Porter-Cable RN175A 7/8-Inch to 1-3/4-Inch Coil Roofing Nailer

by Porter-Cable

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Designed for use with 15-degree, 3/4- to 1-3/4-inch wire collated roofing nails, the RN175A nailer from Porter-Cable handles a wide variety of roofing and siding projects with ease. With a magazine capacity of 120, and two firing modes (single sequential and contact), this handy tool resists jams, loads quickly and easily, and is compact and comfortable to hold thanks to its rounded body and rubber grip. Its efficient motor features an exhaust diffuser that you can adjust without the need for additional tools, as well as a durable steel safety contact with dual carbide inserts to guard against wear and tear. For seamless transitions from restrictive to contact mode, there's also a selectable trigger, and the shingle guide locks down for consistent results. The RN175A comes with 1/4-inch NPT fitting, oil, wrenches, and manual.

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 13.4 x 4.7 x 12.2 inches ; 6.8 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000B3AR8
• California residents: Click here for Proposition 65 warning.
• Item model number: RN175A
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #63,549 in Home Improvement (See Top 100 in Home Improvement)
  • #10 in Home Improvement > Air Tools > Nailers > Roofing Nailers

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars works great, January 13, 2005

By 

Scott R. Bailey (Edgwater Fl.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Porter-Cable RN175A 7/8-Inch to 1-3/4-Inch Coil Roofing Nailer (Tools & Home Improvement)

bought this after the hurricans hit Fl.last year. Have done a half dozzen roofs with it includding my own and some hardee planking and it has worked flawlessly, no jams, concistant drive depth, the guy that had problems with it might have been a compressor problem.The people that I've been roofing with have hitachis and stanley bositches and the inexpensive little porter cable works the best. Also like the new selctable trigger switch, wish all my nail guns had it.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Works good!, February 13, 2004

By 

John McQuitty (San Angelo, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Porter-Cable RN175A 7/8-Inch to 1-3/4-Inch Coil Roofing Nailer (Tools & Home Improvement)

I have one of these little nailers - mostly used for roofing sheds. It works good. No complaints. Maybe one nail in 80-100 I'll finish with a light tap with a hammer. That's probably more a ding on the little compressor I use than on the nailer. For what I use it for it works fine. As the man said - It sure beats a hammer.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good for the price - with some drawbacks, November 16, 2006

By 

Caslo Cranston (New Orleans, LA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Porter-Cable RN175A 7/8-Inch to 1-3/4-Inch Coil Roofing Nailer (Tools & Home Improvement)

Update 8/12/08 - always add a little lubricant for every 3 hours of use
Still functioning like the champ!

I had used a friend's Bostitch coil nailler several times in the past. It was finally time to buy one of my own. I have always been a fan of Porter-Cable tools. The fantastic price offered by Amazon on this refurb was too much to resist.

I unboxed my nailer to find it in almost new condition; one slight scuff mark. i was suprised to find it much smaller and lighter than the Bostitch I had used before. I had ordered a RN175AR and received a RN175A. R - for refurbished.

Part 1

A couple of weeks later I was ready to put it to the test.
Location - Luling, Louisiana - 25 miles from New Orleans

I had a circa 1960, 11 square roof that had been redecked with 1/2 plywood over 1 x 10 planks.
In keeping with the 30 year, architectural, shingle manufacturers specifications ( driven nails must extend through decking) I chose to use a 1 1/2 inch nail.

Compressor PSI set to 100 lbs.

Six nails into the job an obvious issue became apparent. Some of the nails had not been driven completely - a few whacks with a hammer and all was ship shape. Time to look for the depth adjustment. Whereas I had recieved a safety brochure but not an operation manual - I was left to clever out the depth adjustment mechanism. ( pretty obvious - as was the operation of switching between single nail and multiple nail settings.)

With the depth adjustment set to maximum I made another test. Same problem.

So I increased the compressor pressure to 125 lbs - Same problem.

Then 130 lbs ( the stated maximum for safe operation of the the tool.) - Same problem.

For every 10 nails attempted- 1 or 2 needed to be massaged with a hammer. Time consuming but assuredly better than hand nailing.

On that job a fellow worker was using his Rigid coil nailer. Outside of a couple of minor differences - the Porter Cable and Ridgid nailers appeared to be quite alike.

Was he having the same problem? Yes.

So I was able to conclude that this particular application exceeded the abilities of both of these nailers.

There was a section of roof that contained all new wood. In that area both guns worked flawlessly.

Part 2

Several weeks later a friend, who has far more roofing experience than I, asked to borrow the Porter- cable coil nailer. He had loaned his Bostitch RN145 out and could not wait for it to be returned.

Apprised of my experience - he thought of a possible solution. He chose to change the hose nipple at the rear of the gun from 1/4" to 3/8" to configure with his equipment. It seemed to make sense that this may solve the problem.

Unfortunately not.

Similarly, he was able to nail without problems into all new wood and only found difficulties when nailing into time hardened subdecking.

Conclusion

Putting our experiences together we have conjectured that the porter-cable because it is light and small is a great choice for new construction. However, the extra weight and size of the Bostitch (bigger piston with more mass) for about the same price (refurb), may be the better choice for rennovations.

Caslo