co2 power systems

[Dave Brandt]

Has anyone tried one of the CO2 systems with their air tools? I'm trying really hard to hold off buying one until I hear they're really as handy as they seem to me. My compressor is a pain to lug around, not to mention the noise. Lowes carries one brand, whose name excapes me right now. The JacPac can be had for $99 and it includes one (unfilled) 9oz canister. The kit at Lowes doesn't include a canister and is $89. Thanks!

[Josiah Bartlett]

I have a big shop compressor and I don't like lugging a little one around the house. I use one of the little 10 gallon air tanks you can get at autoparts stores for inflating things. It holds enough air to run a brad nailer for about 100 shots. I use on of the little paint gun pressure regulators to keep things consistant, and a cheapo coil hose. Some of the air tanks can handle 200 psi so if you have a 2 stage compressor you can get even more shots out of it (don't do this without a regulator or you will ruin your gun).

When the tank runs low I just run out to the garage and fill it back up. It's pretty much free once you pay for the tank.

[Gary Ratajczak]

I was looking at one the other day, and the sign indicated that you could pick up a free small filled cartridge with any purchase. That would put it lower than the JacPac.

Doing window trim work on the house, and thought it would be convenient to wotk the nailers.

[Al Willits]

Problem might be the amount of co2 you have, smaller the container the less volume it has, not sure how long one of them little canisters would last.

Used to use a tank of co2 I got from my local welding supply house and added a regulator to it, we used it to fill the air shifter on the drag bike, but it was probably almost as heavy as some of the little compressors I've seen, no power cord needed though.

If the price of the JacPac isn't to much, might be worth a try.

Al

[Fred Craven]

It's a great little tool. Very convenient. Great for smaller ventures without lots of hose, and heavy loud compressors. Portability without a battery or gas.

I got the free full canister with my set, but SURPRISE, inside the box was an empty canister too. So I have two 9oz canisters. You can also buy bigger canisters at Lowes or paint ball stores. If you want to invest you can always get the bigger CO2 canisters from welding suppliers, fill the little ones yourself, or just use the big ones with a regulator, but at that point, pulling out the compressor is probably easier.

Lowes charges $8.00 to exchange the canisters, but a local paint ball supplier charges $3.75 to refill the canister.

So far the only problem I'm having is that the nipple on my brad nailer is leaking, which is not a good thing.