Battery powered tools - what is the point?

[flameport]

The obsession with battery powered everything - why?

Battery powered devices cost substantially more than a mains powered equivalent
Compared to a mains powered equivalent they are feeble
Batteries take longer to recharge than the use time - meaning you need multiple batteries.
Batteries require replacement long before the tool does - assuming batteries are even still available.
Replacement batteries are expensive - often a tool with 2 batteries is the same or cheaper than 2 batteries on their own.

It's not the fact of using them where mains power is not available - the very first thing people with battery powered tools do is rush to the nearest power outlet and plug a rack of batteries in to charge.

Dewalt now have batteries which can connect via Bluetooth to your phone - solving problems which don't exist.
They also make a battery powered table saw now - a device which is set up and used in one place, and has a very high powered motor. Exactly the kind of thing for which batteries are next to useless.

Even vacuum cleaners - battery powered and left permanently on charge just to avoid connecting to a wall outlet.

 

[Doggit]

Interesting view, but do you have any battery operated items to actually compare against.

I've now got a new cordless drill, 5" angle grinder, sds drill, and whilst a few of your comments are correct, the flexibility that batteries give more than makes up for the issues. I can just pick up an item and use it, without having to plug it in, wiggle round the lead that you invariably get caught up in, and don't have to go hunting for the extension lead when I'm working outside.

I soon realised that you need one battery per item, so that you you've always got power, so I can now just pick up another battery if one goes flat.

Yes, more expensive, but definitely worth it, although I'm not sure about the mitre saw; you need 5Ah batteries for that, and I still don't think it'll be as good as my corded one, nor the Dewalt plane. As to the Bluetooth batteries, someone here recently pointed out that if you're phone got stolen, then the batteries would stop working, so I'll agree with you on that point.

At the end of it, I like the convenience, and I'll expand my range as the tools improve.

 

[Mikefromlondon]

I can understand vacuum cleaners without long trailing cables, often when stretched their limits can cause electrical sparks and what not, and for people like me who have cats, its easier to pick these hairs with a hand held vacuum cleaner, same goes again for drills, they are just convenient without a trailing cable and extension leads going all over ready to trip someone, but other than that, I can see a problem with working on commercial and building sites where any mains equipment must be powered by a 110v Transformer, due to H&S issues, so I think they have a place in our daily life. In some places you just don't have a power socket so there you go Doggit. Though I agree in some places you could use mains driven power tools, and in some places battery operated tools may not work efficiently.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Corded tools - what is the point? It is plain to see that you are not a site worker. For those of us who have that pleasure dispensing with the need to lug around heavy transformers, oir worse a smelly, environmentally unfriendly generator, multiple cables, etc makes cordless a must.

Batteries take longer to recharge than the use time - meaning you need multiple batteries.

In that case the batteries you are using have too low a capacity. With the right amperage batteries you rarely run out of steam before the next battery has charged. Admnittedly I'm on 18 volt 5Ah

They also make a battery powered table saw now - a device which is set up and used in one place, and has a very high powered motor. Exactly the kind of thing for which batteries are next to useless.

Unless, of course, you are working miles from mains power and have no generator with you and need to d a number of accurate rips. In which case......

I soon realised that you need one battery per item, so that you you've always got power, so I can now just pick up another battery if one goes flat.

I haven't gone quite that far, but I share six 5Ah batteries between tools so I'm never out of popwer - and I have a double battery charger for good measure

I'm not sure about the mitre saw; you need 5Ah batteries for that, and I still don't think it'll be as good as my corded one, nor the Dewalt plane.

I used to think that but the glaziers we have changed my mind - they use a chop saw for beads, etc and it doesn't require a new PAT test certificate for every site they visit every 3 months. It also means that they can use it in buildings without power (again) whilst one of my erstwhile house bashing colleagues said that he's looking forwards to having a twin battery chop saw as they mean he can 2nd fix a house without the need for power BEFORE the sparkies have certed and switched on the power. On bigger developments he says the only alternative is to lug a genny round with hime - expensive and noisy

 

[nickjb]

The only factually correct thing in the original post is that the pricing of batteries compared to tools is a bit messed up. Some of the statements might be valid for older cordless tools, have you even used modern battery tools? So much more convenient, safer, and not even that much in it price wise. The cordless Hoover is a revelation!

