<div dir="ltr">You may have given up too soon. Have you tried modern Li-Ion tools? My experiences were like yours until the latest generation. But now I couldn't be happier after quite a long service life.<div><br></div><div>-Paul</div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Sun, Apr 10, 2016 at 11:52 AM, steve hochschild <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:steve-hochschild@att.net" target="_blank">steve-hochschild@att.net</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">I am raising my hand to mention that I have given up on battery powered tools. I have a huge collection of dead batteries, useless chargers, and drill carcasses that make me mad every time I look at them. I finally realized that all I really wanted was one of those very small battery screwdrivers, under $20, and regular, line-powered drills, etc.<br>
<br>
So feel free to save hundreds of dollars and for me, huge frustration, by buying an extension cord and a set of plug-in tools.<br>
<br>
How many dead batteries and useless chargers have we all accumulated in our shops, anyway?? Just an alternative opinion, feel free to ignore...<br>
<br>
Mr Grumpy<div class="HOEnZb"><div class="h5"><br>
<br>
<br>
On 4/10/2016 8:40 AM, David Scheidt wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
On Sat, Apr 9, 2016 at 11:02 AM, Bob Spidell <<a href="mailto:bspidell@comcast.net" target="_blank">bspidell@comcast.net</a>> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
Folks,<br>
<br>
I realize this is like bringing up 'best oil' or 'best tires' on a car list,<br>
but I'm in the market for a battery drill/driver/sander/etc. combo to<br>
replace my ancient--but still working--Makita 9V driver-drill. I want<br>
something with all the 'goodies;' I'll need the usual driver/drill, but also<br>
need a portable sander (belt and/or disc), and at least the option for more<br>
attachments.<br>
<br>
I know I probably can't lose with DeWalt, Milwaukee, Makita or even<br>
Craftsman--hell, they might all come out of the same factory in China for<br>
all I know--but would like to see if there's a consensus on best overall.<br>
Is more voltage always better, or is 14.4V better for some reason than<br>
19.2V, etc.?<br>
</blockquote>
Pick the one that comes in the color you like. I like red, so I have<br>
Milwaukee[1]. Consider brushless for your most used tools, they're<br>
lighter and more powerful, and the price differential is getting<br>
smaller. Careful buying kits, and make sure you get the version of<br>
the kit you want.[2] Some kits are good deals, some aren't.<br>
Drill/driver + something kits tend to be good values, as they're sold<br>
on the drug dealer 'first one is free' model. Others are more<br>
expensive than buying the tool and batteries separately. And once<br>
you've got a collection of batteries, you don't need one for every<br>
tool.<br>
<br>
<br>
Modern Li-ion batteries and tools are far superior to Ni-Cad or NiMH<br>
batteries and tools. Li-ion batteries have lower self discharge, so<br>
they stay charged better, and they have higher power densities, so the<br>
batteries last longer. They also have much lower internal<br>
resistance, so tools can take power out of them much faster. That<br>
means the current crop of high-end 12V stuff is better than any 19.2<br>
nicad tool, in nearly every respect: lighter, smaller, more powerful,<br>
and usually cheaper. The 18V stuff is amazing; my m18 fuel drill<br>
drills holes faster than my corded drill, which is a nice drill that<br>
I've never thought underpowered or slow.<br>
<br>
A note on voltages: the lithium cells used in the battery packs of<br>
these tools have a nominal voltage of 4v, which is closer to 3.6 under<br>
load. The 12V tools use 3 cells in series, the 18v tools use 5.<br>
(Dewalt's 20V stuff is 18V, the 20 is just marketing to make it sound<br>
better.) High capacity packs have two sets of cells in parallel.<br>
Name brand batteries have a pretty good life, and seem to last two to<br>
three years in professional use.<br>
<br>
<br>
[1]The actual reason i have Milwaukee tools is that I used to work<br>
with people who had them, and it meant I could borrow a tool I didn't<br>
own, and use my batteries on it.<br>
<br>
[2] I recently bought a drill/impact set. The version with the<br>
previous generation tools was still widely available, as was the early<br>
version of the kit I got, which came with lower capacity batteries.<br>
Both were more expensive...<br>
<br>
</blockquote>
<br></div></div><div class="HOEnZb"><div class="h5">
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