Yeah, I've been wondering about that... I'm planning on tackling my garage roof next month, and was leaning towards cordless for convenience. But now you've got me second-guessing—does battery performance really drop off that badly in the cold? Would keeping spare batteries warm inside help at all, or is it more about the tool itself getting sluggish? Maybe I should just borrow my neighbor's compressor setup to be safe.
"Would keeping spare batteries warm inside help at all, or is it more about the tool itself getting sluggish?"
Keeping batteries warm definitely helps—I usually rotate mine from inside the house when working in colder temps. But honestly, I've noticed the tool itself can feel a bit sluggish too, especially if it's been sitting out for a while. Have you thought about maybe insulating the battery compartment somehow? Curious if anyone's tried that and seen noticeable improvement...
Keeping batteries warm is definitely a good call, but honestly, insulating the battery compartment seems like overkill to me. I've been roofing through some brutal winters, and from what I've seen, it's usually the tool itself that gets sluggish rather than just the battery. Last winter, I had a cordless nailer that was practically useless after sitting outside for an hour or two—even with fresh, warm batteries swapped in. The grease inside thickens up, and the moving parts just don't want to cooperate.
I tried wrapping the handle and battery compartment with some foam insulation once (yeah, desperate times...), but it didn't really make much difference. Maybe bought me an extra 10 minutes of decent performance at best. Honestly, if you're working in consistently cold conditions, pneumatic nailers are still king. They're a pain with hoses and compressors, sure—but they don't slow down nearly as much when temps drop.
If you're dead set on cordless though—and I get it, convenience matters—I'd say your best bet is rotating batteries frequently and keeping the tool itself indoors or at least somewhere warmer between uses. A buddy of mine even rigged up a small insulated box with one of those disposable hand warmers inside to stash his nailer during breaks. Seemed kinda goofy at first, but he swears by it now.
Bottom line: insulating compartments might help marginally, but don't expect miracles. Cold weather roofing is always gonna be a bit of a compromise between convenience and performance...
Yeah, cordless nailers definitely struggle in the cold. I had a similar issue last winter building a shed—fresh batteries didn't help much once the tool itself got icy. Ended up keeping the nailer in my truck cab between uses, which helped a bit. Honestly though, if I had to pick just one nailer for winter roofing, I'd probably stick with pneumatic. Bit more hassle, but way less frustration overall...
Interesting point about pneumatic nailers being more reliable in cold weather—I can see how that'd save a lot of headaches. Have you ever tried insulating or wrapping your cordless nailer somehow to keep it warmer? Wondering if there's a practical DIY solution out there, or if it's just not worth the hassle compared to pneumatic...
