Best Cordless Power Tools

[bigredd]

This fits into the "etc." category of this forum. What's your favorite brand of cordless power tools and why. With all of the power tool companies now coming out with brushless motors, anyone have experience using these new tools? Is the advertised increases in motor life, run time and power real or just hype. And lastly, are the benefits worth the premium cost over standard 4 pole motor tools.

I have been lucky enough to be selected by Home Depot in their Seeds Program, which offers a variety of products "direct from the manufacturer" in exchange for an honest review. So far I've received several Millwaukee Fuel M18 and M12 products, along with the Ridgid 18 volt Xr4 Drill and Impact Driver Kit. I've been real impressed with the new Milwaukee Fuel Products. This month I'm getting a Milwaukee M18 Fuel 3/8" impact wrench kit (2654-22CT).

 

[ncpete]

My personal selection has been DeWalt. They were the only things we used on the flooring crews I used to work on, and that bled over to my personal selection. Almost all 18V, not working in the trades now, my wife gives me fits when I tell her I need to pick up the SWEET lithium batteries they have for these now (my XRP batteries have died from non use). I have 9.6v DW screwdrive/drills and they never miss a beat for me.

Were I to restock the entire shop right now, I would get the 20V Max stuff they have out now. Great power and performance, very light weight compared to the 18v products.

All my sanders, save one PC are yellow, too, and many of my corded tools are also yellow, though I do have a sweet Hitachi router, and a Bosch Pony.

My brother in law was a test engineer at the Black&Decker/DeWalt plant here in Fayetteville. In his experience with tools, he was most impressed with the Hitachi stuff on the test bench. They ran a reciprocating saw test, with PC, DW, and Hitachi (those are the brands I remember - but there were others as part of the batch), with 5# weights hanging off a saw-blade tang, running wide open until something broke. The PC's were all done within 20 hours. The DW's were hanging on upwards of 60 hours averaged. The Hitachi's were finally taken off the bench at over 120 hours, and when torn down showed NO remarkable signs of internal wear. At least for recip saws, Hitachi is the benchmark product B&D/DW uses now.

 

[bigredd]

I've always been a Dewalt cordless owner, but I must say Milwaukee's new line of brushless M18/M12 Fuel tools are just awesome. The two M12 tools (screwdriver and 1/2" drill/driver) I've reviewed have power ratings approaching 18 volt tools with half the weight and bulk. The brushless motor also last all day without a recharge.

I also have the Milwaukee M18 Fuel (2604-22) hammer drill/driver, which has best-in-class power and runs all day on the new 4 amp-hour batteries. Dewalt is slowly moving toward brushless and Makita has limited offerings.

 

[zogger]

My personal selection has been DeWalt. They were the only things we used on the flooring crews I used to work on, and that bled over to my personal selection. Almost all 18V, not working in the trades now, my wife gives me fits when I tell her I need to pick up the SWEET lithium batteries they have for these now (my XRP batteries have died from non use). I have 9.6v DW screwdrive/drills and they never miss a beat for me.

Were I to restock the entire shop right now, I would get the 20V Max stuff they have out now. Great power and performance, very light weight compared to the 18v products.

All my sanders, save one PC are yellow, too, and many of my corded tools are also yellow, though I do have a sweet Hitachi router, and a Bosch Pony.

My brother in law was a test engineer at the Black&Decker/DeWalt plant here in Fayetteville. In his experience with tools, he was most impressed with the Hitachi stuff on the test bench. They ran a reciprocating saw test, with PC, DW, and Hitachi (those are the brands I remember - but there were others as part of the batch), with 5# weights hanging off a saw-blade tang, running wide open until something broke. The PC's were all done within 20 hours. The DW's were hanging on upwards of 60 hours averaged. The Hitachi's were finally taken off the bench at over 120 hours, and when torn down showed NO remarkable signs of internal wear. At least for recip saws, Hitachi is the benchmark product B&D/DW uses now.

That is pretty interesting!

I just looked, no battery operated chainsaw yet though.

 

[Milkweed Seed]

The new milwaukee M18 fuel line is pretty sweet IMO. I like their radio with the iPod dock too.

 

[HD2010]

I have always had good luck with Millwaukee.

 

[bigredd]

Recently got a Milwaukee 2655-22, 18 Volt Fuel 1/2" Impact Wrench. Also have the 2654-22, which is the 3/8" version. They have 3 torque settings and run for days without a charge. Awesome tools.

 

[KenJax Tree]

I have the Rigid X4 drill and impact driver,its not the best but it works great for what i use it for.

 

[jmatteau]

Not being in a trade and just using my power tools for homeowner use, I have found Ryobi to be pretty decent. Batteries are cheap and so far my Drills, Sawzall, circlular saw, sander, flashlights, etc have all held up well and the drills gets lots of use.

 

[DavdH]

DeWalt for extreme use.

 

[memory]

I am not very impressed with Dewalt. I bought the 4pc 18v kit years ago, can't remember exactly how long ago, circular saw, sawzall, drill/hammer drill and the light. I have been pleased with everything except for the drill. I have had the original drill rebuilt twice at the dewalt store. That drill is not working at all right now, I got tired of having it fixed all the time so I ended up buying another drill to replace that one. And I am having issues with that one as well. It does the job fine but throws out sparks really bad when you let off the trigger fast. I am not sure if that means it is about to go out or what.

Every time I read threads like this, everybody says Dewalt is the best but I am not pleased with them. We are not in a trade but do use them on a dairy farm but I wouldn't say they are abused.

