Amazon.com: Customer reviews: AIRCAT 1150 1/2-Inch Drive "Killer Torque" Composite Impact Wrench 1295 ft-lbs

Top positive review

Powerful even at low air pressure

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 19, 2022

I bought this to help in replacing the axle, struts, and control arms of a 2009 Mazda 3. I have a Fini 150psi, six gallon compressor. I used a ten foot, 3/8" hose with high flow (type V) fittings. Pressure at the gun was 60psi (measured with a gauge), but the 1150 easiliy loosened the 200 ft/lb axle nut (admittedly, the threads were clean and rust free). The compressor did not have to restart. Theorizing that the regulator was restrictive, I used a tee (1/4" npt) to add an outlet at the safety valve to bypass the regulator. At 150psi tank pressure, I get 100psi at the gun with the ten foot 3/8" hose. This is just above the 90psi gun rating. I believe that you don't necessarily need a big compressor for intermittent work, but I would recommend a 150psi or higher compressor if is a low cfm model. Keep the hose short. Fifty feet of 1/4" hose dropped the gun pressure to 40psi. The 1150 still loosened the axle nut, but more slowly.
The 1150 seems well made and is well balanced. An impact gun saves so much time spinning out even lower torque bolts such as for the caliper and control arms (50 ft/lbs and 100 ft/lbs). You'll be glad you bought one.

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Chris

Doing things like removing lug nuts will violently vibrate the gun to ...

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 2, 2014

First off, as far as raw torque goes I have no complaints. Especially for the price. Been using it for about 8 months now full time in a shop. It keeps up with the co workers snappy and IR guns no sweat.

However I have 2 major complains with this tool. Ones that if not for the price point, would result in a negative review

1. This is the one that gets on my nerves. A lot. However they cut the output shaft results in a lot of socket wobble when the gun comes up to speed. Doing things like removing lug nuts will violently vibrate the gun to the point of it will stall out when I let off the trigger. That same vibration can cause the socket to slip off the stud and mar up customer's wheels if you aren't careful. I can't just pop the trigger and let the lug "freewheel" itself off. I need to stay with it for that reason. My co workers IR gun doesn't have this issue, even with the same socket. My 3/8 aircat does the same thing, I think it must be in their tooling.

2. Running on typical shop air pressure, 140-175psi static pressure, the trigger gets very touchy. Almost like an on/off switch. There is very little modulation in the beginning stages of the trigger. Add to that that it feels like the gun stalls out unless I give the trigger a firm pulse - like the air veins aren't catching. But then it spins up the gun and makes it difficult to "finesse" things

As I said, torque wise and speed wise it's pretty good. But there are some hiccups with use that are a real turn off. Especially the vibration part - that will wear out the sockets and the gun faster than anything

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From the United States

Dude

Powerful even at low air pressure

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 19, 2022

Verified Purchase

One person found this helpful

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Eduardo Santiago marrero

Killer

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 21, 2023

Verified Purchase

This thing for the price beats high end price anyday easily...

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It's been awhile.....

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 5, 2022

Verified Purchase

My old gun and I say old. As I didn't realize how old it really was (30+ years) lost its power. This a Aircat is a beast! So much so it told me I bought cheap pneumatic sockets trying to loosen a bolt. It split that socket like paper. Used a good socket and knock knock that nut was off. Now for that Aircat ratchet.

One person found this helpful

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5 stars for Aircat.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 17, 2017

Verified Purchase

This came just in time for a transmission and oil pan removal in a nissan pathfinder. If you have never deal with this suv, you basically have to disasemble the whole front of the vehicle, including the front transaxle (is a 4x4), the exhaust , the starter and a whole bunch other stuff just to be able to lower the aluminum oil pan. Then you have to lower the transmission if you want to replace the rear main seal assembly. This aircat made of all those rusted bolts a breeze, including the ones from the exhaust and the front transaxle. I could have not taken those bolts out without this, or without hurting my hands and who knows what else really bad. To try the torque I fastened one of the tires lug nut and then tried to get it out with a 1/2 inch handle and I almost could not turn it. Also , even as it is marked as weighting 4.5 pounds, it is so balanced that it feels a lot less. For comparison I have a Devilviss at10 that is supposed to weight less than 3 pounds and is less manageable than this one.If this product last its 2 year warranty it will be worth its cost very well. I read some reviews that some people had it for 4 years with not problems.The other thing is sound, or the lack of it. This thing is SO quiet. Much more than my 250 foot pound at10. I been doing maintenance for 21 years and this product is really amazing for its price.

