Cordless power tools

[Chauncey Gardiner]

I just pulled the trigger on a Mother's Day gift for the Lovely Mrs. Gardiner ........

Boy! Am I gunna be in big trouble. :laughing:

This will be for small jobs when the gas, backpack blower isn't needed. That thing seems to be gaining weight every time I pick it up.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

I just pulled the trigger on a Mother's Day gift for the Lovely Mrs. Gardiner ........

Boy! Am I gunna be in big trouble. :laughing:

This will be for small jobs when the gas, backpack blower isn't needed. That thing seems to be gaining weight every time I pick it up.

You know there is 2 versions of that blower, an upgraded version that is a little stronger than the previous version. I hope you got the 2nd version.

 

[Chauncey Gardiner]

You know there is 2 versions of that blower, an upgraded version that is a little stronger than the previous version. I hope you got the 2nd version.

Yes, I became aware while shopping on Amazon and Home Depot dot-com. It was surprising to see the first generation was $209 while the second generation was $131.49. I opted for the Gen 2 after viewing a handful of review videos on YouTube.

 

[harro]

I picked up one of these used at a flea market for $85 with a little wear on it. The thing is a monster compared to my porter cable saw. I put a 3A compact (21700 cells) battery in it and sawed off a few limbs and a 3 inch diameter tree trunk that was above ground and dead using an 8 inch pruning blade. The only two issues I have with the saw is rather loud and vibrates a lot but very powerful.

They certainly vibrate a bit, but gee they're so handy. No faffin around getting the chainsaw out.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

They certainly vibrate a bit, but gee they're so handy. No faffin around getting the chainsaw out.

I used my 20v Dewalt band saw the other night to slice open a dorcy 2AA LED light that 2 alkaleaks ruined to get the circuit board and LED out of it. It is something I couldn't have done very well with a reciprocating saw. I find for cutting small limbs a circular saw is a lot easier to use as it will cut through with the blade going in the same direction all the time like the band saw does.

 

[Owen]

I was talking to a Ryobi rep at a Home Depot last week, and he was really high on their "Whisper Series" 40V blower.
https://www.ryobitools.com/outdoor/...hless-jet-fan-blower-with-4ah-battery-charger
Dang thing is $200, but after playing with it, I was kinda high on that blower, too. I want it.
I have one of their 40V weedeaters with a 2Ah battery, and it's just as good as my gas one was, as long as you don't need to use it for more than half an hour at a time. They have a couple of newer models, too. One has a carbon fiber shaft that matches my kayak paddle, and makes me jealous

Haven't shopped around. I got a little Ryobi corded pressure washer a while back, then the weedeater. They've both been great, and already having one charger and battery, I guess I just naturally gravitated toward the same brand.

Looking at the tools and batteries, it seems like the best approach would be to go all in, starting with a mower that comes with a fast charger and larger batteries, because the battery cost is what makes or breaks the deal(with the $500 Ryobi mower package, the mower itself is practically free compared to buying the 2 6Ah batteries and charger separately).
I don't know that I'd even consider it under normal circumstances, but I've got a bunch of 16-20yr old gas tools that are starting to die off or be a constant pain to deal with, and working 16-32hrs more per week than my usual 48 has changed my priorities. Maybe 40+48 this week...
As a result, I have a lot more money than usual, but a lot less time, and the same amount of yard work.
When you're trading sleep for gym time or yard work, and rationing minutes based on how long the actual job should take, tinkering with aged tools goes from an enjoyable pastime to an unbearable hassle.
It's nice to be able to just slap a battery on there, and pull the trigger. The 40V edger w/4Ah battery is over $200, too, but the idea of all my yard tools except the riding mower being li-ion has a lot of appeal.
I was actually thinking about that last week, since my 42" Husqvarna is the only relatively new thing I have that's gas operated, and wondering if I might be riding around on an almost silent electric version in another decade or two.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

I was actually thinking about that last week, since my 42" Husqvarna is the only relatively new thing I have that's gas operated, and wondering if I might be riding around on an almost silent electric version in another decade or two.

It depends on how far the enivironmentalist extremists push things as I could see it becoming illegal to use gas powered most anything in the future but the question is.... how far in the future? I have a corded electric chainsaw that works well enough (pole saw) and for smaller things my 20v sawzall and circular saws can manage. For cutting metal my 20v bandsaw is probably what I would go to as it slices almost effortlessly.

