Poppers Senco Fusion Original Nailing Technology
Independent Review by Peter Brett
There are quite a few cordless and compressor- less nailers out there, and many are very good. Some however, are not so good. Nailing with these machines sometimes stretches one's belief in stated and specified capacities and just how far you can stretch their usefulness. They tend to solve the innate problem of lack of nailing oomph by being large and cumbersome to hold the large batteries they need, or else the nails they use are so slim (to reduce friction) that they cannot be seriously used for more robust fixing jobs. Compressor and gas-powered nailers don't tend to suffer with power problems, but they are either hindered by hoses or need new fuel cells and regular cleaning. It is a case of horses for courses, but new ideas and developments are always welcome.... I didn't really know what to expect when I received a pair of the SENCO Fusion F16 nailers to test, especially since they had "only" an 18volt battery. But using the
Poppers SENCO F16 Fusion tools restored my faith in cordless nailers. They have oomph aplenty and can genuinely be called cordless finish nailers since they have a capacity to fire16 gauge nails up to 21/2 inches long. The technology behind the fusion concept is the most interesting bit of the story as far as I am concerned. It is a fusion in the sense that the nailers combine the use of
18volt Lithium Ion batteries and compressed air inside a permanently sealed cylinder. The compressed air provides ample power to drive nails while the battery power does away with the need for fuel cells and the bulk associated with gas nailers. As I understand it, the compressed air is permanently sealed inside a cylinder. This is the latent power. When you press the trigger, this air powers the piston that drives the nail. In a fraction of a second, the battery resets the piston and the tool is ready to fire again. This is a brilliantly simple system that uses very few unnecessary moving parts and is also relatively light and compact. So far I can see no downside!
The two SENCO nailers I used were the F16 A (angled nails) and the F16 S (straight nails) They are subtly different in detail but share some common features. The
most obvious common feature is the prominent red air cylinder above the nailing head. This is well protected by the grey plastic body and some rubberized zig-zag edging. The top of the cylinder has a round rubberized cap that provides good grip and some shock absorption for the non-trigger hand. The nailer noses are slim and easy to place with a spring-loaded safety shoe on the ends. In normal use this shoe prevents the nailer from being fired without being
pushed into the work. The shoe also has a plastic cover to prevent marking of the workpiece. The trigger is contained within a loop handle, again with some grippy overmoulding to aid comfort. Both grips on each nailer are big enough to be used with gloved
hands and the trigger is big enough for big builders' fingers. A belt hook made from steel rod can be changed from right to left hand side of the body to suit users' preferences by undoing a single screw. The Li-ion battery cells are surprisingly light and in each case fit to the body of the nailer on a system of sliding rails that is easy to use and precise. The release buttons for the batteries also work well and release the battery instantly so there is no need to tug away at it. The battery has four lights on the end of it and these indicate the charge available. Poppers SENCO recommend starting the working day with a fully charged battery. In each case I was able to charge the batteries fully via the diagnostic charger in less than an hour. An 80% charge can be achieved in fifteen minutes, even with a hot battery, and an average of between 400 and 500 nails can be driven on a single full charge. So the nailers have a remarkably good work rate. A tiny switch on the right hand side of the body just near the base of the battery is used to select off/single shot firing and multiple firing modes. For production work,
the latter mode is a very useful "shorthand" method of firing lots of nails quickly. The straight nailer will fire nails from 19-63mm and the angle nailer nails from 32-63mm so it is necessary to have a quick way to set the depth of set of the nails. A small ribbed wheel switch near the nail head is used to do this although you have to do a bit of trial and error to get the ideal depth depending on the type of material and length of nails you are using. As indicated before, the nail magazines on each machine are the differing points. On the angled nailer, the magazine is made of smooth polished alloy. The nails are
loaded by pulling back the slide and inserting a run or two of nails into the magazine. Once past the slide, it can be released where it holds the nails into place with spring loading. On the other side of the magazine there is an impressively simple method of releasing any stoppages that may occur. Just pull the metal lever, the magazine comes off and the innards are revealed. Just remember to take the battery off before you do it! On the straight nailer, the magazine has a plastic cover against a metal base. To load nails you simply release the catch, that slides back under spring power. The nails
are loaded, making sure that they rest on the base of the magazine and then the cover is clicked back into place. When it came to testing these nailers on real wood and ply etc, I had some of the best fun I have had for ages. I discovered that firing nails into wood is very
therapeutic, especially if it is as effortless as these nailers made it. Each time you pull the trigger there is an instant "thump" and the nail is driven home. No matter how fast I pulled the trigger, neither machine let me down. They are not frightening, difficult or overly noisy machines to use and more to the point, they did feel very safe and compact to use. (don't neglect high quality safety specs and other PPE gear though) I am converted to the fusion technology on these nailers simply because it works so darn well!
Reply No. 211 telephone 01444 440188 ToolBUSINESS+HIRE 9
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