Review: Bosch PS40-2A Cordless Impact Driver

I recently became interested in looking for a new compact impact driver to upgrade my tool collection. The Bosch PS40-2A really grabbed my attention and as I dug deeper I realized that this is the lightweight impact driver that I should get. It has a great balance of compact size, high torque and long battery life. It is also the latest rendition of this line of impact drivers, offering 12V power rather than the 10.8V power of it’s predecessor.

I dug around out there to find out as much as I could about this tool, here is what I learned.

Less Sore Wrists and Fatigue

The design of this compact impact driver makes it very easy to handle for all types of users. The PS40-2A only weighs 2.2 pounds! I don’t know if you’ve picked up and held any of your other drills/drivers lately, but chances are they don’t get close to being this lightweight.

The lightweight design helps greatly to reduce user fatigue. If you have ever tired while using any other drill/driver, you will know how much this can reduce your efficiency while working.

If you use a drill often for driving screws, and your wrist gets sore from pushing too hard, the switch to a compact impact driver will save you a lot of stress on your limbs. Impact drivers are able to drive screws without the need for “pushing” like is needed with a standard drill, due to the hammering action.

This Thing Is Small

We mentioned that it’s light and small, but we need to state this again. It’s perfectly possible to shove this impact driver into a tool belt or a larger pocket, it’s just that compact. Even just look at the battery design again in the pictures, it doesn’t have the large end on the bottom of the handle that is typical on some larger impact drivers. If you need this type of portability, this model is a good choice.

The Forward/Reverse Switch

This impact driver does have a standard forward/reverse switch positioned above the trigger. Bosch designed this so that hands of all sizes can easily reach the switch. It can be used easily by both left or right handed people.

A Flexible Tool with Many Uses

When I think of using an impact driver, I am usually thinking in terms of how it’s going to be useful for woodworking applications, as that is mostly what I need power tools for. However, this compact impact driver can be used for much more, it’s very versatile.

For example, you can use it for:

Driving screws into wood
Driving, fastening and tightening nuts and bolts

This is a small sample, but basically an impact driver can be used for woodworking, home improvement jobs, auto repairs and much more. Anything that requires fastening or driving is a good job candidate for this impact driver. I would be hesitant to use and impact driver as a drill, and Bosch specifically states that this tool is intended for fastening/driving applications only.

This is one of the few tool that I would use for woodworking that would also cross over very easily to other jobs around the home. I can also see how it would be a very versatile tool for contractors.

Litheon Batteries for Maximum Life and Power

What is a Litheon battery? It is the most advanced type of Lithium Ion battery available on the market today. Okay, so that sounds good, but what makes it so advanced and useful?

More battery charges and longer run-time overall
The batteries don’t need to be emptied completely before charging
It takes 15 minutes to charge to 85% capacity and only 30 minutes for a full charge
Batteries can be removed from the charger before completing a full charge, with no negative effects
No loss of power as the batteries run out of juice, the impact driver will have full power until the the last second before the batteries die

These types of benefits come in really handy if you demand the most out of the batteries in your power tools. If you have to have the best, well here you go, this drill utilizes some of the best battery technology available.

The Battery Charging Experience

This kit comes with a charger that plugs into a standard power outlet. The battery can be released from the drill by squeezing the two release tabs on either side of the battery near the handle. The battery slides into the top of the charger and there are two lights on the front of the charger, red and green. After you insert the battery, the lights will indicate what exactly is going on during charging.

If the green light is flashing, the battery is fast charging. Once the green light stops flashing, and stays a steady green, that means the battery is done fast charging. You can remove the battery at any time and use it again, even if it doesn’t fully charge. This is handy when you are in a time crunch and need just a little more juice to get something done, but can’t be patient enough to wait 30 minutes for a full charge.

If the red light is on, that indicates that the battery is too hot or too cold and the charger will not charge. This is part of the protection technology. To be able to utilize the fast charging the battery needs to be in between 32 degrees F and 113 degrees F. As you can see this is a very wide range of temps, so that means the charger will not charge only in the most extreme of temperatures. If the red light is flashing that means that there is something wrong with the connectors or the battery cannot take the charge. If this happens it can help to try cleaning the connectors and trying again.

LED Light for Better Visibility

An LED light is integrated into the front of this impact driver and it helps you see much more easily when working in low lighting conditions. I find this to be a very useful features, especially since this impact driver is so small that it tends to get used in a lot of small/tight areas where lighting is not always very direct or bright.

A slight press of the trigger activates the light before the driver activates, which gives you the ability to illuminate your target before you begin driving.

The Hammer and Anvil System

This sounds like we’re talking about an old blacksmithing shop, but we’re actually talking about the technology used in this impact driver to create torque.

The motor spins a “hammer”. The hammer rotates and has two heads, or strikers. The heads hammer on the “anvil” (which is t-shaped) at two points and the anvil is attached directly to the ¼” hex chuck.

This system provides 800 inch pounds of torque, which is quite impressive for such a small tool. At the same time, it does a good job of keeping that torque from impacting your hands and wrists, which reduces stress on your limbs.

The Power

We mentioned that this tool provides 800 inch pounds of torque with the hammer and anvil system. It also delivers up to 1,500 rpm and up to 3,000 bpm to give you a plenty of power for many different types of jobs.

The Sealed Internal Components, Shock Absorber and Rubber Pads

A neat design feature of the PS40-2A is that Bosch has enclosed all the internal gearbox components in a sealed aluminum housing. This prevents oil and fluids from leaking out of the tool and it also helps to protect the internal components from the elements that tend to work their way into these types of components.

There is also a rubber shock absorber behind the impact mechanism, which absorbs vibration and impact stress. This shock absorber can also protect the tools internal components in the case of accidental dropping. In addition to the shock absorber, there are also rubber pads positioned on the outer casing to add extra protection from rough usage.

Hey, we’ve all dropped tools, right? This tool can protect itself from our rough handling of it.

These features help to extend the life of the tool and allow it to handle more rigorous working conditions without failure.

The Protection Plan

Bosch offers a ProVantage Guarantee that provides the following protections:

Two years of free battery replacements
One year of free tool replacement
A free tool repair package for the two years beyond the tool replacement

What’s In The Box?

When you buy this impact driver kit, here’s what you will get:

The impact driver
A carrying case
Two 1.5 inch power drive bits
A 30 minute quick charger
2 Litheon 12v batteries

The two batteries will leave you in battery-life heaven, we love kits that come with two batteries.

What Are Other People Saying?

This impact driver has many happy owner. Some comments that others have made:

“If there were a sixth star to give, I would give it for this very useful, well-made tool.”

“I bought this electric impact to use for auto repair and it does an outstanding job.”

“I have already used it a few times and it sunk a few long tapcons into some cinder blocks without losing charge. I recommend!

“The Bosch Impact Driver is my tool of choice for jobs around the house.”

“Within 10 minutes this awesome little tool became my absolute favorite item in the shop.”

Where Can You Buy This Impact Driver?

This impact driver can be purchased from Amazon. They were offering free shipping last time we checked, that is always a big plus. Amazon quite often has the best deal, so make sure to check them out.