Are Cordless Nail Guns Better Than Gas Nailers?

Posted by Katy | Toolstop on 2nd Jan 2021

Do battery nail guns mean death for gas nailers? This Toolstop guide discusses the benefits and features of cordless nailers, Second fix nail guns and electric staple guns. Are they superior to gas nailers? This guide expalins all

Introducing the Cordless Nail Gun - Here's everything you need to know

Do battery-powered nailers mean death for gas nailers?

There doesn’t seem to be an end to the power tools now available running off lithium-ion batteries. With the move to increased power and capacity from these batteries, it’s now likely that the tools you use the most will have a cordless version, allowing you to work independently off a cord, which for many on the jobsite means greater productivity.

Is a Battery Nail Gun the way forward?

Two tools now available in cordless versions that have caught our eye are the Dewalt DCN660P2 18V XR 2nd Fix Nail Gun and the HiKOKI NT1865DM/JXZ 18V 16GA Brushless Straight Finish Nailer.

Both are powered by 18V li-ion batteries. You can see all of the battery-powered nailers available here.

However, the presence of a battery on these nailers isn’t what caught our eye. It’s the lack of gas. Why is that so important? Well, as we pointed out in our guide to buying nailers:

A combustion powered nailer typically features an internal reservoir filled with flammable gas, normally in the form of a cartridge. An electronic control mechanism allows a little of this gas to flow into the combustion chamber. These nailers depend on a battery which provides a spark, igniting the gas and driving the piston.

Good points:

Typically able to drive larger nails into harder surfaces with ease, without relying on an air supply.

Not-so-good points:

The additional cost of buying gas canisters.

If the battery in your nailer will power it, pushing nails where you want them to go, do you still need a gas nailer? Would you be better switching to a cordless, battery powered nailer and putting the cash you’ve saved on gas to a decent holiday each year?

We put the Bosch GSK18v-Li brad nailer (a second fix nailer) into the hands of Wayne and Neil, a plumber and a joiner to trade respectively, to get their thoughts on it. Watch their review on Toolstop TV below:

What are the benefits of an Electric Nail Gun?

You’ll notice that they conclude the video by asking “gas or battery?”

Do you agree with Wayne, that we’ve seen the “death of the gas nailer”? Are there some jobs that only a gas nailer is up to handling? Or are Cordless Nail Guns the way forward?