When it comes to choosing power tools for your garage or home workshop, one of the first things to consider is whether you want to use electric or air tools as the backbone of your inventory. Both have their pros and cons, so we’ve put together this comparison article to help you tip the scales one way or the other, and hopefully answer a few questions along the way.
Why Choose Air Tools Over Electric Tools
Many fledgling mechanics might not consider air powered tools as a viable alternative to good old fashioned electric power tools, but there are a few key benefits to pneumatic over electric.
- Higher Power-to-Weight Ratio: Having more power per given weight can contribute to less fatigue on the operator. You’ll find that in the case of things like impact wrenches, the additional power will help you get the job done quicker too.
- Cooler Operating Temperatures: Air tools very rarely generate much heat when you use them, so there’s less risk of damaging your power tools during continuous operation.
- Safety: Because compressed air is clean, it generally poses very little fire hazard. Furthermore, pneumatic tools don’t carry the risk of electric shock due to cords or batteries - especially when exposed to fluids like coolant or water.
- Flexibility: Once you have a capable compressor and hose setup, you can readily power a wide range of tools. One job might require a pneumatic die grinder, then a sander and finally a paint gun - all of which can be run from the same air source and switched out quickly and easily.
- Cost: Although the initial setup can be expensive - requiring a compressor, hoses and regulators, the actual tools themselves are generally cheaper to purchase than their electric counterparts.
What Are the Drawbacks to Using Air Tools Instead of Electric Tools?
Pneumatic tools aren’t the perfect solution to every home mechanic’s needs, otherwise they’d be the only tools on offer! The drawbacks to air tools are primarily tied to their source of power.
- Cost: You need a compressor to power your pneumatic tools, and the initial cost involved in outfitting your garage or workshop with an appropriate compressor, correct hoses and fittings and additional accessories such as regulators and filters can be a little off-putting.
- Air Hoses: Another main drawback is that you always need to have an air hose connected to your tools, which can limit where you use them as well as their maneuverability.
- The Compressor: The compressor itself can be a bit of a drawback. They take time to fill, and can be pretty loud whilst doing so. Different tools require different amounts of airflow, and the more powerful the compressor, generally the larger, louder and more expensive they are.
Why Use Electric Tools?
For the most part, when we think of power tools, we tend to think of electric instead of pneumatic, and this is in no small part due to their prevalence. Electric tools are widespread, and come in a diverse range of forms and have many benefits.
- Convenience: Corded electric tools can simply be plugged in and used. They don’t require a whole lot of setup, and next to no maintenance.
- Flexibility: Battery powered electric tools offer unparalleled flexibility in how you use them since they have no cords or hoses to anchor them to a power source.
- Setup Cost: When purchasing a corded electric tool, you don’t need to buy any additional equipment in order to run it.
- Diversity: The sheer number of different electric tools available dwarfs the pneumatic tools on offer. Not only are portable tools available, but stationary tools such as bench grinders and drill presses should be considered.
What Are the Drawbacks to Using Electric Tools Instead of Air Tools?
Electric tools are not without their own set of drawbacks, and these will often also depend upon whether they are corded or cordless too.
- Cost: The initial individual tool cost is generally higher with electric tools over pneumatic. Although you don’t need to worry about an expensive compressor setup, if you opt for cordless electric tools, you will still need to fork out extra cash for batteries and chargers.
- Power: When compared to an air tool of roughly the same size, electric tools will usually output quite a bit less power. As technology advances, electric tools are being made more powerful, but with more power comes a higher price per tool.
- Safety: Electric tools can run the risk of overheating during extensive use, and being that they run off electricity, they are always less safe to operate in wet environments.
- Flexibility: Yes, this is both a benefit and a drawback - in the case of corded tools, they can only be used where there’s a source of power. You can’t switch out power tools as rapidly as you can with a pneumatic setup - although with battery technology advances, this is becoming less of an issue.
Are Air Tools Better Than Electric?
Yes and no. You need to consider whether the limitations of air tools outweigh their benefits in your specific case. Whether the requirement to run a compressor and hoses, and the initial setup cost involved in doing so are going to be an issue will depend on how you intend to use them. If you intend to do a lot of panel work, then generally speaking, building your power tool inventory around an air tool setup will probably be better for you - since you are likely to require a compressor to feed air to your paint guns anyway. Given the advances in battery technology now, cordless electric tools can be a real help if you want to carry out work away from your garage, or out of reach of air lines, so what you can’t do with a pneumatic setup can be picked up by battery power. In short, the best answer is that a fully equipped home setup should have a combination of both air and electric powered tools in order to cover all your bases.
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