New cordless drills

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PetrosA

Senior Member
I have better use out of my Lithium 18 V 3.0 AH

than my 18V 2.5 AH Big mother battery

Its more capacity same voltage

Sorry, maybe I was unclear. I don't mean to not use Li-Ion, we all know they pack more punch in the same size (3.0 AH is more capacity than 2.5AH). The problem a lot of people complained about were the slim Li-Ion battery packs. That's why Milwaukee is now reverting to bigger packs. The slim ones don't have the runtime we need. Also, because Li-Ion generally has a low-volt cutoff so you don't damage the battery, the smaller the pack, the less use you get before the switch cuts off.
 
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76nemo

Senior Member
Location
Ogdensburg, NY
If people would learn to not run there batteries till they are dead and hot they would get much more service out of them. No other electrician I've ran into besides myself understands or believes this.


First I have heard that statement. When mine get slow, I tape the trigger closed and let them sit on the floor 'til they're dead. I have gotten great recharge times out of them. What type of battery are you referring to exactly?
 

76nemo

Senior Member
Location
Ogdensburg, NY
I can understand not wanting/letting them get hot, but when mine get slow, as I said, I tape 'em and leave them be on the floor until they croak. These last two batteries are over a year old and still going strong. I don't run them dead under load, just tape 'em when they're slacking. Good results for me so far since I went cordless.
 

Flex

Senior Member
Location
poestenkill ny

quogueelectric

Senior Member
Location
new york
I have the new half sized li 18 v milwaulkee and I love them. I even picked up an extra drill no bat new on ebay for 60 bucks. these drills are pint sized terrors. Almost like a toy but with the teeth of a corded drill. I love them. Especially the 18v li 1/4" impact gun. It drives deck screws like an animal.
 

Cow

Senior Member
Location
Eastern Oregon
Occupation
Electrician
I can understand not wanting/letting them get hot, but when mine get slow, as I said, I tape 'em and leave them be on the floor until they croak. These last two batteries are over a year old and still going strong. I don't run them dead under load, just tape 'em when they're slacking. Good results for me so far since I went cordless.

Taken from the Dewalt website FAQ's:

You should re-charge the battery when you notice a significant decrease in tool performance.Battery packs should not be completely discharged before re-charging. Completely discharging a DEWALT battery pack may cause damage to the cells in the battery. Completeley running down a battery may damage it, resulting in decreased run time or early end of life.
 

curt swartz

Electrical Contractor - San Jose, CA
Location
San Jose, CA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
Nemo, you are not only killing your batteries but probably also damaging your motors. The more you use a battery the more heat it produces. The longer you need to charge the battery the hotter it gets. Heat is the killer of batteries. Run your batteries until they no longer do the work you want them to do and then recharge. Your batteries and tools will last much longer.
 
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benaround

Senior Member
Location
Arizona
Nemo, you are not only killing your batteries but probably also damaging your motors. The more you use a battery the more heat it produces. The longer you need to charge the battery the hotter it gets. Heat is the killer of batteries. Run your batteries until they no longer do the work you want them to do and then recharge. Your batteries and tools will last much longer.

I agree with that 100%.
 

TOOL_5150

Senior Member
Location
bay area, ca
The dewalt nano packs do pack more punch - but i wish they would warn you when you were approaching the turn off point. I never use the nano packs for my flashlights. and i usually have to bring an extra pack when drilling under a house or in an attic. Im not all that sure I would have changed to the nano packs if I could do it all over again. Id rather have the extra little power to do 10 more revolutions of the drill, rather than the pack turning off abruptly. I find myself much more apprehensive when using the nano packs in an area not easy to get to, as I am always thinking about if the pack is going to stop before I get done what I need to get done.

~Matt
 
Location
NE (9.06 miles @5.9 Degrees from Winged Horses)
Occupation
EC - retired
Milwaukee stomped on their own foot when they changed the battery connection of the new 18v. Other than forcing a guy to replace older working tools, I don't know why they did that. Recently bought a Milw impact that uses the older battery. Very nice.

My second batttery tool was a 9v Makita. 10 years old, maybe older. Still works.

If you have to drill holes all day, stretch out a cord.
 

PetrosA

Senior Member
Milwaukee stomped on their own foot when they changed the battery connection of the new 18v. Other than forcing a guy to replace older working tools, I don't know why they did that. Recently bought a Milw impact that uses the older battery. Very nice.

My second batttery tool was a 9v Makita. 10 years old, maybe older. Still works.

If you have to drill holes all day, stretch out a cord.

I think it's just the slim 18s that don't fit the older stuff. I recently tried a Li-Ion (large pack) on my Hatchet and it worked fine. I'll upgrade the batteries and charger and be able to keep a great tool!
 

Ohmy

Senior Member
Location
Atlanta, GA
It is time to replace and upgrade the cordless drills. I have mostly old Dewalt. They are tough, but batteries are old. With what new batteries cost, I just as well buy new drill kits!! I know this has been mentioned many times here before, but do you have any tips on the latest in Lithium batts, size etc. ? Thanks to all for making this forum GREAT!:smile:

Go to HD and buy three Ryobi drills, two flash lights, a sawsall, skill saw, jig saw, and eighteen batteries for the price of one fancy pants drill. Skip the warranty. When the drill breaks (which it will) throw in in the trash and grap a new one. This is the most economic and easy way of owning a drill.

