18V brushless power tools - recommended platform/brand

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2391 posts

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#2986997 23-Oct-2022 21:07

angski:

Battery
Almost every tool provider crows that they have 5Ah, 6Ah, 7Ah and 8Ah batteries. The bigger the batteries, the heavier the overall tool. Do you really want to carry 8Ah battery, climb up 2m up and drill a couple of holes, or would a 4Ah (which could be half the weight). Dewalt knew about this and recently, they came out with a lighter battery pack using mobile phone type batteries.

just keep in mind that a lot of tools perform a lot better on the bigger battery packs. the smaller packs tend to limit the output. something to watch when they come with 3ah battery packs.

also the "flat pack" battery packs can perform whole lot different. its best to check out the performance testing before buying.

raytaylor

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#2987343 24-Oct-2022 16:22

I am a pretty big fan of the Milwaukee M18 series.

However for home use I think geekzone users in the past have held the consensus that Ozito from bunnings is pretty darn good.

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beddy

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#2987361 24-Oct-2022 17:24

raytaylor:

I am a pretty big fan of the Milwaukee M18 series.

However for home use I think geekzone users in the past have held the consensus that Ozito from bunnings is pretty darn good.

I've got some of the Ozito PXC tools and they seem perfectly fine for what I do, which is just the odd bit of DIY.

The tools come with a 5 year warranty, and the battery and chargers come with 3, so if there's any issues you can take it back and they'll give you a new one.

johno1234

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#2987363 24-Oct-2022 17:38

beddy:

raytaylor:

I am a pretty big fan of the Milwaukee M18 series.

However for home use I think geekzone users in the past have held the consensus that Ozito from bunnings is pretty darn good.

I've got some of the Ozito PXC tools and they seem perfectly fine for what I do, which is just the odd bit of DIY.

The tools come with a 5 year warranty, and the battery and chargers come with 3, so if there's any issues you can take it back and they'll give you a new one.

Same - have Ozito PXC drill, impact driver, reciprocating saw and blower-vac. They are not pro-grade but more than adequate for home handyman DIY purposes.

Lizard1977

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#2988234 26-Oct-2022 11:47

Thanks everyone for the useful responses.

I spent a bit of time last night browsing through the websites of Mitre10 and Bunnings, and focussed on Makita, Stanley Fatmax, DeWalt and Ryobi. I searched first for brushless tools, and was interested to find that Makita didn't have as many brushless tools (at least, declared to be) as Ryobi and Stanley Fatmax. I should preface that by saying that I was looking at a range of common DIY tools - drill/driver, impact driver, jigsaw, sander, multitool. In the Stanley range only one of those tools wasn't available as brushless - a sander. In the Makita range I couldn't find brushless versions of the multitool or the circular saw. Ryobi had brushless versions of everything I looked for, I think. But curiously, the combo kits - which seemed to work out cheaper - often didn't include brushless models. The only one I could find was a Ryobi 2-pce kit that included a hammer drill, impact driver, 2x4Ah batteries and a charger for $249. But Stanley and Makita didn't seem to have any brushless kits (Makita might have them but at a much higher price).

So I guess the question is really: how important is brushless in a tool? From what I've read here, it improves performance and battery life, and notably so. But some tools don't have a brushless model, so is it more of a nice to have? How much is it worth as a premium over a non-brushless tool?

I'm able to access a discount on Stanley Fatmax at Mitre 10, which works out to be about 20% off retail, but I'm looking at the Ryobi range at Bunnings, which is often cheaper at retail, has a wider range (including brushless models for many tools I'd buy over time). How would these two platforms compare to each other?

johno1234

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#2988244 26-Oct-2022 12:33

Are you excluding Ozito? They have most tools in brushless.

rb99

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#2988253 26-Oct-2022 12:39

Was going to suggest exactly that $249 Ryobi kit as it seems very good value. Bought it myself but haven't actually used it yet, so not actually much of a recommendation...

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richms

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#2988259 26-Oct-2022 12:57

Is the $249 ryobi HP kit back in stock? I was thinking of getting one to have some of those smaller tools and a couple of extra batteries but it was all gone after I was too late seeing the cheapies post about it.

