An accurate power tool is vital to complete your task timely. While renovating your room or performing a DIY task, power tools like an impact driver and impact wrench will help you complete it effortlessly.
Impact driver and impact wrench look the same, work on the same principle, but they perform different functions.
Selecting a correct tool between an impact wrench and an impact driver can be overwhelming at times. That’s why I am here to help you select an appropriate tool for the task at hand.
This review will learn about the power tools, impact driver vs impact wrench, and which tool is better to select while performing a particular task.
What We Have Covered
Comparison Between Impact Driver & Impact Wrench
Impact Driver
While selecting an appropriate power tool, it is essential to know its function. At first glance, it will appear like a regular drill to you, but the impact driver is much more than a regular drill in terms of force, speed, and torque.
With its high force and efficient torque, you can drill through metal, wood, and bricks.
The turning effect it produces due to high force is between 1500 to 1800 in.lb.
It comes with a ¼ inches hex collet and has a variable speed that can be changed from material to material. Moreover, they are compact and light in design. In terms of cost, impact drivers are not very expensive.
I found the impact driver a bit noisy and it does not have a clutch that can cause you to overdo the task at hand.
Impact Wrench
If you want to lose or tight the nuts and bolts, an impact wrench can help you out in this situation ideally. They are a bit different than impact drivers and are more potent in terms of completing tasks quickly.
An impact wrench is used for high-end tasks like construction, removing car lug nuts. There are three main types of impact wrenches: corded, cordless, hydraulic, and pneumatic.
All these types of impact wrenches work efficiently and are different in terms of their power. A Corded impact wrench work with the help of electricity. A cordless impact wrench requires the battery to gain its power.
A hydraulic impact wrench works on a fluid mechanism like low-pressure hydraulic power and is not commonly used by users.
In contrast, a pneumatic or air impact wrench is widely used by car mechanics to remove the lug nuts of a car and is not an ideal choice for home workers.
Difference between Impact Driver and Impact Wrench
Working
The impact driver and impact wrench are different from each other in terms of working style. The impact driver comes with a 1/ 4 inches hex collet, whereas the impact wrench uses a ½ inches square drive.
Impact driver comes in different styles and all support ¼ inches hex collet.
Moreover, impact wrenches come in various styles, and some use 7/16 hex collet and are mainly carried by workers. Impact wrenches are not better suited for the home construction or work.
In contrast, impact drivers are ideal for construction work and DIY projects enabling workers to reach the tighter spaces for completing their tasks.
Power
The impact driver can be corded and cordless. It depends upon your task to choose an appropriate power source. Corded impact drivers are powered by electricity, and cordless impact drivers get their power from batteries.
Nowadays, constructors and workers use cordless impact drivers because of their efficient performance and higher speed.
The impact wrenches get their power from many sources depending upon the type you are using. The widely used impact wrenches are pneumatic impact wrenches widely used by mechanics.
Moreover, cordless impact wrenches are also popular among merchants.
Torque
The impact wrench produces more torque than the impact driver. In some cases, a higher voltage of impact driver performs better than a low voltage impact wrench.
For example, an impact driver with an 18V or 20V will perform better than a 12V compact impact wrench. But if we talk about the actual capacity impact wrench, it produces more torque than impact drivers.
The torque of the impact wrench starts from 100ft. lbs and can go up to 1000ft. lbs.
Size
The impact drivers are lighter than cordless impact wrenches. You can easily carry and move lightweight impact drivers than moderate weight impact wrenches.
On the other hand, if we talk about pneumatic impact wrenches, their weight is much lighter than impact drivers.
The change in size and weight will depend upon the power of the impact wrench. If you are using a low voltage impact wrench, the size will be compact, and the weight will be lighter.
The wrench size varies among different models starting from ¼ inches to 1 inch.
FAQs
Can an impact wrench be used as an impact driver?
Yes, an impact wrench can be used instead of an impact driver to drive a screw. Generally, an impact wrench is used to remove lug nuts, but you can also remove or tighten the screws, bolts, and fasteners.
If you do not have an impact driver, use an impact wrench instead to complete your job. An impact wrench can perform the impact driver’s primary job.
Can an impact driver be used to remove lug nuts?
Yes, you can use an impact driver instead of an impact wrench to remove a lug nut. For this purpose, you will need an adapter that will convert the hex shaft into a square drive.
In this way, your impact driver will work as an impact wrench having a square drive to remove a lug nut.
Does car mechanics use an impact driver or impact wrench for changing lug nuts?
A car mechanic uses an impact wrench for changing the lug nuts of a car. The corded and cordless impact wrenches are not much commonly used. Instead, a pneumatic impact wrench is a huge demand for a car mechanic. A pneumatic impact wrench uses air to generate torque to perform the task effectively.
Conclusion
Selecting an appropriate tool can help you complete your tasks effortlessly in no time. Impact wrench and impact driver are power tools that will help you complete specific tasks. Whether to choose an impact wrench or a driver depends on your work.
If you are more into carpentry or construction work, opt for an 18V to 20V impact driver. While, for transmission and replacing tasks, use an impact wrench.
It was a detailed review about impact driver vs impact wrench, which will help you understand its functions and choose an appropriate power tool.
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