (once), and it keeps working. The only thing I was always sure to do was keep it well oiled and cleaned at the beginning and end of each day. At the end of the 5-year period turning wrench, I bought the rebuild kit (another nice feature, available in the 90's for about {$$$}), which restored all of its original power.
Also, check out the I.R. impact sockets. Value priced at less than ($$$) for the deep socket set, and I have never broken one. Fine tools at reasonable prices!

I received this wrench as a gift and was initially skeptical that I'd be able to use it with my small air compressor (a Hitachi EC12 rated at 4.2cfm@90psi). While I wouldn't recommend this combination for an auto shop, I've found that for occasional use around the house, it works great. I've used it for removing things like lawnmower blade bolts, frozen nuts from plumbing fixtures, lug nuts, etc. with no problems at all. I was a little disappointed, however, to see that the wrench was made in China. I figured with a brand like Ingersoll-Rand it'd be a pretty safe bet that I'd be getting a US-made tool, but that was not the case. If I had bought the tool myself I would probably have bought a different brand for this reason alone. However, the tool works well and the build quality seems good, so I can't really complain.

After acquiring a small pancake compressor, I decided it was time to get an impact wrench. I bought one of the cheap, Chinese made "250 ft/lb" impact wrenches from a traveling tool show. What a mistake. It could not loosen hand-tightened lug nuts. I then happened on a well used 231 at a pawn shop. It has never failed to loosen whatever I have put it on. This includes lug nuts, an axle nut, rusted nuts and bolts, and an anti-corrosion anode on a 15 year old water heater. This tool works wonders on fasteners which would drive a sane person mad if he tried to loosen them with hand wrenches or a ratchet. I would like to get a IR2131, but the old 231 won't let me justify replacing it.

If it won't unthread a fastener, it will break it. Case in point, during my time with a shop in Texas, we frequently replace locked lug nuts/studs for a local chain tire shop. Instead of risking damage to the wheel with cut-off tools and air hammers, I would simply snap the stud or spin the threads completely off. "Black Bertha makes stuck bolts her b#$@%!", one co-worker commented.

My only complaint is, I bought it in "Thunder-Gun" trim. Black, heavy outside paint/coating, no muffler, no silencer, just an open exhaust port under the drive/hammer enclosure. Though, I'm told that it also came with a "tuned" manifold plate and air motor. Hearing protection is highly recommended, the 231 is loud no matter how it's dressed up.

Keep the hammers and air motor lubed, and this gun will last for decades.