We went to Lowes on Sunday night and picked up a Skil 18 volt combo package. Circular Saw, Jig Saw, Drill, Flashlight, and "bonus" Car Vac. Just courius if anyone else uses cordless tools. Well, other then the obvious drill. I was more interested in the circular saw itself. Was up at the work site, no electricity of course, and discovered my needs out weighed my haves. Needed to cut some of my forms down, and well that pretty much put me out of business. Anyone else?
Chad
I own a similar package from Skil that I bought last year. Mine came with a 7 1/4"cordless circular saw, reciprocating saw, flash light and drill. ( A corded palm sander was included for free). I am not impressed with the circular saw, since it doesn't seem to have enough battery life or power to cut more than a few pieces of wood. In my personal experience the reciprocating saw works ok but again the battery life does limit your work. The drill is works great though. Just my two cents.
The saw is not meant to do much rough carpentry. That is why it is called a trim saw. I have the craftsman 19.2 and it works well for small things but when you start cutting big stuff it will not last long.
My 2cents
Kevin
I've got mostly DeWalt 18v tools.
Drills are a perfectly good use of 18 volts.
IMHO circular saws aren't--for the same reasons that everybody has said--and the topic has come up before. But if you've got one cut to make, it's easier to get it out of the case and cut instead of (if applicable) dragging out the extension cord. But that may also be true of the pull-stroke saws that are now available at the big box stores.
Jig saws (Rigid in this case) are a tiny bit better for some things than my corded one, but worse on most others--don't use it often enough to tell about battery life.
And don't bother with the sawzall type saw. Although I'm likely to use that for something that is probably a challenge--taking sidewalls off of tractor tires.
The advertising suggests that 24 v circular saws may--at a price--work almost as well as the corded. But at least with the DeWalt there is no backwards compatibility--all the previous ones have at least used the same charger.
Rehashing some of what others have said and adding a little more. I have the Ryobli 18v with circular, sawzall, drill and flashlight. As the others have said the circular saw is good for trim work but I have used the sawzall with two batteries for demolition of a few travel trailers and they've been great. Of course most trailer are built with sheet aluminum and 2x2's so they aren't overly challanged.
Well... Im head'n to the work site tomorrow to cut down some 2x10's. I will report my findings. Yeah, I know its turkey day and all, just thought I would have the chance to get some work done. Besides, suppose to be 55F and sunny.
Chad
QuoteI have the Ryobli 18v with circular, sawzall, drill and flashlight. As the others have said the circular saw is good for trim work but I have used the sawzall with two batteries for demolition of a few travel trailers and they've been great.
I bought the same set a couple weeks ago. As I charge the batteries a few times they are starting to last longer and longer with each charge as mentioned in the book. I bought the impact driver, compressor and angle grinder as add ons also, then a couple extra batteries. The work I do normally requires more than the batteries will hold but they are doing pretty good considering, and I am happier with the 129.00 Ryobi set than I was with the 600.00 Dewalt set. At least batteries are available and affordable. $40 for 2 18v Ryobi batteries as opposed to $90 for one Dewalt that doesn't last as long as the Ryobi's.
I see cordless tools with all different sizes of batteries. Is there a preferred battery size? Is bigger better? I have had some cheapies and they don't seem to last very well. Talk about a throw away world. So I haven't gotten any more.
The higher voltage should put a bit more power into smaller windings so 18v is fairly common now as the main one. Batteries from different brands are not interchangeable.
The throw away thing is correct and I bought the Ryobi's with that in mind, however my experience so far indicates that they will not die as easily as some of the other cheap brands. I bought 3 of their driver drills about 3 years ago to hand drill about 2500 holes through 1/4" steel. My guys drilled for over a week and the only problem we had was with one of the chucks although it is still useable.
For less than 1/4 of the price of "Name" brands I thought I would give them a chance. I am disappointed in the Dewalt 1/2" corded impact wrench (same as and owned by Black and Decker). It is overpriced and prone to failure under heavy use. I have broke the end off at least 6 of them - probably more. They used to be the only choice for a lower cost electric impact. I now buy the Rigid corded impact which has near twice the power with 2 speeds and I haven't broke the first one yet. It is also cheaper than the Dewalt.
Never had a chance to use the saw longterm. But on scraps the circular did decent. I certainly wouldn't expect it to replace my corded stuff, just in a pinch. I guess you could go cordless entirely, just need a lot of batteries. :) As previously stated, yes the batteries should last longer after 3-4 charges. Interesting to find out how the tools hold up over the long term.
Chad
Cordless tools are really handy in a lot of applications. Saves dragging out a generator and cord. The hard part for me is always remembering to keep the batteries charged up and then remembering to unplug them and get them back on the truck. :-/ I have a good memory, it is just really short.
