Cordless drills

[RedNeckRacin]

Yep really on the string trimmers. I have bought my last gas one. I am doing good with the battery one. I believe the whole string trimmer industry is gonna go that way. I can't speak to the other two.

Ok, I gotta ask! Are you trimming the grass along the yard ornaments or are you trimming fence lines? I trim alot (not for long since I got the go ahead to spray this year! woo!) of fence lines in the summer time and I can usually burn through an entire roll of trimmer line (.105" maybe?) and a gallon and a half of mixed gas in a day. Not that it is fun, but I'm pretty sure I am out of the norm for trimmer users then maybe?

 

[KubotainNH]

Not trying to hijack but what is it with todays obsession with cordless tools? I used to work with a dood, he was so lazy he would grab the shops newest cordless drill, mount a 4" hole saw in it and go drill a knock out in an electrical box. This wasn't some remote job site, it was on the shop work bench with 120 volt outlet inches away along with a 120V drill. Less than a year and that battery drill would be trashed. My last two drills I went back to 120 volt...getting tired of getting burned in the great battery scam and often have 120V within 20-50'.....flame on

The drill is the only thing I use often that's cordless. Saves time not getting the heavy 1/2" corded drill out to drill a quick hole or bring outside to zip in a screw. The cordless is also gentler, I often break bit with the corded drill. My cordless is very comfortable to hold and fits in a holster I have. No cords to trip on. Sawzall, angle grinder, circular saw...those are all corded. Some off air.

 

[bindian]

Bought my first cordless set as a Father's Day Ace Hardware promotion in 1983... it was a 7.2v drill and flashlight combo and still have it today... still remember sheetrocking a 700 square foot cottage with it... never quit!

The Makita rep was in the store when I bought it... he gave me a word of advice which I follow religiously: always 100% discharge the battery before charge... which was easy to do by putting the battery into the flashlight and turning it on...

Over time I bought more 7.2v makita... car charger, fluorescent light, second drill... still have everything today and the set is still in my 1985 work van...

When my sister in law asked me what cordless to buy for my brother Christmas before last... I said Makita... she bought him a combo pack.

Ultrarunner,
That Makita rep was referring to Ni-Cad batteries. The Lithium Ion batteries nowadays don't need discharging.

7.2 volt, 9.6 volt, 12 volt, 18 volt. Yep, had them all. I took an old 7.2 volt, drill handle and cut it down to just have the battery terminals. I then soldered wires to my halon bulbed head light for work. Back then.....headlights came only with 4 D cell battery boxes on a belt pack. I just stuck my battery "pack" in my back pocket and worked all night and carried a one backup battery. My co-workers with D cell lights had to carry about 16 or more batteries with them to make it through the night. When 9.6v came out, I upgraded to that battery and used 9.6v bulbs. The pod battery ruined my setup, as I couldn't put a pod battery in my back pocket like the old stick batteries. I had the Makita flashlights also for huge jobs.

We used to stretch out air hoses everywhere to run our air ratchets. Nowadays, I use an AC Delco 1/4 inch drive cordless ratchet. Climbing all over an airliner, they sure come in handy.
hugs, Brandi

 

[ultrarunner]

Everything I have in Ni-Cad...

30 years and still working too... wonder if the newer technology will prove to be as robust?

Practical and Innovative solution for your headlamp.

My newest cordless is an old Dewalt 12 volt that I keep up in Olympia...

 

[Creamer]

Bought my first cordless set as a Father's Day Ace Hardware promotion in 1983... it was a 7.2v drill and flashlight combo and still have it today... still remember sheetrocking a 700 square foot cottage with it... never quit!

The Makita rep was in the store when I bought it... he gave me a word of advice which I follow religiously: always 100% discharge the battery before charge... which was easy to do by putting the battery into the flashlight and turning it on...

Over time I bought more 7.2v makita... car charger, fluorescent light, second drill... still have everything today and the set is still in my 1985 work van...

When my sister in law asked me what cordless to buy for my brother Christmas before last... I said Makita... she bought him a combo pack.

My first cordless tool was a 14.4V Makita Drill. Even though I am not a very hard or continuous user they were gone in about 3 years. A totally new Dewalt 18V set was cheaper than the batteries for the Makita. I know a lot of people like Makita but my experience was not good. Still have the 18V Dewalt and it runs well. I also have a cordless Dewalt sawzall that I love for trimming branches out of trees. Much lighter and safer than a chainsaw when climbing and no cords.

 

[ultrarunner]

^^^ Sometimes I wonder if quality suffers or is reduced as production continues.

My Makita battery stuff is 30+ years old... it was not cheap then and proved very durable.

Could be shortcuts to arrive at a price cut took a toll in the 14.4 cordless tools?

My go to corless on the job is Bosch... and I did have to replace 2 of the 4 batteries so far.

 

[ovrszd]

I have a cordless 4.5" angle grinder. It's the max amount of amp draw that I want cordless. In the small drill category I rarely use my 120V drills. I mean, like maybe twice a year. Rest of the time I go cordless. I have 3 chargers in my shop so battery replacement is never a problem. I use Dewalt 18V. Cordless impact drivers are the "cat's meow".

 

[k0ua]

Ok, I gotta ask! Are you trimming the grass along the yard ornaments or are you trimming fence lines? I trim alot (not for long since I got the go ahead to spray this year! woo!) of fence lines in the summer time and I can usually burn through an entire roll of trimmer line (.105" maybe?) and a gallon and a half of mixed gas in a day. Not that it is fun, but I'm pretty sure I am out of the norm for trimmer users then maybe?

My trimming could not hold a candle to your trimming.. So maybe you need to stick to the gas machines.. However with the rapid charge 40V lithium batteries, and three of them, who knows, maybe they would serve you well too.

 

[Sodo]

I have everything corded and 18v. I use 18v about 98% of the time and corded 2%. It's often faster to bring 2 extra batteries than one extension cord. Depends what you're doing of course. I have DeWalt 18v niCad, have 6 batteries but only 2 have capacity (3-4 years old).

drill
driver
skilsaw
sawzall
jigsaw
angle grinder

 

[s219]

I have got duplicates of most hand tools now, corded and battery. Outside of my corded skil saw, I almost always reach for the battery version of these tools for daily use. No real downside, lots of upsides.