PlumbingandMechanical May 2011 : Page-26
Pulling the plug a lot of work in hospitals where you can’t bring in gas. Cordless tools have come in handy many times in those situations.” Finding that niche: Already tailored to specific trades, manufacturers are now honing in on cordless power tools that fit a particular jobsite application. Milwaukee Electric Tool and Uponor’s partnership has yielded a special tool for the expansion of Uponor’s PEX tubing. The tool is available in the 18-and 12-volt lines and replaces a custom-built European hand tool. “The new tool is the greatest thing since sliced bread,” Austin, Texas-based Custom Plumbing Vice President Dennis Guthrie states. “If you are working with 1-inch pipe and expanding it 11 or 13 times while using the hand tool, you are trying to pump it 11 or 13 times to expand the fitting. With this battery tool, it’s zip, zip, zip and you are done.” Guthrie recalls installing a fire sprinkler main on a recent residential job. “There were probably 40 joints in one room,” he states. “If we were using the hand tool to expand, we would have been there four or five hours. We were there for an hour-and-a-half. Our productivity has increased.” The PEX tool has come in handy for Mike Dupree , owner of Dupree Plumbing Co. in Marietta, Ga. “PEX is popular in Georgia,” he notes. “It makes my guys’ lives easier, which makes my life easier.” Manufacturers such as RIDGID and Bosch have taken the cordless platform and applied it to drain inspection equipment. General Pipe Cleaners is coming out with a cordless model for its Gen-Eye video pipe inspection systems. “Some of our systems have the option of running on 18-volt or smaller batteries,” RIDGID Brand Manager Wyatt Kilmartin says. “Instead of worrying about an outlet or power cord, you have the freedom to get right to the issue. The cord is not only being eliminated in traditional power tools, but battery technology is allowing a lot of applications to go cordless.” Cut to the chase: Typically one of the more common tools seen at a jobsite, saws are quickly gaining momentum in the cordless game. Bosch, for example, will be releasing a cordless pocket recip saw in the near future, as well as an 18-volt compact band saw. Hilti and DeWalt also offer a variety of cordless cutting tools. Photo courtesy of RIDGID. Manufacturers are now tailoring cordless tools to specific jobsite applications such as drain inspections. Thank-you lithium-ion: A major change in the evolution of cordless power tools has been with battery power. Nickel-cadmium batteries, which supply high-surge currents, making them a good fit with power tools, have taken a back seat in recent years to lithium-ion. Lithium-ion batteries, prevalent in the automotive industry, feature strong energy densities and slow loss of charge when not in use. The lithium-ion platform has evolved from 18-volt tools in recent years to a popular 12-volt platform, which provides end users with an even more compact and lightweight tool. “The change to lithium from nickel-cadmium is a lot like the change from the Walkman to the iPod or from a TV with a tube to a flat screen,” notes Paul Fry , the director of product for cordless tools at Milwaukee Electric Tool. “There’s been a monumental change in the industry since 2005. The lithium-ion platform is beginning to mature a little bit. You are seeing more speed, power and application with every tool. Tools have longer run times, perform better in cold temperatures and are now more durable than before.” Randy Christianson , the general manager at Christianson Air Conditioning and Plumbing in Austin, Texas, is a fan of the improved technology in the lithium-ion line, particularly when it comes to battery run time. Residential new construction work is Christianson Air Conditioning and Plumbing’s bread-and-butter. “Our guys are telling me these tools sustain their power,” he states. “They are getting better battery length. The lithium-ion battery will tell you how much charge you have left. They like that because they know when the battery is going to need a charge. They can go and use the car charger between jobs.” Continuing electronic upgrades to the cordless platform could ultimately save a contractor in the pocketbook. “Cordless tool users have a tendency to push a tool to the limit,” Bosch Product Manager of Cordless Nick Feld states. “There are electronics to protect the tool and battery in those cases where a user might try to push the tool beyond its limit. Without that protection, you could potentially smoke the motor, burn out the tool and be out quite a bit of money.” Des Plaines, Ill.-based Bykowski Plumbing works exclusively on commercial projects and was in the midst of working on a Walmart store this spring. Like many of its other projects, the suburban Chicago contractor encountered challenging electrical conditions. “When you are doing commercial plumbing, sometimes you are out there in the middle of the floor in a 140,000-square-foot building and there are no electrical outlets,” owner Mike Bykowski states. “You’re in these places and the floors aren’t poured yet and there is no electrical to be found or they are putting in the electrical while you are doing your job. We also do 26 Plumbing & Mechanical, May 2011
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