bought this after the hurricans hit Fl.last year. Have done a half dozzen roofs with it includding my own and some hardee planking and it has worked flawlessly, no jams, concistant drive depth, the guy that had problems with it might have been a compressor problem.The people that I've been roofing with have hitachis and stanley bositches and the inexpensive little porter cable works the best. Also like the new selctable trigger switch, wish all my nail guns had it.

I have one of these little nailers - mostly used for roofing sheds. It works good. No complaints. Maybe one nail in 80-100 I'll finish with a light tap with a hammer. That's probably more a ding on the little compressor I use than on the nailer. For what I use it for it works fine. As the man said - It sure beats a hammer.

br /Update 8/12/08 - always add a little lubricant for every 3 hours of use
br /Still functioning like the champ!
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br /I had used a friend's Bostitch coil nailler several times in the past. It was finally time to buy one of my own. I have always been a fan of Porter-Cable tools. The fantastic price offered by Amazon on this refurb was too much to resist.
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br /I unboxed my nailer to find it in almost new condition; one slight scuff mark. i was suprised to find it much smaller and lighter than the Bostitch I had used before. I had ordered a RN175AR and received a RN175A. R - for refurbished.
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br /Part 1
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br /A couple of weeks later I was ready to put it to the test.
br /Location - Luling, Louisiana - 25 miles from New Orleans
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br /I had a circa 1960, 11 square roof that had been redecked with 1/2 plywood over 1 x 10 planks.
br /In keeping with the 30 year, architectural, shingle manufacturers specifications ( driven nails must extend through decking) I chose to use a 1 1/2 inch nail.
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br /Compressor PSI set to 100 lbs.
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br /Six nails into the job an obvious issue became apparent. Some of the nails had not been driven completely - a few whacks with a hammer and all was ship shape. Time to look for the depth adjustment. Whereas I had recieved a safety brochure but not an operation manual - I was left to clever out the depth adjustment mechanism. ( pretty obvious - as was the operation of switching between single nail and multiple nail settings.)
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br /With the depth adjustment set to maximum I made another test. Same problem.
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br /So I increased the compressor pressure to 125 lbs - Same problem.
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br /Then 130 lbs ( the stated maximum for safe operation of the the tool.) - Same problem.
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br /For every 10 nails attempted- 1 or 2 needed to be massaged with a hammer. Time consuming but assuredly better than hand nailing.
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br /On that job a fellow worker was using his Rigid coil nailer. Outside of a couple of minor differences - the Porter Cable and Ridgid nailers appeared to be quite alike.
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br /Was he having the same problem? Yes.
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br /So I was able to conclude that this particular application exceeded the abilities of both of these nailers.
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br /There was a section of roof that contained all new wood. In that area both guns worked flawlessly.
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br /Part 2
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br /Several weeks later a friend, who has far more roofing experience than I, asked to borrow the Porter- cable coil nailer. He had loaned his Bostitch RN145 out and could not wait for it to be returned.
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br /Apprised of my experience - he thought of a possible solution. He chose to change the hose nipple at the rear of the gun from 1/4" to 3/8" to configure with his equipment. It seemed to make sense that this may solve the problem.
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br /Unfortunately not.
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br /Similarly, he was able to nail without problems into all new wood and only found difficulties when nailing into time hardened subdecking.
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br /Conclusion
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br /Putting our experiences together we have conjectured that the porter-cable because it is light and small is a great choice for new construction. However, the extra weight and size of the Bostitch (bigger piston with more mass) for about the same price (refurb), may be the better choice for rennovations.
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br /Caslo

I got my mailer from Amazon at an incredibly low price, half that I was finding locally, so that might taint my review somewhat. Nice light weight, but still with some heft and robust built. Did a 10 square roof in two days using this nailer alone... can't imagine how sore I'd have been without it. Shot about 1/3 of a box of nails without a single jam... and only about 2-3 times that the firing mechanism missed a nail, probably because of a failure of the collating wires. Easy to load nails, multi fire setting works great without double firing. Highly recommended and holding up great. I love it.

I own 5 different types of air nailers from Bostich, Porter Cable, and Senco and this nailer is by far the best. It is easy to load and use, never jams, reasonably priced, and is not too heavy. In other words it is perfect. It makes those dreadful roofing projects just a little more tolerable.

Executive Summary: Just buy it. It works very well!
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br /Story: I started a small project over the Holiday weekend and got way in over my head. I only had a small 160 square foot edition to re-roof. After a three layer tear off, rotted decking and two days of prep work I was ready to give up. I went to Home Depot and purchased the least expensive gun they had (this Porter Cable for $228). I was able to nail 2/3 of the roof in two hours with no issues.
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br /Tech Specs: I used a Porter Cable Dual Stack compressor set at 105 PSI and 100 feet of hose. I set the gun to the shallowest depth drive and it had more than enough force.

