E bus fleet out of commission in cold

[kaichu dento]

a chainsaw is a different animal, even with double battery.

Sure for your backyard an electric maybe perfectly fine, but for big jobs, running al day long, no electric will do, yet,

I've been a strong advocate of corded saws up until last year when I got a chance to use the 36v Makita worm drive on multiple occasions. Ordered one for myself shortly after being able to use one all day at 20 degrees and rip right through lumber like a corded saw.

Pretty soon I think I'm going to give the 60v DeWalt chainsaw a try, based pretty much on how powerful my 36v Makita worm drive is.

 

[kaichu dento]

One thousand miles per charge is unreasonable.

Only according to disciples of the church of the electric vehicle. You don't get to choose for everyone else and you kind of skipped past the trip across Canada during the winter. Get back to us when you can do that at -50 below.

Oh, and quit pretending that people living in Canada and Alaska don't matter.

 

[jtr1962]

I've been a strong advocate of corded saws up until last year when I got a chance to use the 36v Makita worm drive on multiple occasions. Ordered one for myself shortly after being able to use one all day at 20 degrees and rip right through lumber like a corded saw.

Last week I used my Ryobi 18V circular saw to cut new doors and drawer fronts to replace the ones water damaged due to Hurricane Ida in 2022. I have the same brand lawn mower. Battery packs are interchangeable between the lawn mower and power tools. The tools are as good as corded ones. The lawn mower deals with the same stuff my gas mower did no problems.

For many use cases battery-powered tools are there. Maybe not for some heavy duty professional tasks, but for most home uses they're great. Nice not having a cord getting in the way.

 

[kaichu dento]

For many use cases battery-powered tools are there. Maybe not for some heavy duty professional tasks, but for most home uses they're great.

My main point was that while battery powered has all too often in the past meant anemic, recent updates in tech have started delivering tools that will do most anything their corded counterparts can, and the Makita 36v series is what it took for me to finally consider getting rid of my four corded worm drives.
It's fantastic being able to use a sawzall, chop saw, compressor and others without having to run out 100' of 10 gauge extension cord.
Not to mention having been fully transitioned to fuel-less for my lawn mower since getting a 40v model a few years ago. So quiet, plenty of power, and less hassle with looking for the mixed-gas jug.

 

[mrfixitman]

If you cutting small branches maybe, if you cutting tree trunks 1-2 feet wide, no way an electric will do, even plug ins.

I have cut very large trunks with my corded electric chainsaw.

 

[mrfixitman]

And with all those subsidies, the rest of us got to help pay for it.

You're welcome. However, without subsidies we would all be paying roughly $12.75 per gallon for gasoline. https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2011/increasing-gas-prices-despite-subsidies/77911

 

[alpg88]

Please share.

I already did. I'm surprised you don't understand.

 

[IMA SOL MAN]

Ya'all can g'head, and buy all those battery powered tools. Me, I'm keeping my corded tools, because when you don't use them but once a year or so, a battery will go bad before you get the value from it. Also, if you use the tool day in and day out, at the same work station/area, that portability that the battery provides is not needed, and battery replacement becomes an unnecessary expense. Now, if you work away from power, like a remote work site, yeah, I can see investing in a lot of battery tools. But keep in mind, you're gonna have to recharge them, so they are going to have to return to the mother ship some time and suck off the power teats to recharge. A solar array could/might work remotely, if the weather conditions cooperate, but if you have a large volume of batteries to maintain, you might need a rather large and expensive array. Using all-tool compatible batteries would simplify keeping the tools running, rotating batteries from the solar charging station. I don't work remote, so I'm keeping my corded stuff. Any of you want to donate your corded tools & devices, you are welcome to send them to me.

 

[alpg88]

I only keep my 1/2inch corded Milwaukee hummer drill, that is about 30 years old, but i often ask myself why. i have a 1/2inch 20v dewalt hammer drill, that never failed to drill a hole in anything, even a 1/2" hole in high strength concrete. i have not touched the corded in decades.
Modern battery tools are pretty good, they can and do replace corded ones. i have over dosen of different ones, and as many batteries, i have dewalt mostly, but also few milwaukee tools. i do nt think i'll ever go with corded again. a modern li ion battery can hold charge for a very long time, charging takes about an hour with fast chargers. old nicd had some issues, but even those had them figured out right before industry wide switch to li ion. i still have 2 nicd 14,4v milwaukee drills in perfect shape laying, around, can't sell them, can't even give them away, no one wants oil nicd drills. but i can't just throw them away.

 

[IMA SOL MAN]

I only keep my 1/2inch corded Milwaukee hummer drill, that is about 30 years old, but i often ask myself why. i have a 1/2inch 20v dewalt hammer drill, that never failed to drill a hole in anything, even a 1/2" hole in high strength concrete. i have not touched the corded in decades.
Modern battery tools are pretty good, they can and do replace corded ones. i have over dosen of different ones, and as many batteries, i have dewalt mostly, but also few milwaukee tools. i do nt think i'll ever go with corded again. a modern li ion battery can hold charge for a very long time, charging takes about an hour with fast chargers. old nicd had some issues, but even those had them figured out right before industry wide switch to li ion. i still have 2 nicd 14,4v milwaukee drills in perfect shape laying, around, can't sell them, can't even give them away, no one wants oil nicd drills. but i can't just throw them away.