 

[bykfixer]

My work just issued me a new (to me) vehicle and the boss said "keep it clean you're the limo now" meaning I get to be the one to carry around bosses when they visit my project(s). Well working on a project involves dirty shoes. Dirty shoes track dirt into the limo. The place is either muddy or dusty.

Today I bought a DuraMax cordless car vac at Advance Auto and knowing it was not a mega-vac was pleasently surprised at how quickly it removed about a pound of sand from the rubber floor mats I installed. A crevice tool and carpet brush made it easy to get corners cleaned, get specks of sand and debris from carpeting and dust plastics. It did not take but a few days to watch the limo turning into a work vehicle.

It runs quiet, weighs very little, and the battery lasted. Now Mrs Fixer carries lots of stuff in her little vehicle so stuff like potting soil, animal hair and sand abound. I was able to get her car pretty clean in about 20 minutes. And it was a whole lot dirtier than the limo. When done with both the battery level showed 50% remaining.

Again it's not a super vac but for $55 it has already paid for itself if I were to hire a pro to keep the limo clean. All items store easily in the supplied bag that is about 15" long, 4" tall and 4" wide so it stows easily too.

 

[Poppy]

I was talking to a Ryobi rep at a Home Depot last week, and he was really high on their "Whisper Series" 40V blower.
https://www.ryobitools.com/outdoor/...hless-jet-fan-blower-with-4ah-battery-charger
Dang thing is $200, but after playing with it, I was kinda high on that blower, too. I want it.
<BIG SNIP>
.

Owen, I feel your pain.

I have a number of Ryobi tools, and stay with the brand because I have a number of Ryobi One+ 18V batteries.

I wonder how long it will take for me to take the plunge to 40V batteries and tools.

Last night my Dad offered me a 2cycle weed wacker that hasn't been used in a few years, and I refused it. I have a 110V one with and extension cord that starts first time every time. I just don't want to have to fool with 2 cycle engines... at all! I have a 2 cycle blower that is ancient, hard to start, and LOUD. I think I am going to push it out to the curb this summer. My 110v blower works fine, and since I have to bag stuff up, I just blow leaves from the edges, and run them over with my rider bagger lawn mower. I have a Ryobi 18V sweeper blower, it is fine on hard surfaces, not too good on grass. There's a good possibility that a 40V unit will be in my shed sometime in the future.

 

[Poppy]

A couple of days ago, I got a new tool. My Dad was balking at paying $1.50 for air at a gas station, so I paid $25 for this. :thinking:

It worked very well. It has a digital readout on the screen that measures the pressure as you are putting it in. No need to add air, then check the pressure, and then add more or let some out, as I have to do with my 110v compressor.

 

[bykfixer]

I have been using the end Ryobi leaf blower as a battery operated broom. I like the idea and so far it has done a really good job. At one point the battery charger grew legs and walked away so I bought a spare battery and charger for it.

Well, Mrs Fixer wants to refinish an old dresser stashed in a shed I'm going to tear down soon so while at the Home Depot I saw a Ryobi triangle cordless palm sander. Tool only was $40. So I bought a 2.0Ah battery for that one. The smaller battery will aid in balance as a large battery causes it to be weighted heavily to the rear. The wood is in good shape but has a few stains that will need to be sanded. She does stuff with glass bottles and she uses a dremel to sand those. The palm sander should make a 15 minute job into 2 or 3 minutes. I'm pretty certain she'll find lots of uses for it. If more capacity is needed we have a pair of 4.0Ah and a 3.0Ah batteries. And if I end up depleting the big batteries the small one will be handy for finishing the task.

I have been eyeballing the 40 volt trimmer but I just bought a Stihl last year. I only used about a half a tank of gas last year. I noted this year that if I open the gas cap and relieve the vacuum it starts 1st pull. So I bought an 18 volt trimmer that has a head that rotates 90 degrees to become an edger. And it's much lighter than to 40 volt that feels about as heavy as the Stihl. It came with a spool of twine and 2 blade heads. It'll be used as an edger mostly. The 40 volt trimmer/edger kit I was eyeballing was $228. The tool I bought was $119 with a 4.0Ah battery and charger.

So future purchases will be tool only devices.

 

[orbital]

.. but I just bought a Stihl last year. I only used about a half a tank of gas last year. I noted this year that if I open the gas cap and relieve the vacuum it starts 1st pull.
.

+

On my Stihl blower, when it gets hot, it can be hard to restart (not a huge deal if you just finish what you're doing, without restarting)
really only in the hottest part of the summer

Never had that issue with my Stihl trimmer.

