Cordless tool kits

[Mike]

WIth my 10 year old HF impact wrench giving up (can't get the battery to work unless it's out of the "pack" and I know me some electronics hacking), I'm looking at getting into one of the 1 battery for-it-all kits. I have a hodge-podge of shitty/old corded tools whose value is negligible so I'll just throw those on CL or something.

Anyone have experience with these kits? I may not even go with a kit and instead build my collection up as my needs define.

The top brands I see reviewed: Makita, Bosch, Milwaukee.
Still seem to be good while saving some serious coin: Dewalt, Hitachi
Budget: Ryobi, Black and Decker, Porter-Cable, Kawasaki

I definitely don't want to go budget (read: really just B&D and P-C), but I'd also rather not drop $2k on the Makita kit when I won't be relying on this stuff for my livelihood.

18V seems the way to go, but 19.2V intrigues me. It seems 19.2V options are few and far between. Did it not catch on? Is it still pretty new (I know it's not)... What's the deal? 18V good enough?

The batteries. Do brands seem to keep a standard until the end of time? I don't want to get invested into this and five years down the line be without power (as I am with my HF impact).

I do know I want Li batteries...

HALP.

[davej]

Been buying dewalt 18v for about the last 7 or 8 years and no complaints. Original drill I started with is still trucking thru 2 house renovations. Just picked up a combo set of a drill, impact driver, sawzall and flashlight over black friday for 200. Had two batteries to add to the mix, so couldn't pass it up. All in all I've been real happy with them and the batteries last a while with continual use and charge in 20 min or so.

[FlaakCM]

I have to agree with Dave. Although I am not known for having good wrenches :roll:, I do have a DeWalt drill that came with 2 batteries and a set of drill bits that I picked up for a decent deal. When I did it installations for a living, I used that drill all day everyday and it never let me down. I still use it now around the house and it still works great. Like Dave said, it charges pretty quick as well.

[HAULN-SS]

I just bought a dewalt impact a while back and the guy told me then that the batteries were about to change or something. The black and decker firestorm line is awesome if you can find it. I have the half inch drill with quick change chuck and I love it. That's also what we used forever back in the day at the construction company

[CaptainHenreh]

The Dewalt 18v is still going strong, but now you can get Li-ion battery packs for them.

I love those blacknyellow tools, so +3 for DeWALT

[Kaan]

i'm on the black and yellow wagon. i've beat the crap out of my 1/2 impact over the last 6 months... lifts, hondas, wheel changes off road, garage stuff in general... i have one battery that is "funky" when it comes to charging. i have to make sure its sitting right but thats it.

i got the impact from amazon and then got the drill/2 batteries/charger combo on sale for $99 (its on sale every other week for this price) i have also used the drill a lot lately and its been great.

[Mike]

Kaan, which drill kit? <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=dewalt+cordless+drill">http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_ ... less+drill</a><!-- m -->

I see one with a single battery for $130, but NiCad.
With Li-Ion, $220.
The badass bare drill is $113.
A battery and charger solo is $140.

At current prices, I'd probably go badass bare drill + solo battery for $253 (package price is $300... wtf?)

But then...

Why not get it with 8 other tools (including the impact that I'd want) for $500 more? <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DCK955X-18-Volt-Cordless-9-Tool/dp/B001UHOUXK">http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DCK955X-18 ... B001UHOUXK</a><!-- m -->

I need to make a spreadsheet.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ai7eMc0DpJ-ydDYxNVJENm1kYmlwXzZtZTlXYW85a2c">https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc ... TlXYW85a2c</a><!-- m -->

I think it makes sense to just get what I need now (really just an impact since I have a functional B&D drill right now) and only buy more as my needs define.

[JustinG]

Dewalt. No issues with mine, purchased it in 08. Garage work along with simple homeowner crap. Batteries still holding as strong a charge as they always have.

My kit is the 18v, Drill, Sawzall, Circularsaw, Flashlight, 2batts and 1 Charger combo.

Id like to pick up the 1/2in impact and the jigsaw at some point. The impact driver is also a nice to have, especially for lag bolts/deck boards/subflooring.

Check HD/Lowes in the spring, they will probably do some specials on the combo packs when people start to get into home improvements projects, thats when I bought mine, I think it was sub $300 at the time.

