Have you chosen one brand's power-tools platform?

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Definitely agree with you. But yeah, needing to change a tire.... Having a compact Impact wrench in your vehicle that'll easily get that job done.... Who wouldn't want that? Get the tool, proper sized battery, put it all into a small canvas mechanic's bag, and just keep that in your vehicle.

Especially handy for mothers, wives, and daughters who drive alone sometimes. It's not like the old days. Chivalry is dead! Chances are that burly-looking dude walking up to them isn't there to help with the flat tire.
 
For impact wrench, I am really glad I went with the overpowered DeWalt DCF899N. 18 V, 1/2", 950 Nm (700 ft lb).

It has a selector with 3 speeds, and I honestly don't know why, but on speed 2, it really struggles with loosening my regular lug nuts. Sometimes, they don't come loose at all - the socket just vibrates from the impacts, but is not turning the nut, even with full speed on the trigger. On speed 3 and half speed on the trigger, however, they come loose almost immediately.

I drive a lot in the snow (no salt on the roads), but I clean and lube the rim, hub and lug nuts every other year to prevent rust, and I always tighten the nuts with 150 Nm (140 Nm torsion bar + torque wrench). Nuts and rims are both aluminium alloy, so I know not to overtighten them. A single, decisive pull with a breaker bar is enough to loosen the nuts, so I don't understand why such a powerful impact wrench would struggle with them on lower speeds. According to the manual, the speed selector only changes the rotational speed, and not the number of impacts or applied torque.
 
I am in two eco-systems. I have Milwaukee M12 and Ryobi 40 volt tools.

I got started with Milwaukee M12 of all things when I bought an electric hooded sweatshirt for my wife. Having the M12 charger and only one battery was a start and then other tools using the M12 batteries have been purchased. I have a tire inflator, small chain saw and pruning shears.

When I wanted a new string trimmer, I ended up with Milwaukee 40 volt because I knew they has several other 40 volt tools that I would likely want. I have a Ryobi walk behind lawn mower, a chain saw and leaf blower and even a power inverter.

If I had to be in just one system, it would be a challenge for me because I don't think anybody makes all of those tools using just one battery, I might be able to get by with two of the same brand, though. Maybe Milwaukee M12 and M18.
 
ghostguy6 said:
If you buy from Amazon just be advised that Milwaukee will not warranty them. There are no officially authorized sellers on Amazon. While there are some sellers who will send you a genuine Milwaukee tool there are also plenty selling good looking fakes. Pretty much every battery only option from Amazon and Ebay are fakes.

What I like to do is look for a sale. Take a photo of the add or bring a flyer to the local home depot and they will beat the price by 10% as long as the model number is the same.
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+

Milwaukee actually doesn't require receipt for warranty. There is a date code within serial number's'
..got it as a gift anyway


To basically say only HD has genuine batteries is fiction.
 
orbital said:
+

Milwaukee actually doesn't require receipt for warranty. There is a date code within serial number's'
..got it as a gift anyway


To basically say only HD has genuine batteries is fiction.
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That is true but the majority of the "Milwaukee tools" on Amazon are fakes, so no warranty. Someone could have gotten their hands on the real tools and be reselling them but they are not an authorized seller. Youtube is full of videos explaining this. Some even take the tool apart to show the internal difference.

Milwaukee will also request a copy of proof of purchase to adjust the warranty period accordingly since the manufacture date may much different from the purchase date.
From the Milwaukee website:
Is Amazon an authorized dealer for Milwaukee tools?
As part of the selective distribution system, Authorised Milwaukee Dealers – the only companies with access to genuine Milwaukee items – are prohibited to sell Milwaukee branded products via third-party sellers or online marketplaces, such as Amazon, eBay, Mano Mano and Facebook to name just a few.
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Do I need my original purchase receipt for the Milwaukee warranty to apply?
A copy of the purchase receipt is requested for warranty service. However, without the purchase receipt, we are still able to determine the age of your product by the products' manufacturing date code.
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There are plenty of places to get genuine batteries besides Home Depot. Actually I hate buying just the batteries from HD because locally they only sell the lower AH batteries. The same batteries that are sold with the tools and even then your spending just as much for 2 batteries as you would for a drill, charger and 2 batteries. Amazon and Ebay are among the top sellers of fake batteries so why risk it?
 
JAS said:
I am in two eco-systems. I have Milwaukee M12 and Ryobi 40 volt tools.

I got started with Milwaukee M12 of all things when I bought an electric hooded sweatshirt for my wife. Having the M12 charger and only one battery was a start and then other tools using the M12 batteries have been purchased. I have a tire inflator, small chain saw and pruning shears.

