Caulking guns fall into two categories: consumer guns — guns for the DIY market, as it is now usually put — and professional guns. Consumer guns are noticeably cheaper, and buyers who do not see what a professional tool gives them choose on price alone. A professional caulking gun, meanwhile, has a great many advantages. Let us go through them on the example of the professional half-barrel gun KUDO
® KUSGUN12.
Durability and strength
The gun is solidly built, where consumer models look flimsy even at a glance. What catches the eye here is the cast frame of the plunger mechanism: strong and light at the same time, as if it were an aircraft part rather than a part of a construction tool. The plunger mechanism itself is built just as carefully, without unnecessary play or slack. The half barrel is worth noting too: it is not solid but slotted, which was done to reduce the weight of the tool. The service life of a gun like this is an order of magnitude longer than that of a cheap consumer one.
Ergonomics
The handle and the trigger are comfortable and sit in the hand by themselves, and the pressure-release lever is right under the thumb — in continuous work with the gun all of this makes the job much easier and reduces fatigue. The designers also thought about storage: the upper part of the plunger mechanism frame has an oval hole so that the gun can easily be hung on any hook.
Thrust ratio of the plunger mechanism
One of the most important parameters. The thrust ratio shows how many times the force on the plunger rod exceeds the force applied to the trigger. The higher the thrust ratio, the more force can be applied to the rod and the easier it is to dispense even viscous compounds. And a gun with a high thrust ratio is simply easier to work with. Now, cheap consumer guns have thrust ratios between 5:1 and 10:1, rarely 12:1. Guns like these can only dispense low-viscosity compounds. The professional gun KUDO
® KUSGUN12 has a thrust ratio of 18:1, so it applies even viscous sealants easily.
Maximum thrust force
Another key parameter, showing the maximum force the gun can develop on the rod. It all comes down to the feed mechanism: cheap guns, even in the hands of a person of incredible physical strength, will not deliver more than 1.5-2 kN. Under a higher load they simply break, so a viscous sealant cannot be dispensed with them at all. The professional gun KUDO
® KUSGUN12 has a maximum thrust force of 3 kN. It can work even with viscous compounds, and with most sealants it has a large reserve of force, so it wears less.
So the professional half-barrel gun KUDO® KUSGUN12 is ergonomic, strong and durable and can handle compounds of any viscosity — it will cope easily even where cheap consumer guns and “European imported professional” ones turn out to be simply useless.
