Paslode Finish Nailer Issues

[Augus7us]

I picked up a paslode finish nailer at an estate sale a while back. The model is im250 and I think its about ten years old.

The issue I have is it has only fired for me once. I figured it was something minor so I bought a new battery and gas tank and took it apart and cleaned it. I also tested it for spark and inspected how it works. I reassembled it and gave it a try. It worked once and that was it.

I have since taken it apart about a half dozen times to validate its working parts and no matter what I do I get no fire when I put it back together. I know the parts work, the fan comes on and I see spark when I take it apart. I've tried two gas bottles. I noticed it has a little safety button that engages when you pull the trigger. This hits a rubber gasket and I thought maybe it wasn't fully engaging when I put it together so I super glued a few small pieces of sheet metal to the rubber gasket to make sure it is engaging the little safety button fully. Still nothing...

You guys have any ideas?

-Clint

 

[kctyphoon]

Search "Paslode nailer won't fire" on YouTube.. see if that helps. I have an old paslode finish and framing gun, but it's been years since I've used either..

 

[Augus7us]

I did when I first got it and sadly it seems like these things tend to have some kind of problem either new or down the road. Unfortunately for me there did not seem to be a silver bullet that fixed all problems. Seemed to be a a mix of different issues iirc. I'll check youtube again though, its been a few months since last I looked.

-Clint

 

[kctyphoon]

The models I have are the old nicad pack style.. I wanna say (it's been a while) that when the red light would start flashing, the charge on the battery was too low.. if the gas is good, battery is charged, I'd have to guess it's a physical part creating the issue.. watch a couple of the vids, see if you notice anything.. wish I could be more help hen that.

 

[countryroad82]

I used to work with a guy that loved a Paslode more than anything. We were building a dugout once and the d#$%ed thing refused to work anywhere close to efficiently, I would have been better off using a hammer. So I did what any smart human would do to a POS, I threw it as hard as I could to the ground in a fit of rage. Went back to the shop, grabbed the gas compressor and 100' of air line, got one of the air nailers and finished the job with no worries.

With this story all I can say is, throw the danged thing where it belongs, in the trash. I've tried using them multiple times and I've had the same results, more work trying to get the thing to fire than it should be. They make some sweet battery powered ones these days, I have the DeWalt versions. Best invention ever.

 

[KnurledNut]

Push and release the tip against a board TWICE QUICKLY and pull the trigger. Does it fire?

 

[Augus7us]

I thought I would update the thread since I think I resolved the issue.

Before selling it for parts I decided to try calling Paslode. I wasn't expecting a whole lot but they got me a tech named Tom. He listened to my first sentence, then told me he knew what my problem was.

He went on to explain that there are different nozzle types on the butane bottles and that I was using the wrong one for my gun. He told me which color nozzle and o-ring I needed. I ordered a bottle off Amazon and just used the nozzle with the bottle I brought earlier.

I popped the new bottle in and test fired into an old workbench. POP! To my surprise it fired nail after nail with no issues.

After watching videos and reading many posts across the net on this issue I am amazed this information was not readily available. That said, hopefully this helps someone out down the road.

-Clint

 

[kctyphoon]

I can say this much - these are great guns if they work properly.. did all the molding in my house with the angled finish nailer, and the nicad packs are still in hd. Yea - you need to buy gas cartridges - but it's really not a big deal. They seem lighter than some of the cordless models too.

 

[kb1982]

The new kits being sold take a different cartridge. Ran into that problem all the time. We would have one or the other but not extras for both the older and newer gun. Seemed like by the end of the day we were down to 1 gun.

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