18v tool brand choice

[mc281]

I think there are two batteries that fit multiple vendors:

Cordless Alliance (Metabo and others) - CAS - The Cordless alliance for your brands

Ampshare (based on Bosch) - AMPShare: Power for pros | Bosch Professional

I might look at those platforms first.

I have multiple battery platforms - Bosch Professional, Stihl, Festool (both) and Trend

There are STL files for 3D printing adaptors if you really are in a bind.

 

[clogs]

Tal.....
spend the extra n go for Millwauke.......u wont regret it.......
on the battery front I want a batt for every macine plus the odd spare.....
I like the 5ah batts on the drills as it adds more weight to ur right arm.....pushing......
will buy their cordless grinder as a luxury soon........
Have around 8-10 x9" grinders and the same in the 4" with every kind of different blade on each...
just so much hasttle changing blades over......
Just bought a corded 5" vari speed grinder from lidil's......feels nice....just for sanding/polishing on the lathe......

also try out holding the diff makes, they can feel quite different....
remember u'll be using it for years.....

just the same, never buy cheap boots....

 

[TomGW]

I had a number of different cordless brands and sold them all during the first lockdown, replacing them with Milwaukee. No regrets at all.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Likewise, I replaced DeWalt with Milwaukee.

 

[niemeyjt]

I try to avoid Chinese-manufactured items, wherever possible.

 

[Richard_C]

(I'm a diy user, frequent brief use plus some 'big days' when the kit is used a lot)

I've had a Bosch Blue pair - combi + impact - since 2016 and the original batteries are still surprisingly OK. On the basis of that limited experience I wlll probabaly stick with Bosch when the time comes to change.

I would always go for 2 x 2 ah rather than 5 ah - lighter and one can be on charge with one in use, and it takes seconds to swap. I can see that 5 ah would be useful for site or remote use.

During lockdown my daughter moved into her first house, 200 miles away form here and frustrating because I couldn't go help out, and wanted a combi drill. I advised her to get a decent brand becsause it becomes your core piece of kit and we ordered DeWalt online - main criterion, it was in stock. Maybe one of the rare occasions when a daughter has been delighted to get a combi drill for Christmas. Now I have used a bit it it's fine but somehow not as nice to handle as the Blue Bosch. Can't quite put my finger on why I don't like it as much. maybe there is a real difference betweeen their diy and trade options.

 

[Jameshow]

(I'm a diy user, frequent brief use plus some 'big days' when the kit is used a lot)

I've had a Bosch Blue pair - combi + impact - since 2016 and the original batteries are still surprisingly OK. On the basis of that limited experience I wlll probabaly stick with Bosch when the time comes to change.

I would always go for 2 x 2 ah rather than 5 ah - lighter and one can be on charge with one in use, and it takes seconds to swap. I can see that 5 ah would be useful for site or remote use.

During lockdown my daughter moved into her first house, 200 miles away form here and frustrating because I couldn't go help out, and wanted a combi drill. I advised her to get a decent brand becsause it becomes your core piece of kit and we ordered DeWalt online - main criterion, it was in stock. Maybe one of the rare occasions when a daughter has been delighted to get a combi drill for Christmas. Now I have used a bit it it's fine but somehow not as nice to handle as the Blue Bosch. Can't quite put my finger on why I don't like it as much. maybe there is a real difference betweeen their diy and trade options.

Yes there is, general build quality tbh.

 

[Adam W.]

Makita 18v 5ah. for on site if there's a possibility of it going walkies and Festool for me or workshop use because I'm a TART.

 

[mg123]

I think there are two batteries that fit multiple vendors:

Cordless Alliance (Metabo and others) - CAS - The Cordless alliance for your brands

Ampshare (based on Bosch) - AMPShare: Power for pros | Bosch Professional

I might look at those platforms first.

I have multiple battery platforms - Bosch Professional, Stihl, Festool (both) and Trend

Strange that several brands feature on both of these lists, I wonder whats preventing them being one big compatible system rather than 2 separate ones

 

[Ollie78]

I have Makita some Metabo and some Festool, all great. Some of my Makita stuff is really old and still good.
If buying from scratch I might go with Metabo and other CAS alliance stuff.

Ollie

 

[TheUnicorn]

I like the 5ah batts on the drills as it adds more weight to ur right arm.....pushing......

I've found the opposite, I often use a Makita 12v impact driver which has a tiny 1.5Ah battery so the whole thing is super lightweight, and pretty small, when your working overhead for any length of time the reduced weight is a godsend. I have to say the drill that is the other half of the 12v twin pack is pretty underwhelming and I wouldn't be be driving 200mm decking screws with the impact but for screws up to say 100mm its great. My opinion is that added weight of a battery or a tool is an unwanted side effect of greater torque or runtime.

