Best Brand for Cordless Power Tools?

[Spork]

Has anyone here experimented with generic batteries?  I've gone the Makita route and am happy with the tools. The generic batteries look a lot cheaper, but maybe they don't last as well?

Sort of.  I bought a generic on-sale battery pack at Tractor Supply, cannibalized it and rebuilt a DeWalt battery.  It was less than stellar -- but there was no markings of amp-hours or anything on the pack or the batteries.  I am not sure it's a good comparison.

I have bought an off-brand replacement pack for a Porter Cable drill... and it worked well for about 2.5 years.... then it went the way most NiCd packs go and wouldn't hold a charge.  I can't remember exactly the brand, but I believe I just bought the one with the best reviews at the time.

[TomTX]

I would stick with name brand lithium packs only. Cheap NiCds are crap and cheap Lithiums are dangerous.

[GilbertB]

I work on ships, we use battery hand tools a lot, because setting up wiring can be a hassle with hot pipes and big spinning things etc.

In Eurrope sold brands, only these seem to survive daily use:
Makita (heavy duty) and Metabo.

So that's what I also get.
I used to like Dewalt a lot in the early 2000's, but then got a whole lot of tools that would randomly self destruct on the job, so despite the specs, I now avoid them. Maybe they have better models in the US.
As an aside, look at the whole system, it's a pain to invest in one, only to find they don't have a decent X and having to buy a separate charger and battery set just for that X.

[lthenderson]

I've bought off brand batteries before but they never have been as good as the original name brand batteries. The last time I needed batteries, I ended up upgrading my cordless tools to lighter more powerful models so I haven't bought batteries in a decade.

[Ben Hogan]

Most of my mechanic friends uses Milwauke brand 20V systems.

[moneywookiee]

I purchased a home that needed alot of TLC this past summer.  I went from having a few screwdrivers and hammer to a full array of tools.  I went with Milwaukee's 12v line and it hasn't failed me once.  Home depot will usually have sales/coupons to offset cost. 

[gimp]

Best, or best bang for buck?

Best would be snap-on or one of its sister brands. 700+ lb-ft of torque from a lithium 1/2" impact? Yes please.

Best bang for buck might be Milwaukee. Make sure you get precisely what you need - high power batteries, and the correct drive sizes and torque ratings where appropriate. If something of theirs looks too cheap, it's probably smaller than you thought. (For example, don't confuse a 1/4" drill with a 3/8" drill.)

[Doggybutt]

I used to be a proponent of buying the best tools I could afford; however, I've found over the past 10 years or so the quality of mid-range tools (in this case DeWalt, Makita, etc.) has gone down while the quality of off-brand inexpensive tools (like what they sell at Harbor Freight) has gone up.  As a result, I generally now buy the most inexpensive tool I can find unless I have a compelling reason to buy a more expensive version.*

*i.e. if I was going to start a business building custom cabinets, I would want a commercial table saw so I could quickly process high volumes of materials at a very high level of precision, but for just building my own cabinets and household furniture over time, I can use my 50 year-old craftsman table saw and take a little more time.

[onecoolcat]

My dad has worked in construction all his life and he strongly prefers Dewalt.  He says Makita is often used on construction sites as well so I would chose between the two.  I believe he said Milwaukee is decent as well but I may be mistaken.  He doesn't like RIGID, Ryobi, Bosch, Black and Decker or pretty much everything else out there.  I can also say that as a construction attorney I see mostly Makita and Dewalt power tools on projects so it seems the construction industry has a preference.

My dad also advised me to buy a corded circular saw and cordless drill/driver.  Apparently cordless circular saws drain their batteries very quickly.

[Noahjoe]

I have a cordless Makita circular saw and angle grinder, which many often advocate for a corded version. While it does drain batteries spectacularly fast (I can get through ripping a couple sheets of 1/2 or 3/4 OSB, so probably a hundred linear feet of cutting?), if you're running multiple batteries it's really not an issue. But then, I have 5 batteries as a homeowner (and a fetish for power tools). I can honestly say that I'll probably never buy another handheld corded tool. You get tons of power and good enough battery life that extension cords/hunting down plugs just isn't worth it anymore.

[Spork]

I have a cordless Makita circular saw and angle grinder, which many often advocate for a corded version. While it does drain batteries spectacularly fast (I can get through ripping a couple sheets of 1/2 or 3/4 OSB, so probably a hundred linear feet of cutting?), if you're running multiple batteries it's really not an issue. But then, I have 5 batteries as a homeowner (and a fetish for power tools). I can honestly say that I'll probably never buy another handheld corded tool. You get tons of power and good enough battery life that extension cords/hunting down plugs just isn't worth it anymore.

