Cordless tool help (1 Viewer)

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shmukster

shmukster

Joined
Apr 20, 2003
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NE PA coal region
I'm getting frustrated with my Dewalt 18V cordless tool batteries. I have six batteries (XRP series) and only one holds a charge for a reasonable length of time. Does anyone know of a better performing direct replacement for these batteries?
And, what's the best line of cordless tools out there today? I might even be willing to start over here.
 
I don't know if you have an Interstate battery distributor near you, I have one by my work that rebuilds most battery packs, not sure if they can rebuild those.

To be honest though, I'll be ditching all my electric tools I have now, even my snap-on impact and switching over to Milwaukee products. I've been impressed with what they offer and we use some at work at they are pretty amazing I think.
 
Well I would not hesitate to agree with you about Milwaukee. I'm part of a group that's been rehabbing our local cemetary over the last few weeks and I was able to use a Milwaukee cordless reciprocating saw to cut tree limbs and stuff. It worked great, lasted a whole day and really worked hard. In contrast I took my DeWalt up there today and the damn battery, with a fresh charge, lasted about an hour. Not only that the saw did not perform nearly as well as the borrowed Milwaukee saw.
I do use two of the Earthquake impact guns that Harbor Freight sells and have been very happy with them. I have a 1/2" that outperforms both if my Snap On air guns, and a neat little 3/8" model that I carry to the junkyards. Both work very well and hold a charge for quite some time.
 
I'm not into cordless stuff...but a few guys in the shop are..and it's all milawaukee stuff...this stuff gets used every day all day and they swear by it..everything from grinders to portabands and work lights.
 
@YotaFun is right. You can have the old packs rebuilt if they are not lithium batteries. If they are your out of luck lithium batteries can not be rebuild.

Regarding Ryobi I own a bunch of their one+ 18v tools. The still use the same case as they did in 96. So all the new long lasting lithium batteries can be used in their old tools. Pretty cool. Even my garage opener uses one for a battery backup.
I think of Ryobi as home owner grade though.

I have Milwaukee too. 1000 ftlb 18v impact. It blows my IR titanium away! Also own a 18v hammer drill.
 
Also agree on the Milwaukee gear. My first battery impact was a Snapon 14v 3/8 inch probably 10 years ago. The new brushless Milwaukee impacts are an order of magnitude better than my old Snapon. With the easy of buying the Milwaukees at any Home Depot it just made sense to standardize on them for all my battery tools. The 1/4 impact driver is a beast too. Used that to put up ~600 linear feet of 4 board horse fence a couple years back without skipping a beat. I even bought one of their smaller M12 screwdrivers and the thing has been amazing. I think 12 different torque settings so you can adjust it for each application. I rarely use regular screwdrivers around the house anymore. They have a rapid charger as well that'll charge their 5ah batteries in an hour or so, has a built in fan to keep temps down. They have 2, 4, 5 and now 8 amp hour batteries so a lot options in operating time too.

As a bonus, there's a guy on Ebay who sells a 3d printed carriage for the M18 batteries with foot long +/- pigtails. I rigged up a couple of these on my 3 year old's mini Gator instead of buying a $90 peg perego replacement battery and that gator flies now, lasts twice as long and I can recharge one in an hour versus overnight. Win-win-win!
 
We use Milwaukee tools in our assembly plant and they are pretty good. They hold up good and are used every day. If that's not enough of a test of their durabilty I dont know what is.
(Btw I have no business dealings with them)

Personally I've been using Hitachi for the last 7 years and still using the original batteries.
They recently changed to Metabo/HPT (Hitachi Power Tools) which is their industrial variant which is pretty much the same. Their new batteries switched to a global battery architecture/consortium so other brands can also use them.

When I worked at Deere all general impact tools were Hitachi, which is why I bought them for myself.
Milwaukee was not a player in the cordless game at the time.

Back to Milwaukee. I think they are pretty good. Just look at their offering. They come up with new products all the time. Heated jackets with rhe M12 battery?! Awesome.
Home Depot carries them for a decent price.
At the rate they are desigining new products I wont be surprised if they develop a M18 powered toilet......
 
