Metabo Cordless Caulking Gun – Easy Squeezy
Independent Review by Peter Brett
Using a caulking gun is one of those things that looks easier to do than it is in real life. To get a nice neat joint without lumps and bumps and a seam that flows round corners and is, above all, a proper seal, needs a bit of skill. I am not good at it. My silicon seal seams tend to be large and lumpy, so anything that helps me on those occasions when I do a bit of silicone sealant squeezing is welcomed. The Metabo PowerMaxx KP is designed to use the new Metabo10.8v Li-Ion
batteries and is aimed at professional users who use a lot of adhesives and sealants in a day’s work, so is engineered accordingly. You will not find bendy gear rods or weak plastic joints on it. The PowerMaxx KP
looks like a 50cm long flare pistol. Most users of standard spring-loaded sealant guns on sale in the UK will know that they are made to accommodate the usual 25cm long cartridges, so will wonder why the PowerMaxx KP has the extra length. This is simply because it is made to hold a variety of cartridges up to 600ml in capacity. The logic is clear: professional users will be using a lot of adhesive or sealant, so bigger cartridges means that they will have be replaced less often in the working day. But you also have the option to convert to a smaller barrel should you want. This might be necessary for working in cramped environments like showers and bathrooms. The trigger handle is
quite long and is covered with a dimpled rubber overmould. The trigger is large enough to be operable with two fingers and a round dial under the trigger is used to select the required feed speed for the adhesive/sealant. My guess is that it won’t be long before the whole tool is covered in sealant, but perhaps I shouldn’t judge others by my standards! One of the things that
I often can’t put across in a review is what is “under the bonnet”. I am sometimes surprised by what I find inside the casings of even quite expensive tools. Usually it is evidence of cost cutting design. However, this has never been the case with Metabo tools I have examined. Metabo is justifiably proud of its internal (and external) engineering and I have had Metabo engineers proudly showing me how well the internal workings of their machines are made. A caulking gun with not enough force to push highly viscous building adhesives
is a waste of money. The Metabo, with a pushing force of 4.413N is the highest on the market for a 10.8v powered gun and as I discovered, will dispense building adhesives very quickly – too quickly for me when I was first experimenting with it. The metal gear unit again is something we users wouldn’t normally see, but it is
important that the basic engineering of the gears will ensure a long working life because plastic is simply not good enough for more demanding applications.
4 ToolBUSINESS+HIRE The auto-reverse system is another bonus for users. Experienced or even
amateur caulkers will know that the sealant doesn’t stop flowing when you stop pulling the trigger on a spring-operated sealant gun. This leads to waste and untidy work because you get left with the bit extra that just keeps on flowing. This often makes for an untidy ending or a dollop where you don’t want it. When you finish the end of a run with the Metabo and you release the trigger, the electronics just reverses the motor for a few seconds so that there is no excess sealant released. Loading the sealant into the caulking gun is quickly achieved. If you are using
“sausages” of sealant, then you need to retain the white washer at the top of the geared pusher. If you are using a standard cardboard or plastic cartridge then the washer has to unscrewed so that the pusher can fit into the back of the cartridge. Once properly located the geared pusher can be operated so that the cartridge can be squeezed to start the flow. (I am assuming that the cartridge has had the sealed end removed and the nozzle attached to allow the flow of sealant to get to the nozzle.) Using the Metabo
PowerMaxx KP is pretty easy and it does make a difference to the quality of the work. Since you have complete control over the speed of flow of sealant via the trigger and speed setting, all you have to do is concentrate on directing the flow accurately and neatly onto the joint. To facilitate movement around corners, the barrel has a large rubberized area around the top of it to enable it to be turned independently of the gun itself. In this way you can get the angle of the nozzle to follow the flow. I tried it with a narrow
nozzle end dispensing silicone sealant and a large 12mm wide end dispensing great lines of builders’ adhesive and the PowerMaxx KP was able to deliver – I just needed to adjust the speed rate of the motor. I know that I wouldn’t
get enough use out of the Metabo PowerMaxx KP to
warrant buying one, however, there are a number of trades that would benefit tremendously. Window fitters, plumbers and even jobbing builders and site carpenters who use a lot of builders’ adhesives would benefit from using one. It is light at only 2.5Kg and is certainly powerful enough to deliver a steady flow
at the nozzle. The auto reverse function helps keep the job neat and the long barrel means
that the user has a number of choices of adhesive or sealant options. I guess that there are some users out there who might stick with the old
manual squeeze-trigger version that has the advantages of cheapness and small size, but I think that if your use work patterns warrant the extra capacity of the Metabo KP, then you would be wrong to rule it out. It really puts the “eezy” into squeezy.
Reply No. 223
www.toolbusiness.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36