Cordless Power Tools, what do you have?

[pawngal]

I have one of the newer Dewalt 12v. Small, lightweight, does anything I'll attempt. I have found it to be quite handy.

In the pawn shop Dewalt is the best seller.

 

[Jessie]

My latest is their 40v weed eater. What a pleasure not worrying about gas/oil and ear plugs!

 

[tlawler]

I was on ebay yesterday looking for a Dewalt lithium hedge trimmer and saw batteries way cheap. Turns out they are China clones. Amazon also sells them and the reviews are positive and the price is less than half the original.

I bought 4 of the 6.0 Ah clones off eBay when I went with the 20volt dewalt. So far, they have been excellent and I think I got the 4 for what a single 4.0 Ah dewalt cost.

 

[ace22]

I think the only battery tool I get as much use out of as drill is the Sawz-All. It is handy for small jobs that take more time to string an extension cord than the job. I got honorable mention in local paper when I cut a guy out of a flipped over truck with it. Lucky for him I had 4 batteries and a pack of new metal blades.

that's a great story, you deserve more than an honorable mention!

 

[7tenz]

Got hitachi cordless tools, the impact drill and cordless driver are brushless. others are brushed.

 

[Duckford]

At work, DeWalt impact drivers and drill. They've worked well, no complaints. The old brushed ones wear out with serious use over many years. All the big tools are plug in. All of my tools are plug in, drills, impact driver, impact wrench. My tools are not oft used, but when used they don't deplete the battery supply at a worksite and they will last about forever. My stuff is Milwaukee and Makita, and I think Makita is the last company still making corded drills in a first world western country.

 

[Ματθιας]

I only have a drill/driver and a saws-all. The vast majority of my power tools are compressed air powered.

 

[Farmer17]

I've owned a construction company for 30 years and almost everyone uses Dewalt and it's great for a professional who uses his tools 8 hours a day. I typically supervise and don't use my tools that much and I use 18V Ryobi because their tools and batteries are about half the cost and that's what I recommend to a home owner or casual user. I've got 7 batteries and four chargers, drills, impact drivers, reciprocating saw, large circular saw, small circular trim saw, router, flashlight, high speed "Dremel type", spot light(that sucker is REALLY bright!), tire inflators, weed eater, yard blower, pole saw, fan, jigsaw, palm sander, buffer, oscillating tool, angle grinder, offset drill, hand vacuum, trim nail gun, large nail gun, and several more I'm forgetting but I've never broke one, they all work great and are a great value.

 

[Marshwheeling]

Cordless electric toothbrush.

 

[Golddollar]

I learned what a blessing cordless tools were when I was active in community theater. When working on sets, not having a half dozen cords going every which way on the stage sure made the work a lot easier, and probably safer.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Cordless electric toothbrush.

Mine was Snoopy.

 

[Tom K]

For you guys who said you tried a battery operated drill years ago and it sucked, you need to look at the more modern stuff. The old NiCad batteries were garbage but the new lithium batteries work great.

I use Ryobi from Home Depot. The lithium batteries they have now have charge indicator LEDs - press a button and you know approximately how much charge is left. One thing about them is when they get to a certain level they just stop, they don't just turn the motor slower and slower. So if you have just one more hole to drill, you're done until you swap batteries or recharge. I have probably half a dozen 4ah batteries and a few small ones (which are handy because they're lighter.) The great thing about rechargeables is that they just work. Pop in a fresh battery and go. No extension cords to wrangle, no gas to mess with.

I am all in on the Ryobi 18v system. Off the top of my head I have two drills, two drivers, a hammer-drill, 90 degree head drill, circular saw, jigsaw, reciprocating saw, angle grinder, buffer, hand vacuum, tire pump, work light, and I'm probably forgetting something.

I also have the 40v battery system for my weedeater - much quieter than gas and vibrates waaay less. Just pick it up and go. Likewise I have a 40v self-propelled push mower. We have an acre lot and a gas riding mower but I use the Ryobi for getting close around the house and flower beds and under low trees. It also works for areas that are often soggy - I can direct it with one hand and stand off to the side while it mows the ditch. And when I'm done it folds up and stores vertically in my garage without having to worry about gas spilling out.

If I'm doing a big job I will still pull out the old corded Skil saw or Craftsman 1/2" drill but for 95% of what I do, quick and easy batteries are the way to go.

 

[Benchrest1]

When it comes to cordless I use Dewalt.

 

[Mexican Kerry]

I have both Bosch and Makita 18v drills and impactors at work, both are good but I think the edge goes to Makita. That being said, I see a LOT of Milwaukee cordless tools on jobsites and last week I was looking for some cordless hammer drills and opted for the red brand.

Bought three hammer drills, three skilsaws, and three impactors. None of them can touch an electric tool for all-day performance but when you are working in the rain or you have to run 3-400 ft of cord, the cordless tools are a good substitute.

 

[GB]

When I went back to construction work, in 1992. I bought a 12v Skill screw gun.(That is what the boss used) Used it for several years until it was stolen from a job site. Company replaced it with another just like it. I have used it for years but Skill changed the tool and battery style and while they still make a battery that works it doesn't fit as neatly.(Still have it and it is my drill/screw gun of choice) So I bought a Sears(by this time I was out of the construction industry again. The tool works well but at the time Sears still didn't make a fast charge battery so if I was doing a big job I ran out of juice(even with three batteries) So I bought a set of newer Skill. (saw, drill, flashlight combo pack) These have become my basement tools and work well. Lastly I bought a set of DeWalt and and added a couple of "bare" tools and some extra battery packs. Ya just gotta know that I bought the initial tools about a year before 20v tools came out but I am good so long as I can still get batteries for the 18s(which will probably be long after I have any business using any power tool) Just as a foot note: A cordless reciprocating saw is a real plus when breaking down deer/ elk/ antelope in camp. Especially after the body has frozen.

 

[whitestang]

I have a 20v Black and Decker drill/driver and a grass trimmer also that uses the same battery so I always have enough power for those large tasks. I have had them both for 4 years and they perform great.

 

[Wishbone]

All my power tools are Milwaukee. I prefer corded though.

 

[bullmack]

Dewalt 20V for me

 

[kthom]

Ace,
I was like you for a time in that I had two or three different brands of cordless tools with different batteries and chargers. I think either Dewalt or Makita tools are good ones, but I had none of those. I wound up buying a package with the tools I needed that were Dewalts that all used 18 volt batteries, which were larger than any tool I had up to that time. I also bought an extra battery so that I could have one on standby to replace a battery that needed charging during a job. These have been excellent tools that have given me very good service. Today, I would buy the 20 volt system, but as long as these 18 volt tools keep working, I'll use them (and as long as I can still buy 18 volt batteries!).

All I can tell you is that the Dewalt tools have given me excellent service for a very long time! I don't know how we ever got along with out these cordless tools, but I'm old enough to have used corded tools a great deal. These tools have so much more power than the originals did, and I like the fact that I can select the strength to use so as not to overdrive a screw, etc with them. Perhaps the most useful tool I have is a cordless impact driver. It's strong enough that I bought a set of sockets that will stand the impact, whereas cheaper ones will not stand up to the test. These good ones are not as cheap as you can buy, but I've only had to buy once when getting the good quality tools and accessories.

 

[mtgianni]

I have some Milwaukee and mostly Dewalt. I burned up a Dewalt 20 V last year when I tried a battery operated ice auger. I went to a Royobi 20 V, $150 at Home Despot for a drill and three batteries. I can usually get 4-5 holes in 20" ice with a battery, so most of a day fishing, but not a weekend if schools are moving.