Is a battery powered caulk gun worth having?

 There seems to be a battery powered version of every tool ever made available now.  Caulking guns are no exception.   The question I get about these is, "are these necessary?"

My answer is always, "It depends."  For certain people, in certain circumstances,  absolutely.  For some other people in other circumstances,  the answer is, "Never." Then there are all those possible situations for anyone, in between.

I think the most important questions that need to be asked first are,  "how often will it be used?", "For what durations will it be used?", and, "For what materials and tasks will it be used?"

Maybe even before those questions though, do you even know how to use a caulk gun to begin with?  A lot of people think they do. A lot of those people actually do not.

First things first.  A caulk gun is for the application of sealants, adhesives, and other such types of materials.  That is, put the putty where it needs to be in a "bead" or continuous line as needed.

The manipulation of the material is to be done most likely and commonly afterwards with specific tools designed for that task.

There are so many people who want to apply AND manipulate the putty in one pass.  While that might be convenient at times, especially for the impatient, in a hurry, or lazy, it's not usually advisable. 

Next thing is, "Why a powered caulk gun at all?" The number one answer is muscle/hand fatigue. When you work a job where using a caulk gun is a large part of what you do, hand operated caulk guns are horrible for regular, consistent use.

There are air powered versions.  They are OK but the need to lug air hoses, air compressors,  etc... around make it a much bigger pain in the neck than it should be.  Unless you're a professional painter or someone who normally works with air powered tools regularly,  it's not convenient. 

So, battery powered caulk guns, primarily to reduce fatigue and even injury, are worthwhile. Maybe.  They definitely are easier to lug around and use.  They definitely reduce most of the fatigue on your hand, fingers, wrists, forearms...

Now, when it comes to application. Keep in mind that for most materials used in those tubes, not a lot of power is required to apply pressure to push it out.  Unless it's a very thick, dense, dry, or viscous material,  it's not usually going to require much power.

Bigger tubes will require more power obviously.   More stuff to push.  But say your common, 10 oz tubes, don't take that much power.  More important perhaps is rate or speed of dispersal. Again, depending on the density or viscosity of the material, the rate of flow will vary.

The goal is even coverage.  Not so slow that gaps are created as you move along. Not so fast that too much material is pooling in the area before you can move.  The thicker the material (density/viscosity) the slower it will push out.  The thinner the material,  the faster it pushes out.

So the speed rates on the caulk gun aren't universal.   They will change depending on the material.   For thick stuff, low settings may seem to hardly move the material out at all.  For thin stuff, high settings may be ridiculous overload.

Because remember,  it's primarily about application.   Putting the product in place.  If you're using some specialty tips or tools attached to manipulate as you apply, you'll want it to slow down to ensure it's done right.

Manipulation usually happens after application by using some type of putty knife, trim tool, etc...

So... just because a stiff sealant isn't coming out very fast at a low setting doesn't necessarily mean something is wrong or the gun is bad.  It's up to you as the operator to figure out the proper application of force (speed or control setting) based on the density or viscosity of the material.

That will decide most of whether the battery powered caulk gun is worth having and using.