[Shop-talk] Battery-operated tools

[Arvid]

Having faced the same situation about a year ago. My beloved Panasonic 
battery packs died and I did not want to rebuild them yet again. I 
decided on the Milwaukee brushless series of tools.

I have the M12 brushless 12v drill and the brusheless impact driver plus 
the right angle drill [not brushless but it was a 'free' add-on to the 
12v drill purchase and I've used it more than I thought I would]. All 
are very light yet quite powerful. There are two different size battery 
packs. One is 2ah and is the same size as the handle of the drill. As 
such it is very small and light but the battery lasts considerably 
longer than 90% of the jobs I use it for. For 5% of the remaining I use 
the 4ah battery which is the 'standard' flat bottom battery which allows 
you to set the drill down using the bottom of the battery pack as a stand.

For the final 5% of the jobs I have the M18 brushless 18v drill, 
drill-driver, saws-all and portaband. They all take the 5ah battery and 
the drill has enough torque to easily break things [both organic and 
inorganic] if I do not pay attention to what I am doing.

I am not suggesting that Milwaukee is any better nor worse than the 
other brands. Just that I am happy with them.

I think Li-ion batteries is a given. As other have suggested, get one 
brand and share batteries. I bought several as 'complete kits' so I 
ended up with three chargers and multiple batteries. The rest were "tool 
only" purchases. For what ever reason I see a lot of new or very lightly 
used stuff on Craig's List in our area so the financial impact has not 
been as great as it could have been.

I would highly recommend brushless not mater the brand.

Given the improvements in Li-ion batteries and especially the brushless 
motors you may find that the 12v versions will do everything you need 
while being very light and easy to use.

Arvid

> ------ Original Message ------
>
> From: Bob Spidell
> To: Shop Talk
> Sent: April 9, 2016 at 2:12 PM
> Subject: [Shop-talk] Battery-operated tools
>
> Folks,
>
> I realize this is like bringing up 'best oil' or 'best tires' on a car
> list, but I'm in the market for a battery drill/driver/sander/etc. combo
> to replace my ancient--but still working--Makita 9V driver-drill.  I
> want something with all the 'goodies;' I'll need the usual driver/drill,
> but also need a portable sander (belt and/or disc), and at least the
> option for more attachments.
>
> I know I probably can't lose with DeWalt, Milwaukee, Makita or even
> Craftsman--hell, they might all come out of the same factory in China
> for all I know--but would like to see if there's a consensus on best
> overall.  Is more voltage always better, or is 14.4V better for some
> reason than 19.2V, etc.?    My main issue, and the reason I haven't
> retired the old Makita yet, is that the batteries always seem to lose
> capacity over time.  The 9V Makita is nickel-metal-hydride, and both the
> OEM--which are too expensive IMO--and cheap, off-brand aftermarket ones
> all lose charge when not used, and lose capacity after repeated
> charging.  I know Li-Ion is better, but a battery is a battery, and they
> all will lose some capacity over time.
>
> Any and all opinions, rants, etc. welcome.
>
> Bob
> _______________________________________________

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