Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Corded Impact Wrench

Lidl are selling a mains powered Impact Wrench on Monday 28th of March for £29.99.

Similar idea to the mains powered Clarke CEW1000 which tends to go for £60 to £80.

Clarke 1,000 Watt motor
Lidl 450 Watt motor

Clarke 450 NM
Lidl 320 NM

Both have 17, 19, 21 and 22mm sockets, both come in a plastic blow case.

Both have a spare pair of brushes.

A few friends have the Clarke unit and say it is fine. For constant use it has a name for going through brushes.


http://www.lidl.co.uk/en/our-offers-249 ... l&id=32190

https://www.tool-net.co.uk/p-345923/cla ... ckets.html

eddie

Big difference in the size of the motor, wonder what the life of each will be given the same treatment.

Neither are pro tools. Going by my experiance of Clarke kit, I would think the Lidl may last longer.

Personally I can't see the point of buying cheap tools, they just really aren't up to the job. If one wanted an impact driver and couldn't afford something decent like a Bosch GSX, then a good old traditional manual job is likely to prove much better for occasional use.

Disagree Tim.

I would not buy one as I use tools a lot and would rather have a pro unit. For 98% of those buyers it is used to change say five wheels a year and that tool will be well up to that job.

Spending £300 for a pro unit is a waste of money for infrequent use buyers.

Except that if you only use it to change five wheels a year then a star brace and a 6 foot length of gas pipe is cheaper and more reliable

I managed perfectly well for 30 years of hobby mechanicking without one, and although they are a nice to have, they can do an awful lot of damage in a very short space of time if you inadvertently use an incorrect or poorly fitting socket - especially if you use a cheap one not designed for use with impact drivers.

I would also advise considering getting a battery driven job on the grounds of portability, I switched because it was a bit of a pain on occasion with my air-driven impact driver.

But hey, as a confirmed tool fetishist I'd be the last one to advise anyone not to buy a tool if that's what they fancy

I am with you Eddie, like you the regular use tools have to be good quality because of how often I use them, some of my kit is over 40 years old and is as good as new because its quality made. Some is tatty after a few years of use as its cheaper quality. The thing is, as you say, its all about frequency of use and need for accuracy. Of course if you can afford (and have the need to own) the latest Snap On wangle-fangle wrench then fine, its your money and your choice but I have seen an awful lot of tool kits where there are trays of beautiful spanners that have never been introduced to a bolt. If its a once or twice a year job at my age I buy something that will do the job and be safe to use, if it does not have to be accurate to a few thou then its good enough. As I was explaining to someone from here on Saturday when fitting his kingpins the reamer is a critical piece of kit, I could have bought a fixed cheapo reamer that once used starts cutting undersize and after 20-30 sets cuts no where near what it should or I could spend many hundreds of pounds on a spiral fluted adjustable that can and is reground every 20 sets of pins. As I charge owners to do this and of course we both want a quality job I chose the latter, however, to strip the car down I use a technique involving 2 'Mole' grips. One is a genuine Snap On 'Vice Grip' and cost a lot of money, the other is a cheap but totally adequate copy that cost less than £5. Horses for courses and all that. I have looked at the wrench you linked to and to be honest I would not buy it, not because its cheap but because its mains powered. I have a compressor in the garage and full set of air tools so it adds little or no advantage, had it been 12v powered and suitable for carrying in the tin-top then I would have bought one as that would help with roadside wheel changes, it adds value and convenience (I hope this makes sense?). I have a garage Snap on Roll Cab, Top Box and several ancillary boxes full of little used quality tools as it is, I also have some very useful Lidel and Aldi 'once in a blue moon' tools that do their job to my total satisfaction. One example used at the weekend was a £25 angle grinder bench stand that is used to convert my cheap Aldi angle grinder into a chop saw, the quality Bosch angle grinder is kept for more accurate/frequent work. Its all about usage and need for me.

I agree re horses for courses route.
I have a cheap battery drill/driver that does what I need for most jobs. I have a mix of good and cheap tools for appropriate use. I have an air impact wrench by Clarke bought in a sale. Handy to have but not on my "must have the best" list.
Snap-on grade? Not needed for my DIY requirements. I do have some good old stuff from my grandfather/father days, mainly woodworking but wheelwright/coachbuilder stuff. Obviously bought originally as long term quality tools for craftsman use.
I have also got a range of "modified" tools ...spanners,screwdrivers etc ground down for specific jobs in tight access areas or as make-do items. Saved £££ and time!

So do I, together with a pile of knackered and useless batteries that won't hold a charge for more than 5 minutes...

Mine is a Nu-tool make bought in a discount place 15-20 years ago and original battery going strong. Cheap but done a great job.
It is my "go to" one for many jobs unless my Bosch drill is needed for hammer action, or more torque. I do look at the nice ones for sale but can't justify spending more for an occasional use item. If something is on a big discount though, the temptation grows!
The mix of tools covers me for 99% of my DIY and anything extra is either hired or borrowed.
If I was in business then I would definitely look at better quality for some of the gear.