It's a vapor lock hiccup with some 2-stroke fuel systems, different brands.
There has to be a simple fix (thinking cap On)

__________________________________________________
add: I use high octane non-ethanol gas for my mix.
Certainly; low octane would make that vapor lock phenomena much worse

*** Just this Spring, I mixed by hand my 2-stroke fuel from some summer blend gas (low volatility) I had left over from from last year.
The lower volatility gas always made my 2-stroke stuff run better.


Yes I understand this all has nothing to do w/ battery powered stuff!

 

[Lynx_Arc]

I have been using the end Ryobi leaf blower as a battery operated broom. I like the idea and so far it has done a really good job. At one point the battery charger grew legs and walked away so I bought a spare battery and charger for it.

Well, Mrs Fixer wants to refinish an old dresser stashed in a shed I'm going to tear down soon so while at the Home Depot I saw a Ryobi triangle cordless palm sander. Tool only was $40. So I bought a 2.0Ah battery for that one. The smaller battery will aid in balance as a large battery causes it to be weighted heavily to the rear. The wood is in good shape but has a few stains that will need to be sanded. She does stuff with glass bottles and she uses a dremel to sand those. The palm sander should make a 15 minute job into 2 or 3 minutes. I'm pretty certain she'll find lots of uses for it. If more capacity is needed we have a pair of 4.0Ah and a 3.0Ah batteries. And if I end up depleting the big batteries the small one will be handy for finishing the task.

I have been eyeballing the 40 volt trimmer but I just bought a Stihl last year. I only used about a half a tank of gas last year. I noted this year that if I open the gas cap and relieve the vacuum it starts 1st pull. So I bought an 18 volt trimmer that has a head that rotates 90 degrees to become an edger. And it's much lighter than to 40 volt that feels about as heavy as the Stihl. It came with a spool of twine and 2 blade heads. It'll be used as an edger mostly. The 40 volt trimmer/edger kit I was eyeballing was $228. The tool I bought was $119 with a 4.0Ah battery and charger.

So future purchases will be tool only devices.

20V trimmers with 4+Ah batteries are decent if you keep up your lawn but when you get way behind they struggle to manage large caches of crab grass and weeds. 2A or less batteries have considerably less runtime likely due to higher current load on the battery heats them up more than parallel 10 cell packs. 40V to me would be ok if I weren't already invested in 3 different battery platforms (Porter Cable, Black and Decker, and now Dewalt). I'm slowly migrating to Dewalt but their lawn tools are a LOT more expensive than what I already have when I picked up a 20v weedeater for $30 and a Dewalt 20v one costs well over $100 plus I have a hedge trimmer I paid $50 for with battery that a Dewalt one costs about $150 with no battery. I would want to buy a few more batteries for these tools especially the blower as I think it likely would be the one to eat batteries.

 

[bykfixer]

I was seriously considering Dewalt and Milwalkee. But yeah, the price keeps me away too. My 12 volt Milwalkee drill has been fabulous. The kit came with a spare battery and there was a sale where you buy the kit and they toss in a third battery. I built a 14' long handicap ramp using deck screws and finished it with one battery. Probably 100 2-3" deck screws. Today I used it to drill holes in a metal frame shed to hang peg board inside and then used it as a cordless drill to mount three sheets of peg board. Some wood strips went in between the metal joists for added rigidity. When done with todays work it still had a half battery charge.
I gave out long before the drill did.

I'm hanging peg board in some places before moving in the furniture.
I have a 14x14x10 building with walls completely covered with it. The building has seen better days and is going to be demolished. So I'm salvaging stuff from it like peg board and shelves etc.


I used the 18 volt trimmer today in my front yard as an edger then to cut off seed heads on some rye grass for about 30 minutes. It was great for that. Then I found some thick, dense bermuda in the back yard and it cried Uncle for that. I really like how close it could get to delicates without harming them. When done I plugged the 1/2 discharged battery to the blower and cleaned up my concrete and a neighbors and still had 1 bar left. Only time I have to run it on high is to clean under any cars in the driveway.

 

[turbodog]

A couple of days ago, I got a new tool. My Dad was balking at paying $1.50 for air at a gas station, so I paid $25 for this. :thinking:

It worked very well. It has a digital readout on the screen that measures the pressure as you are putting it in. No need to add air, then check the pressure, and then add more or let some out, as I have to do with my 110v compressor.

