If you are ready to be surprised—and pleasantly so—then allow us the pleasure of doing so by introducing you to the Greenworks cordless impact wrench.
This cute-looking tool is misleading and mischievous. It is cunning, sly, and doesn’t play by the rules at all. On the surface it appears to be your typical, sweet, kid-next-door personality, environmentally-friendly, and ready to help when you need a Sauder entertainment center put together.
However, when you actually pick it up, apply it to your task and see it in action, it seems to break down some old barriers in the battery powered powered impact wrench department that have existed for the past few years, namely the marriage of performance and price.
The question, then, is “Does it truly break down those barriers?”
Well, let’s find out.
Features
Greenworks touts this tool as being a “hardcore” heavyweight in the torque and power department, listing it at around 225 pounds per square feet of total muscle directly applied. This torque is backed-up by the included 24-Volt cordless batteries, which have the purpose to not only support that torque when its needed most, but to also last for a full ten rounds instead of getting knocked out just after the opening bell (or impact).
The square coupler is .5 inches by design, which allows for compatibility with sockets which are impact-rated. The impact drill itself carries a lightweight, “short,” compact design, rather than a longer frame like many wrenches, therefore it more resembles an impact driver by appearance than a full impact wrench.
We told you it was crafty, didn’t we?
The Greenworks impact wrench has the built-in LED lights for added visibility, which we have come to expect in practically every similar tool on the market today.
One of the main features which the company pushes is how it’s considered a “back saver.” This basically means that by choosing to use this tool instead of your hand tools, you’ll be able to sleep comfortably and happily at night like a tuckered-out, content retriever, and spend a lot less time getting friendly with your chiropractor’s cold hands.
The power supply and delivery setup is designed so that high torque is delivered without much exertion needed on the part of the user—which is an idea that’s just fine with us.
The GW cordless impact wrench comes with a complete kit, which includes two (2) 24-Volt batteries, a charger, and a case.
According to Greenworks, this impact tool is made for and great with a variety of tasks, from maintaining to repairing equipment, starting and finishing various projects, and basically having some all-around wrenching fun.
Greenworks Cordless Impact Wrench Specs
- Model Number: IMPACT-3800302
- Wrench Dimensions: 9.8 x 8.8 x 8 in.
- Voltage Rating: 24 V
- Parts/Pieces Included: One (1) Impact Wrench, Two (2) 24V Batteries, One (1) Charger, One (1) Case
- Battery Type: Lithium Ion
- Weight: 7 pounds
- Power Source: (Rechargeable) Battery
Benefits
The very first things we noticed were the voltage, price, and size. After that initial and good first impression (coupled with a bit of skepticism for historical reasons), we were then impressed by its actual performance and handling.
- Price. Where nowadays can you actually pick up a strong, high-voltage impact wrench that includes two 24V batteries AND the charger for such a good price? I can tell you this much: if I spent the same money on an impact wrench in my local HF (full name withheld because I’m being nice), it wouldn’t last 30 minutes without needing a recharge, plus it would start to smell like burnt wires and become hot to the touch. This impact, however, has genuine performance but leaves an awful lot to the wallet, and that’s something that just isn’t typical of these cordless tools so far. It is a BIG deal—other companies: take notice!
- Voltage. I used to work with—and loved—a Black & Decker 24V hammer drill in a cabinet shop back in the day. The other guys all used either basic 12 or 18V DeWalt cordless drills (which were good and long-lasting), but they paled in comparison to the power and endurance of my B & D. That bad boy was so OP (overpowered) that I had to be careful in certain situations, and I broke more than a few screws before I got the feel for it.The Greenworks cordless impact wrench brings back fond memories of that hammer drill, and while it is a different tool, it still gets done practically everything you’ll need or want it to do. Many users have put it to the test on various heavy tasks and it came out like a champ. Lug nuts, arm assemblies, frame nuts—this impact is actually removing practically everything. Great stuff.
- Size. Just one look at this impact and you can see that it’s not as long, fat, or unwieldy as many on the market. This really is something else, because the 24V setup and high torque application is typically found in much larger, heavier impact wrenches. The result of this size is apparent upon snatching it up and using it: it gets into more places easily, causes less stress or fatigue on the user, and is much easier to handle.
- Performance. After one gets past the initial admiration of the quoted specs, appearance, weight, and handling, the question springs to mind: can it perform under pressure?Well, as briefly mentioned above, the Green Works cordless impact wrench, though a relatively unknown and new kid on the block, has already begun to build a reputation for both dependability and getting the job done. We’ve studied and reviewed a variety of wrenches to-date, and while there are always some great battery impact wrenches out there, not all of them are able to put up the kind of torque necessary to do the main things that one would expect of an impact wrench: remove lug nuts or rusty bolts. However, for general, day-to-day wrenching, the Greenworks impact wrench is much more than enough, and in most cases, has no problem removing lugs from a car.
The second part of the performance is the performance of the battery itself. Not only does it deliver a good, strong supply of power which enables the impact to perform to the top of its capability, it also exhibits some darn good sustainability and endurance. This is, in my personal opinion, to be expected of a quality 24V battery system, based on my experience with them.
Points to Consider
- Greenworks, while now producing some really nice up-and-coming, powerful, and more environmentally-friendly products, is still relatively new in the grand scheme of things. Because of this, there isn’t much to go on in the way of long-term experience with this impact wrench. In other words, how well will it perform a year from now? Two years? Beyond? How will the batteries fare after six months of regular use? These are important and fair questions to ask but, as with all things, we can’t know until we try. Still, be aware.
- While the vast majority of users are touting the power of this wrench, there have been a couple who claim that it does not have the purported torque. In this situation, we can only point to the numbers and show the percentages of people who are pleased with the torque performance, for while there are a couple who disagree, the vast majority do indeed find the power to be more than adequate.
Conclusion
All-in-all, we would first like to say that were did not expect to be presented with such a good impact upon seeing its name—“Greenworks”—as we viewed this as a possible attempt at luring in customers with an affinity for Mother Earth. However, we quickly realized that our initial assumptions were off—way off.
In order to determine or decide if this impact wrench is one we can recommend, we would first want to know if you are willing to take a small risk on a relatively new brand in the industry and, if so, then we believe that this would be a good one to take.
However, another reason you may be considering this is because of price, but you are also needing a better level of performance. If that’s the case, then the GW cordless impact wrench may be worth the chance because it could increase your productivity while keeping your cost within your budget.
If, however, you don’t view money as much of an object and are more concerned with assured, long-term dependability and markedly stronger performance, then perhaps a more established brand model would suit you.
To sum up, we are very pleased with this impact wrench from Greenworks and are happy to give it a nice 4.2 out of 5 stars rating. Given time, this may go up as its mettle and sustainability is proven.