Cordless Tools vs. Other Options

   / Cordless Tools vs. Other Options #41  
Torvy said:
Remember when all of our cordless power tools were diesel? Oops, wrong thread.

On a more serious note, oldest son (ChemE) will be 25 on Halloween. He has no tools and wants some..specifically power tools. He lives in an apartment and likes it that way. All I can think of is a drill and maybe a reciprocating saw. The sets all have useless junk, imho.
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I'd recommend Milwaukee M12 line - enough power to do most tasks, a fair variety of tools, and compact enough to be very portable/handy.

I bought my wife (then fiancee) an M12 tire inflator (M12™ Compact Inflator ) to keep in her car trunk so she didn't have to go searching for working air compressors at various gas stations. That combined with a USB charger/power source (M12™ Charger and Portable Power Source) would be helpful for just about any/every apartment dweller who owns a vehicle. ....particularly since the M12 batteries aren't much larger than a small/medium size bottle of pain killers making them very easy to carry around on a daily basis (if needed) which means the USB charger/power source can also replace purpose built USB power packs for things like smart phones.

Otherwise the Ryobi line tends to be cheap and seems to be good enough for most DIY'ers. I recently expanded into the Ryobi 18V line do to someone on this forum illustrating the utility of their cordless pressure washer with a 5 gallong bucket as the water source. (which seemed useful enough I went an bought one myself for light cleaning duty).
 
   / Cordless Tools vs. Other Options #42  
So in addition to the above my collection of cordless tools/batteries now consists of a mix of Milwaukee M12 & M18, Makita 18V LXT, and Ryobi 18V ..... and that mix of lines seems to cover most all types of cordless tools currently made.

Makita 18V LXT is what I have the most of (and started with on cordless tools), but the Milwaukee M18 line was added due to their extremely high torque impact wrenches, and their larger 18V reciprocating saw having an orbital cutting setting (in addition to the standard straight-line reciprocation). The M12 line was added for the compactness and tool selection, and the Ryobi was just recently added for the (low pressure) pressure washer, and narrow crown stapler.

At this point I have very few corded tools most of which are more stationary use (e.g. compound sliding miter saw, table saw, router, etc) as all the outlets on my property are either in the house, or in my (small) storage shed (which doesn't have much workspace).

If I had a larger collection of corded tools one of the "battery generators" would hold quite a bit of appeal to reduce the need for extension cords, but my property largely drove me toward using cordless tools several years ago (have started to replace/supplement most outdoor power tools with cordless versions as well).

Though as cheap as corded tools are now ...there could also be a case for getting a battery "generator"/power pack and a bunch of corded tools if starting out fresh - with my first inclination being to look at ones (in the 1800W to 2000W range) using either the Milwaukee MX, Ryobi 40V or EGO batteries since each of those battery lines also has it's own line of tools to work with the batteries used on the 120V power pack.

:unsure: I may perhaps need to look into if/how any of them could be used as/like a UPS for some of my always on electronics ...
 
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   / Cordless Tools vs. Other Options #43  
I know its hard to switch once you are committed....And in all fairness there are several good options. Dewalt, Makita, Hitachi, and Milwaukee all make top notch stuff.

Having worked with all of them in various professions and settings over the last 10 years....I have to give the edge to Milwaukee. I think they have the battery tech locked down bar none. And 5-year warranty on batteries AND tools. That would have been unheard of a few decades ago for cordless stuff.

And Milwaukee M18 has a HUGE tool lineup. Pretty much anything that can be had with a cord, can be had cordless. Miter saws, concrete drills, mag drills, knockout tools, etc. All kinds of good stuff.

I have 2 drills, 1/4 hex impact, 3/8 impact, sawzall, shop vac (super handy especially for inflating air mattresses and rafts), and a leaf blower. Next I want a 4-1/2" grinder and a 1/2" impact.

The hex drivers...you can run pole barn metal screws in almost all day on a single 5AH battery. Or build an entire 10x12 deck with handrail and steps with just two batteries in the driver.

Going from old nicad to modern stuff...you will wonder why you didnt invest sooner. Just as good as corded tools but without the cord. And if you have one tool and a pair of batteries....you will never run out because they charge faster than you can run them dead for most tools
 
   / Cordless Tools vs. Other Options #44  
..of course the other option to a prepackaged power pack system would be building one from deep-cycle batteries and an appropriately sized inverter.

(have been tempted to do that too - and ties it to few small solar panels)
 
   / Cordless Tools vs. Other Options #45  
With my Milwaukee hex impact, I throw on a 1/2" adapter and take the lug nuts off my truck. I use this more working on vehicles and equipment than I do in any construction, but knowing it can do both was a no-brainer to be one of the first tools to buy in my switch. My Makita tools just weren't up to these tasks, but I think their new stuff is. The switch is very expensive and I hate debt so trying to pace myself is my hardest challenge. I want to just go out and buy all the new shiny tools.

I looked very seriously at what each manufacturer had to see where I was putting my battery-money, because that's ultimately what it comes down to. With what I do, Milwaukee was the clear winner, even if that means I'll have a mix of M18 and M12 batteries. My contractor friend has Ryobi and a while ago I bought a Makita to Ryobi battery adapter so I could borrow his tools. I still think Ryobi makes the best Pex crimper on the market for the price, and I'll probably just do the battery adapter for any of those tools to keep the batteries as consistent as possible.
 
   / Cordless Tools vs. Other Options #46  
   / Cordless Tools vs. Other Options #47  
Hmm, good to know. So they last longer overall if you re-charge them before they are fully discharged. On the old NiCad stuff we had to worry about battery memory and make sure then were drained all the way. Not anymore.
 
   / Cordless Tools vs. Other Options #48  
I’m honestly surprised how many cordless tool discussions involve nicad batteries. They’ve been obsolete for close to 20 years. Do you guys still watch movies on a VCR?
 
   / Cordless Tools vs. Other Options #49  
4570Man said:
I’m honestly surprised how many cordless tool discussions involve nicad batteries. They’ve been obsolete for close to 20 years. Do you guys still watch movies on a VCR?
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That's because most people tend to keep tools forever if they are still working.
 
   / Cordless Tools vs. Other Options #50  
4570Man said:
I’m honestly surprised how many cordless tool discussions involve nicad batteries. They’ve been obsolete for close to 20 years. Do you guys still watch movies on a VCR?
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