wall chasers - any good?

[sparkybird]

I'm due to do a rewire shortly in a purpose built flat and am wondering if I should try a wall chaser to minimize the dust.

The walls are likley to be reasonably thick rendered with brick/cinder block underneath. I don't really want to go near the ceilings if I can help it as they are concrete but if I can't pull through the old conduit, I might have to bite the bullet.

Would a chaser do the job? Can anyone recommend a brand that they find good? What about the blades - how long do they last?

Otherwise it might have to be a grinder....and loads of dust!

SB

 

[fattony]

Ive used them before and they do exactly what you need them to do, not sure how long the blades last etc.

I just bought the sparky one off ebay for £55 brand new, they are retailing in screwfix for £139 so im looking forward to trying it out

 

[Cremeegg]

Used an old Makita one ages ago but in spite of an excellent vacuum it still produced almost as much dust as an angle grinder. I find a mains SDS drill does just fine and when the bricks are too hard its back to a large hammer and bolster.

 

[aptsys]

They are very quick and neat however. Takes about 30 seconds from socket height to ceiling, then another 30 seconds with the SDS to knock out the channel.

Only problem is the dust. If you have no extraction you're at 10cm visibility half way up the wall!

 

[BS3036]

I bought an Erbauer ERB125Y 125mm Wall Chaser http://www.screwfix.com/search.do;j...tton.x=0&searchbutton.y=0&searchbutton=submit
I just finished the upstairs of our extension (one 5mx5m room) before the vacuum attachment snapped off. I was given a replacement unit by screwfix, which is waiting to do downstairs. A review on the screwfix forum said that the handle had snapped off the reviewer's unit, causing the user to fall off a ladder.

So I wouldn't exactly recommended this (£100 model). However it cuts nice chases. The thing is that I first used it once in a downstairs room which we are using, and worried about the dust, built a sealed 1m x 1m plastic enclosure around the work position. I started cutting and 2 seconds later couldn't see my hands in front of me for dust.

Even with an attached vacuum there is a *serious* amount of dust. Be warned!

 

[jockspark]

unless they have improved over the years i think they are a waste of time
and money but its been a few years sds and bolster for me

 

[hairyben]

Can't see that they offer anything much more than a bog standard grinder.

except more weight and less space on the van. And of course you'll still need a bog standard grinder for boxes etc.

 

[Steve69the69Gas]

Hilti do a purpose made chaser with dust extraction........... but ££££.
You get what you pay for!!
If your using it regularly it will pay you back, they are damn fast and almost dust free.

Hire one first to see

 

[bernardgreen]

My experience was a room covered in dust even with the vaccum attachment to an heavy duty wet and dry vacuum outside the house.

The dust clogged the bag rapidly. I dread think what a domestic vacuum cleaner would do ( or not do ).

Fitted a spare 15 inch extractor fan in a window to blow dust out and the lawn turned pink, at least it reduced the amount of dust that went through the closed door into other rooms.

 

[sparkyspike]

The thing with wall chasers is to get a really good extraction going.
They are neat and quick and give very little dust, but only if you get an expensive one.
I tend to use my trusty Makita chisel drill with a sharp bit for chasing, and a gooseneck for gouging out the chase.

If I am doing a lot of chasing on one job, particularly with hard walls, I tend to hire a chasing machine and vacuum combo from a tool hire shop.
And they're really worth it.
Makita and Metabo are good ones, with an Earlex industrial vacuum.

If you buy an Erbauer chaser and stick it in your Dyson, then you will have real problems with dust!

 

[sparkybird]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I was thinking of putting my work Henry Hoover on the end of it, but sounds like this might not been suffificient.

The idea of hiring a good quality chaser and extractor sounds like the way to go - I can then decide if I really need ANOTHER bit of kit....

How quickly do the blades go? Eg do you need to allow 1 set per room/2 rooms etc??

Thanks again

SB

 

[aptsys]

You'll get hundreds of chases out of a set of blades unless you're going through concrete.

 

[hairyben]

Fitted a spare 15 inch extractor fan in a window to blow dust out and the lawn turned pink, at least it reduced the amount of dust that went through the closed door into other rooms.

I've often pondered the idea of using a 6" high power inline fan with flexiduct right up to the work point. Anyone tried this, for grinding or SDS chasing?

 

[Sherbertlion]

I've got the Metabo chaser and use James (Henry's relative) for dust extraction. Had to adapt the hose with the Metabo attachment though but easy to do. Pretty much no dust, only when I slip with the chaser


I do find that I can't be bothered to get it out of the van sometimes so out comes the grinder but if there's a lot of chasing to do then definitely worth it I would say.

 

[sparkybird]

Thanks again for advice. Just finshed the rewire after hiring a Hilti and vacuum. It did the trick, although at 5.6 kg, the machine was rather heavy for my little sparkybird arms...

I tried my Henry hoover on the end and it was fine - the hired vacuum was HUGE and not something I'd want to lug around with me!

It defo speeded up the job and kept the dust down, and at £200 odd to hire it, I'm thinking about buying one with a mate of mine to split the cost. However, I'd prefer something lighter and I notice that the Makita and Metabo both weigh in at a more girly 3.6 kg and also come in 240V (I only ever work domestic, so not bothered about 110V particularly). Also big price difference!

My question is, would there be a big difference in performance between these two and the Hilti? Hilti seemed to be the only one availble for hire, so I can't really test out the others in practice.

Thanks in advance for any advice

SB