HECK YES! Pnuematics are much more durable if you get good ones. Ingersoll-Rand makes a good one (long neck, and I ain't talkin 'bout beer bottle, it gets into tight spots better)with a kevlar body, it's called a cyclone I believe. We use them at a shipyard and they get passed around and abused alot, and keeps on turnin'. You can find it at www.grainger.com and its item #3y447. Or you may find it cheaper somewhere else I don't know.

While I agree with Buffalo about pneumatics lasting longer, my personal choice for a heavy duty 7" grinder is the Black & Decker "Wildcat".
This grinder can take a cruel beating very well and outpowers a pneumatic during heavy use.
For a 4" grinder, I prefer a pneumatic, as long as the air suplly is dry and has plenty of volume available.
Tim

I have never stopped a B&D wildcat by working too hard. I have pneumatics. I have never burn't up a pnuematic but they did run so weak that I could stop the blade under the weight of the grinder.

I like Dotco and Ingersoll Rand air grinders. They seem to have a good bit of energy.

Pneumatic grinders are more durable, but I haven't used any that have the energy of an electric.

G Austin

Let me tell you my personal opinion, Gentlemen.
Back in my days of erection field superintendent I always used pneumatic tools, for three reasons.
1. The less important. They're lighter than the electric, for the happiness of those who use them.
2. The intermediately important. They are easier to service and maintain than the electric.
3. The most important. We all know that maintenance in a construction jobsite isn't the best. Schedules are tight, deadlines are stringent, working contitions are often hard, tools are subjected to abusive service and maintenance mechanics and electricians are overloaded of work. In this situation, a poorly maintained pneumatic tool may result in an air leak or a jammed gear: a minor problem. On the other hand, a poorly maintained electric tool may result in an electric shock that can kill somebody. And I didn't want to bear the death of a person on my conscience.
Giovanni S. Crisi
Sao Paulo - Brazil

Back when I was a fabrication leadman, I was issued several air and electric grinders for me and my crew to use. It seems like everyone "adopted" his favorite grinder and took good care of them. The Wildcat electric grinders were more powerful than the pneumatic ones were and mine saw over 3 years of daily hard use without even replacing a switch.
The air grinders didn't last as long but were much easier to handle and were less prone to kick-back. That made them the favorite for working from staging and in awkward places. Something we didn't like was the oil vapors from the exhaust ports. That can't be good to breathe.
It was interesting that once the company instituted a tool crib policy, none of the grinders lasted very long. Seems that when everyone had his "own" grinder, they were taken care of better. When everything was turned in at the end of shift, the tools were no longer "personal tools".
The company I work for now uses mostly electric grinders. 7" and 9" grinders are kept in a tool crib and 5" grinders are issued to each fitter and welder. In my opinion, the 5" ones are used way too much, often for heavy grinding where a 7" or 9" grinder should be used. We go through a lot of 5" grinders because of that.
Often, our work is outdoors with no air compressor available so the electric grinders are handier overall. And nowadays the GFCIs greatly reduce the hazard of lethal electric shock.
CHGuilford