The cordless chainsaw discussion sent me down the general cordless power tool worm hole. There are a ton of options based on battery voltage etc. Lets get everyone's experience on the different brands/uses/voltage selections etc. Also any experience with the weight of the big tools (saws, impact/hammerdrill etc.) vs corded and gas models.

Best Brand in general? Reliability, service/warranty, availability of replacement batteries (seems like when my battery or charger dies the replacement is no longer available?)

Who has best/most versatile "system" - interchangeable and combine able battery systems?

Best Construction Tool brand - Circular saws, reciprocating saws, Nailer, etc.

Best Outdoor Equipment - Chainsaws, blowers, trimmers, lawn mowers

Best Light Duty - Drivers/drills/flashlights

Best "Accessories" - Unusual battery powered items - Lights, lamps, radios, etc.

General - Is it time to drop the cord all together and start the investment process of switching everything to cordless?

In my opinion cordless is great for recreational work. I had 2 cordless weedeaters and they were great for the 20min they would work.

I now have a corded weed eater. Also have a corded chainsaw.

If you have the money, Stihl all the way.

If they would make a cord adapter that i could plug in for longer jobs...

All of my tools are corded

I've had a ryobi cordless set for a long time and have been happy with the tools. The batteries have been the biggest problem. My drill finally went out so I got a Porter Cable combo drill and impact. Absolutely love those so far. Milwaukee is really good coming from my customers but expensive for recreational use, more for professionals.

I'm a Milwaukee fan. Friend of mine had all Milwaukee stuff and I was impressed with it so that's what I bought.

I've been pretty impressed with dewalt which is a little less expensive than milwaukee.

The most cost effective way to get into cordless tools is to get a combo pack and then add whatever other tools you want.

My father used Dewalt for years and was tired of having to replace the batteries. He switched to Rigid about 2 years ago and says he'll never use any other drill/sawzall/circular saw combo. He strictly uses this equipment for his side job as an electrician.
I don't know if I'll ever invest in a battery chain saw or weedeater.

The lithium ion technology is rapidly growing and getting less expensive as more and more companies grow their battery lines.

However, I thought my next weedeater would be cordless but those small gas echos are so cheap and reliable I couldn't turn it down. I would imagine they will compete neck and neck for a while, but lithium ion will probably win long term

I'd like to get the stihl battery chainsaw (MSA 160) for deer lease / habitat work . I like the idea being able to carry a saw in the woods without having to constantly crank it up over and over.

Stihl cordless hedge trimmer is on my list.

I've been happy with Dewalt cordless hand tools. I doubt I buy a corded hand tool ever again.

None of my 20v dewalts have let me down yet. Three drills (hammerdrill, impact, and non hammerdrill) , two saws, and a light. I have 5 batteries all still trucking. 1.5 ah and 3.0 ah.

EDIT: I will add that they are light weight compared to a lot of other stuff I've used. Made light work out of building a 10'x12' shed with an attic for my dad. The impact is my favorite tool in my collection.

Dewalt works hard. Tons of tool, lights etc choices to add. The 20 volts last a long time. My cordless saw just gutted several houses and going strong.

All of my employees use Dewalt which do the job and quite well. However, we are always buying new batteries for them. Constantly. For a little bit, I thought they might be stealing the batteries so I started asking for the bad ones. It's definitely the batteries.

The company doesn't buy tools for my position, so I use my personal Milwaukee tools. Being a supervisor, I do use them less than my guys, but I also use them pretty regularly at home. I've never had a battery issue with Milwaukee.

Once again, it's not quite apples to oranges, but it does give me pause on Dewalt. Dewalt and Milwaukee seem to have the most variety of battery operated tools. Ultimately, you'll probably be happy with any respectable brand (Dewalt, Milwaukee, Makita, Rigid, ect.) that you buy.

Chicken coop,

Not to d rail, but I wonder if you could go to one of those Batteries Plus Stores and get them to work a deal on rebuilding them for you. I know I had one rebuilt a couple few years ago, and they knew exactly what they were doing on their price. It was just attractive enough for you to rebuild it versus tell them to keep it and go buy a new battery.

But I am thinking with your volume, maybe they would work something with you.

I have no interest or affiliation with Batteries Plus. Just throwing it out there.

Milwaukee red 18v and 28v Li are the best overall tool sets I have found. I use them very heavily They last years for me. Dewalt isn't even in the ballpark. I have broken and worn out every single dewalt tool I have just doing spot duty when I wasn't doing heavy work with Milwaukee.

If you just want to do light stuff very occasionally and are good about battery maintenance then you might get by with dewalt.

For chain saws and weed eaters gas is the only way.

Then again I live on a ranch on the river and race cars when I can, so I am always way beyond the level of abuse that someone living in a suburban house is likely to ever see.

Same cbr. Every DeWalt tool I've used whether on the job or personal use I've broken. Milwaukee IMO is the best hands down. Porter Cable used to be good, but I haven't used a lot of theirs since college.

DeWalt and Porter Cable are owned by Black and Decker btw.

That's certainly interesting. Never even thought about that, but I'll look into it. Thanks!

Battery technology has come a long way in the last 15 years. People prematurely ruined a lot of NiCad batteries because they didn't understand the best way to manage them. Ideally you need to drain the battery completely before recharging it. Otherwise it starts to develop "memory" and the run time decreases rapidly when it is partially discharged/recharged.

NiMH, Lithium Ion and LiPo batteries don't have this problem, but LiPo batteries are especially finicky to charge because they are easy to screw up.