When I wanted a new string trimmer, I ended up with Milwaukee 40 volt because I knew they has several other 40 volt tools that I would likely want. I have a Ryobi walk behind lawn mower, a chain saw and leaf blower and even a power inverter.

If I had to be in just one system, it would be a challenge for me because I don't think anybody makes all of those tools using just one battery, I might be able to get by with two of the same brand, though. Maybe Milwaukee M12 and M18.
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To be honest, the more I think about it, the more it makes sense to standardize on two different battery platforms. While Ryobi's 18v. platform seems ideal, for One & Done. It really isn't. Some of their power-tools on that platform just aren't good enough. Either in terms of quality or performance, or in some cases both! When it comes to low impact, low rotation, low torque battery-powered tools, Ryobi's 18v. platform usually does extremely well. But when you need power-tools with some real power, Ryobi just seems to come up short. Even against some brands that are a bit cheaper. Just finished watching a video in which a Worx power-tool outperformed its equivalent Ryobi model.

One YouTuber has Ryobi 18v. and Milwaukee 18v. as his two brands of choice. Ryobi for the tools he rarely uses, but still come in handy. Milwaukee for the tools he uses more often and jobs that require more power.
 
orbital said:
To basically say only HD has genuine batteries is fiction.
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Nothing fictional about it. You want to take your chances, go ahead. Everyone on CPF knows the risks of getting counterfeit batteries. Sure, you might run into an honest online seller offering the real thing. Probability says, "Good luck with that!"

I'd rather pay a premium knowing I'm getting the real thing at a place like Home depot, rather than gamble on saving a few bucks. Gambling can be fun. When it comes to lithium-ion battery packs; oh Hell no! No thank you.
 
Monocrom said:
Definitely agree with you. But yeah, needing to change a tire.... Having a compact Impact wrench in your vehicle that'll easily get that job done.... Who wouldn't want that? Get the tool, proper sized battery, put it all into a small canvas mechanic's bag, and just keep that in your vehicle.

Especially handy for mothers, wives, and daughters who drive alone sometimes. It's not like the old days. Chivalry is dead! Chances are that burly-looking dude walking up to them isn't there to help with the flat tire.
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I agree. I have the Metabo one in the back of my car, not in a case, but it's below the false floor. That thing is pretty crazy. I feel like I could remove lug nuts all day. You know in reality

My parents are getting older. I started by getting my Dad a 25 inch breaker bar. A few years ago I got my Dad a Craftsman 1/2" impact wrench and a Dewalt to Craftsman battery adapter (we both had more Dewalt batteries and chargers). I followed it up with finding a scissor jack with a bolt on the end of it so he can use the impact wrench to jack the car up. Every so often I need to retrain them what they have and what it's used for.

So, my Dad used to operate machines before he retired and he surprises me with how able he is sometimes. His hands don't work very well anymore. One of his vehicles came with this little wrench for changing tires that's about 1 foot long. He puts it on the lug nut in just the right position and he stomps on it a couple of times pretty lightly and the lug nut just comes loose like it wasn't even tightened.


By the way, I did buy the M12 Fuel Driver/Drill set today (from HD). That thing is so small, it seems super nice. Do I have to register it or something for the warranty?
 
PaladinNO said:
For impact wrench, I am really glad I went with the overpowered DeWalt DCF899N. 18 V, 1/2", 950 Nm (700 ft lb).

It has a selector with 3 speeds, and I honestly don't know why, but on speed 2, it really struggles with loosening my regular lug nuts. Sometimes, they don't come loose at all - the socket just vibrates from the impacts, but is not turning the nut, even with full speed on the trigger. On speed 3 and half speed on the trigger, however, they come loose almost immediately.

I drive a lot in the snow (no salt on the roads), but I clean and lube the rim, hub and lug nuts every other year to prevent rust, and I always tighten the nuts with 150 Nm (140 Nm torsion bar + torque wrench). Nuts and rims are both aluminium alloy, so I know not to overtighten them. A single, decisive pull with a breaker bar is enough to loosen the nuts, so I don't understand why such a powerful impact wrench would struggle with them on lower speeds. According to the manual, the speed selector only changes the rotational speed, and not the number of impacts or applied torque.
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I hear you, my Metabo Impact Wrench, on speed 3, it's a beast, on speed 2, it feels pretty weak.

You know, with my Dewalt stuff, I find that the pressure you push on the trigger has a lot more control of how much power it drives with.

