Progressive Distributor

Dueling PATs

New gas fuel cell tools are dueling with old-school powder-actuated tools for dominance on job sites. But those old guns still have the firepower.

by Tom Hammel

Like the Hatfields and McCoys, the feud between powder-actuated tools (PATs) and gas-powered tools for anchoring wood and steel to concrete has been going on for decades. Gas-powered fastening tools have been gaining market share on commercial job sites, but that doesn’t mean PATs are hopelessly outgunned.

Old hands vs. young guns
As you might expect, PATs are older than gas-powered tools. In fact, they date to World War I. The first PATs were used for quick repairs on ship hulls, and this application continued throughout World War II.

After WWII, PATs were adapted for use in the construction industry, which is how Ramset came into being in 1948. Ramset’s ITW sister company, Paslode, pioneered fuel cell technology more than 20 years ago, so both are fundamentally mature technologies. However, fuel cell technology continues to advance.

So which is better? It depends on what you need most for your application: speed or brute power?

“The main reason for using a PAT is if you require more power than is available with a gas tool,” says Matt Davis, marketing manager, drywall division, ITW Ramset. “Those applications are typically going to be either where the specification requires a larger-diameter pin than a gas-powered tool can shoot – like a .145-inch diameter pin – or where deeper embedment is needed. For example, when you are shooting down sill plates through a 2x4 and you need 1.5 inches of embedment in the concrete, a gas tool will not be able to perform that application, so users will revert to powder.”

That power differential is significant. Craig Pratt, PAT product manager for Simpson Strong-Tie, notes that PATs have up to four times the power output of gas technology.

“Another reason for using PATs is access in tight spaces where a gas tool may be too bulky,” he adds. “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, after shooting up to 700 pins an hour, a PAT operator will be deaf for the rest of the day at the very least. This fact alone gives gas tools an edge with users.

“There is much more physical discomfort associated with PATs,” says 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.”

Draw!
A PAT with a 10-pin, 10-load magazine can keep up with a gas-powered tool for 10 shots, but that’s it. The average fuel cell lasts upwards of 1,000 shots, and a typical gas-powered tool magazine holds between 40 and 45 collated pins. That adds up to serious downtime while you reload a PAT. The wild-west equivalent would be a face off of a Winchester against a Gatling gun.

Work speed and operator comfort continue to drive the market toward gas tools, Davis admits. Ramset serves primarily commercial drywall contractors and Davis estimates that 90 percent of them use gas for shooting track into concrete. Even so, he adds, “There are some applications that gas can’t do yet, and for those, powder is still the way to go.”

Badges?
“We don’t need no...”
PATs also (and probably always will) require an operator’s license. Compliance is enforced by OSHA. Penalties for noncompliance include fines and ejection of offending operators from the job site until they can show proof of PAT certification.

So how and where do you get a license? Powers Fasteners and ITW Ramset offer training and testing right on their Web sites.

“Our Web site has a tutorial with all the information you need to take the test, and you can take the test right online, too,” Davis explains. “It takes 10 to 15 minutes to go through the tutorial and take the test, which has a true/false section and a quiz on identifying loads by their color. If you pass, you can print off a temporary version of your license.”

Ramset also offers a 15-minute PAT training DVD that covers the operation and safe use of PATs.

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 exams are also offered in Spanish.

Simpson Strong-Tie is in the process of offering online PAT training and certification. It 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.

The fully automatic PTP-27ASMAGR from Simpson Strong-Tie fires .27 caliber loads and drives pins from 1/2-inch to 1 5/8-inch in length.

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 for high-volume applications.

“The PA351 is fully automatic,” Price says. “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.

Ramset’s newest PAT gun for hire is the Rocket, which fires .27 caliber loads and pins up to 2 inches long. It features an automatic spring-return front end that eliminates the need for manually resetting the piston. It also boasts a power-adjust feature to dial down the impact force up to 1.5 load levels. The tool weighs only 4.9 lbs.

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

The Powers C4 drives 3/4-inch to 2 9/16-inch pins with shank diameters up to .145 inches.

Showdown: gas
Powers Fasteners’ TrakIt C4 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-inch to 2 9/16-inch pins with shank diameters up to .145-inch.

ITW Ramset’s T3ss gas tool delivers 100 joules of power to fasten electrical accessories and washered pins for the commercial electrician. Its fuel cell drives 1,000 pins.

A loaded question
As the technology evolves, will gas tools eventually make PATs obsolete?

How do Powers Fasteners and ITW Ramset, which produce both PAT and gas-powered tools, see the market shaking out?

“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-inch pins, but as the technology advances we will be getting into some of the larger diameter fastenings.”

“I think about that. It’s a difficult question to answer,” muses Ramset’s Davis. “For one thing, it will depend on how building specifications evolve relative to gas technology, and we can’t answer that today. Powder may never go away completely, but as gas technology evolves, it will continue to gain share on the job site.”