Cordless power tools

[Askwines323]

Looking for some info please

1. What's best brand to look at
2. What volt size should I get
3. Will a cordless impact driver work on the lug nuts?
4. Which cordless power tools should I own.

Appreciate the help and Happy Holidays

[mudmaker]

I started buying new cordless fromDewalt about five years ago for my business. As was mentioned earlier, once you start with one brand you pretty much gotta stick with it to avoid toting several batteries and chargers. With that said I did acquire a Milwaukee 18 volt set drill and nut driver when we moved into a different house just for home use and I wish I would have gone red from the beginning. The shelf life of the batteries is the best I’ve seen. My Dewalt batteries never seem to hold on very long and always disappoint right in the middle of doing something. I did pick up the 20v it 18v adapter is it get a little better between the two sizes.

[Ralph_Cramden]

pconroy328 wrote:

ROBERTSUNRUS wrote:
and they keep changing designs so you end up with a great tool and no batteries

In the last 20+ years, I've had that happen with ALL my cordless tools: Craftsman, Skil, PC and even my beloved Milwaukee.

I'm pretty sure all manufacturers are doing this - changing battery chemistries and profiles.

I can still find batteries for my circa 1990 Makita 9.6 volt tools, all my older Dewalt tools, Milwaukee and Bosch also. Bosch even makes adapters that are a little hard to lay your hands on, to mix and match some batts with tools.

What Milwaukee can't you find batts for? PM me the models if you want and I bet I can get them through one of my suppliers. They might not be OEM, but will do the job.

[pconroy328]

ROBERTSUNRUS wrote:
and they keep changing designs so you end up with a great tool and no batteries

In the last 20+ years, I've had that happen with ALL my cordless tools: Craftsman, Skil, PC and even my beloved Milwaukee.

I'm pretty sure all manufacturers are doing this - changing battery chemistries and profiles.

[Ralph_Cramden]

35 years commercial construction under my belt and have had probably every brand other than Harbor Frieght. Started out with some of the first, Makita 9.6 volt ala 1989/90 with Nickel cad bats which eventually went to Nickel hydride. Remember battery charging memory Lol? I still have those Makita dinosaurs and use them. I have a tile wet saw with a 3 1/2" diamond blade, and a cute little plastic water bottle on the side. It is the $hit. You can still buy batteries for them.

Now days I only buy Milwaukee "fuel" series or Bosch 18V core stuff. You Usually get what you don't pay for.

[3oaks]

mat60 wrote:
Page 3 and no won is mad yet..

"won" ?

No reason for anyone to be mad. We all have our own preferences. It appears there are several good cordless power tool manufacturers to choose from. 🙂

My self, I am partial to Dewalt and Milwaukee. I have no reason to change and will continue to purchase them. I have had no experience using other brands. 😉

[cbshoestring]

Love my Dewalt...used them "professionally". Started to see a lot more Ryobi, Ridgid and Porter Cable from the new guys.

Great reviews on the Porter Cable, 50-50 on the others.

You can buy a porter cable "starter set" for hundreds cheaper than an equivalent Dewalt set. Tools, batteries and multiple chargers are also less expensive.

Just remember, once you buy the brand...you are stuck buying additional tools/attachments for that brand. As much as I love my Dewalt, each tool is roughly double the cost of a Porter Cable.

Figure which will fit the budget, the amount of use (Dewalt takes a lot of abuse)...

then get a minimum of 20 volt.

Wanted to add

Thing that aggravated me the most about Dewalt was the lack of a multiple battery charger. The others all have a relatively cheap 4-6 battery charger, but dewalt only had a charger/inverter that was ridiculously expensive.

[DougE]

I'm with campercajun in using the Sears C3 battery system tools. They have up to a 1/2" impact wrench, both straight and right angle drills, and even a tire pump (it's great to use - very handy). The Lithium batteries charge really quickly and even in a heavy work period only about 3 are required to keep working continuously. You can catch a pair of batteries on sale periodically.

[Askwines323]

Thanks everyone for your input, very helpful.
I'll probably end of buying something a bit bigger-better for what I need, but it will certainly last.
Enjoy the weekend

[campercajun]

Not "knocking" any other brands, but I have used the Craftsman C3 19-volt system for 12 years now (not commercially, but I use them a lot). I have 13 of the tools (florescent & incandescent lights, radio, saws(3 different), drills(3 different), impact wrench (300 ft. lbs. torque), air compressor, hand vac, etc., 2 single chargers, & one 4-place charger/maintainer. (Wish I'd gotten the chain saw before they discontinued it, for the occasional piece of firewood that is too long to fit in our Earth Stove fireplace insert.) None of the tools has ever given me any trouble. Once the original batteries died, I bought the large lithium-ion batteries. 2 have lasted several years. Just got a 3rd with my new impact wrench, bought after 3 blowouts on our travel trailer, 2 on the way to get rid of the Chinese tires that came with our 2016 Rockwood. I am disabled, and it's hard for me to "break" the lug nuts. I have to use sockets on our trailer, anyway, because a 4-way & most other lug wrenches will not fit in between the spokes of the fancy aluminum wheels on our new trailer.

[mat60]

Page 3 and no won is mad yet..

[pianotuna]

Look for the highest voltage battery pack.

[theoldwizard1]

pconroy328 wrote:
My goodness - this is a Ford/Chevy, Ketchup/Mustard type of discussion.

Also, what are you going to use it for ? Busting lug nuts on a Class A diesel pusher or just some light work ?

DeWalt and Milwaukee are the 2 big brands. My son has DeWalt 18V and I just bought a couple of Milwaukee 12V tools. I really like the Milwaukee because they a bit smaller/lighter and have all the power I need for the job.


PS. Save a couple of bucks and get a 3/8" drill instead of a 1/2". Get a set of "turned down" bits for the most common sizes between 3/8" and 1/2". I also prefer a dedicated impact tool instead if the ones built into a drill. I also prefer a 3/8" square drive impact with a 1/4" hex adapter rather than the opposite.

[GordonThree]

ROBERTSUNRUS wrote:
🙂 Hi, don't buy a Ryobi; I had two drills and they were great. The problem is/was their batteries are junk and they keep changing designs so you end up with a great tool and no batteries. Never again will I ever buy anything from Ryobi.

I too have had bad luck with Ryobi. Lowest price for a reason.

[rexlion]

The only cordless tool I ever really had trouble with was from Harbor Freight. The batteries that came with that drill were complete junk and would not maintain a charge in the first 60 days of ownership. This was maybe 10 years ago.

My Black & Decker "20 Volt Max" stuff has held up great. B&D, DeWalt and PorterCable are all under the same corporate umbrella (Stanley B&D) now, and this year they acquired Craftsman also. Ryobi and Milwaukee are brands of TTI.