I carry a little 150 watt 120v inverter in the truck - plugs into the aux. power lighter socket. When using the cordless stuff I keep the charger plugged in and charging batteries as soon as I use them and they cool enough to charge. Runs my computer too sometimes.
Does any one have any experience with the 24 volt cordless stuff?
Any recomendations or warnings?
Thanks,
Bruce
No. Not yet. DeWalt claims theirs will work like a corded saw all day long (without a battery change, I guess).
I guess I'd go for one of those if I didn't already have two different brands of 18v.
But good grief, they're expensive.
Actually you can get a reconditioned 6 1/2" blade from Bosch for $200 (plus shipping plus tax if they have a center in your state).
A new 6" blade DeWalt, though is supposed to have a list price of something that you'll never find like $700, looks like street price is closer to $400.
I would have a seriously hardtime shelling out $400-$700 for any cordless tool. For that kinda money it had better run all day. Im sure it has its place... like if you build homes/structures for a living. Personally, im gonna stick to the Skil set, and if it is merrited I will pick up some extra batteries. ;)
Chad
:o Maybe I will just stick with corded tools, start the generator and roll out the cord or plug it into a cuurant bush. The idea of the cordless tool was to save some effort and time. If the tradeoff gets to be too big we are going backwards.
In the HVAC field, our crew uses Milwaukee tools, service men cordless, installers corded.
Mine happen to be 18v drill, light and reciprocating saw, truck on board inverter for charger, lots of batteries.
If your going to use it for a little while, battery, ---if all day, corded, doesn't matter what brand.
I either didn't notice or didn't believe that the Skil set had a 7 1/2 inch circular saw with their 18v set.
Until I went into a Lowe's today for something else. That's a lot larger than the 5 1/2 inch saw the DeWalt has.
How well does it work??? And I prefer the larger side of the shoe on the side that Skil uses. Probably at least as much because I've usually had Skil brand Skillsaws.
I apoligize for not being clear. Yep.. full size circular saw. :) Haven't had a chance to really use it, but, cutting some scraps it did pretty decent. On Sunday, after working on my workshop/storage shed/shelter, I decided to tackle a 4x4. I set to the deepest cut, 2 inch, and cut right thru the 4x4. In the middle, it started to slow down a bit, I was pushing a bit hard so I let up on the push and let it catch up. I then ran thru the other side to complete the cut. The top of the 4x4 spun off. Nice clean cut. Noise? Hardly an issue. No louder then a corless drill at full speed. Saw dust spraying everywhere? Nope. None in my eyes, hair, or mouth. :P Kinda nice change. Weight.. well, probably weighs as much as my regular corded circular saw. All in all I like it. It does what I need. And no infernal cord to get in the way. 8-)
As I keep using the Ryobi batteries they are getting stronger as they get charged more times but no matter what -- they are not even close to what I need to do any serious work. I had the same problem with the DeWalts at 4 times the cost though.
4 charged batteries and my grinder or saw will soon kill them all. Probably cords for me except for incidental small stuff.
Glenn, Have you a quick link for the little 150 watt 120v inverter or a suggestion of the make to purchase?
The inverters are available at Walmart, Costco, usually automotive supply places such as Kragen, others. Online - first link looks cheapest.
http://www.nextag.com/serv/main/buyer/OutPDir.jsp?search=150+inverter&psort=1
http://www.amazon.com/Vector-Power-Inverter-Model-VEC042DC/dp/B000AMOEOG
http://www.officedepot.com/products/APC-DC-to-AC-power-inverter/183510/
http://www.amazon.com/Smart-AC-Inverter-150-Watt/dp/B00063E88Q
Bigger inverters may have to hook direct to your batteries but will power larger tools.
http://www.nextag.com/inverter/search-html
Inverter - Compare Prices, Reviews and Buy at NexTag - Price - Review
QuoteThe inverters are available at Walmart, Costco, usually automotive supply places such as Kragen, others. Online - first link looks cheapest.
http://www.nextag.com/serv/main/buyer/OutPDir.jsp?search=150+inverter&psort=1
http://www.amazon.com/Vector-Power-Inverter-Model-VEC042DC/dp/B000AMOEOG
http://www.officedepot.com/products/APC-DC-to-AC-power-inverter/183510/
http://www.amazon.com/Smart-AC-Inverter-150-Watt/dp/B00063E88Q
Bigger inverters may have to hook direct to your batteries but will power larger tools.
http://www.nextag.com/inverter/search-html
Inverter - Compare Prices, Reviews and Buy at NexTag - Price - Review
Thanks Glenn ... I gotta get one.
You can find out the watts you need by multiplying volts times amps on the tool rating. 1 amp at 120 volts =120 watts. Allow a bit of extra. Ryobi charger says 80 watts output on it and charges fine on the 150 watt inverter. Dewalt worked on it too (different charger though).