The only thing I did not like was that the metal area had some scuff marks. I dont know if they were from the finishing process at the factory or if it was only mine. I suspected of the shipping , as Amazon did not bubble wrapped this item, and I will get into that later on this review. Other than that, this aircat is the best impact wrench right now in its price range. Im sure it will beat a few snap on's, mac's and even Ingersoll Rand. At least that is what many others are reporting. I hope this company keep their quality and service strong in many years to come. If they do I will definitely buy other items from them.

Before ordering this I was considering the Harbor freight Earhtquake XT, but it is 150 and have a 90 day warranty. Even if you could get a coupon and buy it for 129, then you have to add the 2 year warranty and still it would be more expensive than this one. Without saying that this Aircat can be rebuilt by yourself with a kit that cost around 25 dollars, while the HF XT have no parts available. So , if you are considering a HF one, think about this.

If you need a really good impact gun at a good price and that can do the same or better as brands priced up to 3 times this much, get this Aircat right now. You will not regret it.

Read the comments section for more info I could have left out in the review. Thanks.

One person found this helpful

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Bob

Wish I had bought this sooner!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 22, 2014

Verified Purchase

Two or three weeks prior to ordering this impact I ordered front and rear struts for my wifes Ford Taurus and front struts for my F150. I decided to tackle the Taurus first. Front struts took some time but not really a hard job. Decided to wait until the next morning to do the rear struts. Well...hmmmm....let's just say the rear struts were DIFFICULT! I had never before that day spent five hours removing one bolt. Yes five hours. Sure there were breaks in between the pounding, heating, oiling and I even found a tip on youtube that suggested I melt wax into the threads, but yeah it was every bit of five hours to remove this pinch bolt. I was surprised it didn't break. When I did get it out it was obvious it was crossthreaded. I considered making a necklace out of that bolt but in the end just threw it away. Anyways, decided to do the other side the next day. Not as bad, but it did take about a half hour to get that pinch bolt out. I was sore all over for the next week. I also found out it is possible to get a blister on your knee, I'm talking a half dollar sized blister.

Between the bolts and sitting on a Playskool plastic stool I decided I needed to add some new tools before I tackled the truck struts. So I went to a store locally and bought a roll around stool. I don't recall the name of it without going into the garage to check but I will say it was way better than the Playskool stool that was my daughters many years ago.

Next on my tool list was an impact. I came to Amazon, read all the reviews and decided on this Aircat 1150 along with some impact sockets. I know you're thinking "finally he gets to reviewing the impact." I just really wanted to stress the difference this impact made in doing this job. I found a youtube video for changing struts on my truck. I'm telling you it took me about the same amount of time to watch that video as it did to do one side of the truck. Lugnuts? Piece of cake. I can't say if any of the nuts on the control arm or tie rod end were frozen I didn't even try to remove them with a ratchet. There is over 96000 miles on the truck so I'm sure they wouldn't have been easy to get off without the impact. The impact gave no hesitation when removing them. It was smooth, like a butter knife through butter. Giddy is the word that keeps coming to my mind when I think about how I felt doing this job. I believe this impact would have removed both of the troublesome bolts on the Taurus.

I highly recommend this impact.

