School me on cordless power tools!
 

alright guys. i know there are a lot of tool geeks on this site and i definitely want some input on experience and expertise. i have a cordless 18v (i think) drill that has done its duty for the last ~5 years. some random "kawasaki" brand from Costco. an old heavy ni-cad battery that gets hot and doesn't hold a charge all too well anymore. the time has come to put it out to pasture.

im looking to replace it with a good cordless powertool. now i am NOT a professional, i am NOT a contractor, and i dont do too much home improvement stuff (as im a renter). but this does not mean i will settle for some canadian tire house brand.

most common brands i see around are makita, ryobi, milwakee, deWalt, ridgit, and then of course your house brands like mastercraft or whatever the princess auto brand is. powerfist i think.

i guess the easiest way to explain what i would be looking for is some bullet points. i'd love to get a few different tools but im in no rush to buy them all at once. im fine waiting for sales and special offers. i just need the tools where if i need to build a shelf, no problem. drill some holes in wood, sheetmetal, whatever. ive been slowly building up my arsenal for a future garage, and this would be no exception.

- something that is good value for money. i do not need professional grade, but i want a quality product for the money that "wont leave me stranded", if you will.
- lithium ion battery is a must.
- id be looking for a brand that sells drills, impact driver, possibly also things like a belt sander or the 5" circular saws.
- stay the same brand so batteries are interchangeable

in the recent past i've used a few ryobi products and quite liked the way they feel. but since i have no real knowledge on the subject that doesn't mean shit lol. im open to all suggestions so lets hear it!

ps: i notice that lots of brands sell "combo kits" which will come with a few different tools. but the models of each tool included seem to be very budget oriented. i dont mind buying each tool individually if it means my quality per tool is higher

just make sure you get one that uses lithium batteries as they will last the longest compared to a nickle cadium.
These Brands Makita, ryobi, Milwakee, DeWalt, ridgit are your best bet.
I personally like the Dewalt lineup then Makita or Milwakee

https://www.youtube.com/user/arduinoversusevil

Check this guy out. He pulls apart a lot of power tools and shows you exactly whats what. You would be surprised how cheap a lot of expensive tools are and which ones are in fact better to buy than others.

Dewalt is generally a good buy for most everything. Milwaukee is decent too.
If you look at multiple tools, having the ability to take battery packs from one to the other is nice too so have a look at which brand fits you best and stick with that (this is what I have done for the most part).

Most professionals I know (or enthusiasts that go majorly into projects) tend to prefer Makita or Milwaukee. I personally use a random mix of Makita, Ryobi and Mastercraft. Makita for an impact gun and drill, Mastercraft for an angle grinder, Ryobi for anything else that I wont use too often. Used to have a few Black and Decker units, but they started shitting the bed on a frequent basis and I had enough.

Personally I'd suggest going the 18v route, but if the tools are only going to be for occasional use, you're fine with 12v units. Don't worry about brushed vs brushless tools either, especially if this is just for weekend projects.

If you want something on a budget and is pretty reliable, the Ryobi One+ series is actually pretty decent, especially considering the price. Their units tend to be fairly comfortable and their universal battery is a huge plus.

thats what ive been looking at yesterday and today. definitely just a weekend warrior projects right now, but i do want something that i wont have to worry about for the next few years. heavy duty cycle tools like angle grinder and sawsall i have corded already, so i wouldn't be running out to replace those with the wireless counterpart.

ive seen a lot of the 'AvE' youtube videos, he's a local guy that disassembled a lot of power tools. though to be fair its for shits and giggles and ive never actually taken any real consumer advice away from him :p

FYI, stay away from cordless tools that state they are a "hammer drill" or similar. They are nothing but vibrators.
Check out the link to AvE on youtube. He pulls appart almost every one of them and they do nothing more than shake and make noise.

I'm going to add my 2 cents in. I say stay away from Makita. I've had 3 out of 4 batteries fail on me. The 4th one is showing signs of failing. Failing meaning not degrading in performance but bricking (refusing to initiate a charge).

I've read that the Makita batteries will do a diagnostic and if it senses something wrong 3 times it will brick the battery pack. Even if one changes the dead cells, there is software in there that can't be reset.

I'm just a weekend warrior myself and don't push it that hard. It might be because I sometimes let the batteries sit and not use them enough.

I've replaced with aftermarket batteries made in China from Amazon and they actually seem to be holding.

If I were to do it over again, I it would be Milwaukee or Dewalt or Bosch.

So I've been reading up a bit, and it seems that even though there are tonnes of brands, they are all made in about 2-3 factories. And every single brand seems to have good and bad reviews about each single part. The only one that seems pretty amazing is Hilti, but that is hilariously beyond my need and price point.

What I've taken away mostly is buy a good quality tool, but popular enough where replacement parts like batteries, clutch or speed switches are cheaply replaced. As in Etobicoke vs dewalt

Thoughts on this package? More than I wanted to spend initially, but comes with a shit load of stuff, and a bonus cordless miter saw. Thoughts?

https://www.flyertown.ca/mobile/home...&h=1838.309434

Looked into Bosch? I have heard good things about thing. At work we have a mix of Makita, Milauwakee, and Hilti. None has failed so far after 2 years.

Yeah I just realized I don't have the space for all those tools in that box set. So fuck that

I have a few contractor friends which I have also flipped this question to. I keep getting responses like...

Friend 1: I only use Milwaukee. We used to use makita at work but they kept failing. Fuck those things!!!
Friend 2: oh fuck Milwaukee. I used to have to replace them every 6 months. Now I use exclusively makita and they haven't failed yet!

So confusing. Seems like it's really a Coke vs Pepsi kind of thing

I've got a mix of cordless tools like Lomac but different brands. I have a Lincoln 18v grease gun, Dewalt 18v 1/2" impact and impact driver, Craftsman 19.2 drill and impact driver. They've all done well for me but the biggest problem is each company uses a different battery and I have to carry around 3 different chargers.
I've been on a look out to replace everything with a common brand and keep it down to two or three batteries and a charger but no maker has the right fit for me between each tool.

If you're only a weekend user, Craftsman tools are cheap in the US and the replacement li-ion batteries aren't too bad in price either. The selection up here is crappy.

I'm a big fan or Ryobi. When you are buying a battery operated tool, you are buying into a system and Ryobi has a wide variety of tools in there system. You can pick up a drill and driver combo set for $99 when on sale. My favorite tool has to be the cordless braid nailer.

KMS recently fucked up on an ad in their flyer for a 20v dewalt cordless tool kit, I ended up getting the 5pc kit for like the price of just the 2pc drill kit.

Used it a fair amount and it seems very good. The other drill of mine is a ryobi and this dewalt is much nicer (it ought to be given the price).

My other experience is through company tools which have been either Milwaukee or hilti. Hilti shit is top of the line, robust and nice to use, but you pay a hefty premium if you just want to buy it. Milwaukee makes okay stuff, lots of companies use them as disposable tools, buy them for a project and throw them out at the end of the project.

Professional dealership technician here, and for automotive uses, my Milwaukee 18v fuel stuff is awesome, IMO, nothing comes close. And I used Marita for 3 years prior.

ARGGG, why did I miss that!?! :P