CO2 powered nailgun

[keithmclean]

I saw an item in Lowes the other day. It was a co2 bottle that hooks to your belt with a regulator and air line connected to it. You then hook up your nailer or stapler and it says you can get about 500 shots from a 20 oz bottle of co2. Once the gas is used up you can exchange the cylinder in for another for about $10. The system is nice and it cost about $50 with an empty bottle. Now I'm working on a job fastening a nautical mile of T&G cedar to a ceiling and I thought that might be a good thing to try it out on. However the cost of the system and all the bottles of co2 I would need would make it not a good way to go. The cool idea was still rolling around my brain as I was filling up a mug of cold draft homebrew from my kegorator and the light went off above my head. Inside my kegorator is a 20lbs bottle of co2! I took one out and hooked an airline to the regulator, which fit perfectly, then I connected it to a staple gun and fired a few shots into a piece of lumber. It worked great! I had a spare 20lbs bottle sitting around so I took it to the welders supply store and traded it out for a full one at the cost of $18. Now I have a system that I hope will work for me without spending a fortune in tiny gas bottles. I'm going to give it a try tomorrow and see how it works out in a real situation. I'll tie the bottle into a scissors lift and work about 30 feet in the air at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens new building. No compressor rattling around, no cords to plug in. I think it's going to work out great. I hoping the gas will last a few days for me then trade it in on another bottle. If it does work I'll get a couple of spare bottles to have on hand when one empties out. I'll let you know how it works out

Keith

[David Metzker]

It'll be interesting to see how far a 20# bottle of CO2 goes, great post Keith,,,keep us posted! I use a paslode impulse at work a lot,,,both the trim nailer and the framing nailer,,,but thier up front costs are high.