ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Which BatterTools???

I just wanted to find out what the group thinks is the better battery operated tool set combination: drill driver, circular saw, reciprocating saw, and light. Do you prefer the Milwaukee or the DeWalt and why. Both are about the same price. The DeWalt has a bonus radio/charger on a mail in special they have going right now.

I would also be interested in hearing if anyone had any complaints about Battery longevity in these tools. I bought a 14.x volt drill for it's smaller size and weight to carry in a holster. The batteries (extended type?) do not last very long at all now, it is very dissappointing.

I have heard that it may be that I have ruined the batteries by wearing them down too low before charging. Can anyone confirm that this could be a problem?

Bill

Enter my RC plane experience:

If they are NiCads, then discharging almost completely, and charging completely is the best darn thing you can do to them.

NiMH and Lithiums are a little diferent, and I have no experience with them.

Love my 18V Mil, but my 14.4V DeWalt does have better battery life. I think Milwaukee's universal chargers are a little iffy and don't charge as well as the DeWalt. I regularly have to remove a battery, then put it back on (without using it) up to three or four times before the battery is charged to capacity. I think the charger is getting fooled into thinking that the batteries are only 14.4V or something and are cutting the charge short.

Could just be an isolated incident though.

I like the Mil Drill, but the Mil Sawzall doesn't have an E-brake and the DeWalt does.

But it is a gen-u-ine Sawzall.

[This message has been edited by sparky66wv (edited 06-15-2002).]

Try this. When your batteries don't seem to be holding a charge like they use to, completely discharge them and stick them in the freezer for 24 hr. Seems to work as long as the battery is not too old. I was told that if batteries are not completely discharged when recharged they tend to fool the charger into thinking they are charged before they really are. I don't know if its true or not but like I say it seems too work with tool and 2 way radio batteries.

SamC

ok but which tools are better????

It's a toss up... depends on which features you like the most.

You really can't lose with either choice (unless someone has a war/horror story to tell about one or the other).

I use my DeWalt to drive screws and for mild drilling, and use the Mil for hammer drilling and anything requiring a 1/2" drive.

My Sawzall is comparible to Joe's DeWalt Recip Saw, except that the DeWalt has a brake.

I haven't compared any of the others.

MILWAUKEE WINS THIS WAR. I COULDN'T SAY THIS YEARS AGO. WHEN DEWALT WAS BLACK AND DECKER THEY WERE BETTER. AFTER MILW. BOUGHT AEG AND REDESIGNED THEIR DRILL I HAVE HAD BETTER LUCK WITH MILW. DEWALT-PROBLEMS INCLUDE CHUCK SHEARING OFF, BATTERY SHORT LIFE, SWITCH PROBLEMS....

'66

"discharging almost completely, and charging completely is the best darn thing you can do to them."

I had always thought this was the case and why chargers generally will discharge batteries first before charging again. But my brother-in-law (an EE type) told me that there is a point where batteries can be damaged by draining too low and that they should always be removed from the tool and charged immediately, or something along those lines.

Does anyone else have any opinions or info on this? It seems that either they have lost their capacity to hold a decent charge or they are not charging all the way. This is a 14.4 DeWalt and according to the charger (light steadily on) they are recharged very quickly (seems like 15 min to 1/2 hr) but do not last very long at all. Maybe 1 drilling through a double 2 x 4 with a 9/16 or 5/8 spade bit, that's it. Sometimes not even that. Any ideas? It's only 2 - 3 yrs old and has been doing it for awhile already.

Bill

There's been a debate about this sort of thing going on in the electronics world for years.

General consensus now seems to be that many deep-cycle NiCads do exhibit some sort of "memory effect," in that if you only ever run them part way down before recharging that they will start to lose capacity. The recommendations seem to concur that they should re run down to minimum charge once every so often to prevent this.

On the other hand, some battery compositions seem to suffer from being left in a fully discharged state for too long, rather like a standard lead-acid automotive battery. I can't lay my hands on the journals to get details of the different types, though.

Personally, I don't go much for cordless tools. I know it's a hassle to have to drag an extension cord everywhere, but you know the battery isn't going to give out on you.

I had a Dewalt 14.4 recip saw for about 5 years and really had no complaints. I also had the 14.4 driver/drill and 1/2" hammer drill. The hammer drill didn't last too long and died in about a year and a half. I bought a Porter Cable 14.4 3/8" driver drill about 2 years ago and put it to use shooting tek screws in purlins every day hanging 1/2 and 3/4 EMT. I couldn't believe a battery could last all day(about 150-200 screws)but they did. I went on to buy the 14.4 drill with 1/2" chuck and another hammer drill version for setting tapcons. I love the Porter cable drills and after 2= years of daily use/abuse they still work like new. The batteries still last just as long and are all still good. I never got much more than a year and a half out of Dewalt 14.4s before they wouldn't hold a charge anymore. I did replace my 14.4 Dewalt recip saw with an 18V Dewalt this spring. I demo'd the Porter Cable 19V and the Millwaukee Hatchet but found them too heavy and unbalanced for one hand operation(like cutting PVC and EMT).
Put me down for Porter Cable driver/drills and Dewalt recip saws.