Battery obsolescence is one thing that I forgot to mention. Some day, the tool companies are going to change battery voltage/formulation or whatever, or simply change the new battery pack so they are no longer compatible with the old stuff. We are in a throwaway society, and manufacturers use planned obsolescence to keep selling product. But, I don't think wall outlets are in any danger of obsolescence, at least for the foreseeable future, unless I missed the memo.

 

[Monocrom]

Here's the thing, if a battery-pack fails to recharge, and it's the only one you have; you have a dead power-tool. Any old, corded power-tools should be kept as a back-up. Only time you can't use those is during a Blackout.

I mentioned this before on CPF. Literally found an older model Ryobi power-drill stuffed in a cabinet, with the box. Back when Ryobi used blue as one of their brand colors. It has a battery, but no charger. And, the current Ryobi chargers don't work with the older battery-packs. (I know because I have a current Ryobi charger.) Dad must have put that in the cabinet last time he was here, before heading to the old country. He passed in 2017. So right around 7 years before that. Maybe longer!

It's a massive paper-weight. Literally can't do anything with it. If it was a corded power-drill, that would be a completely different story.

 

[IMA SOL MAN]

Here's the thing, if a battery-pack fails to recharge, and it's the only one you have; you have a dead power-tool. Any old, corded power-tools should be kept as a back-up. Only time you can't use those is during a Blackout.

I mentioned this before on CPF. Literally found an older model Ryobi power-drill stuffed in a cabinet, with the box. Back when Ryobi used blue as one of their brand colors. It has a battery, but no charger. And, the current Ryobi chargers don't work with the older battery-packs. (I know because I have a current Ryobi charger.) Dad must have put that in the cabinet last time he was here, before heading to the old country. He passed in 2017. So right around 7 years before that. Maybe longer!

It's a massive paper-weight. Literally can't do anything with it. If it was a corded power-drill, that would be a completely different story.

This ^^^ is exactly what I'm talking about.

 

[alpg88]

When I do a project I usually use several tools, a drill or two if I use different bits, this way I do not need to swap them everytime, an impact wrench, a saw, a sander, maybe a router, a small shop vac... it would be too many wires all over, if they would be corded, even without wires there is tons of stuff laying around to trip over. Batteries are pretty reliable these days, and I have them almost as many as tools, so dead battery is not an issue. Another thing with corded drill, they almost never come with a clutch, and most have keyed chucks.

 

[jtr1962]

I mentioned this before on CPF. Literally found an older model Ryobi power-drill stuffed in a cabinet, with the box. Back when Ryobi used blue as one of their brand colors. It has a battery, but no charger. And, the current Ryobi chargers don't work with the older battery-packs.

If you really needed to put it in service, you could probably find a used charger on eBay.

Any chance Ryobi's newer packs are physically compatible with that drill? Sometimes they change the battery chemistry (which requires a new charger) but keep the same form factor and contact layout.

 

[jtr1962]

One nice thing about battery versus corded is the potential for higher peak power. With corded you're limited to ~1500 watts. With battery there's no inherent limit beyond what the batteries can put out.

 

[IMA SOL MAN]

When I do a project I usually use several tools, a drill or two if I use different bits, this way I do not need to swap them everytime, an impact wrench, a saw, a sander, maybe a router, a small shop vac... it would be too many wires all over, if they would be corded, even without wires there is tons of stuff laying around to trip over. Batteries are pretty reliable these days, and I have them almost as many as tools, so dead battery is not an issue. Another thing with corded drill, they almost never come with a clutch, and most have keyed chucks.

It boils down to personal preference. Do what works best for you.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

I had to order a Makita to get a 3/8" drill with a cord and a chuck key. Got it from a locally owned place. We have portable power; 24V 100Ah LFP EPOCH battery and a Victron Phoenix 24V 1200VA inverter.

 

[raggie33]

i hate plugging stuff in to the wall to use it. i love my cordless vacuum just remove from wall and vacuum . . same with blowing the lawn. no cord i just grab blower and go hardly any noise... and at 80 volts it has plenty of power

 

[xxo]

i hate plugging stuff in to the wall to use it. i love my cordless vacuum just remove from wall and vacuum . . same with blowing the lawn. no cord i just grab blower and go hardly any noise... and at 80 volts it has plenty of power

My 18V Makita blower is almost as powerful as my corded blower and super light weight, but a 5Ah battery only lasts like 10 min. at full power.

 

[kaichu dento]

The only corded tools I've still got, and not planning on getting rid of are my table saw, a couple of miter saws, my DeWalt worm drive and maybe one of the Makita worm drives, orbital sander, belt sander, bench grinder, medium sized shop vac, and last but not least, my Makita jack hammer!

Tools I never want to run extension cords for ever again; drills, screw guns and impact drivers, sawzall, oscillating tool, 4" circular saw, lawn mower, tire inflator, small shop vac, weed eater, blower, hand held bandsaw.

It's a pragmatic world out there, make your own choices based on your own needs.