My Makita stuff is rock solid, but you can't really go wrong with the top brands. A lot of people like DeWalt but I think in years passed they've been hit or miss. That may have changed. Honestly -- DeWalt, Makita, Bosch, Milwaukee, etc., pick the one you like the ergos of the best and go with that.

As far as Ryobi and those lines, I think as with most types of products, all companies make at least ONE item that is really good. I wouldn't buy a set of Ryobis but if you keep hearing good things about one particular tool, it is probably pretty good -- especially for the price.

I've enjoyed my Milwaukee 18volt cordless tools. I bought the drill and impact combo which I've had about two years. Bought my dad the same combo about a year ago and neither of us have had issues yet, and both sets see extensive use.

The other plus I found, is the new line of cordless yard tools Milwaukee released. Got married in February a d with the HD gift cards I bought the cordless 18volt weedeater from Milwaukee. It's been AMAZING. Use it every week and no issues so far. Time of course will tell.

Really happy with my Ridgid 12 piece combo kit. I'm in the process of building a big outdoor kitchen at my house and it's been rock solid. So far I've used the drill, impact hammer, circular saw, job max with jigsaw, and job max with plunge cut blade. I love that the batteries have a lifetime warranty too.

Bought a Milwaukee combo drill pack earlier this year and very impressed. Save for an old cordless Bosch slim form drill, I've been leery of investing in cordless tools due to cost of batteries and lack of power. Strictly speaking as a hobbyist woodworker, not a professional.

I'm in the industrial construction business. I used to swear by DeWalt. However, since they got bought by B&D about 15 years ago, their quality has dramatically gone down.

I personally own Makita, primarily because the torque seems to be higher and their tools are pretty tough. Most of my crews that really use their tools buy Milwaukee.

My brother is a Makita fan. Me and him both bought new impact drivers about the same time. I bought the 20v dewalt, and he got the Makita. We used them side by side on a project, and they were almost identical. None of us could tell a difference between the tools, except the dewalt had a slightly brighter LED.

It was interesting that 2 tools from 2 different companies were so similar in almost every way.

Anyone have experience with the Dewalt Flexvolt tools? Seems like a cool idea, if the tools work well.

The War Dept recently purchased Ryobi weedeater, blower, and now hedge trimmer for me for the yard. Been happy with them. We are in a neighborhood with plenty of landscaping so battery life isn't an issue at all. The weed eater is a bit clumsy in the length and head angle, but I got used to it.

I will finally admit to her, no cord is pretty convenient. Haven't sacrificed much on brute power for yard tools, they seem to get the job done. Not sure on price versus longevity later on though.

Milwaukee, Ridgid and Ryobi are all made by the same company in china. They are not necessarily the same across the board, but often share the same features/parts.

Makita and Dewalt are my choice personally, but all of them are nice now days. Ryobi has so many strange tools that it is great for low use tools that are specialized. I can't complain about the one+ stuff for the price. They are damn near disposable.

I have an 18v DeWalt drill that has been used hard for the last 15 or so years...just keeps on ticking. I love the impact i bought as well. All of my stuff is 18v. Only real complaint is that batteries are hit and miss. I have one battery that I swear is original, all replacements are meh at best.

Wish that tools would be designed so that you didn't have to upgrade every single aspect of them if you want to go from 18v to 20v, etc.

Milwaukee is probably the best overall, from there it seems that blue and yellow are pretty close based on tools on my jobsites, never have seen a porter cable or black and decker on site.

Most power tools on job sites that I see are rigid brand. That's also what I use when doing home projects, albeit rarely.

Haven't had good luck with Dewalt batteries. My FIL uses Ryobi and hasn't had any issues, he uses the drill and saw pretty heavily.

How long do the battery powered weed eaters last?

My gas engine weed eater is having issues, and honestly I friggin hate the damned thing. Heavy, loud, vibrates like hell. All magnified because I hate weed eating as it is. I have a pretty long driveway and a lot of areas around the house that need to be maintained. Part of me wants to pay a landscaper to come once a month or every other week to do this work that I hate, part of me hates the idea of paying somebody for something I can do.

Was thinking of just getting a new weed eater - smaller and lighter Stihl or Echo, but if the battery powered tools are really that much better, I could be tempted to look at them.

I prefer gas powered.

Neches21 said:

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I'd like to get the stihl battery chainsaw (MSA 160) for deer lease / habitat work . I like the idea being able to carry a saw in the woods without having to constantly crank it up over and over.

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Bought an MSA 160 last month. Painful to the wallet but reviews were outstanding and I am so over gas maintenance. Immediately went home and carved up a fallen down tree in the back yard. Cut through like butter in minutes. Very quiet and still had 4 bars on the battery after 45 min or so.

Quote:

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since they got bought by B&D about 15 years ago

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DeWalt has been owned by B&D since 1960.

So many myths running around about these companies -- who they're owned by, where they're made, who they share facilities with/the factories that make multiple brands, etc. I'm not saying to ignore any of these assertions on here (or that they are all untrue), but I would say check it out further if it indeed would make a difference in your buying decision.

Any experience with either the Ego or Greenworks blower/trimmer? Looking at the Ego 56-volt set to replace my cheap corded blower. Any other battery powered outdoor equipment worth looking at?

I'm in the commercial construction industry and here's roughly what I see on job sites:

80% Milwaukee
15% Dewalt
5% Mikita

I personally have a sizable collection of Makita 18v Lithium Ion tools and I have nothing negative to say about them. Only had to replace 1 battery in ~10 years I've been running these tools. I like the reliability, power, ergonomics, and variety of the Makita tools. Highly recommend.