Wall Chaser Recommendation

[ln1234]

Hi,

Are there any wall chasers you'd recommend? It will be used for one house rewire so I was thinking of getting one of the silverline ones or the erbeur from Screwfix.

Cheers

 

[ban-all-sheds]

1) What are the walls made from?

2) Is the house unfurnished and unoccupied?

 

[ColJack]

my mate Andy chases a good wall..

2 inch bolster and a 2lb lump hammer... get your hands dirty..

also doubles up as a box sinker, and a floorboard lifter... very versatile set of tools..

 

[londonboy]

Erbeur is very good. Obviously + hoover and dust sheets though.

 

[Click-Sure]

Bosch 36V 3-function cordless drill. Add a cranked SDS chisel and a lot of practice. For backboxes use depth gauge and SDS masonry drill to 'stitch' as many holes as possible and finish with the same cranked chisel.

Its about the least dusty mechanised method of chasing I've found.

 

[VanSolo]

Good luck with Silverline, you'll need it!
( Disclaimer - Other brands make rubbish tools)

 

[RF Lighting]

I've got a 'sparky' brand chasing machine.

I only use it for the very hardest engineering brick or concrete walls.

You will need a full set of PPE (goggles, ear defenders and a proper dust mask as a minimum)

You will also need a commercial quality vacuum, which will need it's filters cleaning after every 3 meters of chasing.

You need to empty the room completely of all soft furnishings including furniture, carpets, curtains, lamp shades, and anything else which will be effected or damaged by dust.

Keep the door shut, and preferebly tape it shut too. Use a rolled up dust sheet pressed along the bottom of the door.

I generally use a lump hammer and chisel / SDS drill on virtually all my chases as the chasing machine takes longer to set up and mess about with than it would just to knock the chases out by hand.

 

[ln1234]

I'm fortunate in that the house is empty and being refurbished. The electrics are going in first so I don't mind a bit of mess, but would need to make sure I don't inhale much of the dust created.

I have an SDS drill and have also ordered a 3 inch sds chisel - could I use that instead of purchasing a wall chasing machine? How much effort is involved and is there a technique in doing it well?

Chases will most likely be for 4 double sockets + 1 light switch per room, and it's london house brick (1930's construction)

Thanks

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I'm fortunate in that the house is empty and being refurbished.

Ideal environment for a chasing tool.

Probably the only one....

The electrics are going in first so I don't mind a bit of mess, but would need to make sure I don't inhale much of the dust created.

A decent dust mask will do that, but you may still need some kind of extraction or you might end up unable to see through the mist...

I have an SDS drill and have also ordered a 3 inch sds chisel - could I use that instead of purchasing a wall chasing machine? How much effort is involved and is there a technique in doing it well?

An SDS channelling chisel goes well with a chaser.

I think you can also use a chasing tool to cut backbox holes.

 

[ln1234]

Looks like a wall chaser + sds channel is the right combination

Is this one any good? Seems to have good reviews

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/81200/Power-Tools/Grinders/Erbauer-ERB125Y-125mm-Wall-Chaser#

Cheers

 

[BS3036]

I bought one (the Erbauer) to do our extension. I did the upstairs before it broke. Since it was only 10 months old they gave me another one, which should last long enough for downstairs.

The problem, which other people than me have also reported, is that the plastic used is very brittle, so handles break off in use (can be very dangerous!). In my case the plastic vacuum connection point broke off.

 

[ln1234]

I bought one (the Erbauer) to do our extension. I did the upstairs before it broke. Since it was only 10 months old they gave me another one, which should last long enough for downstairs.

The problem, which other people than me have also reported, is that the plastic used is very brittle, so handles break off in use (can be very dangerous!). In my case the plastic vacuum connection point broke off.

Ah, thats a shame, I had kind of made up my mind about this one. If screwfix will replace it then I might just get it. Did the plastic break off when you were applying a lot of force or just from the weight of the chaser?

 

[BS3036]

In my case it was a gentle rub against the wall. If you look through old screwfix forum posts you will find one or two guys for whom the handle broke off on first use. Me, I never used the handle for pushing after I read that, I pushed against the metal of the housing instead.

But give them their due, they replaced it no questions. And I didn't even have the receipt.

This was after I enquired about spare parts as a replacement. They don't keep spare parts. Just complete units.

 

[xerxes]

I've used a Bosch angle grinder with dual diamond blades mounted with a spacer between them. With a vacuum hose connected to the dust spout it worked quite well (though still fairly messy). But I decided to buy a dedicated wall chaser from Screwfix (with a Ferm label on it).

It was completely useless, having virtually no cutting power in brick; that's the last time I buy a cheap brand power tool.

A decent SDS drill with rotation stop is far more civilised and effective.

 

[aptsys]

My advice with the erbauer wall chaser is not to use the black handle that screws in for anything other than support. Use the main integrated handle for all the carrying and pushing and you won't have any issues.

If you give it a quick blast with a compressor every so often to get the dust out the motor, it'll last well. However you pay for what you get - there's a metabo one which is about 4x more expensive, but is solid in every respect. Not worth it for a one off though.