I would definately try and find a shop that you can handle the tools before you buy, preferably one with staff that can answer question, it not all specs and price. Whichever brand you get you won't be uniformly happy with every tool on the platform. It may be all hype (?) but you rarely hear anyone say much against milwaukee, I currently have no milwaukee power tools, but I think I'd certainly put them at the top of my list if I were starting from scratch

 

[johnnyb]

my 2 pence is always buy a big set as everything's much cheaper I brought makita 6 bag in 2008 and every tool still works. these days I like the smaller 12v stuff it's light and delicate. much better for joinery( the bosch blue but the quality is not the best)

 

[Sideways]

Strange that several brands feature on both of these lists, I wonder whats preventing them being one big compatible system rather than 2 separate ones

It is interesting.
Metabo have been sharing their battery platform for years. They have a good position having started using the newer, larger, 21700 battery cells in their battery packs long before anyone else. I had to wait 5 (?) years for Bosch to catch up and bring out the pro core batteries that I like.
Being a smaller player, it made a great deal of sense for Metabo to exploit their good position in batteries and share with other specialist tool makers to create a diverse range on one platform. They have been doing this CAS for a good while.
Bosch starting to share their battery platform is a very new initiative in contrast. I wonder if they are now trying to poach some of Metabo's partners.
What they need to compete with are the huge variety of tools offered by especially Milwaukee and Makita (18v kettle, percolator and microwave anyone ?). I think that smaller players simply can't afford to compete in battery tech so collaboration is the only way for them to prosper.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

My daughter's chap's brother's a chippie, he's changed all his Milwaukee stuff back to DeWalt - he finds Milwaukee too heavy. I love it, but I'm not holding it all day.

Two observations -
1/ don't be influenced by people saying how good their n years old tools of a particular brand are - it's largely irrelevant, they all go through peaks and troughs, and 2/ be careful when people compare an entry level tool of one brand with a top end tool of another - I've seen that many times. My DeWalt drill was 47nm iirc and my Milwaukee is 135nm - very different beasts.

 

[TomGW]

This is a current offer from Screwfix that seems to be a good deal for what you want - £230, which is better than the other usual suspects and includes 2x 5Ah batteries.
Milwaukee M18 CBLPP2A-502C 18V 2 x 5.0Ah Li-Ion RedLithium Brushless Cordless Combi Drill & Impact Driver Twin Pack Product code: 229HV

 

[TheUnicorn]

1/ don't be influenced by people saying how good their n years old tools of a particular brand are - it's largely irrelevant, they all go through peaks and troughs

thats a valid point, particuarly as brands are bought and sold so often, but frustrating as longevity is such an indicator of quality.

 

[carpenteire2009]

I'm a keen DIYer and have corded and cordless tools from Makita, DeWalt and Bosch. In more recent years as I've been switching more to cordless tools I realised I had to pick a tool and battery platform, so I decided to focus on Bosch. So far I'm very happy with my choice and the range of tools available. If I were starting out maybe I'd invest in one of the bundle deals offered as in the route I took I know I spent much more on batteries that was probably strictly necessary, although isn't that like buying clamps? You can never have too many batteries...

 

[Krome10]

Be careful with DeWalt as they have two levels. The DIY level is more a par with Ryobi whist the pro version is much more solid.

Interested to hear more about this. How do you tell the two levels apart?

To the OP - I bought the DeWalt impact driver and combi drill. I've been really pleased with them, but then have nothing to compare them to other than an old pair of Ryobi 14.4Vs I had which became increasingly useless and had to be replaced.. The 3ah batteries on my DeWalts last a long time and are quick to recharge when they do eventually run low. What I also like is that if I don't use them for a while, when I come back to them the batteries are still fine. I dare say all the other brands would have similar performance. I went DeWalt simply because the price was the best at the time, and being a DIYer I didn't want to spend more than I had to.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

What I also like is that if I don't use them for a while, when I come back to them the batteries are still fine.

Are you comparing Li ions to older NiMh or NiCads?

 

[clogs]

TomGW......
wish I was there to take advantage of that offer.........

a few years ago Screwfix was selling twin packs of Hitachi grinders for £80 odd pounds.......
I bought 10 packs......split the packs and sold 1/2 to other Brit's in France at a bargain price compared to there.......

The same 9" grinder in France was €170 on it's own....
It's all down to geography.....