16 Gauge Cordless Finish Nailer (Bosch FNH180-16 or Dewalt DC616K or Paslode )
I am looking for a 16 gauge cordless finish nailer and I have already read the recent FHB article on cordless finish nailers. The article did not really tell me anything about each guns individual performance. I plan on using the cordless finish nailer to do punch work on exterior James Hardie fiber cement trim. All of my cornice crews use 16 gauge 2″ galvanized finish nails to install Hardie trim. I need to know which one of the currently available 16 gauge cordless finish nailers can handle 1″ (5/4) Hardie trim without an issue. I am not partial to the gas/battery combo guns because the gas cartridges expire, the guns need cleaning, and you have the extra expense of gas cartridges. I like the Senco Fusion F15 but it is only available in 15 gauge and 18 gauge and as far as I know Senco has no plans to come out with a 16 gauge version. I have read some pretty good reviews on the Dewalt DC616K and the gun has been on the market for a long time, so it has a proven track record. I went to my local Lowe’s and handled the 18 gauge version of the Dewalt and it just felt cheap with its all plastic body. I am wondering how the new Bosch gun fares against the Dewalt as far as performance: jambs per 500 nails?, propensity to under drive nails as battery runs down?, number of nails driven per charge?, power of driver (1″ Hardie?), estimated tool life (100,000 nails?). The Bosch is about $100.00 more expensive than the Dewalt right now and it only comes in an angled version, but for some reason it intrigues me and I want to know more. I think the Bosch has a magnesium body while the Dewalt has a plastic body like the Paslode. I just want to know if the Bosch has the ability to drive nails through 1″ Hardie and what features or design aspects does it have to justify the $100.00 price difference. The Bosch is on the list for approved ProVantage plan tools so the warranty of the Bosch and Dewalt are basically the same.
Any opinions or experiences with any of these tools?
Replies
Well I did some of my own research and came up with some more information on the Bosch FNH180-16 cordless 16 gauge finish nail gun. I attached the owner's manual from Bosch which is not yet available on their website for some reason. I also talked to the Bosch technical department and they tested the gun for me by stacking three pieces of 5/16" Hardie Lap Siding with a 2x4 as the base and they drove a 2" 16 gauge nail into the Hardie repeatedly with no problem using the max depth setting on the gun. When they tried to drive a 2" nail into four pieces of 5/16" Hardie Lap Siding with a 2x4 as the base the gun started to jam consistently. The gun has been tested to go through 15/16" of Hardie Lap Siding by Bosch, which should be good enough to hang both Hardie 5/4 (1") and 4/4 (3/4") trim with a 2x4 or 7/16" OSB as a base. I also talked to Patrick McCombe over the phone about his recent article on cordless finish nail guns and he said the Bosch FNH180 out performed the Dewalt DC616K because the Bosch gun drove nails flush more consistently and did not jamb when driving into his LVL test material. He said that he actually had to take apart the Dewalt to get the driver to reset several times after jamming the gun. However, Patrick did mention that the Dewalt he was testing used a Ni-Cad battery which leads me to believe it is an older model because I think they now have a kit with the XRP battery. The Paslode still produces the most power without a doubt, but it seems like the flywheel guns will work just fine for exterior Hardie trim applications. I actually found the Dewalt DC616K mentioned as a recommended nail gun in the James Hardi "Best Practices - Installation Guide for Siding and Trim Products" for their 5/4 and 4/4 trim boards. I am mainly interested in the flywheel guns because they only require a battery and because I will not use the gun for more than about 10 nails every several months (few punch items left behind by my cornice crews). If I used a Paslode gun I would never use all three short yellow fuel cells before they expire and the one fuel cell I would use would sit in the gun for long periods of time. I like the Senco Fusion gun but they only make a 15 gauge right now and Hardie recommends a 16 gauge nail. Anyway, hopefully this will be of some use to someone else on the internet in my same situation.
Update?
Hi and thanks for your comments on the topic of cordless nailers comparisons.THe original posting was a while back so i know this is a longshot but if you are still posting on this stie, I was wondering what your final decision was and how it turned out for you. I recently bought a Paslode Li Finish nailer ( I have the framing nailer and it is AMAZING!) but I was wondering if it was time to go to Fuelless?
Thanks.
-AK