Richard rich.ms

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#2988260 26-Oct-2022 12:57

My Ryobi One+ gear just keeps going. The impact driver has done a heap of landscaping work (including ~200 5" bugle head landscaping screws, as well as some shorter). Edger, line trimmer, the works (but I don't own one of everything, yet). The only battery tool that isn't Ryobi, is the 56V Ego lawnmower (but that might change as there's less and less lawn to mow with each stage of landscape gardening).

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CokemonZ

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#2988261 26-Oct-2022 13:00

I have a mix of Ozito and Ryobi - Started ryobi before ozito was a thing, and started into ozito when I got one of the lawnmowers.

When you get lucky with an Ozito tool they are great, but some of them are a bit crap. I have an older ozito jigsaw that is complete rubbish.

The ryobi ones are all more expensive but yet to have a dud.

My approach now is to buy ozito by default and if its terrible take it back and buy ryobi. Bunnings are pretty good about it, and i think the last thing i did it with was about 3 years ago, an old version of the ozito multitool. Since then everything has been fine.

Bung

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#2988267 26-Oct-2022 13:15

Lizard1977: In the Makita range I couldn't find brushless versions of the multitool or the circular saw.

Maybe you are looking in wrong price range, they are certainly available. None of my Dewalt tools are brushless. I put price saving into an extra 5Ah battery.

Lizard1977

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#2988271 26-Oct-2022 13:24

Bung:
Lizard1977: In the Makita range I couldn't find brushless versions of the multitool or the circular saw.

Maybe you are looking in wrong price range, they are certainly available. None of my Dewalt tools are brushless. I put price saving into an extra 5Ah battery.

Quite possibly. The items on the Mitre10 website didn't mention brushless though, and that is part of my dilemma - it isn't always clear whether something is brushless or not. That was part of the thinking behind my question about how important brushless was. If it's good to have, but not the end of the world, then I could expand my search and not focus on that aspect so much.

richms

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#2988273 26-Oct-2022 13:40

Mitre10 and bunnings only sell a small portion of the Makita range. You need to look at the places builders buy to get the rest of the range. Handy Hardware is a good seller that has a decent range.

Richard rich.ms

reven

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#2988277 26-Oct-2022 13:53

Out of all the brands of 18v I have

Ryobi
- I would stay clear of ryobi, their battery tech is old and theyre massive.
- their garden range uses a completely different 36v style battery.
- tools i have: drill (died), impact driver, random orbital sander(died), caulking gun, weed sprayer (love this), 18g brad nailer (this is a good tool), reciprocating saw (broke), chainsaw broke on me the first day, jigsaw
Makita
- are introducing 40v and they have 18v, so that complicates things, so I would stay away from them.
- tools i have: 3x drills, impact driver, multitool, random orbital sander, trim router, angle grinder, lawn mower, line trimmer
Hikoki
- their range of tools isnt big enough
- tools i have: framing nailer (awesome)
Dewalt
- Has flexvolt. So one battery for everything. So they get my vote.
- tools i have: drill, impact driver, pancake air compressor, multitool, airless paint sprayer (not dewalt brand but takes their battery), hedge trimmer, barrel grip jigsaw
Ozito
- Grey is rubbish, stay away from unless you just want an occassional tool
- Red is ok, but my full boar drill press stopping working after not much use, gotta figure out why still.
- I have a red battery drop saw, 210mm, its cheap and handy, but its cheap thing.
- I wouldnt invest in ozito, but occasional tools theyre fine
- tools i have: 210mm drop saw, drill, palm sander (full boar drill press, obviously not 18v)
Festool
- great tools, but limited 18v range
- very expensive
- tools i have: drill 12v, lots of plug tools (once you buy festool, you love it)

My personal choice is mostly dewalt now

One battery, flex volt
lots of tools
garden tools on same platform
i have a 36v dewalt pancake air compressor, love it

But no matter what you go with, some tools are just going to be kinda meh on that platform. eg the dewalt framing nailer is rubbish, why I have hikoki batteries aswell, the multitool its a pita to change bits on.

No experience with bosch or milwaukee.

tl;dr dewalt then makita, just makita 40v is a bummer IMO not being a flexvolt like dewalt.

angski

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#2988284 26-Oct-2022 14:10

reven:

Out of all the brands of 18v I have

Festool

great tools, but limited 18v range
very expensive
tools i have: drill 12v, lots of plug tools (once you buy festool, you love it)

Agree. Festool does have limited 18V range. But once you get one (be in 18v or plugged in), it becomes an infected virus with no cure. I have Rotex 90 and a LS130.

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