Harbor Freight Hercules 20V Brushless 1/2 in Compact Impact Wrench (HCB84B). Unboxing and testing! 

Did you ever buy it bro? How you like it so far? I’m looking into getting one to replace my snap on 3/8 just never had the juice from the start

Saw another video that Herc did much more torque soo ..

I see this is a new comment, I just got the deal yesterday. Needed something to remove the seat bolts from a 1996 GMC. Busted them loose with ease.

@@dontlazerme: I arrived home from Harbor Freight with the Hercules (HCB84B2) model and it was free with the 99.98 charger/battery deal. I do like the Snap-On equivalent, but at over $500 for just the impact gun can't can't justify it as a DIY-er. Also, the warranty for the Snap-On impact gun is only 2 years as opposed to the Hercules 5 year warranty.

Be aware there are two generations of this tool. I tested the first gen. People are telling me now that the second gen isn't as powerful. Some are telling me it's downright wimpy and others are saying that it's still more than enough for where and how they'll use it. So if you get one and it's less powerful than the one I show in the video, you'll know why. I think the new one has a model number that ends in B2. Also, I think the deal is on now that if you buy a battery and charger you can get the tool for free.

Yup, the one I just got yesterday has 4 power levels, 1,2,3 and Automatic. SEems to handle lugnuts just fine@@3rdpig

There are two generations of this tool. The first gen, which is what I have in the video, is powerful. The second gen is way less powerful. I can't imagine why they did this and I didn't know it when I made the video.

With aftermarket battery packs available and the ability to rebuild battery packs with new batteries (at least the ones that use cylindrical batteries) I don't worry too much. I still occasionally use my 30+ year old Makita 9v drill that I've rebuilt the battery pack on now about 5 times (and probably needs it again). And I doubt Hercules is going to disappear any time soon with HF selling them.

That's a smoking deal!

So how did you get the free battery?

@Phuong_Nguyen_ they often run specials like "buy any 20v impact and get a free 5ah battery" or "buy a battery and charger and get your choice of power tool"

@@wsieber89so the open box was allowed for the deal?

@Phuong_Nguyen_ yep I asked first and they said yes

There are two versions of this gun, the first version which is what I tested in this video, is quite powerful for it's size. The second version, which unfortunately looks identical, is not.

@@3rdpig is the stronger version still sold? I've only seen the weaker one at the stores

I have the early version of it and every time I use it I'm shocked by the amount of power it has. There's at least one later version, which I've been told has less power, but someone else told me that it has a power level setting (which mine doesn't have) and once you get that set to High then it's pretty powerful. I've heard rumors that there's a third version as well. Apparently Harbor Freight often has multiple suppliers for a single product, thus the different model numbers.

@@3rdpig it was the herc impact driver not the wrench that I saw was very strong . Loosened nut at 500 ft lbs with the high performance 4 Ah battery. But I heard good things about the wrench too

Or maybe they're willing to lose some money in order to attract new customers or showcase a new product?

@@3rdpig or maybe even a combination of the two.

That sucks. Mine lacks the "2" at the end of the model number. I guess I better treat it nice, it might be the last of it's kind. Kind of a shame too, the thing is so small and so powerful, why did they have to go and mess with it?

Thanks for your reply! So I bought the 8amp battery and it performed better. So it seems the tool needs more current than can be supplied with the 2.5 amp battery. Maybe the 4 amp would work also, but I wasn’t buying two batteries. I don’t believe it would spin off a 500 lb bolt, but for its small size and price (~175 with the battery but not the charger) it does what I need.

@@baroquenhorse657Glad to hear it's working better for you! I've only got the 5ah battery but it works well with that. And I don't believe mine would spin off a bolt torqued to 500ft/lbs either. But I do think it would do half that without a problem. And considering it's small size, that's more than good enough for me cause I hate dragging one of the giant impacts out when it's not necessary or can't fit.

​@@baroquenhorse657 FWIW I got the 5 amp battery and it wouldn't loosen lugs torqued at 90 lbs :( Thinking I also got a lemon, will likely exchange either for the high or ultra torque.

I have the gen 2 3/8”. Wouldn’t remove 150 ft-lb lug nuts nor would it remove the lug nuts tightened by the 1/4” Hercules impact driver. This was all with the same 5AH batt. Wanted to love the gen 2 but can’t.

Mine can’t even break 100 without struggling

@pinkhat3369 try cracking it loose with a breaker bar first. Which battery did you buy? The bigger the battery the more torque

@@shidoin5398 that's stupid. The whole point of an impact is to not need a breaker bar.

@mikeophoven4527 did you even fully read the comment. I said what battery did you buy? The bigger the battery the more torque. If he bought a small battery try to first break them loose with a bar! 🙄

​@@pinkhat3369probably using a tiny battery

I did sign up through a third party, I forget who it was, I've used Impact, Zbanx and Commission Junction, but it still has to be approved, or at least did back when I tried, by someone at HF and they said "Hahahaha....NO".

I'll look for one the next time I'm in HF.

​@3rdpig yes those 4ah extreme batteries are a Beast

@@jacobsebastien3910How does that newer 4ah compare to the original 5ah in power and runtime? I have the 5ah I use for my Hercules blower and this same compact impact wrench.

Thanks!

Do you have model HCB84B? If so, you got a lemon. If you have any other model number than that, like it has a "2" on the end, you got the new "improved" model and I've been told it's not as powerful. I've also been told it has a switch that controls the power level and that it sometimes either overlooked by the user or just doesn't work right.

I checked, it's the B2 model. Gonna take it back. Bull crap that they fiddled with it when it was just fine in the first place

The one I bought works great, but be aware that the ones being sold now are a generation 2 model, not the generation 1 I tested in this video. While the gen 2 model seems to have more features, I've been told it has less maximum torque. So if it's not the model number referenced in the title, it's a gen 2 model. The good news is if you get it home and it doesn't have enough power, HF will take it back no questions asked.

@@3rdpig thank you

I've got 2 of the 1/4" Hart impacts, the original brushed and then the 2nd gen brushless. I've reviewed both of them and I still use them. The brushed doesn't have a huge amount of power but enough for most jobs and it's easy to control. The brushless is smaller and has a ton of power, too much for a lot of things. And while it does have variable speed, you still have to be careful using it for things like self tapping screws, it's very easy to strip or break them. I doubt I'd buy the brushed version today unless I got it for some stupid low price. But then again, I've gotten all my Hart tools at stupid low prices.

I don't have the 3/8 so I can't report on it. But if you don't like it, just take it back!

Sounds like it's defective. Maybe get it replaced?

@@3rdpighad gotten one and it couldn’t take off wheel locks.. got my money back and bought a snap on

@@natefrm860 so, you went from $69 to $1,200 without blinking. Well goody for Snap On. 😁 Their marketing department beats Kirby's by miles. Save your receipt buddy. Without it you mean absolutely nothing to Snap On. 🤣

They lie

They replaced the original version that I reviewed with a new lesser powered version. Sucks, the original was a beast.