Regular PMM readers will be aware that Chicago Pneumatic is renowned for producing high quality power tools – notably the company’s selection of impact wrenches. One of the biggest fans of the firm is none other than product testing stalwart Peter Xerri, who has pretty-much hogged the company’s latest tool trials to himself in the past!This time, however, we’ve managed to nab one for ourselves.
The CP7748 family of impact wrenches comes with big claims; not least that it is the most durable and powerful ½” impact wrench in its class. So what better way to put this to the test than by trying it out first-hand?
Comfortable and light
The first thing to note is how comfortable and light the tool feels in your hand – a feature that makes it difficult to fathom that such a unit is capable of producing the power that it boasts. Once in action though, seeing was truly believing, as the 922 ft-lbs (1250 Nm) of real torque in reverse more than punched its weight when faced with the types of maintenance applications that we encountered in our workshop. These tasks included removal of tricky fixings, bolts and nuts and general tyre servicing requirements – all effortlessly dealt with in seconds.
Some air tools we’ve used in the past have caused much ire in the workshop as the size of the unit has led to difficulty in accessing those hard-to-reach areas – not to mention the fatigue that an operator can suffer through continued use.
Thankfully this CP tool suffers none of those problems as efforts to design a product that reduces sounds levels and vibration has paid big dividends. This tool’s comfort is further aided by a full-teasing trigger for easy speed control, a rubber injected grip (no more blisters for me) and a lightweight composite housing.
It’s easy to see why these impact wrenches are rated so highly as CP continues to push the boundaries of tool development without the price of the unit being pushed up to accommodate this. We’ll certainly be fighting with Pete at the front of the queue next time one is made available for testing.
VERDICT: A fantastic new addition to the CP range that will offer end users top quality performance from a value-for-money tool.
