Brad nailer with air tank versus long air hose

[Bryan11]

To put up some wood trim around a dozen replacement windows, an 18-gauge brad nailer looks appealing.  How reasonable would it be to get a 5 gallon portable air tank, fill it in the garage, and then take that and the nailer to work on putting up the trim?  Will that likely work, or will the tank run out too quickly and I'd be better off running long air hoses to the garage?

[jteneyck]

I typically need around 80-90 psi at the gun to shoot 2", 18 gage brads.  How many you can shoot with a 5 gal air tank will depend upon how much higher pressure your can fill that tank.  My guess is you won't be able to shoot very many brads, maybe 15 or 20, before you get down below 80 psi.  And if you have any leaks at all, you'll be done in a hurry.  Of course, I'm wrong a lot, so give it a try - but be prepared to buy some hose. 

John

[fredhargis]

I do it all the time (I think my tank is 7 gallons) and it works really well. The brad nailer doesn't use all that much air, and I make sure the tank is really as up as much as I can manage with my compressor. I've done all manner of interior trim that way.

[TDKPE]

Long hoses are just long reservoirs for tools that use small pulsed volumes of air with recharge time in between. Like nailers. Not like impact or spray guns.

But the way I work (slow), an air tank would be just fine. Many trips to the garage anyway, so a recharge is just par.

I think the answer is whichever a) costs less, and b) is the least disruptive to the household. Long hoses snaked through the whole house wouldn't sit well with DW, but long hoses allow other work around the house in the future, including spraying and impact guns with high pressure in the hose stepped down to working pressure right at the work. So what's going to have the most utility to you over time?

[woodhead]

Tank & regulator V. long hose cost???   For one job?

Cheap hose, cheap way out.

http://www.harborfreight.com/38-in-x-100...69710.html


Al

[fredhargis]

I think I paid $10 for my tank (there's no regulator) at Wal mart, though that was many years ago. I agree that if this is the only reason you would buy a tank a cheap hose may be less expensive. But those tanks have so much more use...mine sees continual service airing up tires and even for a quick burst on an air gun (doesn't last long). My SIL used it to charge his pressure tank. One other thing, I have a specific air hose I use with the tank, I think it came with my compressor, but it's only 15' long and it's a 1/4" hose, very handy and light for this use. If I need a regulator, I have one for my compressor that's on a QD coupling, I just plug that in.

[thewizzard]

Both ways will work. For me, it would be more of a decision of:

1. Overall cost of portable tank/regulator/plumbing hardware vs cost of additional air hose and couplers needed

2. After this job, which set-up may have a future use

If you don't already have the nail gun and need to buy it also, you may find a gun + small compressor kit reasonably priced and only a little more than a gun by itself.

Don't forget, corded electric and rechargeable guns are also available that need no air supply.

[Bryan11]

Thanks much for great info on this.