Comparison Makita 4100KB vs Ryobi LTS180M

The power source used by the electric tile cutter (see "Type").

- Net. Mains power allows you to create a tool of almost any power with an essentially unlimited service life - as long as there is voltage in the outlet. At the same time, corded tools are noticeably cheaper and weigh less than their cordless counterparts. Their main drawback is the presence of a cord, which limits mobility and gets tangled underfoot. But dependence on sockets in most cases is not critical - tile cutters rarely have to be used where there is no electricity.

— Battery. Battery power allows you to do without a power cord and allows you to work even in places where there are no outlets at all. However, the time of such work is limited, and you will still need an outlet to charge the battery; the situation can be partly corrected by having a replacement battery in stock, but not all tools allow for quick replacement of batteries. With all this, cordless tile cutters have relatively low power, and the weight and cost are significantly higher than that of a corded tool. As a result, this variety has not become particularly widespread; It makes sense to pay attention to such a tool when the absence of unnecessary wires is crucial.

Rated motor power of the electric tile cutter. The more powerful the engine — the more force it can give to the cutting tool, the higher the rotation speed and disc diameter can be. Accordingly, a more powerful tool is better suited for larger jobs and hard and/or thick materials. On the other hand, high power significantly affects the price, dimensions and weight of the tool, despite the fact that there is not always a real need for it.

In light of all this, it is necessary to choose a tile cutter in terms of power, taking into account the specifics of the intended use. So, in the case of a hand tool for simple household work, a power of 700 – 800 W is enough, more solid indicators may be required mainly for professional use. But in stationary units, where compactness does not really matter, you can not save on power — especially since such devices are usually used where performance is important.

The maximum disc rotation speed provided by the motor of the electric tile cutter. Higher speeds are good for productivity, clean cuts and the ability to handle difficult materials, but they also require the right amount of power.

In general, if a tile cutter is bought for simple work with ordinary facing tiles (for example, repairs in an apartment), you can not pay much attention to this indicator: even the “slowest” models provide enough speed to cope with such tasks. But for cutting specific materials (for example, some types of stone), higher speeds may be required; detailed recommendations on this issue can be found in special sources.

The nominal diameter of the cutting disc for which the electric tile cutter is designed. A disk of a larger diameter will simply not fit into the seat; but the use of smaller nozzles in some cases is allowed (but not recommended).

The depth of cut depends primarily on the diameter of the disc (see below). So, with ordinary tiles, having a thickness of up to 1.5 cm, almost any disc, even the smallest one, will cope; but for thicker materials (for example, paving slabs) and the appropriate tool will be needed. However it is worth noting that with the same diameter of the disc, the thickness of the cut may be different.

Also, the size of the cutting tool allows you to generally evaluate the class of the tool: the larger the disc, the more powerful and performant the tile cutter, usually.

The greatest depth to which the tool can cut through the material being processed, in other words, the maximum thickness of the tile that the tile cutter is guaranteed to be able to cut.

It is worth choosing a tool for this parameter taking into account the thickness of the material with which to work, plus some margin “just in case”. But this margin should not be too large: for a deep cut, large discs and high power are required, which accordingly affects the price, weight and dimensions of the tool.

The presence in the design of the electric tile cutter of a system for supplying water to the disc.

Water supplied directly to the cutting point plays several roles: it cools the cutter and tile, reduces friction at the point of contact, and also precipitates the dust generated during operation. This reduces the risk of cracks and chips, provides a neat and even cut, allows you to cut thin strips of material, and also has a positive effect on the life of the blade and the entire tool. The supply of water, usually, is in its own tank installed on the tile cutter.

The ability to connect a vacuum cleaner to the tile cutter requires the presence of a special pipe, to which the hose is connected. Thanks to this, the amount of debris can be significantly reduced: most of the dust generated during cutting will be drawn in by the vacuum cleaner.

Operating voltage of the battery in a device with the appropriate type of power supply (see “Power source”). The more powerful the tool, the higher the battery voltage, as a rule. At the same time, this parameter is usually selected in such a way as to optimally match the characteristics of a particular model; therefore, in practice, voltage data may only be required when looking for a spare or additional battery.

- Clip. With this fixation, the battery is fully or partially inserted into the handle of the tool - like a clip (magazine) of a pistol, hence the name. This method is convenient because when installing the battery outside there is a minimum of unnecessary parts; and small, low-power batteries can be completely hidden inside the case without affecting the dimensions of the tool. On the other hand, for powerful and capacious power sources that have significant size and weight, the clip mounting method is not suitable for a number of reasons. Therefore, this option is found among low-power tools.

- Slider. This method involves the use of special guides - a kind of “sled” along which the battery moves during installation and removal; Such “sleds” are usually located at the bottom, at the end of the handle. The slider is suitable for batteries of almost any size and weight, including the most powerful and heaviest batteries used in power tools. In addition, it does not have such strict restrictions on the shape of the battery as a “clip” type mount. Its disadvantages include the fact that the installed battery is located outside the instrument and slightly increases its dimensions. However, this point most often turns out to be unimportant - especially for powerful and heavy devices that are initially quite large in size.