2 people found this helpful

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Joshua t.

absolute Beast of a tool

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 22, 2021

Verified Purchase

i bought this gun looking to replace my Harbor Freight impact cause it just didnt havde the power I needed as a professional automotive technician. I was constantly running into rusted bolts and lug nuts and couldnt get them to break free. I have Aircat 3/8 air ratchet and love it so I decided to look at the impact guns. Decided on the Aircat 1150 torque killer and let me just say I WAS NOT LET DOWN. The power this thing has is incredible and for the price its an absolute steal. I often find my self turning power down to first of three choices and even that first setting is strong. Only has 1 reverse speed but its more power than you need. It is a little bit heavy in the hand at about 4 lbs but not overwhelming to where its uncomfortable to use. The twin hammers give you that extra power to get seized and rusted bolts out easily. Does sometimes vibrate and bounce when something is really stuck and its hammering to break free but its nothing to where you would want to not use this gun. The grip material is extremely comfortable to hold on to and grip. Wish it came with a protective boot for the gun body but not a reason to overlook this hidden gem. It is extremely quiet when operating to where you hear spin of the anvil without going deaf. Overall I am more than happy with this purchase. Power is unbelievable, comfortable to hold on too weighing about 4 lbs, and the breakaway power matches that of snap-on, matco ,Ingersoll Rand or any of the big names. My boss who is all about Snap, has said he is going to get this gun himself after using mine. Can't get a more powerful, better quality, warrantied, quiet gun for 150.00. I HIGHLY RECOMME3ND THIS GUN, YOU WILL NOT BE SORRY

3 people found this helpful

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Dave

Daily extreme use for almost six years

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 27, 2022

Verified Purchase

Have had this for almost six years, and it has served me well. Used daily on heavy duty trucks, and through the years have only ran into a hand full of things it couldn't handle. It out-performed almost any other air impact, and got used hard. Can't believe it even made it this long, but finally had to put it down. Ordered a Nitrocat 1250 to take it's place, hopefully it does just as well.

2 people found this helpful

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Random User

Competes with the IR for half the cost

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 20, 2013

Verified Purchase

There has been an older Aircat in my father's shop for the past 7 years which I have used on occasion. They picked it up as a test run, and it has held its own against the other IR guns and is still doing so, despite several years of daily use in an auto shop. Recently, when faced with the decision of what gun to buy for my farm shop, I compared some options, and settled on this one because of the price (it is quite a bit cheaper than the IR 2135 I was looking at) and because of it's history and performance in my father's shop.

The performance of this gun, given its price and size, is impressive. On the farm, it loosens bolts that we previously reserved for an older IR 3/4" impact. For through-bolts, this impact is capable of snapping off the ones that are too much work to remove the conventional way. While I am sure the newer 3/4" guns may be more powerful, the performance of this 1/2" gun is still more than respectable.

Pros:
Powerful and Quiet (relatively speaking). Be aware that it doesn't sound like the gun is working hard. I learned quick the first time I snapped off a u-bolt.
Light. The IR gun I was looking at was lighter, but also had less torque. I would call the power to weight ratio on this one exceptional.
Air Deflects towards the ground. This is especially appreciated right after oiling the gun, as on some others, when the air comes out of the top, it can drip down onto the handle. This one does not have that issue.
Air Consumption: This impact gun uses less air than some of the competitors. I don't have to listen to the compressor quite as often.
Cons:
The flange at the bottom of the handle annoys me occasionally. It is a bit too big for my taste, and gets in the way when holding the gun at an awkward angle. It isn't bad enough to remove a star from the rating. It is sort or nit-picking because there is so much I like about the gun.
Also, the forward/reverse/power setting are all on one switch. I would prefer buttons for forward and reverse switching. I usually use the lower settings for tightening, and that setting is adjacent to the reverse setting, or this would be a bigger issue.

Overall, I can't really complain about this gun While I wish the forward/reverse switch were different, and that the handle didn't have that flange at the bottom, both issues are relatively insignificant. Given the power, quietness, and overall build quality of this gun, I would be compelled to look at it even at the same price as the IR. It is considerably less expensive, so it is a no-brainer in my book.

