Independent Review by Peter Brett
these pages last year. The LTX was impressive then and the new LT’s are very nearly just a good and only miss the famous Metabo Impuls facility. But to make all of the above have
an even longer run time Metabo have just launched the new 5.2Ah battery packs. These are fully compatible with the LT range and the respective battery packs are identical in size and shape and weight to the 4Ah batteries. What the extra Ah gives you is a longer period of time between charges because the “petrol tank” of charge is simply that much bigger. For site workers where the charger might be some way from the workplace, this extra capacity is a timesaver. While I have heard some rumblings
from some people in the industry about potential “issues” with higher Ah batteries, Metabo is completely confident of its technology since it offers a three year warranty on all its battery packs. Metabo also relies on its own R and
D and manufacturing capability alongside battery giant Sanyo. Metabo’s highly patented systems of electronic charging and battery management have proved to be extremely reliable and efficient. From my point of view, I can’t see
the inside the technology, but from my testing of the products, they all work extremely well, so no problem. Finally, to turn to the BSA 14.4-18
LED Site light and stand. Two hours later and it is undimmed, and I am actually going to leave it on overnight to see if it will last to the morning. (yes it did – on the lower LED setting) The BSA 14.4-
18 LED Site light is actually a very logical development idea, but it took Metabo to run with it. The light itself looks very much like the standard 110v worksite lamp beloved by builders everywhere. It has a square - ish shape with a large looped carry handle on top. The body is finned, I guess to disperse heat, and the whole light is suspended on a tubular alloy frame. A quick release cam system allows the angle of the light to be adjusted easily. At the back are the rails for sliding the battery pack onto and the
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rocker switch with high, off and low selection. Metabo warns users not to aim the light at people and animals because the LED lights are intensely bright. They are – I saw dots for minutes afterwards because I accidentally switched the light on when I was looking it over for this test. I guess that most builders would
probably try to get away with balancing the light on a wall or suspending it from the carry handle if they needed to get a big flood of light from above to illuminate a large area. Certainly the frame offers a couple of options to suspend from a nail or screw hammered into a handy joist for example. While I am sure that this will work, the more sophisticated answer is the Metabo tripod system. Most professional film-makers would be more than happy with the construction of this tripod. It is obviously strong enough to withstand the rigours of site use and being flung into the back of a van, but it will also extend to a full height of the best part of two metres. All the clamps, safety straps and carry straps are of professional quality and the individual rubber feet are micro adjustable to get a completely stable platform. Each foot also has an angled plastic bracket on it that combined with a cord for example, could be used to weigh the whole thing down with a bag of sand or cement. The BSA Light is attached to the
tripod via a standard 5/8 bolt that can be tightly screwed without tools, and the whole head can be tilted and turned easily. I tried the light both indoors and outdoors for illumination effect. My kitchen looked like it was brighter than in daylight, and my back garden was lit up enough to enable me to work outside even in my dark country blackness. In short, there
is not a product on the last couple of pages that I did not covet as being a totally useful tool for the jobs that I do. There is a certain satisfying quality and practicality to Metabo tools that shows good design and development that just appeals to me, and many others too. To paraphrase Wallace – “Cracking kit Gromit.”
ToolBUSINESS+HIRE 11
Reply No. 205
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