Cordless tools.

[transatlantic]

Still in the middle of setting my garage up at the moment and I've noticed that I have fallen heavily into the trap of multiple cordless tool manufacturer setups. I counted 5 in total (Parkside, Bosch, Titan, Mac Allister and some other cheapy).

So that's 5 different batteries, with 5 different chargers

Forgetting the extra space for the 5 chargers (they're not small these days), it obviously means you can't swap/share batteries between tools.

From now on, I'll try to be strict with myself ... but I really want that cordless Makita planer! (note that'll be setup number 6)

How do you guys fare? ... have you chosen one particular brand for just these reasons? or are you more concerning with the quality of the tool and have many setups?

 

[bugbear]

My cordless tools don't use batteries

BugBear

 

[transatlantic]

My cordless tools don't use batteries

BugBear

Don't pollute my thread with your hand tool nonsense!

 

[katellwood]

I've gone for ryobi one+, some say its not trade quailty (makita, Dewalt et al) but it has rarely let me down in well over 10 years. I have changed all my original ni-cd batteries for Li-ion.

Great selection of tools. ALso picked up some tooling from Australia not available in the UK. (their cordless router is an excellent bit of kit for small scale jobs (hinge recessing etc)

 

[curtisrider]

I have both Dewalt and Makita cordless stuff and the Dewalt wins overall so the Makita stuff will slowly get given to relatives as and when I replace it. They are much of a muchness tools wise but the Makita batteries aren't as reliable and I've had a few failures. Once you invest in a few batteries and charger setup you then have a huge range of decent cordless tools you can use them with, you can then sell off your current cordless stuff as and when you need to replace it.

With things like a planer you need to weigh up how much you will use it and how much a decent corded one costs, as nice as the portability is it is quite an extra expense!

 

[Rorschach]

I have cut back on my cordless tools a lot as I found they were just hassle in most cases. The exception to this of course being drills. I now only have cordless drills (a few in various types that I seem to collect) and a small recip saw, everything else is corded. I have had planer, angle grinder, large recip and circ saw in the past but as their batteries died I sold, threw out or gave away the bodies. I guess it depends a lot on what kind of work you do, for me if I only need to make one or two quick cuts then a hand saw works just fine, any more and a corded tool is superior anyway.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I have a battery drill, and that's it - the rest is mains. Unless you do a load of site work and need the ability to work without power mains is cheaper and usually better. The manufacturers alter the design of the batteries and tools quite regularly, so it doesn't follow that an old battery will fit a new tool anyway.

 

[HappyHacker]

I was with Makita and my drill/driver set worked well for many years until a flimsy bit of plastic broke which would have required a new gearbox on the drill. When I went to get a new drill my tool supplier said they had stopped doing Makita due to the number of customer having problems with batteries. While I had heard of the problems I had never had a fault one. So I went for Milwaukee and now have a selection of their tools. I did consider Festool but their range of tools were limited at the time. I also have a selection of dead battery drills of various vintages that were pathetic compared to the modern tools.

I have now deliberately stuck to one manufacturer to avoid the situation you are in. As a electrician I often have to use tools when there is no mains supply. Also while working on farms or at heights etc having trailing leads can be a bid dangerous. Being able to swap batteries between tools when one is getting low without worrying about getting the charger out and finding a socket is also useful. However I also have a selection of 110 V and mains powers tools which are generally superior in power to the battery equivalents but I would not really like to be without either.

 

[Ali]

I've got Makita, Festool, Dewalt and Hitachi batteries to constantly maintain. It is annoying but I just have to remember every once in a while to maintain all the batteries (normally on a weekend). I tried to stay on one battery platform (the Makita) but wasn't happy with their SDS Hammer drilll so bought a Hitachi. Then if you wanted a battey nailer you had to go for a Dewalt and so on... I really would like to buy some Milwaukee Drills but that again means buying a new battery platform so have put it off.

