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Pneumatic vs Electric/Cordless Tools

4K views 15 replies 14 participants last post by  RichSchmidt  
#1 ·
What do you guys prefer for your garage/car work, a compressor with pneumatic tools or the new electric and cordless tools out? I am trying to decide which direction would be best for me to go for my garage projects for both cost wise and tool performance. I would think the tools I would use the most would be an impact gun and cutoff wheels and a diegrinder. Are the electric/cordless tools comparable to their pneumatic twins? Which would be the best bang for the buck pneumatic or electric/cordless? thanks for the help
 
#3 ·
thats for the reply! I have a small pancake compressor now for house projects etc, but if i go the pneumatic way I plan on getting a new compressor for the garage to support the tools I buy.

any other opinions?
 
#6 ·
I typically plug in my tools at home in the garage. I have a Harbor Freight here and buy their cheap 4" angle grinders. I also have a compressor that I use to sandblast and paint.
I will say one thing about air tools the cheap ones wear out too fast and the good one are hard for me to justify the price for home use.

Jeff
 
#10 ·
I have a set of Milwaukee 18V cordless tools- sawzall, drill, circular saw, flashlight and best of all 2 different 1/2" impacts one is lightweight- about 3lbs and 180ft-lb and the big 325ft-lb thats like 7 lbs the impacts are great!! I use them to teardown and build rear ends- makes getting a pinion nut off at the junkyard a breeze! This is some of the best$$ I have spent on tools- I hardly use my compressor anymore-waiting for it to build pressure and the noise factor sucks! the big impact I have been using for 5-6 years - I absolutely LOVE IT! just recently I have upgraded to Li-Ion batterys and thats a great improvement- my first try at the boneyard I pulled 3 nova rear ends with 1 battery! I wouldnt be without em! the other tools help around the house for cutting wood-trimming tree branches and that flashlight is handy too - they even offer 28v now-Check E-bay but read carefully there are 3 different 18v Batterys
 
#11 ·
They all have there place.When I work on cars whether auto body or mechanical its air. I have just about every tool known to man battery tools such as Dewalt are good for certain things on a car but I wouldn't depend on them totaly.I would say if your talking just for working on cars I would stay with air,especially auto body.Your not going to find a DA or fileboard in battery or electric at least of any quality...this is...JMO...
 
#13 ·
Over time, my Dewalt batteries wear out and don't keep their charges as long. They are a lot handier because I don't have to pull out the hose, but I do get tired of recharging and replacing batteries. If I'm going to be using a tool all day long, I'll go with the pnuematic. For quick jobs, I stick with batteries.

H.
 
#14 ·
For working on cars - pneumatic. For household projects and general repair - battery. For framing and carpentry - pneumatic.

Having a good air compressor is the way to go if you have the space for it. I have a 35 gallon upright that puts out 175psi and I use it all the time. For car work, impact gun, ratchet, file, die grinder, painting, blowing things clean, and believe it or not... actually filling tires.

I love my DeWalt 14.4v and 18v kits for household stuff just due to the flexibility. I can wear out batteries within 12-18 mos due to use, not due to sitting.

For real carpentry work I go back to air for nailers and staplers as the there really is no battery/cordless comparison for all day use. I even had a Pasolode gas charged I eventually sold on eBay as it wasn't cost effective to use regularly.
 
#15 ·
I have both. I use the electrical/battery powered for quick small jobs, but I would never consider getting rid of my pneumatic. Unfortunately most people do what I did and get a compressor that isn't big enough. Next summer will involve some modifications on the house and garage and will include a new, larger compressor that will be in a room outside the garage so the noise/heat factor won't be an issue.
If you have to choose, I would encourage you to determine your needs first, then choose your poison. Electric/battery powered burn up over time and good pneumatics are expensive but last a long time.
 
#16 ·
Air power is great for turning bolts,sanding,and drilling.For Grinding and cutting,I like electric better.I used to use air powered die grinders to port heads,and even with a fairly large compressor,it seemed as if the thing never shut off.When doing big jobs on sheet metal,a cut off wheel uses a lot of air and is slow.Electric nibblers are great for getting the big chunks of panels out,and an electric drill and grinder will do wonders for breaking the edges away.In a real tough jam an air powered chisel can really help and is my choice for big chunks of floor and frame,but a grinder will make the job neater.
with a pancake compressor right now,I would limit the air tools to the kind that turn bolts and an air chisel.