How to Change the Gas Canister in Gas Nailers

Posted on 08/02/23

Gas

Most cordless power tools (whether it’s a drill, circular saws or nailers) are easy to use and convenient for use in projects, because you can take them with you without being tied to a power source. They use a battery as the power source which drives the motor to drill or create the sawing motion.

However, a gas-powered nail gun doesn’t use rotational force to carry out the job. Instead, they use a secondary power source in the form of a gas canister to drive the nail into the material. 

You may know how to use a cordless gas nailer, but it’s time to change the gas canister, you might be stumped. The good news is that it’s easy to change the fuel in a gas nailer, and once you’ve done it, you’ll find it easy to repeat the process in the future.

In this guide, we’ll go through how a gas nailer works and how to change out the fuel when the time comes, both for modern designs and older models. 

Benefits of a gas nailer

Paslode first introduced pneumatic tools to the market back in 1959 with an upholstery tacker, and since then, the technology has evolved considerably.

In the mid-1980s, Paslode started to observe that the hoses and similar attachments to pneumatic tools were cumbersome and inconvenient. They replaced this with the cordless Impulse nailer and fuel-powered nailers soon followed. 

Clever mechanism: Gas nailers are popular tools for amateurs and professionals alike, making quick work of nailing into materials. They work in a similar way to a combustion engine, using replaceable fuel cartridges that contain flammable gas to power the nail into the wood or other material. They have a small fan and air which sits in a reservoir in the tool, and with a spark from the battery, this lights the mixture to create force to power the piston and driver blade which powers the nail. After each shot, the tool changes in air pressure to reset the piston. 

Lightweight: The batteries in a cordless gas nailer, such as the Pulsa 40 Pin Cordless Gas Nailer, are much smaller because they aren’t the only source of power. This makes them lighter, since much of the weight in cordless tools is in the battery, so they aren’t as heavy to use – great news if you’re working on a big project which requires a large quantity of nails. The internal combustion also provides ample power to sink nails into engineered lumber and thicker materials, so they’re useful on big construction projects and builds. 

Changing the fuel canister

Changing out the fuel in a gas nailer is really simple and should only take you a few minutes to do, so you don’t have to worry about being held up in the middle of a project.

The first step is to remove the new canister from the box – you’ll notice it has an orange cap which should be facing up towards you when you slot it into the fuel compartment in your nailer. Modern nailer designs tend to have the canister located by the handle where you can open up the lid, remove the old canister and fit the new one by dropping it in. You can then close the cap on the nailer to start using the power tool. 

Older designs: Older designs work a little differently. You will need to remove the adapter on the top of the new fuel canister, turning it counter clockwise, and fit the right angled valve which has a yellow circle on the face of it. You’ll notice that on your older nailer there will be a yellow triangle on the inside of the fuel compartment. You can then line these up and close the lid of the gas compartment. 

Expiry dates: All fuel cells have an expiration date or a best before date printed on the base, so make sure you check this before inserting them into your gas nailer. Using a gas canister that has expired may mean your nailer won’t perform as well as it should, so it’s worth using in-date fuel cells that will ensure your power tool works efficiently. Gas fuel cells are relatively affordable so it’s worth waiting until your nailer needs a new fuel cell and buying at the time rather than buying in advance, just to prevent them expiring before you get around to using them. 

Final thoughts

Gas nailers are a great tool to have on hand, whether you love to get stuck into DIY projects around the home or you work in a professional construction setting and need a tool that will speed up the nailing process.

Knowing how to look after and maintain your power tools is the key to ensuring they last a long time and provide you with years of use, and that includes changing out the fuel canisters when they’re empty. 

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