2 people found this helpful

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ld72

$150!? I'll take three!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 24, 2014

Verified Purchase

I had originally seen this in a sears catalog some years ago. Sears wanted almost double, but it was a great looking tool. So I researched it for a long time. I decided that it was a product worthy of my purchase. And if not I knew that amazon would take it back. I received the gun the next day because I wanted it so badly. I was so happy, before I even used it I knew that it was the real deal. It is built like a tank. Then I took it outside and rotated my tires about nine times. My smile was even larger, I have been using air tools my whole life. Never have I used such an amazing air wrench. I was able to purchase this tool for my home shop use since it is so cheap. That being said my boss uses these professionally, he used mine once, then went out and bought one. He uses it every day, and he still can only say great things about it. He uses it for anything you can imagine, I have helped him out many times using mine. Neither of us have been able to find a bolt that it hasn't completely laughed at. We have even used it on semi and tractor tires. Ha, this thing handles those like many other wrenches handle regular lugs. That being said this thing barely even notices lugs. They come of in less than a second and the gun impacts on them once, maybe twice. This thing also uses almost zero air. I used to run this on my 4.5 gallon air compressor, the compressor continually provides 4.9 SCFM. This tool needs about 4. Now I use it on a thirty gallon tank that holds 200 PSI. I never need to run the pump, ever. The quiet thing? It is not a joke. I am used to using older IR guns that were very loud, these are a dream. Not to mention the light weight factor, this is so light and with an air hose attached it had superb balance. My friend does tires for a living, not on cars though. Trucks, bug ones. Even tractors. He broke down and bought one of these. He used a Matco wrench before, and now, well now its collecting dust. He doesn't need anything else because this has so much reversing power that he no longer needs to haul around his 3/4 or 1 inch impacts. In conclusion this is an amazing wrench, I have thought about a negative to mention for this gun. In my experience there is none. There is a reason that Mac tools has asked AIRCAT to make their impacts for them, they are the best. (Don't buy the Mac ones, they cost three times as much and are the exact same thing.) Buy this gun, you won't be sorry. I have had this around six months now, so far no issues. I will update.

7 people found this helpful

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Tom

A steal for the price

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 13, 2018

Verified Purchase

I'm a mechanic at an ATV dealership and have been using this gun almost daily for over a month and I absolutely love it. I was previously using a cheap $50 impact that was supplied to me when I started working there 8 years ago but it struggled even with over tightened lug nuts and would not budge other parts on the machines forcing me to constantly borrow the other guys tool truck impacts and it's safe to say I've used just about every model and brand they produce.

Finally decided to upgrade and this gun easily hangs with all of them and is probably more powerful than most in it's class. We don't typically run into the huge bolts that someone like a diesle mechanic would but since these machines spend their lives in mud and water they tend to be extremely rusty but this gun doesn't slow down..it will remove them or break them. It laughs in the face of lug nuts, suspension bolts, clutches, and axle nuts. To remove a clutch on these machines requires removing the stock bolt and then inserting what's essentially a long, threaded spike that you tighten until the clutch pops off of the shaft. This is probably the toughest thing I encounter regularly and this gun breaks them loose with no effort, just a loud pop. A few days ago I was taking a clutch apart (already removed) and the castle nut that holds it together had been tightened by another mechanics tool truck gun the same day (the brand that starts with "S"). I put this impact on it and sparks actually flew off of the nut when I pulled the trigger and it broke loose instantly.

The settings on this gun are great and I've found that even lowest forward setting will get you right in the ballpark of torque specs for the largest lug nuts we deal with which are 3/4 inch without even hammering on them much.

What I really like about this gun is that I'm doing the same work as the other guys with zero effort and way less noise. It's deceptively quiet and anyone who's used to the tool truck stuff would probably think it has no power compared to theirs but it most certainly does. I gave it 5 stars because at this point I have absolutely nothing to complain about, especially for the price. I will update if any major failure occurs in the near future and that is a promise so no news is good news. Highly recommended!

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3 star		3%
2 star		1%
1 star		2%

AIRCAT 1150 1/2-Inch Drive "Killer Torque" Composite Impact...

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AIRCAT 1150 1/2-Inch Drive "Killer Torque" Composite Impact Wrench 1295 ft-lbs

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AIRCAT 1150 1/2-Inch Drive "Killer Torque" Composite Impact Wrench 1295 ft-lbs

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