Sawzall Battery Won't Keep a Charge

[TNTreeHugger]

That's the down-side to power tools that are battery powered. Sooner or later, the batteries will go dead and you'll soon find out just how really expensive they are to replace.

I have some DeWalt battery powered tools. The batteries in them are the old school Ni-Cad. They "seem" to hold up a bit better ten the Li-On batteries do. Maybe it's just my imagination too?

Yes, cordless power tools are handy, but they will cost you money to keep um going.

True, and I had no idea just how expensive they are. heck, they're just like the ink cartridges for printers - when it goes empty, you might as well just buy a new printer rather than replace the ink. ... well, almost. Depends on the quality of the printer.

 

[1Alpha1]

True, and I had no idea just how expensive they are. heck, they're just like the ink cartridges for printers - when it goes empty, you might as well just buy a new printer rather than replace the ink. ... well, almost. Depends on the quality of the printer.

Yes, that's one of the scams in the power tool industry that they don't like to talk about. Over-priced replacement batteries and the fact, that every few years, they come out with a new design of tool that make all previous ones obsolete.

I'll keep the cordless tools that I have, but there's no way in Hell I'm going to buy a new one, only to find out that in a few years, the battery I need for it is now no longer available.

Either that, or I'm going to start buying the el cheapo versions @ Harbor Freight, get a year or two of service, then just toss um when the batteries start going bad.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Yes, that's one of the scams in the power tool industry that they don't like to talk about. Over-priced replacement batteries and the fact, that every few years, they come out with a new design of tool that make all previous ones obsolete.

I'll keep the cordless tolls that I have, but there's no way in Hell I'm going to buy a new one, only to find out that in a few years, the battery I need for it is now no longer available.

Either that, or I'm going to start buying the el cheapo versions @ Harbor Freight, get a year or two of service, then just toss um when the batteries start going bad.

Yup. That's pretty much the same conclusion I came to in deciding to keep the one I have, rather than buy one more expensive and "better."

 

[Bedford T]

230 minutes runtime with this pair

 

[Thefishguy77]

As someone who uses battery powered tools for work I vote for dewalt or Milwaukee. Brushless is the only way to go. I have cooked batteries in the past by putting them on a charger and forgetting about them. Lesser brands don't have a shut off feature when they are fully charged.

I tried Bosch and they make what I would call a really good homeowner grade but not contractor grade stuff.

Brushless will net you the biggest improvement no matter the battery size.

A small homeowner saw will also help cover what battery tools just aren't designed for. MS210 or 250 is super easy to manage. They sip fuel and also double and a great limb cleanup saw for down trees.


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[TNTreeHugger]

View attachment 573706 View attachment 573707 230 minutes runtime with this pair

That don't look like a sawzall to me.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

As someone who uses battery powered tools for work I vote for dewalt or Milwaukee. Brushless is the only way to go. I have cooked batteries in the past by putting them on a charger and forgetting about them. Lesser brands don't have a shut off feature when they are fully charged.

I tried Bosch and they make what I would call a really good homeowner grade but not contractor grade stuff.

Brushless will net you the biggest improvement no matter the battery size.

A small homeowner saw will also help cover what battery tools just aren't designed for. MS210 or 250 is super easy to manage. They sip fuel and also double and a great limb cleanup saw for down trees.


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Appreciate the advice.
Already had the chain saw discussion though:
http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/advice-on-purchasing-a-new-chain-saw.297162/

 

[1Alpha1]

I think I've seen battery powered "Sawzall" type saws @ Harbor Freight for about $35.00 or so.

 

[1Alpha1]

That don't look like a sawzall to me.

Nope, and knowing Stihl like we all do, I'm sure it's expensive.

 

[Thefishguy77]

I would check homedepot and lowes or other big box stores. Usually in spring they do a big buy in and put it on sale. I got my big dewalt chop saw for 399 vs 599 regularly priced. After depot stopped the sale lowes started it. My buddy bought his dewalt brushless stuff at the same time for a significant amount off. Also the best prices I found on Milwaukee stuff was at a small plumbing shop that just wanted to be a dealer for the plumbers tools. So they sold their stuff just above cost to maintain their dealership status. They don't advertise prices probably because they are way below MSRP.

Amazon might also have the same deals.


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[rayjay257]

To the OP, I just bought a cordless Stihl MSA120C homeowner chainsaw. $299 is the price. I used it to clear out some saplings, vines and an 8" tree last week. The thing impresses the heck out of me. It probably only weighs a couple of more pounds than the sawzall but will do a LOT more. 3 year warranty. One thing, even though it's heavier it's far easier to use than a sawzall. It never fights you like a sawzall will so you end up getting more work done in the same amount of time.


As an aside, I also just bought a cordless sawzall . I have a Black & Decker 18V blower and string trimmer and 3 fairly fresh batts. On CL, for $20, I scored a B&D sawzall that uses these batts. I bought a Bosch blade assortment for $10 that has a couple of suitable pruning type blades. In trying it out it did OK.

http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/stihl-msa120c-cordless.310022/#post-6259963

 

[Franny K]

There are different sizes of those batteries and the kits most likely come with the relatively small ones. I would suspect that the cells inside the batteries are pretty much the same. I clicked on the link in post 1 and it says one standard size battery, they do not even give an amp hour on it. If you can get that circular saw to work on some of the stuff I bet you will get a lot farther per charge.

 

[Ted Jenkins]

There are several threads on this topic here. Whenever there is any kind of battery sale I buy them up to put back in the old cases. This process can take some effort though. A few years ago there was a company that would send me after market Dewalt batteries, but can not find them any more. Then I ran into a company that refurbished batteries and guess what the are gone too. The new Ion batteries are pretty good though they can bring life back to your tools. BTW if you want your batteries to go south quick use the quick charge option. Slow charging will allow batteries to last a very long time. Thanks

 

[Franny K]

Yes, that's one of the scams in the power tool industry that they don't like to talk about. Over-priced replacement batteries and the fact, that every few years, they come out with a new design of tool that make all previous ones obsolete.

I'll keep the cordless tools that I have, but there's no way in Hell I'm going to buy a new one, only to find out that in a few years, the battery I need for it is now no longer available.

Either that, or I'm going to start buying the el cheapo versions @ Harbor Freight, get a year or two of service, then just toss um when the batteries start going bad.

I can still get the 9.6 volt batteries for my Makita driver drill from about 25 years ago and it had been out for a while at the time I got it.

Just a reminder the batteries are not to be tossed they are to be recycled. Same for the tool if the battery is not separate.

From talking to folks in the trades over the last year or so it seems the fines for rule infractions associated with chords and electrical junction boxes that now have to be ground fault, and the negotiation process in getting those fines reduced make the battery tools the sensible choice as much as possible.

 

[1Alpha1]

I don't toss batteries that have gone bad. I have a box for them. Some of them still look like new. They just won't hold a charge. I have quite a few in that box.

I'm not at the point yet where I feel comfortable "giving them away" so that they can be recycled. To me, they should be worth something, even if they are going to be recycled.

Hell, even old car batteries are worth a few bucks to the right people.