Angle Grinder recommends?

[Richard A Downing]

I bought a very cheap 115mm 900W angle grinder to cut up a rusty old

2000L oil tank (because of later building and a power-pole it couldn't be removed intact). The grinder worked well for a while, and I was careful not to force it and to run it only for short periods and let it cool right down. But before the end of the job it has burnt-out. No complains at all about the tool supplier, they refunded the cost immediately without quibble.

But now I need a new grinder. Is it worth buying another sub-20 GPB grinder or should I get a 60-70 GPB industrial unit? If so which model? I still have lots of 115mm/22mm Norton cutting disks left that I'd like to use up.

I've never had much use for a grinder before, but then I haven't really considered what I might use one for - I guess I could use it for buffing waxed wood.

R.

[Dave Fawthrop]

| I bought a very cheap 115mm 900W angle grinder to cut up a rusty old | 2000L oil tank (because of later building and a power-pole it | couldn't be removed intact). The grinder worked well for a while, and | I was careful not to force it and to run it only for short periods and | let it cool right down. But before the end of the job it has | burnt-out. No complains at all about the tool supplier, they refunded | the cost immediately without quibble. |=20 | But now I need a new grinder. Is it worth buying another sub-20 GPB | grinder or should I get a 60-70 GPB industrial unit? If so which | model? I still have lots of 115mm/22mm Norton cutting disks left that | I'd like to use up. |=20 | I've never had much use for a grinder before, but then I haven't really | considered what I might use one for - I guess I could use it for | buffing waxed wood.

The *biggest* and best you can afford. =20 Otherwise go to the local hire shop when you need a big one. I burnt out a tiny Lidl one, cutting up a bath, :-( and replaced it with another one. It works fine on copper pipes and such like. Anything bigger I go to the local hire shop.=20

--=20 Dave Fawthrop Some of my Hobbies: VDU Glasses=20

Wordlists Celtic fonts=20 Killfile&Anti Troll FAQs Dialect Curry Project, =

[keith_765]

Not at all surprised it burnt out. For that type of job you should have used a 9" angle grinder 1500 - 2000 watts. If you want to replace the 110 mm mini grinder, try the Bosch range.

[mrcheerful]

A branded type like Makita is usually better, especially since they have a much smaller body to hold.

That said I also have several cheapies that suffer abuse a lot, none have burnt out! I keep different disks in each so that I don't have to unmount a wire brush to use a cutting disk etc. I still have the first black and Decker one that I bought 20 plus years ago, only fault is that the trigger lock fell off. For medium cutting I use a Draper professional 125mm (free gift from a customer because it is 110 volt, not a make I would have chosen but it is absolutely ok), for big stuff a cheap 9 inch thing from aldi, I defy anyone to overload that, it has soft start and a 2kw motor, it is heavy though, but at half the price of a bosch and for occasional use it is fine, if I needed it every day then I would buy a bosch or Makita or Hitachi, mainly for the reduced weight.

Probably they all run too fast for wood buffing.!!!

mrcheerful

[TonyK]

Makita, Bosch, Hitachi, all reasonable prices although a 115 is really only suitable for small jobs ie. not cutting up oil tanks/paving slabs/blocks. Very good for cutting tiles, pipework and light metal work though.

[ts]

I bought a Bosch (blue range) 4 1/2" grinder years ago. It has worked perfectly well for DIY/car repaires until I lent it and it got lost(!).

Ran quite happily for moderate periods, no over heating nonsense. Handled light steel, medium steel and

Cost me about 110 GBP or so in 1993 ish - although that was a special offer, buy 100 worth of discs and get a free grinder.

If I need a grinder I'll be getting a blue Bosch again.

[daddyfreddy]

With grinders I don't think it's worth getting anything less than a professional quality one. A 115mm pro grinder will cost around =A340, not =A360/70. I'm sure there are plenty of cheaper ones that do the job fine but a decent brand one won't break the bank unlike many other pro-tools. My 230mm is a Makita and the 115mm one is a Wickes pro-model. Used both regularly and had no problems ever.

[Harry Bloomfield]

Richard A Downing explained :

If you intend regular use for the grinder (cutting up more tanks) then pay the price for a good quality one, otherwise a sub £20 (sub £10) will be quite good enough. I've had a couple over the last ten years, the first got lost and the second is still working fine. 115mm was far too small for that use anyway and even the best would suffer.

[Iain Napier]

My brother-in-law 'hires' tools from B&Q.

If he had to cut up a tank of that size, he'd likely buy the same £20 grinder, burn it out then return it as you did. The replacement can be used to finish the job, and if it buggers again you get more replacements for a year.

I can't help wondering why he doesn't just buy a decent tools in the first place, but as he's there most days of the week it's no biggie for him to get things swapped now and again.

[Rick]

I got a DeWalt 9 inch inc dimaond blad for 80 quid. SO OK, its not the top of the range dewalt, but its a damm site better than the B&Q PPro jobbie that broke the week before.

It cuts like a dream, and the starup kick is much less. Also DeWalt take some care in desiging tools that are comfortable to use. They must have learnt from all thos crap black & deckers that hurt your hands to hold them.

Rick

[daddyfreddy]

The blade makes all the difference with regards to kickback, not the tool itself. Unless you're talking about soft start.