I didn't realize this until recently but Dewalt is made by Black and Decker. IMO, Black and Decker seems like a cheap company.

If I had the money, I would consider buying a different set although I am not sure what I would get. It seems the new Milwaukee line is getting good reviews. Somebody that we know has a Makita set, not sure how old or new but she says the batteries will out last any of them.

 

[peakbagger]

I have the older Milwaukee 28 volt system, when they first came out the sets were somewhat reasonable but they are quite priced these days. The batteries last a long time between charges and they have the same power as most corded tools. My drill is starting to show the hard life, its been dropped a few too many times but that is the operator not the tool.

 

[Fifelaker]

For drills my vote goes to Panisonic!!! I have used all of them at one time or another and the Panisonic is by far the best I have ever used. $$$$ but worth it if you use it a lot.

 

[OLD MAN GRINDER]

Since i am in the market for a cordless impact wrench to change the pockets on my stump grinder which are torq to 150 ft lbs i have been doing a lot of research, this is what i have come up with,
all are 18volt with batteries and charger..

bosch 500 ft lbs, very expensive 450.00 with very good reviews..
milwaukee 450 ft lbs, 379.00 very good reviews..
dewalt 300 ft lbs 329.00 mixed reviews..

talked to quite a few salesman at home depot, lowes and northern tool, they all rated the
milwaukee #1 and dewalt #2, milwaukee 5 yr warranty, best of all of them, there is also snap-on and quite a few others but cost is out of my reach, also the hitachi has some good points...

I bought a titan 280 ft lbs and it would not even loosen the pocket bolts, so i returned it, bought it from summit racing equipment online, they offered an exchange but i opted for money back as i now have no faith in it, now waiting for them to credit my account b4 i make the final decision on which one to buy, but it looks like it will be the milwaukee. i will let everyone know what i get and how it works out, 450 ft lbs ought to handle just about any need i would have...

I had allways thought b4 i did the research that dewalt was the best but i have now changed my mind, big diff between 300 and 450 ft lbs for about the same money...

Getting tired of using a breaker bar when in the field, kinda hard on my old arms too LOL..

Bob....

 

[AKDoug]

My most used cordless tools are 1/4 drive impact drivers. Everything from wood screws, to roofing screws, taking apart small equipment, driving 6" timberlock screws. I use them every day. I have a DeWalt 20V, a Milwaukee 18V, and a Makita 18V.. all with lithium ion. The DeWalt is the lightest and most compact of the bunch, and it stomps the other two soundly. The Milwaukee and Makita are fantastic tools, but the DeWalt wins in this catagory.

 

[XSKIER]

OLD MAN,
You'll be happy with Milwaukee 2663. I've had one for four years with occasional use. They say the new red batteries are way better, but I don't have any yet. Milwaukee M18 tools are no joke, they are right next to corded tools for power. I also own the circ saw, sawzall, 4 1/2" angle grinder, 1/2" compact drill, and 3/8" compact impact (used daily professionally). My 3/8" compact was rebuilt once by Milwaukee, but is still going strong after five years.

 

[ChopperDan]

I've had good luck with the 18 volt Makita line. I have the 1/2" impact gun and works great.


Dan

 

[labdad]

I'm not much of a carpenter but for all my projects I have been using Ridgid brand and now they have the lifetime warranty on their batteries. I recently got a impact driver and couldn't believe how much torque it had for such small size.

 

[Cerran]

I am not very impressed with Dewalt. I bought the 4pc 18v kit years ago, can't remember exactly how long ago, circular saw, sawzall, drill/hammer drill and the light. I have been pleased with everything except for the drill. I have had the original drill rebuilt twice at the dewalt store. That drill is not working at all right now, I got tired of having it fixed all the time so I ended up buying another drill to replace that one. And I am having issues with that one as well. It does the job fine but throws out sparks really bad when you let off the trigger fast. I am not sure if that means it is about to go out or what.

Every time I read threads like this, everybody says Dewalt is the best but I am not pleased with them. We are not in a trade but do use them on a dairy farm but I wouldn't say they are abused.

I didn't realize this until recently but Dewalt is made by Black and Decker. IMO, Black and Decker seems like a cheap company.

If I had the money, I would consider buying a different set although I am not sure what I would get. It seems the new Milwaukee line is getting good reviews. Somebody that we know has a Makita set, not sure how old or new but she says the batteries will out last any of them.

Was the Dewalt stuff you bought the consumer stuff or the DeWalt Industrial line? The standard stuff is on par with Craftsman homeowner stuff.

That being said I'm very Partial to Makita given that I have a few of their power tools that I've had since early high school and are approaching 25 years old and still doing fine.

 

[Wiz]

Panasonic makes the best !/2 in drill. The 14 volt lithium . is as powerful as the others 18 volt I use mine every day. I open and close a lathe chuck with it set on 17.
The impacter has 3 settings and it is my go to impact gun. For the hard to get to places I bought an Hitachi right angle impactor, I don't know of any other brand of right angle impacter. The Hitachi got a good workout recently and I was very impressed. The older dewalts were big, heavy and bulky. I do have a Makita white Drill and impactor The reason I bought the Makita because they have a nice varity of tools that the others don't have. The Vacuum cleaner, the battery powered blower. If you want to get a fire going real good and real fast aim the blower at it and pull the trigger. Turns your campfire into a blast furnace. They also have some nice lights and a radio. The Panasonic's are hard to find locally. the big box stores don't have them. A pro tool supplier or online supplier is how to get them. I have a lot of older Milwaukee corded tools but they are not the same as the crap they are making in China.