Now that I think about it, it might be for control. My parents were going to hang a cabinet, I went to the store with them and bought some lag bolts and loaned them my Metabo impact wrench and suggested they use it on level 2. They said it had no problem driving the bolts in.
 
divine said:
Now that I think about it, it might be for control. My parents were going to hang a cabinet, I went to the store with them and bought some lag bolts and loaned them my Metabo impact wrench and suggested they use it on level 2. They said it had no problem driving the bolts in.
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Makes sense. I forgot to mention it in my first post, but when using the impact wrench and the torsion bar to tighten the nuts, I always use speed 2.
Speed 3 when tightening makes everything go so fast, it feels like I have no control of what is happening.

So what speed 1 is meant for, I have no idea. Driving screws maybe, or lag bolts as you mentioned.
For screws and bolts, I am in the market for an impact driver as well (I regret buying another drill, the DCD796 - I already have the DCD991), and I had initially settled on the DCF887. But after reading numerous reviews from people about wobble in the bit holder, I have decided to go for another impact wrench; the DCF922 compact impact wrench.

DCF922 + a DeWalt DT7508 impact ready socket/hex bit adapter should work nicely. The DCF922 is nearly double the power of the DCF887, it drives in screws faster according to a side-by-side review, the gearbox stays significantly cooler during work, and it has a special "screw" mode that automatically disables the impacting when not needed. And if anything should break on the DCF922, it is much more likely to either be the screw or the adapter than the bit holder or gearbox on the DCF887. DCF922 is about 50 % more expensive (equivalent of ~120 USD vs 180 USD), but I'm paying that for a reliable and more versatile tool. Not to mention even more overpowered for my needs. ^^
 
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divine said:
By the way, I did buy the M12 Fuel Driver/Drill set today (from HD). That thing is so small, it seems super nice. Do I have to register it or something for the warranty?
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I'm not 100% sure. But I think you do. Something that costs as much as a Milwaukee, just in case something goes wrong, you don't want to take any chances.

As for the items you mentioned, I have nearly all of that in the trunk of my car. Ironically, not the impact wrench. Sometimes I end up doing a little too much research. I'll likely get the Kobalt model shown in that Short I posted earlier. There's several other power-tools I'd like to get from Kobalt too. So, that would work out for me. Really wish Ryobi's impact wrench was good enough to literally get the job done.
 
Monocrom said:
I'd rather pay a premium knowing I'm getting the real thing at a place like Home depot, rather than gamble on saving a few bucks. Gambling can be fun. When it comes to lithium-ion battery packs; oh Hell no! No thank you.
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Couldn't have said it better.
 
Thank you. I treat all of my lithium-ion batteries like violent prisoners in a Super-max facility.... and I'm in the tower with a Ruger Mini-14. As long as they behave the way they are supposed to while sitting idle, or while charging; everything is good. The instant one of them remotely acts up or does something funny.... Oh, it's gone!!! No second chances.
 
iacchus said:
I run Makita and Metabo, but if I had to just run Metabo I'd be fine.
They are really solid performers for the price and lack the cult around them that drives prices up into the stratosphere.
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Only thing I find confusing is Metabo is made in Germany. But Metabo HBT is apparently associated with lower quality power-tools. It's odd because normally you see a 3-letter suffix after the brand name, that indicates a more powerful line of tools associated with the brand. But with Metabo, it's the opposite.
 
Monocrom said:
Only thing I find confusing is Metabo is made in Germany. But Metabo HBT is apparently associated with lower quality power-tools. It's odd because normally you see a 3-letter suffix after the brand name, that indicates a more powerful line of tools associated with the brand. But with Metabo, it's the opposite.
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Metabo is in a confusing situation now.
Hitachi Power Tools (HPT) bought Metabo in 2015. Koki, a North American investment firm then bought the Hitachi Power Tools division in 2017 and fused the lines in 2018 to be "Metabo HPT".

The weird naming convention comes from conditions in the deal about Hitachi, an old and proud company, having legal last say over anything sold with their name branded on it, even after the sale of their power tool line. To avoid issues there, we get Metabo HPT in part of the world, and "HiKoki" in another part of the world, but they're all the same tools.

From all reports, the quality of the tools did not diminish any (at least, any more than they had after the German glory days, which were long past by the time Hitachi had bought them anyway).

There's no more Metabo, just Metabo HPT now.
 
+

Have one of these for both my DeWalt & Milwaukee compatible batteries.

.. run a 36V DC fan at 20V from the Type C. Recharge at 65W with the Type C, so no disconnecting.
Works great!

 
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