[BLINGMW]

I know you said you didn't want to go budget, but I'll throw my 2 cents in anyway

I've had a Ryobi 18V kit (ni-cad) for about 3 years now, and am happy with it for casual use. Battery design hasn't changed (though I haven't needed new batteries), and the tools operate like new. For irregular use, it's been great, drill and sawzall have decent power. That being said, that 18V ni-cad dewalt cordless drill you linked to (we had one at work) probably has twice the torque. The rotary saw lasts like, 5 minutes on a charge, but I use it a couple times a year.

I see the lithium prices have come down, seems like a decent price:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-203466914/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=cordless+tools&storeId=10051">http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R ... reId=10051</a><!-- m -->

Don't forget about "Rigid" brand at Home Depot, I might put that in the "medium" category, it does also come with a lifetime warranty (I've not read the fine print). :dunno:

Also don't even look at the battery voltage rating, that's like looking at processor clock speed (IE, it doesn't mean much by itself).

(including the impact that I'd want)

Are you sure? It looks like it's rated in in-lbs. There's impact drivers for screws (which are awesome compared to a drill), that are usually rated in in-lbs, and then there's ones for cars (usually rated for a few hundred ft-lbs)

[CaptainHenreh]

My dad's Ryobi stuff sucks ass and he hates it. Whenever we do work together, my Dewalt (which I got like, 5 or 6 years ago...one of the first presents from my In-Laws) is used for drilling and driving, whereas his ryobi (less than 3 years old) is kept around just to screw in screws. It's trash, no offense.

[HAULN-SS]

Yeah, if you want an impact for car stuff, you dont want a 1/4" impact rated in inch lbs. That's what I found out when I was buying my impact - basically all of the kits dont come with the right impact driver. I ended up just buying the battery/charger solo, and the impact drill. I think it was about 250$ for those things.

[BLINGMW]

Agreed Rex, just depends on the use case. My dad's a contractor and if I were to go "work with my dad", I too would not bother to bring my tools. So Mike, if you might need to frame a wall, build a shed or a deck, then yes, stick with the mid-range. For around-the-house, occansional handyman, repair-a-peice-of-furnature type of thing, I think the Ryobi quality is fine, it's just half the price and half the power.

[Mike]

Yeah, I think that's the route I'm heading. I do know I want the 1/2". May pick up the smaller once once we've got a place to wrench on, but really 0 need for it now. Sucks that they don't have the nice drill + 1/2" impact in a combo pack :/

[Apoc]

What are these "cordless" kits you speak of. I'm using my grandfather's 30 year old corded drill that he splices a coiled cord onto!

I actually have a Ryobi but it doesn't hold a charge worth a damn so I generally end up using the corded one.

[BLINGMW]

doesn't hold a charge worth a damn

Actually, that's a good point, but I think that's true of most any ni-cad or nimh battery. If you leave it sitting for two months without a charge, it's not going to be ready next time. The lithuims apparently are much better about that.

[CaptainHenreh]

The "work" dad and I do together is dumb shit around my or his house. Not like, actual work for pay.

Mike, you've had half a dozen people say Dewalt...just sayin'.

[Mike]

I KNOW DEWALT. JUST YELLIN'!!!

[BLINGMW]

DE BEARS

[D_Eclipse9916]

My Ryobi has worked out awesome. I use the Ryobi one+ tools. Cheap (I consider these disposable since stuff at the track gets beat up/borrowed a LOT).

I have had the impact about a year, love how light it is and breaks off lug nuts and some fasteners. Still not a replacement for a breaker bar or a Snap-On 1/2 drive. I have used Dewalts, about the same power, feels sturdier, but is heavier. Never owned one myself, and I am not a contractor. I liked the availability of Ryobi in my local HD.

No problems out of my ryobi stuff (even though I expected it). After having my ryobi impact for about a year and a half, I finally went and got the rest of the setup (right-angle drill, drill, sawzall, angle grinder). Works great around the house and at the track. No problems during any of my renovations and track use.

[NTIman]

I like DeWalt pretty well. I have some 12v Lithium powered Porter-Cable tools that are awesome for their size, so I would certainly look at those too if I were going to buy some more cordless stuff.

If I could afford Milwaukee or Makita, I would go for those, but they seem to be out of my price range.