I have some 12 AH batteries that I run on the Milwaukee 6" grinder, and they last forever on anything else. The grinder eats them up pretty good, though.
So, best brand of cordless power tools to get (re)started with today? (1 Viewer)
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- #142
For those who may be interested in starting with Makita 18V tools, or want to expand, I saw something odd today at my local ACE: They had drills, impact drivers, circular saws, recip saws, chargers, vacuums in "bulk". New but no box, just piled in bins. First time I saw that. At much lower prices than normal, by quite a bit. Not sure what's going on. I don't think you could beat those prices anywhere. You may want to have a look. However, I should note that those were entry tools, not brushless.
As another maybe better, but pricier, starter kit, they had brushless drill+impact driver+ dual charger + 2x 5Ah for $230 IIRC, that also seems to be a very good deal for brushless.
FWIW
As another maybe better, but pricier, starter kit, they had brushless drill+impact driver+ dual charger + 2x 5Ah for $230 IIRC, that also seems to be a very good deal for brushless.
FWIW
MrMikeyG
SILVER Star
The non-brushless stuff can be fine. Also cheaper to fix. My Milwaukee compact 18v 1/4" impact driver put in 5 really hard years of use.
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- #144
sure they're OK, and I have many, but typically I think the brushless ones are quite a bit more powerful than the equivalent brushed, so I tend to gravitate to the former for new tools where it's a plus. And it's not that obvious that you can still find the correct brushes 20 years down the line, and I'll still have the tools then for sure.
ntsqd
technerd
I remember when Astro Flite first came out with the brushless DC motors. They were quite a bit more powerful than anything else on the market, but they were also quite a bit more expensive too.
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My father in law gave me a HF angle grinder for Christmas about 20 years ago. I was not impressed because I had a Makita angle grinder but 10 years later the Makita wore out its brushes and the spare brushes from the HF fit the Makita! So now both he Makita and the HF are still grinding away. Last summer, I ground off about a 100 square feet of half inch concrete with the HF to install vinyl floors. It got hot but it didn’t fail. These were corded tools, so it is off topic, but it shows that tools with brushes are not inferior.
Green Bean
GOLD Star
This may be old news: A while back, one of my 18v batteries for the Snap-on drill crapped out. It wasn't that old but it was out of warranty. I called Snap=on and was told that I could pleasure of purchasing a single replacement battery for $200 which is probably about what I paid for the drill. I took the 2 Snap-on batteries to Batteries Plus and they opened them up and replaced the guts (bunch of C-cell rechargeables) for $75. They have worked great every since. I'll never buy another Snap-on cordless anything.
I have never had a problem with brushed motors, but I think the brushless advantage is a bit better efficiency and the motor control is actually better, say the barely ticking over 1 RPM tightening of a screw to set it flush- That's where modern brushless tech is different/meaningful.
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- #149
to be fair, the issue of wearing out brushes is more relevant to pro heavy users, not the typical home DIYers. I don't think I ever wore out brushes with any tool, TBH. I just don't use them that much. So I guess in that sense the wearing out part is not a big deal for me but I like the extra Powa of the brushless! I've seen some vids where they did comparisons and the brushless were winning easily in terms of torque etc. And sometimes it's best not to have sparks either.
MrMikeyG
SILVER Star
