# Nailers - pneumatic vs. electric (battery)



## cellophane (Sep 29, 2009)

I was watching Holmes on Homes the other day and noticed they were using an electric (battery-powered) finish nailer instead of an air powered tool. Are there any specific advantages or disadvantages to one tool over the other aside from the obvious not having to lug around a compressor and deal with the air hose?


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## Yoyizit (Jul 11, 2008)

See if you can find out the power delivered to each tool; with elec. tools it's easy. With the other, it depends on flow rate and PSI.

And, tool weight may be a consideration.

http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Pneumatic_Versus_Electric_Brad_Nailers.html

http://www.galttech.com/research/household-DIY-tools/best-nail-gun.php


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## gmhammes (Jan 10, 2010)

I have found that my paslode finish nailer works great if you use it frequently however for a job here and a job there i can't always rely on it. For the price, i like the my senco nailer with a portable air compressor just a little bit more than my paslode. IMHO


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## acerunner (Dec 16, 2009)

battery powered are really expensive! can cost 3 times more than pneumatic. For a home DIYer, it is not worth it IMHO.

I was looking at cordless nailer for a while because I don't have a compressor and don't want to have to lug it around. But even used on craigslist/ebay, cordless is really expensive. I ended getting a set of 4 nailers on sale at lowes for $130. It's a pretty generic brand, but reviews show its pretty good for an occasional-use DIYer.


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## tpolk (Nov 7, 2009)

gmhammes said:


> I have found that my paslode finish nailer works great if you use it frequently however for a job here and a job there i can't always rely on it. For the price, i like the my senco nailer with a portable air compressor just a little bit more than my paslode. IMHO


:thumbsup::thumbsup: yup senco here


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## gmhammes (Jan 10, 2010)

acerunner said:


> battery powered are really expensive! can cost 3 times more than pneumatic. For a home DIYer, it is not worth it IMHO.
> 
> I was looking at cordless nailer for a while because I don't have a compressor and don't want to have to lug it around. But even used on craigslist/ebay, cordless is really expensive. I ended getting a set of 4 nailers on sale at lowes for $130. It's a pretty generic brand, but reviews show its pretty good for an occasional-use DIYer.


I saw that set at lowes the other day and although i have not heard of the brand, maybe some reviews would be good for the DIYer's on here that don't really want to go all out with paslode or senco.


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## acerunner (Dec 16, 2009)

gmhammes said:


> I saw that set at lowes the other day and although i have not heard of the brand, maybe some reviews would be good for the DIYer's on here that don't really want to go all out with paslode or senco.


no reviews from me yet because I haven't started using it. still looking for a compressor to go with it. But here's what I've found online.
http://forum.doityourself.com/carpentry-woodworking/347288-stick-nailer-not-driving-nails-home.html
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1104405
Also lowe's webpage has it's own user reviews.


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## gmhammes (Jan 10, 2010)

Lowes has the hitachi portable compressors on sale right now for 179 i beleive.


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## acerunner (Dec 16, 2009)

gmhammes said:


> I saw that set at lowes the other day and although i have not heard of the brand, maybe some reviews would be good for the DIYer's on here that don't really want to go all out with paslode or senco.


finally got around to trying it out. I shot a bunch of nails into some scrap wood, so I wouldn't say its a real world test. That said, everything works as described, except for the framing nailer. It does not sink the nail all the way.

I'd say the bigger issue is probably with the compressor. It is 115psi max. I am using a filter so there's a 5psi drop. It drains to 70psi before kicking up again. In the best case, the framing gun will see 110psi, and worse case down to 65psi. Off the top of my head, it is rated for 70 to 120psi. Clearly you have to stay at the top end of that range to work properly. For now, I'm gonna give the framing nailer a fail because it does not operate at the spec'ed psi range. If I get a larger psi compressor, I'll test again.


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## Mr. Michael (Jan 10, 2007)

stupid suggestion, but did you adjust the driving depth of the framing nailer? I'm sure you did


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## acerunner (Dec 16, 2009)

Mr. Michael said:


> stupid suggestion, but did you adjust the driving depth of the framing nailer? I'm sure you did


yep, i did.

the depth of the driven nail varies w/ psi very noticably. At the lower end of the psi range, the nail was only driven in about 1/2".


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