I live in Brooklyn, MI and recently purchased a "reconditioned" Porter Cable RN175A roofing nailgun. It shipped quickly, looked brand-new and worked perfect. I needed it right away to roof a 16 square house and it did the job great! No jams-- I mean zero.Maybe 2 nails out of the whole roof needed to be hit down. However, I agree that a case would be nice.
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IMPORTANT; PLEASE NOTE THAT THE ABOVE RATING SHOULD BE FIVE STARS INSTEAD OF ONE.
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br /I purchased a refurbished version of this tool approximately ten months ago and have used it on several roofing jobs. In all cases, the unit performed very well and with no misfires. I did use a major brand of nails just to avoid any potential problem that might possibly result from a "unknown" product.
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br /The Porter-Cable nailer is compact, easy to load and lightweight, making for comfortable extended periods of use. I do find myself needing to adjust the depth of drive rather frequently, but I am wondering if that is not necessitated by factors such as variations in the composition of the roof decking and even external temperature fluctuations which can alter the nailing resistance of the shingles. One other factor might just be the fact that being a rather careful worker, I probably checked the depth to which the nails were being driven more often.
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br /Regarding that depth adjustment knob, I discovered an error in the manual which accompanied my tool. In the photograph which proports to show this feature, the trigger is mistakenly labeled as the adjustment knob. The instructions regarding the direction in which the wheeled knob is turned to either increase or decrease the depth to which the nail can be driven is also erroneously reversed.
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br /However this was not a great problem as the various features on the tool are well marked and self explanatory, making for rather effortless use. (I especially appreciated the option of being able to easily select either the single sequential or contact actuation mode.) Additionaly, I have always found Porter=Cable/Delta to run an excellent customer hotline service which has always proven to be an added benefit in case one requires technical assistance.
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Tool showed up the day before it was scheduled for delivery. Cool!
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br /I've ordered refurbished Porter-Cable nail guns before and all have worked flawlessly. Only downside with this one is that it did not come with a case. The other two I've ordered (from different vendors on Amazon) both came with plastic cases. This one was wrapped in bubble wrap. It did have the small bottle of oil with it.
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br /So far, no jams or problems, used on one roof.

Was lucky enought to get a new one (i.e. not reconditioned) on Amazon in early June which was being clearanced for just $160 (even had free shipping!). I'm using it on a small project to put cement board siding on my garage.
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br /I've experienced some of the issues with having to finish some nails with hand-nailing, but I'm driving the max length 1-3/4" through a layer of cement. Seems to be less of an issue when well lubricated, but still occurs. Definately works better than the alternative of pre-drilling and hand-nailing. For the price, I'm ahead after this project.
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br /Overall meets expectations.

I purchased this nail gun based on my previous experience with the quality of Porter-Cable pneumatic tools. Aside from this one I own 4 other Porter-Cable nail guns, I have been very satisfied with all of them.
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br /This nailer is no disappointment. In the time I have owned it I have used it for installing asphalt shingles, tar paper, aluminum drip end, vinyl siding, and vinyl trim pieces. It has performed very well in all instances. It has ample power to drive 1.75" nails flush while performing roofing applications.
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br /The adjustable depth of drive also proves very useful while installing vinyl siding. Setting it to the minimum depth setting allows you to drive the nails into the nailing slots in siding while still leaving the 1/16" gap necessary to allow the siding to expand and contract under changes in temperature.
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br /While using this nailer I have never experienced a jammed nail, it has always performed flawlessly. The only negative I can see in this nail gun is that it does not have marks on the nose to indicate exactly where the nail will be placed. This makes precise placement of the nail slightly difficult. I don't think this is enough of a negative point to reduce this nail gun from its "5 star" status because I very easily solved the problem by making marks of my own with a silver colored permanent marker.

I own a construction company and bought 2 of these "reconditioned" in the spring. 6 months and about 300 square of roofing later here is what I got:
br /NO jams
br /Maybe 1 in every 200 nails needs to be finished with a hammer
br /Survived multiple drops off roofs
br /My guys love how light it is compared to the Bostitch
br /Price is incredible, do not fear "reconditioned" tools- they came out of the box looking and working like new.
br /If you want a dependable nailer, that can handle even the biggest jobs,at a great price, then this is the one.
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Why are so many people buying an RA175AR (reconditioned).
br /Is it because so many RN175A are bought and returned almost new? Now, why would that be? I thought I had done my homework and was getting a descent deal on a roofing nailer with the Porter Cable. Well, I saw that a large percent of the nails were not struck in the middle, but off center, which bent the head. A blow with my hammer would make the bent head cut the shingle. No hammering meant the head would be cocked up to maybe cut the shingle on top of it. My NR175A is now on it's way to becoming another nice looking RN175AR and I'm on my way to pick up a Bostitch RN46, or a DeWalt D51321, or a Hitachi NV45AB2, or a Makita AN451, or a Max CN450R, or a Senco 455XP, or maybe a Ridgid R175RNA.

Refurb Porter Cable roofing nailer model RN175A comes without a user guide.
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br /Porter-Cable's web site support page link for "search for your manual" redirects to a site called servicenet.
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br /Servicenet is under construction with limited functionality.
br /Isn't that sweet?
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br /Servicenet's reference to "new user registration link above" can not be implemented because there is no link to new user registration.
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br /A phone calls to Porter Cable's support line does offer the opportunity to leave a recorded message requesting a printed manual be mailed. But how long will it be before the Indonesian lady in the out-sourced fulfillment group deciphers my message, and the document arrives? 1 week? 1 month? Who knows?
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br /The lack of a downloadable manual warrants a one star for this product.
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I should preface this review by saying that this is the first nailer that I have owned other than a brad or staple nailer. My exposure to nailers of this size is limited.I just finished a siding job on a rent house that I own. The siding I used was Hariplank and it called for roofing nails for installation. I paid $249 for this nailer at Lowes.The good:- Much better than a hammer!- No jams whatsoever- Durable and tough (with the exception of the magazine cover)The bad:- Heavy!!! During the middle of my siding project I worked two days on a habitat for humanity project. On that project I used a DeWalt angled framing nailer. The DeWalt was much lighter than the PC. When climbing up and down ladders and on roofs a few pounds is really noticed.- Inconsistant driving depth. Probably half of the nails stopped 1/4" - 1/2" short of being flush with the siding. When I attempted to adjust the depth some of the nails were impacting too hard so I had to back off the depth again. Maybe this had something to do with the fact that the material was fiber cement rather than wood?- The magazine cover is made from a very flimsy plastic. It didn't break on me but I imagine that one day it will.- For the price a carrying/storage case would have been nice.