Halfway off topic, but it you have a compressor with tank... this is the best money you'll spend for airing up tires.

Clamps onto valve stem, gauge, and bleeder button to remove air.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ETXA2EW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Lynx_Arc]

I"m still using a 12v lighter socket air compressor... Intermatic. It predates digital versions has an analog dial for setting the pressure. I've used it several times. I often wonder how these 20v compressors compare in output vs a top of the line 12v model. For the price the 12v models are a better option IMO.

 

[orbital]

+

If anyone is even considering an angle grinder/cutoff unit, check this out.

Factoring in the price of the two 6Ah 20700 battery packs & the price of the 4A charger, you get the brushless grinder for like $80/or less!
>> Home Depot has that bare tool listed for $279, just the bare tool.

$249 for this entire kit is a steal, https://www.farmandfleet.com/produc...ad-paddle-switch-small-angle-grinder-kit.html
I'v ordered for Blain's before, new products & well packaged. They take Paypal

 

[Lynx_Arc]

+

If anyone is even considering an angle grinder/cutoff unit, check this out.

Factoring in the price of the two 6Ah 20700 battery packs & the price of the 4A charger, you get the brushless grinder for like $80/or less!
>> Home Depot has that bare tool listed for $279, just the bare tool.

$249 for this entire kit is a steal, https://www.farmandfleet.com/produc...ad-paddle-switch-small-angle-grinder-kit.html
I'v ordered for Blain's before, new products & well packaged. They take Paypal

Seems to be an even better deal than you realize
https://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-...2-20-Volt-6-0Ah-Batteries-DCG413FR2/304580879
$419 for the set at Home Depot. I didn't know they make 2 different models of the DCG413 grinder seems they upgraded it with extra safety (kickback) protection. Not sure how that functions though. I've used (I think) the brushed Dewalt 20V grinders a few years ago and they EAT batteries like candy when you load them down so 6A batteries for heavy use to start is a good thing even if they are the slightly smaller 20700s.
I think the Dewalt 415W1 at Lowes for $279 is the next best deal but it only comes with 1 8A (21700) battery but... an 8A charger plus power detect can give you a whopping 40% more umph (they say). It has the same up to date tech as the upgraded 413 model. There a Home Depot Flexvolt Advantage model but it doesn't have a kit with it (no battery/charger).
Since I cannot afford either I likely will wait till I have the funds I will likely go for the 415 power detect model when I do shop for one as I have a power detect hammer drill and 2 8A batteries and 2 8A chargers. I got all of that on clearance at Lowes one day for $150.
A single 8A battery alone sells for over $150 there now.

 

[bykfixer]

Mrs. Fixer went to see a friend of the family yesterday and mentioned she was about to embark on restoring an old chest of drawers and he gave her an 18 volt Ryobi 3/8 impact drill. It's the chuckless quick connect kind so we'll pick up the big kit at some point. It'll be interesting to just quick connect a 7/64" bit instead of twisting the chuck all the way down. Then switching to a phillips bit to drive the screw I just drilled a pilot hole for. Ha, then swap the battery to my leaf blower and clean up the wood shavings.
Nice.
What that has to do with her project? Got me but the fellow gave her the drill anyway.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

Mrs. Fixer went to see a friend of the family yesterday and mentioned she was about to embark on restoring an old chest of drawers and he gave her an 18 volt Ryobi 3/8 impact drill. It's the chuckless quick connect kind so we'll pick up the big kit at some point. It'll be interesting to just quick connect a 7/64" bit instead of twisting the chuck all the way down. Then switching to a phillips bit to drive the screw I just drilled a pilot hole for. Ha, then swap the battery to my leaf blower and clean up the wood shavings.
Nice.

Are you sure it isn't a 1/4 impact? Most of them are the ones that have the snap in hex bits. I have a set of bits that works with 1/4 impacts that came from Harbor Freight. The advantage of the bits is twofold in that they are easier to use even with a regular churk the hex ends pretty much eliminate bit slippage. The other advantage is smaller bits don't get easily lost. I know people I've worked with that don't even have a drill in their bags that they take on site, they leave them in their vehicles less to carry around and they use the hex end drill bits when a hole needs to be punched. I've found impacts also have a lot less wrist issues, that is they don't twist the wrist when the bit gets stuck they just start hammering it. The disadvantage is overtightening and breaking bits and in some cases you can accidentally pop bits out in tight places and have to have bits that support the snap lock. You can buy drill bit adapters for an impact too.