Like many others looking for something inexpensive with enough oompf to remove the seized anode rod from a home water heater, I found myself researching 1/2 inch impact wrenches/guns. I found only one 1/2 inch model at the local hardware store: cordless; enough advertised power to work on semi trucks; multiple batteries with charger...and also $480. I could have traveled to the big-box stores about 2 hours away and saved $50 on the same item, or likely found a few other options in the $300-380 range I saw online. I use a torque wrench for my car lugs torqued to manufacturer specifications and that's always worked fine. I'm not in the construction industry and don't find myself bolting together 4x4 posts together with lag bolts, etc. How could I justify such an expensive purchase? Well I couldn't, since all I really wanted an impact wrench for was to remove the sacrificial anode rod from my water heater to replace it with a powered anode. A rubber mallet on the 1/2 inch breaker bar didn't work. An extension/cheater bar didn't help either. Liberal soaking with different Anti-Rust and anti-seize lubricants/sprays and waiting a few days between tries didn't work. Rather than spending $300-500 on something I'd only need once every decade or longer led me to research the inexpensive options: A corded impact wrench that wasn't pneumatic/air powered. Electric corded equipment has always been superior in power in my experience over the battery-powered counterparts, and as long as you have an extension cord, you never have to worry about the battery running out of juice and waiting hours on a recharge to continue with your task. I found several corded options here on Amazon, ranging from around $40 to several hundred dollars. Since I was looking towards the lower end of the cost spectrum, I didn't want to spend more than $75, so that I could get the accompanying 1 1/16 inch impact socket (deep one, since my water heater has a recessed anode rod that sits about 3" below the top of the heater) for the anode rod removal and stay under $100 total. After reading all the 1-3 star negative reviews for all of the options, I was deciding between the "U.S. brand" one (that was already over the budgeted price goal) and its nearly identical-looking aftermarket counterpart for half price (within target price range and obviously the same plastic injection molding, just different colors and no Name-Brand logo). Since both the Name-Brand and the aftermarket one had equally poor overall reviews, instead of looking for more expensive options for higher quality, I decided to go the other way and roll the dice on non Name-Brand options that were even cheaper in price. I found the Eastvolt Electric Impact Wrench in 1/2 inch drive. A couple of the reviews mention the item not working brand new out of the box, and another reviewer claims there is no variation in speed based on the trigger pull pressure. Still, for the price I paid (less than $60 with the 5% off coupon), I figured I'd give it a shot and return it if it didn't work as advertised. The Eastvolt Electric Impact Wrench ships in its own durable plastic carrying case, with a nice paper label surrounding the case (removed without having to rip it - it slides right off which is nice) with specs I didn't read and wrapped in clear plastic for good measure. Amazon boxed this nicely in a form-fitted cardboard box. The carrying case has nice metal closures, so no cheap plastic snaps that break off. Inside was the impact wrench, which sports an 18AWG power cord that is very pliable (reminds me of the Arctic sub zero temperature-rated extension cords with how pliable it is, but I'm not planning on testing this thing in -70 degree weather. If I do I'll let you know how the cord holds up and if it stays pliable in the extreme cold). I would like to note that there is plenty of room for the power cord inside this case, which means there's no crazy tight bend at the base which can cause stress on the cord and break it. Thank you! Also Included are four impact sockets for common car lug nut/bolt sizes. I didn't need them in my use-case, but if I happen to need them in the future to remove a stuck-on car/truck/SUV wheel, then I may use them. Once I unrolled the 10ft cord, I plugged it in without a socket on and squeezed the trigger about halfway. The impact wrench spun right up. I squeezed the trigger a bit harder and it spun even faster. Then I tried barely squeezing and gradually applied more pressure to the trigger and sure enough, this impact wrench is definitely Speed-Variable and barely spun with minimal pressure and gradually ramped up to full speed as I squeezed more. Awesome. I also like that the tighten/loosen (clockwise/counter-clockwise) direction of the drive is changed by pushing in the button above the trigger well. There were several other impact wrenches for sale with Dual-Rocker triggers, where pressure on the top side spun the impact wrench drive in one direction and pressure on the bottom side spun the drive in the other direction. In my opinion this may be useful to some, but I'd be more prone to accidentally engage the drive in the wrong direction while squeezing the trigger, or potentially engage the drive in one direction and then accidentally engage the drive in the other direction during my task. I can't imagine the rapid back/forth can be good for the internals, so this one not having that is a plus for me. After attaching the 1 1/16 impact socket I bought on Amazon for $12.99 (Name-Brand DeWalt, since I've seen knockoff brand impact sockets go flying apart and didn't want that worry), I made sure the socket was securely on the threads of my water heater anode rod, and gave the trigger a medium squeeze. The impact wrench started hammering away as it should. After a few seconds I let go of the trigger. The anode rod was still tight in there, which was not surprising since they crank down on them at the factory. I squeezed the trigger again and put about 3/4 to full power squeeze and the impact wrench again hammered away and after only 2-3 seconds started spinning freely (no more impact/hammering). Just like that, the stuck anode rod was free. It almost seemed too easy, but that's what power tools are for. If I never have to use this impact wrench again, it's already paid for itself from a DIY perspective since it got the job done without having to call a "professional" to charge $150-200 just to show up and (hopefully) bring their own impact wrench (and probably milk more hourly labor rate money by using a breaker bar and likely still not getting the thing out or at least not in a reasonable amount of time). I find it a shame that skilled trades are slowly going away (I feel a resurgence is inevitable at some point in the hopefully near future), but I will gladly pay a skilled tradesperson when I a) cannot do it, b) am not comfortable doing it, or c) doing it requires tools/experience that are too expensive or time-consuming to acquire. I don't enjoy paying to watch others try and fail at tasks I just attempted myself, even after explaining "I tried this, using these here tools/devices/methods, and then I called you" and watching them repeatedly fail before finally resorting to something that actually works. If you're like-minded and looking for an inexpensive 1/2 inch impact wrench and aren't pressed on time so you can gamble on the quality versus price search, then I highly recommend you purchase the Eastvolt Electric Impact Wrench and give it a try. It worked great for me, and hopefully it works great for you too. If not, send it back within the return period and try something else.
