"One overlooked factor is temperature: batteries drain faster in colder weather, something I learned when roofing late fall..."
Yeah, that's a solid point. I was skeptical at first about pneumatic setups because dragging hoses around always seemed like a hassle. But after my cordless nailer died halfway through a shed roof last November (battery just tanked in the cold), I borrowed my neighbor's pneumatic and finished up without a hitch. Lesson learned, I guess—cordless convenience isn't always worth the headache when conditions aren't ideal.
"cordless convenience isn't always worth the headache when conditions aren't ideal."
Exactly. Pneumatics might be annoying with hoses, but they're reliable. Had a cordless die on me mid-job too—switched back to air and haven't looked back since. Cold weather roofing = pneumatic all day.
"Had a cordless die on me mid-job too—switched back to air and haven't looked back since."
Been there myself. Had a cordless nailer crap out halfway through an emergency tarp job after a nasty storm. Nothing like fumbling around in the dark, freezing rain pelting down, trying to swap batteries... Pneumatic might be old-school, but when you're dealing with storm damage and rough conditions, reliability beats convenience every single time. Glad I'm not the only one sticking with hoses.
Haha, cordless tools always seem to know exactly when to quit—usually at the worst possible moment. Had mine die halfway through building a shed roof last summer. Ended up dragging out the compressor and hoses anyway, tripping over everything in sight. Pneumatic might be noisy and clunky, but at least it doesn't leave you stranded mid-job...and hey, wrestling hoses counts as cardio, right?
Haha, wrestling hoses as cardio...I like that perspective. But seriously, do cordless nailers really die that quickly? I'm asking because I'm about to tackle my first roofing project this spring, and I've been debating cordless vs pneumatic for weeks now. I love the idea of cordless—no hoses to trip over, no compressor noise—but your story makes me wonder if the convenience is worth the risk of getting stuck halfway through.
I had a similar experience with a cordless drill last month. Was putting together some shelves in the garage, and of course, the battery decided to quit right when I was holding a heavy board overhead. Ended up awkwardly balancing it with one hand while scrambling for the spare battery. Not fun. So I can only imagine how frustrating that would be on a roof, especially if you're working alone.
But here's my question: are cordless roofing nailers generally reliable enough if you have extra batteries charged and ready to go? Or is it more about the tool itself overheating or something? I mean, if it's just a battery issue, maybe having a couple spares handy would solve the problem. But if it's something else, like overheating or jamming, then maybe pneumatic really is the safer bet.
Also, how much heavier are cordless nailers compared to pneumatic ones? I'm guessing the battery adds some weight, right? I'm not exactly looking forward to lugging extra weight around on a steep roof all day. Maybe dragging hoses around isn't so bad after all...
