Comanche County Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 What cordless tools do you guys recommend? I bought a set of craftsman cordless tools a few years ago and they've been okay. The tools themselves work fine, but the batteries aren't the most reliable. I've found the Lithium Ion 19v were nice and strong but only lasted 6 months. The NiCad batteries are weaker but seem to last a little longer. But I'm tired of taking them back on returns. I've resurrected a few by zapping them with my mig welder but they died soon after also. Was thinking of buying the individual batteries from Radio Shack and putting them in the cases. Honestly, I think every NiCad batteries on the market are essentially the same thing. What luck with other brands have you guys had? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strokermjcomanche Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 I buy everything Rigid . The batteries , motors , chargers , switches , chucks are guaranteed for life . The only thing they don't cover is abuse . They are a bit extra money but I figure I'll never have to buy another so why not . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yxmj Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Milwaukee ...M12.......Strong but the tools are light and easy to use....Lithium ion batteries charge fast and last long. (I also Have the Rigid 12 volt ......most do not know it but Milwaukee, Rigid and Ryobi are all made from the same parent company....Just different tiers.....Like Black and Decker and Dewalt ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 the batteries that craftsman sells just flat out suck. :( don't know what they're doing wrong, but they need to stop. I have an assortment of their tools but refuse to buy another battery. :fs1: My father invested in a Dewalt 18volt nicad tool kit (drill/sawzall/circ saw) a few years back and the tools and batteries are all still going strong. :thumbsup: I've heard their 20 volt lithiums are also very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuddFoot Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 i have the kobolt 18v lithium drill and inpact driver set came with 2 batteries the drill is great the impact driver i could not live without. i bought socket adapters and take it with me to the junk yard helps me pull all kinds of parts pulled my whole front clip with it. it won't take out every bolt but most everything ive pulled has been under 15mm bolts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadinator Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 I have the craftsman 19.2 as well. Ok not great. The batteries lasted me a couple of years before crapping out. Questions: 1. Do you charge them when they are practically dead or just when you are done? 2. Do you remove them from charger when charged or leave them on until you need them? Just curious. I do not always do what i should, but there is a process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comanche County Posted January 20, 2015 Author Share Posted January 20, 2015 Yeah there's supposed to be a memory function in the craftsman batteries. Not really sure how it is supposed to work. I'm really not consistent with how I charge them either. Sometimes they're dead sometimes not when I put them on the charger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuddFoot Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 with the lithium batteries says not to charge till there dead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue XJ Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 I am going on 3+ years with my Ryobi lithium ion bateries. I've had the tool longer but got 4 new batteries for Christmas a while ago, I have no complaints. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexia Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 I am going on 3+ years with my Ryobi lithium ion bateries. I've had the tool longer but got 4 new batteries for Christmas a while ago, I have no complaints. I have five years on my Ryobi Lithium Ion batteries and they still hold a decent charge. I have abused the drill from the original kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Automan2164 Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Makita 18V Lith Ion. I have the drill, impact driver, grinder, sawzall, LED flashlight, and 1/2 impact. Battery life is great, tools are strong and take a beating. Great for the yard and around the garage. We have pretty much the same setup at work. We had some money left in the budget at the beginning of summer and had to replace some aging DeWalt and a Snap on 1/2 impact. They have been in a fleet garage as mainline tools for 7 months and have not missed a beat. The 1/4 impact driver actually had enough balls to take off the 22MM lug nuts on our 3/4 ton Duramax in the shop. I have had comments from the other departments about how they prefer the power and tool than the Milwaukee/DeWalt/whatever brand they might have. I did end up cooking a battery at home, but that is because I left it on the charger for a long period of time (months) and at some point, the cooling fan had succumbed to dust and the battery was toast. Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyav8r Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Dewalt 20V lithium ion. 3/8" drill, 1/2" drill and 1/4" impact driver at home. We also use Dewalt in our industrial repair shop and service department. They take a LOT of abuse and keep working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boots Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Milwaukee all the way... I've used a lot of the different brands but my toolboxes are full of Milwaukee 12volt and 18volt. The tools have a 5 year warranty and the batteries have a 3 year warranty. If you use them everyday you might look into the Fuel series, they're lighterweight and have brushless motors so they have more power and use less battery. I've used Makita and they were alright, but I wasn't overly impressed. Dewalt is atleast as popular in the construction industry as Milwaukee, I don't think they feel as durable though. I used a friends Ridgid impact and drill a few weeks ago, and I have a Ridgid chop saw for cutting steel, and I will never buy another Ridgid tool. We used to have a craftsman drill in our travel trailer for odd things while camping and that thing was just about worthless, but maybe they are different now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91Pioneer Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 I've got the full set of DeWalt 20V Max stuff, it's awesome... http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0052MIL4S/ Prior to that I had the DeWalt 18V stuff, and before that I had a Craftsman Professional drill. When the charger stopped working and it was going to cost $130 for a new charger I decided to stay away from Craftsman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burls Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 the batteries that craftsman sells just flat out suck. :( don't know what they're doing wrong, but they need to stop. I have an assortment of their tools but refuse to buy another battery. :fs1: My father invested in a Dewalt 18volt nicad tool kit (drill/sawzall/circ saw) a few years back and the tools and batteries are all still going strong. :thumbsup: I've heard their 20 volt lithiums are also very good. My dad and I are in the same boat. We both bought craftsman 19.2 volt tools/batterys several years ago for the sake of commonality and we're both dealing with crap and dead batteries. :grrrr: My dad just bought this Porter Cable set for Lowes, he hasn't used it yet. I'm looking at this Porter Cable set (same batteries as my dad's), but I haven't made a up my mind yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbreiter Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 I use mastercraft (Canadian tire brand) 20 volt lithium ion. I have several drills, impact, and a saws all. I haven't had any real issues with any of them, and the batteries work good, had them for 2 years now. One thing about li-ion though, they don't like cold temperatures. Other than that I couldn't be happier with them. Especially seeing as how they are quite a bit cheaper than the big name brands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motorcharge Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Snap On at work, mostly Bosch at home though I have a lot of older DeWalt stuff. DeWalt has gone to $#!& since Black and Decker bought them and I used to love Millwaukee tools but the last set I bought for work when I was working construction fell apart on me pretty quickly and Millwaukee didn't care at all. I know Snap On is pricey for the average person who doesn't get the option of financing, but I'd absolutely pick one of these up if you can. https://store.snapon.com/CTS561CL-Series-Cordless-Screwdrivers-7-2V--Screwdriver-Cordless-7-2V-P646593.aspx Very reasonably priced for Snap On. I've had one for years and it's never let me down and been one of the best tools I've ever bought. Can handle anything 1/4" I throw at it, plenty of torque, durable, batteries last forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randomguy310 Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 look at what the amp hours are on the battery too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COFFMAN Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 Makita all the way....... :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockfrog Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 I'm still using a Ryobi drill from the 90's... And just recently upgraded it with another with a Li-ion battery and charger on sale for the cost of a battery. I like that the battery style has always been the same (meaning my old batteries fit the new drill and the new battery fits the old drill). And now all my other Ryobi cordless tools can be upgraded to Li-ion as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WiscoXJ Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Milwaukee is the only way to go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvzj Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 I have always had Dewalt some of my 18v batteries are going on 6 yrs old. I think the key to their longevity are that they were used everyday. Recently I have been purchasing Milwaukee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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