If your pride won't let you buy a Ryobi....get the Dewalt. If I had a dollar for everytime someone around here had to send their Milwaukie to get repaired, I would have like 18 bucks.
 

ultramegabob

Senior Member
Location
Indiana
Go to HD and buy three Ryobi drills, two flash lights, a sawsall, skill saw, jig saw, and eighteen batteries for the price of one fancy pants drill. Skip the warranty. When the drill breaks (which it will) throw in in the trash and grap a new one. This is the most economic and easy way of owning a drill.

I have pretty much the same view on buying drills, I have gotten over worrying about what other people think about what brand drill I use a long time ago, I got sick of having to replace stolen Porter Cable or Dewalt drills.... Now I am on my second 19.2v Craftsman drill, it has a 1/2 chuck and hammerdrill function, I have been using it for 2 years and It cost me around 99 dollars, I believe it is made by Ryobi. It gets the job done, and nobody seems to want to walk off with it, and if it does get stolen or I drop it off a scaffold and it breaks, it wont break the bank to replace it....
 

izak

Senior Member
Location
Springfield, MO
I NEVER run my nicad batteries all the way dead, i generally quit using them as soon as they slow down. of that means i have to stop halfway through a hole to recharge, then i will wait or do something else. if it means I need to stop halfway through a peice of pipe, then i go get my hacksaw.

18v dewalt batteries are too expensive to ruin just because you "need an extra 10 revolutions"
 

Rick Christopherson

Senior Member
Considering you guys are professionals and live or die by your tools, I am surprised no one has mentioned Festool. They are intelligent drivers and were the first brand to hit the market with 3-phase servo motors (brushless DC). The 3-stage planetary gearset is bullet-proof, and the internal electronics will protect both the motor and the battery from your abuse and mistakes. They have an unlimited 3-year warranty that even covers the batteries.
geartrain-lo.jpg


For example, as was already pointed out, never discharge the battery to 0% by tying the trigger on. The Festool drill monitors the battery life and shuts the drill down if the battery overheats, goes too far into the depleted range, or the motor current or motor temperature gets too high. If you try to take more juice out of the battery than the battery can safely deliver, it shuts down. For example, with a full battery, the drill will happily drive a 6 inch lag screw, but if the battery still has plenty of power for other tasks, but is down to say 10% capacity, the electronics won't let you over-tax the battery by trying to drive a huge lag screw, and shutting down and giving you an audible beep to tell you why it shut down.

On most drills, if you left them sitting out in the hot sun, their internal temperature would easily shoot up above 120 degrees before use, and when you used the drill, you would damage the motor and battery. The Festool drill monitors temperature and would not allow you to damage the drill even if you tried.

The original version of the drill is the C12, and has a C-handle design with either NiCd or NiMH batteries. I wrote a technical review for it a couple of years ago. Festool C12 Technical Review.

The newest version is the T12 and T15 drills, and are a T-handle design and come with either NiCd, NiMH, or LiIon. Because of the greater efficiency of the 3-phase motor, these low voltage drills have more power than their higher voltage counterparts. The new T-class drills use a custom motor manufactured by Festool, which is so secret that only a couple of people at the company are permitted to enter the area where they are wound. (Normally Festool shows off their motor-line with pride, but these motors are wound in a secluding section of the factory.) The T-class drills come with the right-angle head, which would come in handy for drilling studs. It is not just a snap-on part, but locks to the drill housing in any position you want.

Oh, I almost forgot, but for me personally, I absolutely despise the "grinding" sound that a drill's clutch makes when it engages. The C12 drill has a sensor in the clutch so that when the clutch engages, the motor stops with just a single click of the clutch. The new T15 drill has an electronic clutch and is totally silent. When the motor current reaches the clutch set-point, the drill beeps and stops-no grinding sound!

C12 Drill: (with quick-change tip. The removable keyless chuck is shown below next to the picture of the T15. All chucks are interchangeable, quick-release and can be swapped out in less than 2 seconds. They include a standard chuck, right angle chuck, offset chuck--for getting in tight areas like next to a wall, and a drywall chuck.
564178-Front.jpg


T15 Drill:
16.jpg


I don't work for Festool, but I do some technical writing for them as a hobby.
 

Ohmy

Senior Member
Location
Atlanta, GA
Considering you guys are professionals and live or die by your tools, I am surprised no one has mentioned Festool.
I don't work for Festool, but I do some technical writing for them as a hobby.

We are electricians...not cabinet installers. No knock on a nice tool, but this drill doesn't cut it for most electricians.
 

nakulak

Senior Member
I would just as soon put a bullet in my head than buy a $350.00 cordless drill.
http://www.toolking.com/category/search-by-brand/festool-tools/festool-cordless-drills.aspx

I treat my tools like little workers - if they can't pay for themselves in short order and start making money, I don't need them. That goes for my truck, gang boxes, cordless tools, electric tools, hydraulic tools, test equipment, etc. I don't care what your literature says, you can't build a bomb proof cordless drill. (And if I am on a hot roof 10 floors up, I want to be the one to decide if I should just burn the drill up and finish the job or go get a different one). JMSHIO
 
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