 

[^woody^]

It's not the fact of using them where mains power is not available - the very first thing people with battery powered tools do is rush to the nearest power outlet and plug a rack of batteries in to charge.

People with cordless tools have several high capacity batteries, and dont rely on sockets.

I had to check if the OP was originally from 1990 and was referring to 7.2v tools

 

[John D v2.0]

Tbh I was with the op until the builders on our extension lent me their combi drill and impact driver. Now I've bought my own and I'm wondering what I'll use my mains drill for in future. Yes I spent 70 qid for the drill body, but then the battery was 45 and the charge was twenty something, but for something I just use here and there not having an extension lead is a massive luxury.
At the end of the day you decide how much use you'll get and decide what you want to spend. But personally I'm sold.
Ps mine is the 18v makita, other types may vary.

 

[crank39]

Why do people still buy laptops when they're 3 or 4 times the price of an equivalent desktop?

 

[SammyInnit]

Most of the points made by OP would be absolutely relevant 10-15 years ago when NiCd batteries were all the rage but I just don't share the disappointment with new lithium tools. I've completely replaced all my tools with cordless. There's only one, 110v tool I use on site occasionally and that's a 305mm TCT cut off saw but I've recently got myself a metal cutting circular saw which has replaced it mostly. Whilst expensive I've 13 batteries ranging from 4 to 6ah so I can go days, even weeks without recharging.

It's just more convenient for me to use cordless tools. I'm not really going to be in the same place for too long on site, working at height and across open areas I just get fed up of trailing leads everywhere not to mention the PAT certs contractors are always asking for when ever I decide to use corded mains powered tools. Using cordless tools also eliminates the electrocution risk entirely.

It's a lot of money but I did it over the course of a year just spending a few hundred each month. Brushless tools are a little more expensive but worth the extra if you're concerned about draining batteries quickly. Especially when it comes to saws.

 

[^woody^]

I've 13 batteries ranging from 4 to 6ah so I can go days,

Respect

 

[^woody^]

I'm liking the look of the new dewalt flex volt range. Incredible power. If I was going to buy into a system today, that would be the one.

 

[crank39]

I'm liking the look of the new dewalt flex volt range. Incredible power. If I was going to buy into a system today, that would be the one.

Do it, you won't be disappointed, 6Ah of pure madness, I have the grinder and it's a beast

 

[SammyInnit]

Respect

I wish the mrs saw it the same way.

 

[Mikefromlondon]

My Dewalt 18v drill, the only snag is it has Electronic instant brakes, which is quite annoying as the larger is the bit, the larger its turning mass, (inertia) so when you pull back on the trigger switch, it stops dead instantly knocking the bit out of its chuck, as the chuck jaws loosen up, if you were up a ladder, you would constantly need to get down to pick up the bit that came loose and fallen out of it, so at some stage I will need to defeat these brake mechanism. Even a small 3mm drill bit comes loose and falls out. I have tried tightening it up real hard on maximum torque, it then seems ok on smaller bits but on larger ones it still undo and the bit falls out.
Alternatively, you need to learn to release the trigger slowly to stop it slower, but I still have not got the hang of it. Stopping abruptly is what causes this problem, I wonder if this is common on other brands as well. It seems that there may be an electromagnetic brake on it as it really does stop instantly.

 

[SammyInnit]

My Dewalt 18v drill, the only snag is it has Electronic instant brakes, which is quite annoying as the larger is the bit, the larger its turning mass, (inertia) so when you pull back on the trigger switch, it stops dead instantly knocking the bit out of its chuck, as the chuck jaws loosen up, if you were up a ladder, you would constantly need to get down to pick up the bit that came loose and fallen out of it, so at some stage I will need to defeat these brake mechanism. Even a small 3mm drill bit comes loose and falls out. I have tried tightening it up real hard on maximum torque, it then seems ok on smaller bits but on larger ones it still undo and the bit falls out.
Alternatively, you need to learn to release the trigger slowly to stop it slower, but I still have not got the hang of it. Stopping abruptly is what causes this problem, I wonder if this is common on other brands as well. It seems that there may be an electromagnetic brake on it as it really does stop instantly.

Sounds like a dodgey chuck to me. I get it rarely when I'm blowing a 32mm cone drill through sheet steel but nothing like you're describing. Makita drills fyi.