Wall chaser cutting width

[Flathatmat]

Hi all! Be gentle as this is my first post on here.
I am looking to buy a wall chaser but the cutting width is only 30mm max. The 25mm PVC channel I am fitting is 50mm wide, so why is this and whats the solution?
Why manufacture a 30mm cutter when the common channel is 50mm wide.
A keen but inexperienced diyer and curious.
Thanks in advance

 

[Bradneil]

Go for the hilti mate 46mm wise pinches the capping lovely and dust extraction is 2nd to none ?

 

[HappyHippyDad]

A good question! Chases are never 30mm, even the 40mm wall chasers would be too narrow. I've just measured some pvc trunking and it's 46mm and that's the small trunking, the larger stuff is 55mm.

 

[Baddegg]

2 chases next to each other.....

 

[davesparks]

When I was doing domestic work we had a makita wall chaser which we left set at 24mm width for all chases.
A 25mm oval conduit could be pressed into it with the aid of a bit of batten and a hammer.

It sounds like you are trying to fit plastic capping into a chase which is just plain daft, plastic capping is for first fixing new, unplastered, walls. Use conduit, usually oval, on existing walls which have already been plastered.

 

[davesparks]

A good question! Chases are never 30mm, even the 40mm wall chasers would be too narrow. I've just measured some pvc trunking and it's 46mm and that's the small trunking, the larger stuff is 55mm.

Why would you put trunking in a chase?

 

[HappyHippyDad]

Why would you put trunking in a chase?

You perhaps guessed that I'd mistakenly written trunking for capping, but thankyou for pointing it out as I hadn't realised. It was late, and even as I was writing it my brain was saying 'something's not right', but I just didn't listen to it enough.
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When I was doing domestic work we had a makita wall chaser which we left set at 24mm width for all chases.
A 25mm oval conduit could be pressed into it with the aid of a bit of batten and a hammer.

It sounds like you are trying to fit plastic capping into a chase which is just plain daft, plastic capping is for first fixing new, unplastered, walls. Use conduit, usually oval, on existing walls which have already been plastered.

Could you expand a little on this please Dave? I have always used plastic capping in chases. What is the difference between a new wall and an existing wall? I realise one is already plastered, but the plasterer is still going to have to use his trowel to fill the chase the same in both cases.

 

[Andy78]

I have my chaser set to 30mm and that snugly fits a 25mm oval conduit push clip.

Works for me.

 

[Flathatmat]

Thanks for all the replies, a big help.
Will 20mm be sufficient for 2 runs of 2.5mm t&e?

 

[Andy78]

Thanks for all the replies, a big help.
Will 20mm be sufficient for 2 runs of 2.5mm t&e?

Only one way to find out ?

 

[Timbo]

I use 20mm round pvc conduit for 2 x 2.5mm t&e, plenty of room.

 

[Phil Thompson]

The metabo set at 22mm fits oval conduit that takes 2x2.5mm t&e easily and squeezes into a 20mm knock out on a flush box too.

 

[Baddegg]

You perhaps guessed that I'd mistakenly written trunking for capping, but thankyou for pointing it out as I hadn't realised. It was late, and even as I was writing it my brain was saying 'something's not right', but I just didn't listen to it enough.
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Could you expand a little on this please Dave? I have always used plastic capping in chases. What is the difference between a new wall and an existing wall? I realise one is already plastered, but the plasterer is still going to have to use his trowel to fill the chase the same in both cases.

Chases need to be a lot wider for capping so in a rewire you’d chase out and put oval trunking in 16mm or 25 mm ish so nice straight thin chase less mess....in a new build you’d use capping, I suspect we all do the same thing but the confusion is that some people call capping trunking and vice verse but end of the day whatever works it’s all good ?

 

[HappyHippyDad]

Chases need to be a lot wider for capping so in a rewire you’d chase out and put oval trunking in 16mm or 25 mm ish so nice straight thin chase less mess....in a new build you’d use capping, I suspect we all do the same thing but the confusion is that some people call capping trunking and vice verse but end of the day whatever works it’s all good ?

Thanks Baddegg.
Do you find you have to chase out a little deeper if using oval conduit compared to capping?

 

[Phil Thompson]

Thanks Baddegg.
Do you find you have to chase out a little deeper if using oval conduit compared to capping?

I set my depth to 30mm and once I've ran the sds max down it once its usually perfect depth and width when I use the 22mm oval and just pushes in snugly by hand, no need for the dreaded obos and losing finger nails like when I was an apprentice and using an electric 300mm saw lmao

 

[Baddegg]

Thanks Baddegg.
Do you find you have to chase out a little deeper if using oval conduit compared to capping?

Sometimes but usually the render is thick enough to accommodate, don’t what you use presently mate but if you don’t do many rewires then something like a metabo (make sure to use decent blades) chaser with a decent dust extractor will really speed up jobs for ya....as Phil says above 30 mm is perfect

 

[Phil Thompson]

Sometimes but usually the render is thick enough to accommodate, don’t what you use presently mate but if you don’t do many rewires then something like a metabo (make sure to use decent blades) chaser with a decent dust extractor will really speed up jobs for ya....as Phil says above 30 mm is perfect

That is what I have, metabo Mfe30 and the Dewalt 902 M class vacuum, its literally dust free, the new Metabo MFE40 looks a great job in that it eats out everything from inside the track, so no need to kango out or brush up the rubble from inside the track.

 

[Baddegg]

Dust free is the name of the game here......I’ve seen more than one woman (not one of my jobs I should add) reduced to tears over dust ?

 

[davesparks]

Could you expand a little on this please Dave? I have always used plastic capping in chases. What is the difference between a new wall and an existing wall? I realise one is already plastered, but the plasterer is still going to have to use his trowel to fill the chase the same in both cases.

Capping is used on new walls because it is shallow enough to fix directly to the wall without chasing it out.
Co suit is used in chases, partly because thats the way it has always been done, but also because it allows a much narrower chase which requires less time and work to chop out and is easier to make good.

I had a somewhat old fashioned education, I was taught when chasing in to existing walls, especially in occupied buildings and on rewires, to cut the box in neatly and not chop out the last couple of inches of the chase but to drill from the end of the chase down to the backbox so that the socket or switch can be fitted without having a gap around it. This way the decorator/homeowner/whoever can do the making good without removing the socket.

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

With some chasers you can replace the spacers with additional blades to cut a clean chase and avoid running the sds chisel down it. Useful trick rather than just 2 blades