If you’re unfamiliar with these power tools, choosing the best angle grinder size for you can often be difficult.
Since they come in different capacities, usages, power, and sizes, determining the best one to suit your requirements are important.
Regardless of whether you are an avid DIYer or own a professional construction business, it’s important to have the correct angle grinder for your specific needs.
While many power tools all essentially perform the same task, they wouldn’t necessarily fit the operator’s specific needs.
For instance, for home workshops, a 4.5-inch angle grinder would be more suitable due to its sleek and lightweight design.
On the other hand, if you are involved in the professional business including fabrication, metal construction, or masonry, then this 4.5-inch would be too small, instead, you should select a 7 or 9-inch sized angle grinder.
Featuring larger disc capacities and powerful motors, they will allow you to complete your projects more efficiently as opposed to their smaller counterparts.
How Wattage Influences The Capacity Of The Angle Grinder?
Whether you are looking for an angle grinder to suit the requirements of your professional metal fabrication business or your home workshop, then the first factor to consider is the capacity of the power tool.
The power of an angle grinder is not only determined by the speed of the spinning disc but also by the motor’s capacity.
For instance, a 4.5-inch angle grinder may compromise a 10000 rpm, which is ideal for small metal grinding projects.
On the other hand, a 9-inch angle grinder can only run at 6,000 rpm but remains more efficient on large-scale projects.
You may be wondering how this is possible.
Well, the 9-inch grinder is constructed with not only a bigger motor but also a much more powerful one that can contain a larger disc capacity, allowing you to finish your work faster.
Essentially, the bigger the motor, ensures the bigger the grinder, allowing you to complete more work with it.
Having said that, the large 9-inch grinders would be too large for small metal projects. Therefore, a DIYer may prefer the smaller 4.5-inch grinder.
Power Capacities Of Angle Grinders
When purchasing an angle grinder, it’s important to choose the best one that suits your requirements.
Therefore, to help you do so, we have compiled a list of the many different sized angle grinders, including their capacities and wattages displayed in horsepower to determine the best ones for you.
It’s important to note that while some angle grinders may be the same sizes, their power capacities are different, this is displayed in wattage.
Below, you will find examples of the capacities and sizes of grinders that run between 120 and 230 volts of power. Let’s get straight into it!
In 120 Volts
4.5 Inch (115mm) – from 700-1,300 watts (5.8 – 100.8 amps) – .9 – 1.7 hp (10,000 to 11,000 rpm)
These grinders are available in both cordless and corded models.
This size is ideal for cutting smaller pieces of metal, cutting floor tiles, polishing metal sheets, and refining excess weld.
Therefore, this makes them the perfect choice for the home workshop or garage use.
While they may be small, they are incredibly mighty with a spinning capacity that goes up to 11,000 rpm, averagely weighing at 3.5 lbs, making them a practice choice for personal projects.
These are portable and easy to use – even the beginner DIYer shouldn’t have any trouble with this size!
5 inch (125mm) – from 1,400 – 1,600 watts (11.5-13.3 amps) – 1.8 hp – 2.14 hp (11,000 to 11,500 rpm)
While this 5-inch angle grinder isn’t far off from the 4.5-inch grinder in terms of size, however; the differences can be found in the amps.
Therefore, these angle grinders are not only more powerful but they are also faster, making them ideal for larger-scale projects.
While its size still remains with the smaller angle grinders, that doesn’t mean they are less effective.
It simply means that they are more suitable for different requirements such as a small metal welding business.
Alternatively, they are also prominently used by home restorers, bricklayers, and metal polishers.
If you’re thinking of extending your business away from simply DIY, then this would be the choice for you.
6 inch (150mm) – from 1,400-1,500 watts (11.5 – 12.5 amps) – 1.8– 2.0 hp (4,000 to 9,000 rpm)
Featuring a larger motor makes it perfect for cutting materials such as aluminum, stones, and hard plastics.
It can do what its smaller counterparts can do but on a much larger and faster scale.
While this may not be the most popular size among DIYers, it is ideal for those looking for a little bit of extra power.
Essentially, this tool falls within the medium-size category along with the 5-inch and 7-inch sizes.
7 inch (180mm) – from 1,600 – 2,600 watts (13 – 16.5 amps) – 2.14 – 3.5 hp (6,000 to 8,500 rpm)
This size trumps the medium-sized angle grinder category.
It can withstand anything from die-cast metals, bronze, and aluminum, as well as softer steels, any type of stone materials, and concrete.
Due to an increase in the angle grinder’s wattage, it provides an increase in performance with higher overload durability.
While it is more compact than the 9-inch grinder, this makes it lighter and with a motor size of this capacity, it can deliver efficiency on even the tougher projects.
In 230-240 volts
9 inch (230mm) – from 1,200 – 2,400 watts (10 – 20.8 amps) 1.6 – 3.20 hp (6,000 to 6,600 rpm)
This size of an angle grinder is typically featured in voltages of 230 to 240, available in a range of different powers and amps.
Generally, a higher voltage is needed due to its larger motor that allows heavy grinding work for both metalwork and concrete projects.
These are normally preferred by masons, technicians, general contractors, professional welders, fabricators, shipyard workers, automotive technicians, and other industries that require powerful tools to work with the largest and hardest of metals and stones.
While the size may put some people off, it is incredibly versatile and can be put up to 3.5 hp. So cutting larger metal bars and pipes is made easy with this tool!
Final Thoughts
Angle grinders come in a variety of different sizes. So many that it is sometimes difficult to choose the right one for you.
The 4.5-inch angle grinder is the perfect choice for domestic and home projects.
The 7-inch grinder is great for home repair tasks such as sprinkler installations, plumbing, and such.
While the 9-inch is the ideal choice for professionals within the industries of metal fabrication, construction, and other heavy-duty jobs that require large grinding and cutting power tools.
If you’re looking for the power of a specific angle grinder, the first place to look would be at the angle grinder wattage which will give you an idea of the angle grinder’s strength.
Hopefully, this guide has informed you about the angle grinder sizes.
