MRO Today - Fire in the hole!

Fire in the hole

Some applications call for fast, light-duty anchoring in concrete — powder actuated and gas fuel cell powered nailers tools make fast work of these otherwise tedious jobs

by Tom Hammel

If you think your cousins in construction get all the cool tools to play with, here are some you can “borrow” from them — on a permanent basis. While the duel between new gas fuel cell powered nail guns and old-school powder-actuated tools plays out mainly on construction jobsites, these pocket cannons can make fast work of some in-plant applications, too.

Speed vs. power
Which is better for you? It depends on what you need more: speed or brute power. Simply put, if you need maximum power, go with a PAT. These tools produce up to four times the power output of gas tools. Applications calling for PATs typically involve specifications that require larger pins — such as .145-inch diameter pins — than gas-powered tools can shoot.

PATs also excel where deeper embedment is needed. For example, if your application calls for shooting down sill plates through 2x4 lumber to a depth of 1.5 inches in the concrete, a gas tool doesn’t have the firepower you need.

“Another reason for using PATs is access in tight spaces where a gas tool may be too bulky,” adds Craig Pratt, PAT product manager for Simpson Strong-Tie. “However, when it comes to drywall track fastening, gas has the power to do the job, and is the most efficient.”

Bang! You’re deaf
Then there’s the bang. Without hearing protection, the blast noise of a PAT is deafening even in a cavernous, high-ceiling plant. If you’ve ever used a PAT in an enclosed building without earplugs or muffs, you know exactly what this is like.

The sound can also startle nearby equipment operators, so workers in a wide radius of planned PAT work need to be notified before work begins.

“There is much more physical discomfort associated with PATs,” notes Alan Price, senior staff engineer for Powers Fasteners. “Gas tools are much quieter than PATs and produce much less recoil. Both of these attributes significantly increase operator comfort.”

Fumes must also be considered. Spent PAT loads smell like what they are — gunpowder. This can irritate lungs and eyes, so manufacturers recommend using these products only in well ventilated areas.

Eye protection is also required.

“Badges? We don’t need no...”
PATs also require an operator’s license. Compliance is enforced by OSHA and penalties for noncompliance include monetary fines.

So how and where do you get a license? Well, where’s your computer, pardner? Powers offers a qualified tool operator’s exam and an instructor exam on its home page. Instructors can also go online and get certified to train others in the use of PATs. Both online exams are also offered in Spanish.

Simpson Strong-Tie is in the process of offering online PAT training and certification. Simpson also offers face-to-face training at specific training facilities and workshops.

“The training can be completed in about an hour. The applicant then takes the operator’s exam and, upon passing, can be issued a license immediately,” Pratt says.

Name your hang-up
PAT and gas tools have uses well beyond just shooting down drywall track for the boss’s new shop-floor office. And, compared to drilling and anchoring each point, gas- or PAT-fired anchors and assemblies dramatically increase productivity on jobs for which they are suited. Manufacturers offer dozens of application-specific assemblies, particularly for wall and overhead HVAC and electrical work. These include ceiling, conduit and rebar basket clips assemblies, washers, BX cable and conduit straps, bridal rings, threaded studs, rod hangers, insulation, nylon and stainless steel washers.

Some tools also work with optional extensions in either 6- or 8-foot lengths that allow workers standing on the floor to attach clips and other fasteners to ceilings up to 14 or more feet high. Now, that’s what I call reach.

Ready to rock?
Another key difference between PATs and gas tools is not so much what makes them tick as what makes them go boom — how long you can expect that boom to be reliable. Gas fuel cell powered tools require both batteries that need to be charged and fuel cells that need to be relatively fresh. Major manufacturers claim their fuel cells can shoot between 800 and 1,000 pins per cell and that cells can sit in your tool crib up to about 18 months, (some claim two years) and still deliver specified power levels.

PAT powder loads typically come as single shots or strips of 10. Obviously, these are easier to gauge visually how many shots you have left. As for lifespan, PAT loads, when properly stored in dry environments at room temperatures, can last for years.

Powers Fasteners’ fully automatic PA351 is designed to work on light- and normal-weight concrete and grouted concrete masonry. Its .27 caliber loads can shoot pins from 5/8" to 1 5/8" long. The tool weighs 8 lbs. Item 149

Showdown — powder
The quick-draw champion in Powers Fastener’s PAT lineup is the PA351, a fully automatic tool with a .27 caliber, 10-fastener magazine.

“The PA351 is fully automatic,” Price explains. “It recycles itself automatically so you don’t have to manually cycle the piston every time you shoot.”

Thanks to this feature and a quick-change drop-in magazine, this tool can shoot up to 700 fasteners per hour. It allows one-handed operation and its power adjuster provides variable power choices for driving a variety of fasteners.

The fully automatic PTP-27ASMAGR from Simpson Strong-Tie fires .27 caliber loads and drives pins from 1/2" to 1 5/8" in length. It features a built-in silencer to reduce noise and fires 10 pins before needing to be reloaded. Item 150

Simpson Strong-Tie’s newest PATs are the PTP-27ALMAGR and PTP-27ASMAGR, fully automatic .27 caliber strip-load tools with fast-loading magazines for “load-and-shoot” ease of operation. Both tools easily convert to single-shot operation for installing pre-assembled fasteners.

The PTP-27ALMAGR fires pins from 5/8" to 2 7/8" long and weighs 8 lbs., 5 oz. The PTP-27ASMAGR features a rotating fastener magazine and fires pins from 1/2" to 1 1/4" in length. It weighs 7 lbs., 4 oz. Both tools feature a cushioned grip, reduced recoil and a silencer for quieter operation.

Showdown — gas
A number of manufacturers produce gas fuel cell powered tools, some for specific applications while others chase the high-power crown. Powers Fasteners’ TrakIt C4, introduced late last year, produces 130 joules of power, which makes it the most powerful gas tool available today. It holds 42 pins, fires 800 shots per fuel cell and can shoot 3/4" to 2 9/16" pins with shank diameters up to .145".

The Powers C4 is the current heavy hitter of gas tools, generating 130 joules of force. This power allows it to drive 3/4" to 2 9/16" pins with shank diameters up to .145". Item 151

A loaded question
As the technology evolves and gas powered tools shoot their way into applications that were once PAT territory, will gas tools eventually make PATs obsolete?

“I don’t see a time when PATs will become totally obsolete,” Price observes. “PATs have been around for so long and are so widely accepted that I just don’t see that they can be totally displaced.

“Also, gas tool technology has only reached the ability to shoot .145" pins, but as the technology advances we will be getting into some of the larger diameter fastenings.”

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