Duo-Fast DF225C Coil Siding Nailer Review

Duo-Fast DF225C Coil Siding Nailer

Duo-Fast Construction recently announced the release of a powerful, lightweight new coil siding nailer, the DF225C. The new DF225C has been designed for installation of siding, fencing and decking using smooth, ring and screw shank nails. So the fine folks at Duo-Fast Construction have sent us this new coil nailer to use and review.

We were extremely impressed with the Duo-Fast DF350S Strip Nailer that we reviewed earlier this year so we were eager to get our hands on the new DF225C Coil Nailer as well.

“Our new lightweight coil siding nailer is one tough, durable tool that was designed specifically to work with our CI and CS nails as a system,” said Tracy Tryboski, Marketing Manager for Duo-Fast Construction. “When used as a system, the contractor will experience fewer nail jams, less wasted nails and fewer clean up hassles, making the job quicker and easier to complete.”

Coil Siding Nailers

We use coil siding nailers for a variety of tasks including siding, sheathing, decking and fencing. However, the bulk of our experience is using it to install vinyl or PVC exterior trim on houses. We’ve found that the best way to install PVC trim is to use Stainless Steel Rink Shank Coil nails. This approach prevents the PVC or Vinyl trim from moving too much due to thermal expansion. Obviously a good quality lightweight coil siding nail gun is essential to a task such as this.

DF225C Coil Siding Nailer Review

Our review of the Duo-Fast DF225C Coil Siding Nailer included installation of solid PVC trim on a large colonial house using stainless steel rink shank nails from Duo-Fast. We also tried the DF225C on some 5/4 pressure treated decking with great success.

Right out of the box I was impressed. First of all Duo-Fast Construction actually ships the DF225C with an airline nipple. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve opened up the box of a new nail gun to find no airline nipple!

Our crews shoot dozens of cases of coil nails every year building houses and they were all impressed with this new coil nailer. The first thing that stands out is the weight of the DF225C. Weighing in at only 4.5 lbs this gun is seriously light which means less fatigue and better control/safety when working on ladders.

The second feature that the guys liked was plastic collated coil nails. One of the problems we’ve experienced in the past was wire collated coil nails jamming coil guns, leaving wires sticking out of finished trim and exposed wire rusting and staining siding. The plastic collated nails load into the gun easier, shoot without jamming and have no potential for staining of trim or siding.

Other features we liked include the tool-less depth of drive, metal rafter hook, switchable trigger (for bump nailing) and the spring loaded magazine cover clip. Once again the folks from Duo-Fast Construction have built a nailer that has more than sufficient power to drive nails completely without leaving them short of the mark. This gun really reminds us of the power and performance of the DF350S strip nailer that we previously reviewed.

The DF225C can be used with smooth, ring and screw shank nails from 1-1/2” to 2-1/2” with shank diameters of .080 to .105. Nails are available in stainless steel and hot-dipped galvanized for a variety of projects. The range of fastener sizes and types makes this a very versatile coil nail gun.

If we have to point out one downside to this tool it would be the plastic nail magazine. We realize that the plastic magazine is one of the reasons the nailer is so lightweight. However, on a job site it’s a pretty good assumption that the tool will be dropped on the ground numerous times and it’s very likely to break.

Overall Impression

Once again we’ve been very impressed with the Duo-Fast Construction nailers (DF225C and DF350S). The DF225C Coil Nailer is lightweight, powerful and easy to use. It offers a wide range of applications that meet most siding, decking and fencing requirements. We have no doubt that this new siding coil gun will make a very big impact in the pneumatic nail gun arena! If you need a new siding nailer then we recommend you check out the DF225C.

The DF225C will be available at distributors in October 2009. For more information on Duo-Fast Construction’s Coil Siding Nailer, Model DF225C, or the Duo-Fast® “CI” and “CS” Round Head Coil Nails, go to www.duo-fastconstruction.com or call: 1-888-631-2020.