When it comes to power tools, there are few more versatile than your angle grinder. It can get you through so many jobs from cutting and grinding to polishing and deburring. If you’re like me, you’ll work your equipment hard in all manner of situations. You might even be looking to run from an inverter or off-grid power supply. In this scenario, knowing the power consumption is crucial for reliable performance.
Below we will discuss and test angle grinder wattage, explain how to work it out for yourself, and calculate the total electricity required.
How Many Watts is an Angle Grinder?
The average angle grinder uses between 700 and 2000 watts.
The exact number depends on the size and model of your angle grinder. You will see the main difference in power between a 4.5” (115mm) and 9” (230mm) tool. A 4.5” angle grinder uses just over 700W while a 9” machine reaches 2000W.
These tools use an AC motor to spin blades and discs. You’ll need plenty of power to generate the huge RPMs which can reach 8000 or more! As you can imagine, the larger the appliance the larger the internal motor. The bigger the motor, the more electricity it consumes.
How to Find Out Your Angle Grinder Wattage
There’s 3 ways you can work out the wattage of an angle grinder.
- Check Product Specification
The quickest way is to look at the angle grinder’s specification. The watts (W) is usually written on a sticker on the base of the appliance. If not, you can check the user manual or the manufacturer’s website for technical details.
- Use a Wattmeter
A wattmeter is brilliant for getting a live wattage reading and tracking total energy usage of any appliance. You can simply plug it into your angle grinder to get instant information.
I used one to test my angle grinder which gave a live reading of 1319W.
- Wattage Formula or Calculator
If you know the amperage and voltage of your angle grinder you can use this to find the maximum watts rating Simply use the formula Amps x Volts = Watts. Or you can head over to the ‘Watt Calculator’ to work this out.
Angle Grinder Wattage Examples
Let’s take a look at specific examples of how many watts an angle grinder draws. Below is a collection of modern angle grinders with their listed power ratings.
| Angle Grinder Model | Power Rating (Watts) |
| Draper 115mm / 4.5” | 600 |
| Draper 230mm / 9” | 2100 |
| Bauker 115mm / 4.5” | 750 |
| Makita 230mm / 9” | 2000 |
| Makita 115mm / 4.5” | 720 |
| Clarke CAG800B 115mm / 4.5” | 800 |
| Black & Decker BEG010A5 115mm / 4.5” | 710 |
| DeWalt DWE4206-GB 115mm / 4.5” | 1010 |
As you can see, the power ratings vary between different angle grinders. So you should take the time to check your own tools.
How Much Electricity Does an Angle Grinder Use?
You can use angle grinder wattage to work out how much electricity it uses. Plus this can be useful in understanding how much it costs to run your angle grinder.
A watt (W) is a measurement of power at a single point in time. A watt-hour (Wh) is the total amount of electricity used in an hour. For example, an angle grinder drawing 750W would use 750Wh when running for an hour.
Happily, electricity bills are recorded in kilowatt-hours (kWh). A kilowatt is simply 1000 watts. So a 750W angle grinder running for 1 hour uses 0.75kWh.
In reality, you only run your tool for a few seconds or minutes at a time. Let’s say you actively use your 115mm grinder for 1 hour a month. This means an angle grinder uses about 750Wh or 0.75kWh electricity a month. That’s 9kWh a year.
That’s a rough electricity cost of $1.35 a year to angle grind for a total of 1 hour each month.
Unless you are a professional, you will probably run your tools for a lot less than this so you won’t notice too much cost.
Using an Angle Grinder Off-Grid
If you’re planning to use your angle grinder in an off-grid situation like a power outage, remote location, with a car, or elsewhere the information above is critical. It enables you to pick the correct power products and know how long you can run
You can either use a power inverter, portable power station, or generator to produce AC electricity.
To make sure everything runs smoothly you should check two things on this equipment – wattage capacity and total energy capacity.
Your power source, like an inverter, should have a wattage capacity of at least 20% more than your angle grinder. This ensures it will be able to deliver enough power as they are never 100% efficient. To run a 4.5”/115mm angle grinder, you will need at least 1000W of power capacity and for a 9”/230mm tool you will need at least 2500W capacity.
Secondly, you need to ensure your energy source, like a battery, has enough energy to run the angle grinder for the required amount of time. A small tool will use about 125Wh electricity for 10 minutes runtime, while a larger grinder uses 333Wh every 10 minutes. This is the equivalent to 10.41Ah and 27.75Ah respectively on a 12V battery.
In addition, you could hook a power inverter upto your car or truck starter battery. Ensure you keep the engine running while you work to keep the battery charged and power being sent to your equipment.
How Many Watts Does an Angle Grinder Use Summary
As you have discovered, these are high-powered tools that require a decent amount of juice to get running. If you have yet to buy your equipment and want to reduce power levels, then stick to a 4.5 inch option. It will certainly make it easier to run from vehicles and battery electricity supply. If you step up to a 9 inch tool then be prepared for a serious energy draw.
