Power storage in batteries is improving. NiCads, NiMh are in the rear view mirror and have all but disappeared. I jumped on the bandwagon when Li ion became more reasonably priced. Once you buy into a brand, you are connected to its system of batteries for a long time. With the recent batt systems for yard equipment the battery/brand choice includes many products. So, what are you doing with your older drill driver systems, chargers, drill drivers and impact drivers? I have three driver bodies and as many impact drivers with one battery that kind of holds a charge. I keep thinking I am going to order more batteries and use them as back ups. So far, I have not done it and the tangle of cords, and driver bodies need to go. So, what have you done with your older systems? Buying into new product lines? Mine are the Makita brand. Just wondering. Brian
Power storage in batteries is improving. NiCads, NiMh are in the rear view mirror and have all but disappeared.
[...]
So, what have you done with your older systems? Buying into new product lines? Mine are the Makita brand. Just wondering. Brian
- woodetal
My Makitas work just fine for what I do, the NiCD battery packs only cost me like $10 a piece when needed, and they last 3-4 years before needing replacement. I can see no reason to go out and spend a ton of money for the same tools just because they may have better batteries.
The battery life on the new LiIon system is pretty impressive. The drive bodies and batteries are lighter. The big box had a combo deal on two batteries, driver/impact body late last year. So, I either spent $60 on replacement batts or $100 more for the brushless bodies, two batts and a charger. So, I did. No regrets. The wiring harness on my Husqvarna line trimmer or some other issue led me to the Makita line trimmer. Cost to repair the gas trimmer or batt powered line trimmer. Cost of repair and parts, around $95 versus BIG batt and line trimmer for $100 difference. No regrets. BUT, what are you all doing with the now outdated driver bodies? Giving them away? Craig's list for few bucks?
Sometimes there are trade in deals when buying new tools. I have done that, or donate to habitat for humanity for their resale stores. It is not worth the hassle trying to sell old batt tools one. Brad is usually correct in his assessment, but this time I disagree. Not only are the batteries better, so are the tools. Depends on how much use, and your age, I plan to be around long enough for the investment. Unless the virus has other plans. And I only had three tools, a drill, an impact, and a sawzall, so not a large investment. I had Makita, but went with the Milwaukee this time. We had them on the job, and they are tough to beat.
Ibewjon hit the nail on the head. Not only are the batteries better but the new brushless motors on the tools are more powerful and durable. Often a new driver or drill comes bundled with a battery for just a bit more than a new battery.
I do wish all the various makers would standardize their battery connections and chargers to make them universal. But the same goes for a lot of products. One that drives me bonkers is gas and diesel engine oil filters.
I had a few Dewalt 14.4 cordless tools that were Ni-Cad that I resurrected with a Li-Ion battery sold as an upgrade. There is also an adapter that allows their 20V Li-Ion batteries to be used with 18V Ni-Cad tools…..
I don't know if Makita offers the same type of upgrades…..
LOL - My Makita's use the 9.6v 'pod' style batteries
I don't think I would want to 'upgrade' to LiON simply because I can get NiCD batteries so much cheaper and they last longer. Understand though that is MY situation only. I infrequently use my cordless tools. If I used them day in and day out, I may feel differently. But I used my FIL's newish 20v DeWalt last week… and it didn't drill holes any better than my Makita did. About the only difference I noticed was it had one of them cool LED lights on it.
I donated all my unneeded tools to family. I have Nieces, Nephews, Cousin's kids…whatever you call them…that are all getting to that age where they are starting out on their own, getting married, etc.
An old NiCad combo might not be as cool as the new stuff but if you're just starting out in life and the combo works that's something you don't have to buy for awhile.
My experience with Ni-Cad has been the polar opposite. I'm done with them, so I wouldn't know if they are cheaper or not… My Bosch Ni-Cad battery tools are sitting collecting dust. The batteries didn't last a year, and last time I checked, they didn't offer a Li-Ion upgrade.
Those Makita batteries of long ago. 9.6 v Nicads were total junk. In my area many many contractors who were Makita fanbois stopped with that dead, and most have never darkened their door again. Everyone moved to DeWalt for a lot of years. DeWalt lost a ton of dedicated folks when they went from 18 v NiCad to the 20v LIon, and offered no cross over to the many people who had bought their tools. Wasn't until more than a year later they noticed this error, by then so many were gone. Milwaukee took off in cordless, the way they had been in corded for so many years.
A lot of opinion is based on batteries, their life, and the histories people had with them. In our area Milwaukee now owns the mantle, how they move forward will say a lot about how they fare.
A lot of opinion is based on batteries, their life, and the histories people had with them. In our area Milwaukee now owns the mantle, how they move forward will say a lot about how they fare.
The few tradesman I still talk to from when I worked construction are using DeWalt ONLY because we have a DeWalt service center centrally located in the city.