So... how old are the batteries?  I realize the newer generations of batteries last longer, but I'm old enough that I've been through about 5 (maybe more) different sets of batteries for cordless drills.  Sometimes I replaced/rebuilt batteries and sometimes I replaced the tool -- depending on which one was more economical.

But compare that to my first corded drill and my first corded circular saw... They're over 30 years old and still work.

[chris316]

I've had good luck with Black and Decker. Seems like a solid brand for the price, and doesn't break the bank like Milwaukee and Bosch.

As always I usually go to harbor freight when I need a handy tool.

http://www.harborfreight.com/

[Noahjoe]

My batteries range from 2-6 years old. The 6 years old are 1.5 MAH and don't last quite as long, though they're still fully serviceable. Thing is, you can flip a used battery on craigslist for probably 60-70% the cost of a new one. So I rotate stock ;) While I can appreciate a corded tool's longevity, I find that the extra utility I get from my tools being cordless is worth it to me. And as I said before, Craigslist has helped keep costs reasonable. For instance, I got my brushless angle grinder for 20 bucks.

[CptCool]

I have a cordless Makita circular saw and angle grinder, which many often advocate for a corded version. While it does drain batteries spectacularly fast (I can get through ripping a couple sheets of 1/2 or 3/4 OSB, so probably a hundred linear feet of cutting?), if you're running multiple batteries it's really not an issue. But then, I have 5 batteries as a homeowner (and a fetish for power tools). I can honestly say that I'll probably never buy another handheld corded tool. You get tons of power and good enough battery life that extension cords/hunting down plugs just isn't worth it anymore.

So... how old are the batteries?  I realize the newer generations of batteries last longer, but I'm old enough that I've been through about 5 (maybe more) different sets of batteries for cordless drills.  Sometimes I replaced/rebuilt batteries and sometimes I replaced the tool -- depending on which one was more economical.

But compare that to my first corded drill and my first corded circular saw... They're over 30 years old and still work.

Rigid has a lifetime warranty on their batteries. This effectively gives you 2 for the price of 1 since the replacement battery they send out doesn't have the same warranty. I've got a small 12v drill & an impact driver that has been going strong for 2 years so far with no sign of battery depletion. I use these for everything on my own house & rentals so average a couple hours per week over those 2 years.

And I dont think home depot is going out of business anytime soon so the "lifetime" warranty may actually be for a lifetime

[Spork]

I have a cordless Makita circular saw and angle grinder, which many often advocate for a corded version. While it does drain batteries spectacularly fast (I can get through ripping a couple sheets of 1/2 or 3/4 OSB, so probably a hundred linear feet of cutting?), if you're running multiple batteries it's really not an issue. But then, I have 5 batteries as a homeowner (and a fetish for power tools). I can honestly say that I'll probably never buy another handheld corded tool. You get tons of power and good enough battery life that extension cords/hunting down plugs just isn't worth it anymore.

So... how old are the batteries?  I realize the newer generations of batteries last longer, but I'm old enough that I've been through about 5 (maybe more) different sets of batteries for cordless drills.  Sometimes I replaced/rebuilt batteries and sometimes I replaced the tool -- depending on which one was more economical.

But compare that to my first corded drill and my first corded circular saw... They're over 30 years old and still work.

Rigid has a lifetime warranty on their batteries. This effectively gives you 2 for the price of 1 since the replacement battery they send out doesn't have the same warranty. I've got a small 12v drill & an impact driver that has been going strong for 2 years so far with no sign of battery depletion. I use these for everything on my own house & rentals so average a couple hours per week over those 2 years.

And I dont think home depot is going out of business anytime soon so the "lifetime" warranty may actually be for a lifetime

I actually have Rigid drill and driver in 18v versions.  I would never really give up on a cordless drill/driver.  But I have gone through at least 5 drills over time -- and that is not including replacing or rebuilding batteries, which I have also done.  Often battery replacement/repair is more expensive than finding a new tool on sale.

My point is that over 35ish years, I still have the same corded drill and it still works fine.  And when I tried a cordless circular saw, that pair of batteries went south in about 2 years, was rebuilt and died again in 2 years.... while my original circular saw from 35 years earlier still works fine and has more power to begin with.  I did like how light and nimble the cordless was, but ... it's hard to take the constant replacement.

Maybe Lithium batteries fix this issue... but from what I've read they actually have a shorter life cycle than NiCd.