Air impact wrench

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DaveHerns

New Member
I bought a cheap one from Aldi a while ago .It looks identical to the Clarke/Machine Mart ones
It's never been very keen to start , needing to try reverse/forward to get it up to speed
Now it doesn't turn at all - air goes in , air comes out , but no rotation

The fins on the rotor are free , oiled OK - any suggestions apart from throw it away ?
 
I had a similar problem with my CP wrench after it had been unused for years and that was a fault in the trigger mechanism, which was jammed up and allowing air pressure to be lost. I'd already checked that all the vanes were free as you have done.
Stripping the trigger out was a bit tricky because as it was jammed it wouldn't come apart the way it was supposed to. Once it was all freed off it was all fine again.
 
I've got a machine mart one, and a cheap twin hammer one I got off ebay, neither of which I am happy with, they don't seem to generate anything like the torque they should.

I've come to the conclusion that the best bet is to dig deep and buy a really good, properly branded one, and look after it, hopefully it will then last a lifetime.
 
Powercraft, the manufacturers , seem to have gone out of business but the tools seem to be sold on www.ukhs.tv
They've given me the details of the service agents who said to write in with the original receipt and they'll see what can be done
These tools may have been cheap but they have a 3 yr guarantee like a lot of electrical stuff sold by Aldi/Lidl
 
An update

The service agents rang last week and said they have no impact wrenches so do I want something else - I chose an air speed saw which arrived today
By coincidence Aldi are having an air tools week - impact wrenches with sockets are £12.99 with a 3 year guarantee so I bought another. How can you lose - if it fails , take it back
I also bought an air cut off saw - £6.99 !!! The tools look just like the Machine Mart range but much cheaper ,This has proved the guarantee is worth the paper it's written on

They've got compressors , air drills air ratchets hose reels ,spot blasters filter regualtors as well
 
The only thing I will say is that they all tend to look the same, but can vary wildly in actual quality of components, mind you at those prices it's worth a punt ! :LOL:
 
Hmm! Might have a look myself. I just got a new Powercraft compressor that my brother had hanging about. Unused but in bits due to a busted pipe. He gave it to me & Harvey got it going, clever chap. It's small but very handy to have around.
 
Well Dave, you've done it now, I had to call in at Aldi on the way home from work and picked up the air drill and cut off tool, oh and some cheap cakes and crisps :LOL:
Tools look ok, not quite as good as the machine mart type stuff, but with a 3 year guarantee they'll do for my useage.
 
The new impact wrench works better than the old one ever did , so not bad for £12.99 inc a set of sockets. The old one is now in bits to find out why it didn't work
The air cut-off tool runs at an amazing speed , up to 20K rpm
 
That's handy. I went to Aldi & bought a few bits today. The drill, cut-off tool, ratchet & impact wrench. The wrench didn't work (same fault as Dave's, air in/air out) so I took it back & changed it. Haven't had a chance to check the new one yet. As already said they're probably not the best but with the limited use I'll give to them they'll hopefully last a while. And there's the warranty too.
 
With the wrench, I would suggest adding a little oil straight away and turning the output shaft by hand a few turns, just to free up the mechanism before you apply air. I've got a couple of other brand wrenches and if they stop in a certain spot, they won't start again without a manual twist.
 
I did add oil first & it turned a few times but then stopped & wouldn't go again whatever I did. I'll try a manual turn first with this one.
 
I'd imagine they have to be very free turning to run . The faster the motor turns the harder the rotor segments are forced against the casing and the more power it will develop.Any resistance and the air will pass straight through without turning the motor.

I did give mine a good oiling and ran it for a while - lovely noise
 
Took the old wrench apart completely , put it all back together having made a new gasket and it works !
I think if the motor can't spin freely it never gets going fast enough for the rotor blades to be thrown out against the casing to form a seal
Must try it out against the new one for comparison
 
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