Just don't make the mistake of asking them about the whole 18v vs 20v fiasco…you won't hear the end of it for a good hour.
I have an old 9.6v Makita and it still runs fine and I still buy aftermarket batteries for it but my new lion Makita is lighter, better balanced, smaller, the batteries charge faster, and has more power.
Also have Porter Cable set that is nicad and NIMH but you can't buy batteries for them except those Chinese knockoffs. I have one working battery and when it goes, don't know, might experiment with the motors or might toss them.
I've only have experience with Dewalt and porter cable. My hope is Dewalt got their crap together with the new batteries because the drill I use to have worked fine but the battery needed junked every year, was actually quite pathetic how bad it was. I switched to porter cable nicad after that and they were a huge improvement. After 3 years with 4 batteries only one had started to go bad. I ended up catching the new PC lithium tool set on sale after thanksgiving one year and upgraded to them to get a impact driver. I use those tools on almost everything I make and all the house work I do and they are so much better than Dewalt and PC nicad stuff. The 4.0 battery lasts forever and I've really put them through the ringer and worked them like dogs and they've held up well. I've heard that PC and black and decker 20v batteries are nearly the same and just require a small modification but since I don't own any b&d stuff I can't verify
I sold my old PC tools on Craigslist. In hind sight I wish I'd kept them cause there were a few tools that they don't make for the new set like the little vacuum
Another feature of the Milwaukee 18v batteries is the battery charge indicator on each battery. Nice to know which battery to grab and which to charge.
For woodworking purposes, I've never seen the need to go bigger than the 12V systems. I love my Bosch 12V brushless drill and impact driver. They're small, light, and powerful enough for what I need.
If I need more juice, I might as well pull out a corded drill, which has the advantage of being both powerful and cheap.
The combo of 12V light tools and corded is the sweet spot for me. If I did more work outside or in the field, I might feel differently about the 18V systems, since they do offer more power and battery life. That all comes at the expense of size and weight though. Once you use something as small and light as the Bosch 12V, everything else feels incredibly clunky.
No matter which brand, the improvement in power storage, brushless motors and tool envy drive consumer choices. I use my drill-driver all the time. And, when setting screws it is nice to have a drill chuck set with the pilot drill set in one and the phillips #4 in the other driver. The tools that I use the most should be the best I can afford. How many one or two use tools do I have? I admit to some HF/Central Pneumatic tools that I use infrequently-but it is nice to have occasionally. Maintenance costs are a given on all tools. Some lower cost tools become obsolete and are not really something to maintain. At some point, obsolete lower cost tools just get replaced. I still have corded tools and reach for them on the right job. I just hang on to the tools, wrenches and stuff over the years. I have a new mantra that I am trying to follow: I am investing in divesting. I have tools that I have not used for years. And, I need to divest those to some person that can use them. The value at a yard sale for the collection of wrenches and tools is small compared to a person that could actually use them. Thanks for the thoughts. Brian
Some of the brands have provided an upgrade path to the LIon batteries by simply offering a new charger. I bought a set of Ryobi tools at least 25 and maybe closer to 30 years ago that I am still using because their new LIon batteries work in them so I haven't had to get rid of my tools yet. I think that I started switching to LIon about 10 years ago and just had my first battery go bad. One advantage of the LIon is a better power (AH) to weight ratio. This is important if you are spending hours drilling or driving many screws in an uncomfortable position. I think that Dewalt offered a LIon upgrade path for their 18V old tools with their XRP line but later decided to switch to a new form factor and call it 20v.
BTW, note that 20v LIon batteries are really exactly the same battery pack as the ones labeled 18v. Internally, there is no difference so don't let that labeling make you think that 20v batteries are better. They are not.
I think cordless tools have reached a watershed moment.
Almost all of my tools are corded. I usually have access to a power socket and I have a buncha long 12 AWG extension cords. I tried cordless tools and almost always abandoned them quickly - whether I had one or three batteries, there always came a point where all batteries were drained and I had to pause the job for (up to) hours while they recharged. No matter how many batteries, no matter how many chargers, no matter how big the capacity of batteries, you could not charge batteries in the time it took to discharge them.
With the advent of Li-ion batteries (more capacity with less weight, quicker charge times) AND brushless DC motors (better efficiency, less weight and size for the same power brushed) I finally feel that battery powered tools are useful to me. I now own 3 different cordless tools and there may be more in my future. With 3 batteries and 2 chargers, I can keep ahead of one tool for continuous use.
As for the old cordless tools (2 nicad brushed drills) I donated them to a church group that does home repairs for the poor - they are always desperate for tools and short of funds.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
LumberJocks Woodworking Forum
2.5M posts
96K members
Since 2006
A forum community dedicated to professional woodworkers and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about shop safety, wood, carpentry, lumber, finishing, tools, machinery, woodworking related topics, styles, scales, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!