When I first started buying tools an old carpenter taught me about the need to just spend a day every once in a while maintaining my tools so I always try to do it. Like some of the others above I too have started buying a few mains corded tools (for my own use). Ran into an incredibly hard wall a few months ago and a cheapy 240v percussion drill made a quicker job of it than my cordless.

 

[dynax]

in the past i've had numerous cordless tools, but now i only have a twin pack of performance pro drills from b&q, these are about 15 years old now, the batteries died a long time ago, so i converted them to corded with a cigar plug at the end to use on my power pack or straight from the car or a leisure battery using croc clips and socket, it suits my needs and i know that the battery will last atleast a month, when i first did the conversion, i tested the power consumption of the power pack after a full charge and it ran continuously for nearly 40 hours, i think it was around 36/38 hours, it usually lasts me in my day to day workings over a month before i need to charge it,

 

[novocaine]

I don't have many cordless tools, mainly drills, they are all from different manufacturers, I have a flight case that houses the charges (like a guitar pedal board really), so I only have to flip open the lid and plug them all in, doesn't take up a lot of space, is neat and tidy when not in use and means the drills can be left out in the workshop without the need for separate cases (I have one in it's case for site work). the whole 1 battery multiple batteries thing annoys me, you'll be needing a minimum of 3 batteries normally else you'll be swapping batteries around mid job not to mention having to charge more regularly and the saving isn't all that much in the end anyway because they charge the earth for the battery in standalone.
if you don't like the case idea, make a little charging station (or buy a multi charger unit).

I do want a battery circular saw, but that is for ripping timber in the car park of the merchants (or big box if I don't get the choice), everything else is close enough to the mains not to be needed.

 

[No skills]

I have minimal patience, finding an extension lead/dragging around cords is a good way to put me off of doing a job at home
I do have corded tools and they have their place certainly but if I can do cordless then I do (cos modern cordless is great ).

You can get away with one 18v platform if you pick something like Makita or Ryobi because they pretty much make anything that runs off their stock batterys (Makita 18v coffee maker anyone?).

More likely is you'll end up with two makes to cover all the misc tools you want - you will prolly find a few tools you really want in one manufactures line and then find you want things they don't do and pick up another brand to fill the gaps.

 

[DiscoStu]

Ryobi one plus for me.

Great quality tools for not huge amount of money. They are constantly adding things as well.

I have got loads of their tools. Their impact driver is stunning. I also have their 6 port charger so I've always got batteries charged and ready to go.


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[Smithy]

I am with bugbear on this one. Ditch all the cordless electric tools in favour of hand tools. Surprisingly there is not always a big difference in performance and it makes life simple.

Smithy

 

[MattRoberts]

I have makita kit, but if I had the chance to replace I'd either go for ryobi due to the range and the price, or if go dewalt for their awesome new flex volt gear.

 

[DiscoStu]

Ryobi are about to launch some new batteries up to 9 amps!


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[Phil Pascoe]

I've just had this come through -
http://www.dewalt.co.uk/xrflexvolt
54V :shock:

 

[Alexfn]

Id take makita at 36 volts and 6 ah over dewalts 54v at 2ah any day.

Its going to be many years before those 54v batts get above 3.6ah

That dewalt set up is putting a large current demand onto each cell vs the makita setup. Id expect those batts to fail quick and often and again vs the makita system where you would only have to replace one of two relatively inexpensive batteries because of a dodgy cell with the dewalt you have to replace one very expensive battery.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

They do specify 3 x 6ah. As the failure rate of each battery is governed by the number of cells in it - they will fail when the weakest cell fails - there should be no difference (assuming the cells to be of the same quality, of course).

 

[Alexfn]

Not sure what you mean by they do specify 3×6ah

That dewalt battery only has 6ah capacity when its operating at 18 volts. When its operating at 54v its switching to 15 cells in series.

With the dewalt you are placing twice the load on each cell vs the makita.. If i know anything about 18650 cells that is going to result in an increased fail rate


Increased strain increased fail rate