Timely thread. I am ditching my old ass Craftsman 19.2v tools that are now starting to wear out. I just killed the drill last week. Plus their LI-ION battery QC is suspect.
I am going with Milwaukee for all my cordless here real soon.
Keep an eye on northern tool and equipment for their Milwaukee sales.
 
Gary, this can get dangerous, so many Milwaukee Goodies:

Milwaukee M18 FUEL Cordless High-Torque Impact Wrench Kit with Friction Ring 1/2in. Drive, 1400 Ft./Lbs. Torque, 2 Batteries, Model# 2767-22 | Northern Tool

The Milwaukee M18 FUEL Cordless High-Torque 1/2in. Impact Wrench with Friction Ring Kit eliminates the need to use a pneumatic to...
www.northerntool.com www.northerntool.com

1400 ft-lbs good god! You wont just snap a lug nut off the stud, you will pretty much straight destroy it! Obviously there are setting to play with I am sure so you don't have to use all that power but to have it on hand is just nuts!
 
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I'll go against the grain and suggest Makita, just because I switched to them years ago. They have pretty much any tool one could think of in their cordless line.
 
I own Milwaukee stuff, and use it almost every day. Part of my decision to stick with for personal use was so that I would have access (and same batteries) to some company owned tools as well. Having said that, I would give Makita a serious look if I were starting from scratch.
To the OP, if you have a lot of Dewalt tools that still work, here is one potential battery solution;
Amazon product ASIN B016K1UEPSAlso, Home depot has a bunch of stuff on sale right now for Father's Day.
 
I’ve been using Makita for years, no issues, i only went with them because they had the best sounding job site radio out there back in the day. Now if i had to choose, would go with Milwaukee or new Dewalt, just because they have a better selection of tools for cheaper than makita. At least here in CT. they’re all made in China anyway
 
Ask Karl! We call him Milwaukee Man at work, he has all Milwaukee tools.
 
Stumpalama said:
Timely thread. I am ditching my old ass Craftsman 19.2v tools that are now starting to wear out. I just killed the drill last week. Plus their LI-ION battery QC is suspect..
I am going with Milwaukee for all my cordless here real soon.
Keep an eye on northern tool and equipment for their Milwaukee sales

they seem to have the best prices and you can get a gift card with purchase and use their online coupons to save more money. I replaced my set of Dewalt tools at work for $60 more than buying just new batteries for the Dewalt stuff. Easy decision since they were 8 years old. Now I use them at home with my other set but I only have 2 out of 5 batteries that work for 5 tools.
Click to expand...
 
Cordless batteries have just so many charge/discharge cycles. But in my experience with almost every brand Milwaukee seems to have been the longest lasting and I believe they are all brushless motors nowaday.
 
A little off topic here. I have done away with all my gas yard tools except my mower. They are so much quieter, lighter, start easily, and I don't smell like exahust.
 
jamarquardt22 said:
@YotaFun is right. You can have the old packs rebuilt if they are not lithium batteries. If they are your out of luck lithium batteries can not be rebuild.

Regarding Ryobi I own a bunch of their one+ 18v tools. The still use the same case as they did in 96. So all the new long lasting lithium batteries can be used in their old tools. Pretty cool. Even my garage opener uses one for a battery backup.
I think of Ryobi as home owner grade though.

I have Milwaukee too. 1000 ftlb 18v impact. It blows my IR titanium away! Also own a 18v hammer drill.
Click to expand...
If they're lithium ion, depending on which cell they use, you can order them and rebuild them yourself. There are tons of videos, but you can order the metal strips and tack weld with a 12V car battery.
 
jamarquardt22 said:
A little off topic here. I have done away with all my gas yard tools except my mower. They are so much quieter, lighter, start easily, and I don't smell like exahust.
Click to expand...

Same here, Makita chainsaw and weed wacker. Hedge trimmer is next on the list. Got tired of dealing with 2 cycle engines, since my use case is infrequent at best.

I cut up a dead 18" spruce earlier this year, and the saw will use up some batteries. But about the time the batteries need a charge, by back does too :hillbilly:
 
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