cordless power.......

[celica9303]

Do you guys like the cordless screwdrivers/impact drivers? In my shop we do a lot of little stuff so they come in handy(battery installs, trim removal/installation, gm lug caps(hate those stupud things)). Im always finding my self borrowing one from another tech

Which brand do you like? Makita seems to reign supreme in the shop( preety sure that's because our independent tool rep can get em)

Bosch seems legit according to the review of the ps21/ps41 combo
Milwaukee?
Dewalt?
Craftsman nextec?
Snap-on(cringe at price)
Matco infinum(again cringe on price)

[grimmythereaper]

i have used dewalt sinse high school when i was building sets for plays but also used snap on when i worked at mobile one so ill go with those two, lol

[klapa]

I have Ryobi 18V stuff bought from Home Depot - just for drills and flashlights - everything else I use is air powered.

I like the Ryobi because the batteries seem to be the cheapest.

The batteries are the "Catch-22" of these tools, as often to buy new batteries cost close to the same as buying a new tool with a new battery included.

[Luni]

I personally own Ryobi with the lithium ion batteries. I keep those at my GFs house. In my garage my roommate/landlord/buddy owns Makita stuff. We have the 1/2 impact, the drill and hammer/impact drill, sawzall, etc.

90 percent of all my stuff can be done with the hammer/impact drill or the 1/2 impact. I havent had to hook my pneumatic impact up to the air compressor for a long time.

I love cordless power tools.

[celica9303]

Im looking at the lithium ion stuff, my 19.2v nicad craftman drill sucks for batterylife.

Forgot to mention im talking about the 7.2v-12v tools.

[celica9303]

I was just at sears due to a broken gearwrench i had to replace. Anyway i looked at the nextec stuff,quality seemed top notch! Drill driver/impact driver set was $109 on sale i believe.

Ergonomics were consistant with the makita stuff ive been using at work, slightly different maybe a bit bigger not huge though.
Also a slew of other tools that use the same batteries. Also full charge only takes 30mins which is nice.

Gonna get hands on experience with the other brands before i make a decision.

[Luni]

All of my stuff is 18v lithium ion.

I wouldnt roll anything less. Id rather go without for a little longer and save a little more money for something that will work better, last longer and make me happy.

Dont settle for lower than 18v IMO.

[celica9303]

Size is my biggest issue, still gotta fit in my box......for at home hell yeah 18v and up allthe way

[Luni]

Just remember in the electrical world voltage is what performs work.

So, if you have 2 devices, 1 a 12v and 1 a 18v, the 18v will need less amps drawn against it to perform the same amount of work. This equates to more work done over time with better battery life on the 18v device. Also, if you amp draw is increase, the output will increase (volts x amps).

I couldnt see a substantial difference in size enough to make me want to settle on a lesser device. From what Ive seen, theyre all about the same size regardless of voltage requirements.

[MCcelica]

I use an 18v Skill (Black and Decker) that I picked up years ago. Between my buddy's Makita and my Skill, we managed to put together a deck on his house. Built from scratch no less. It only took us a couple days start to finish too. I like it because it has a charge indicator on the batteries (came with two), it has an LED on the base that's aimed right for where the bit of the drill would be, and that's come in handy more than a few times. It also came with a removable screw in handle for the really tough ones (added stability and power), and a bit sizer. All fit into one nice little case. Only takes about an hour to get a full charge, but that's about the time the other battery wears out. It's a boss.

[Murgatroy]

Like Klapa and Luni, I have an 18v Ryobi.

[BabyBear]

I have some Makita drills and what not. I think its the same set thats in Luni's garage. Love those things. They were hand-me-downs from my brother who used them to install counter tops professionally for 2 years and they still work great.

[Lonestag]

So I have a $50 gift card for Sears and I really want to pick up a little cordless impact driver but all the nut driver bits they offer are non-metric.

Is there a reason for this? I'm sure their have to be nut driver bits out there in metric... What am I missing?

Home depot was the same way, same with autozone... do I just need to move up an echelon in my retail outlets or what?

[Luni]

I just have a 1/4 inch and 3/8 inch deally that sticks into the end of the impact driver that I can put whatever sockets on I want.

[Lonestag]

I know thats a possibility, does it lock on very well? Don't you gain a little height when you do that?

[buffalohunter7321]

To chim in on this subject, I have the old Ryobi HHHHeavy drill 18v. and I have the Makita impact 18v.. I'll use my Makita hands down over my old Ryobi. The Makita only takes around 15 min. to recharge and are lithium ion. I've used it from putting on metel roofs to working on my cars and hanging Doors. It is going on three years since I bought it and it is on the orginal batterys. It has my vote.

[Luni]

Yeah, it locks on. The impact driver I have has a spring loaded chuck mechanism so it just clicks in. It only accepts the hex style interface bits, and it works like a boss.

[david in germany]

I use a 18v hitachi and love it. I would not hesitate to compare it to Mikita quality. It is in the same price range as the Mikita as well so it better work good!


Posted from Imperial walker 17a via planetary datcom server

[METDeath]

I will +1 the DeWalt stuff, I have a 300+ ft/lbs impact from them and it works great when I go to yards.

[buffalohunter7321]

How big is the DeWalt impact? How much does it weight? It sounds like I might need one of those.

[METDeath]

It's a beast... I have the DEWALT DW059K-2 18-Volt NiCad 1/2-inch Cordless Impact Wrench Kit

and it weighs in at... (no lie) 14.7 pounds.


Edit: Actually, that's apparently the ship weight.

[Doowstados]

My Dad (who was a smog tech and then a master tech for many years before he died) always swore by Makita for battery powered tools. I've always used his old ones with no issues, all of them on 15 year old NiMH batteries still holding up fine.

[Nitro_Alltrac]

That is very impressive battery life.

[Shadowlife25]

My father used Makita stuff for years, I did also. Then after 20 years he went with Ryobi and Dewalt.
Honestly any of those are great choices, the only thing to look at is pricing for batteries. Make SURE you buy at least 1 additional battery pack.
If you can work it so that you have 3-4 battery packs available to you, do it. This will let you use it for a full work day and still rotate your cells and ensure a long service life.

Size to fit in a bag is no big deal. Go with the highest working Voltage possible, like Luni said. It will serve you best, especially in an automotive environment.

[The Captain]

I like Dewalt. You can always find non-oem batteries on ebay cheap. They wanted $100 for new oem shitty ass NiCd batteries. I bought two nickel metal batts with triple the storage capacity for half that.