Good tool brand with interchangeable batteries?

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reven

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#114183 11-Feb-2013 13:44

Hi Guys,

I'm after some basic tools for around the house, things like

- Battery power drill
- Battery power jigsaw
- Battery power sander

etc I would like them to use the same battery so can just swap the batteries around if ones flat.

was looking in mitre10 in the weekend, and theres a lot of battery power drills for around $100, i was planning on spending more than that on a drill, but really surprised by how many there were at that price point (around 15 or so).

kitting out my house, so after stuff that will last a long time, around 10 years or so. that isnt overly expensive, something that is general purpose for all the jobs that pop up around the house (very much a DIYer where possible). Been using my Dads stuff for years, but moving into my own house now and need my own gear.

probably the most import tool for me would be the drill, would use that the most, so a good drill with variable speed and would last forever. I'll buy other tools of the same brand as the drill providing they support the same battery.

just no clue whats a good brand and whats a keep away brand.

TIA

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#759492 11-Feb-2013 13:48

I use the Hitachi cordless range, I purchased a set of tools complete with two lithium-ion batteries. I can not fault them.

Michael Skyrme - Instrumentation & Controls

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ubergeeknz

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Vocus

#759496 11-Feb-2013 13:55

No batteries will last for 10 years, and you will be lucky if you can replace them after 5-6 years.

reven

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#759497 11-Feb-2013 13:56

dont mind replacing batteries, but do want the actual tools to last ages.

ubergeeknz

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Vocus

#759499 11-Feb-2013 13:59

Was referring to actual availability of the batteries after that amount of time. For a drill that will last a long time, get one that plugs in, or accept a 5-6 year lifespan IMO.

reven

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#759502 11-Feb-2013 14:05

well my dad has had his battery drill for at least 15+ years, its not great, cant really change speed on it that well, but strong and durable.

if i spend $500 on a drill, i want it to last longer than 6 years... otherwise it would make more sense to buy a $100~$200 one and have that last for 3 years or so.

jonherries

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#759512 11-Feb-2013 14:13

I bought a Makita drill on the weekend from Bunnings. Price was $299, most come with two batteries.

My choice came down to the following variables: 2-300 budget, not interested in other attachments as I have many other wired tools and I find batteries are always going flat just when you need it, reason I needed a new one is I dropped the old one and it broke - so needs to be tough, 14.4 vs 18 Volt, Li-on vs NiCd, apparently the Bosch repair/replacement is much slower than the rest (other manufacturers just swap them out). Ultimately it came down to the Makita and Bosch and I made the decision on warranty.

Got it home and it is great.

Jon

nickb800

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#759515 11-Feb-2013 14:17

The cheaper ones wont have spares/replacement batteries available in 5 years time, but you'll have a much better chance with trade quality tools.

I had a black and decker 14v cordless drill which served me well, although batteries petered out after 3-4 years with weekly short duration use. Never used it for any major projects which I suspect would kill it quicker. Cheap and cheerful, did the trick, but I wouldn't recommend Black&Decker if you are looking for something to last.

Recently picked up a Dewalt cordless drill, driver & circular saw set - awesome stuff, although you'll pay through the nose for it. Worth it though - they last for ages (I think you could get 10 years out of them easily) and are well supported (you can still buy new batteries for ~10 year old tools)

One option is to order them from amazon or an overseas retailer, you can often get them quite a bit cheaper even with currency conversion & shipping, and you may be able to get a factory refurbished model for a discount too. Worth noting that unlike most consumer electronics, the battery chargers that come with power tools often aren't multi-voltage - that is a US dewalt charger wont work in NZ without a stepdown transformer. So maybe buy a drill/battery/charger kit in NZ and then order in sander and jigsaw from the US.

There are also a few good NZ-based online retailers e.g. I-tools, Loventools that can be quite a bit cheaper than Bunnings/Placemakers/Mitre10 (at least at their consumer prices)

Perhaps a middle option might be the Ryobi One+ series, its certainly no Dewalt/Makita/Hitachi but it appears to be a step up from Black&Decker. They have an wide range of compatible cordless tools, avaialble only at Bunnings

jonherries

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#759520 11-Feb-2013 14:22

Forgot to mention I am left handed, so holding it backwards comfortably matters to me too.

Jon

reven

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#759525 11-Feb-2013 14:27

something i just found on loventools website :)

http://www.loventools.com/siteinfo.asp?id=22

NonprayingMantis

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#759527 11-Feb-2013 14:29

any particular reason why you want to use battery power?

If its for around the home then you are always going to be in range of a power socket (worst case you need to use an extension cord), and mains powered devices are cheaper, always run at full power, and obviously you never have to worry about picking it up to find you forgot to charge it up last time.

I always go for mains powered.

I have found even the cheapest branded mains powered tools are perfectly serviceable provided, of course, they have the features you want (e.g. variable speed, torque control, etc). Considering they can be as cheap as 1/10th the price of a top brand model there seems barely any difference to me. (for example I got a mains hammer drill for less than $30 I think from bunnings. Used it to build 3 very large decks in the last 2 years. Still works perfectly)

The problem arises with the crummy accessories (drill bits, saw blades etc) you always get with them, but obviously you can always replace those with better quality bits and blades, which is what I do.

Summary: it’s fine to get a cheap tool IMHO, but invest in good quality bits and blades

nickb800

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#759528 11-Feb-2013 14:29

reven: something i just found on loventools website :)

http://www.loventools.com/siteinfo.asp?id=22

Hahaha oh dear.

They do a good job of putting tools in a box and sending them, perhaps they should've outsourced the website though!

reven

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#759533 11-Feb-2013 14:39

NonprayingMantis: any particular reason why you want to use battery power?

If its for around the home then you are always going to be in range of a power socket (worst case you need to use an extension cord), and mains powered devices are cheaper, always run at full power, and obviously you never have to worry about picking it up to find you forgot to charge it up last time.

I always go for mains powered.

I'll probably end up getting a power cord drill as well at some point, but often I'm in a situation where I need a battery one. my house is currently being built so theres not a lot of power available. last weekend i was cutting holes for in wall/ceiling speakers, week before that was drilling holes and running network cables. so battery comes in handy. also with a power cord one, ill just walk into bunnings/mitre10 and pickup any randomish one, wont have to worry about batteries matching :)

loventools.com has some nice combos/kits available. comes down to brand now...

dewalt vs Hitachi vs Makita ?

are they all pretty much the same or does one brand stand out above the rest? also anyone know if one of those has a better battery than the rest ? (quick recharge or longer lasting?)

timmmay

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#759534 11-Feb-2013 14:40

Funny about the SQL injection! It's pretty trivial to protect against that too... but it's beyond most people who hack together websites that "seem to work".

graemeh

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#759546 11-Feb-2013 14:55

reven: loventools.com has some nice combos/kits available. comes down to brand now...

dewalt vs Hitachi vs Makita ?

are they all pretty much the same or does one brand stand out above the rest? also anyone know if one of those has a better battery than the rest ? (quick recharge or longer lasting?)

Dewalt is Black and Decker and I just don't like them.

Hitachi and Makita seem pretty much as good as each other and I'd be happy with either of them and would just buy whichever was cheaper on the day. I have a Makita electric plane and a Hitachi router and they are both great. I can't comment specifically on the cordless tools.

My cordless tools are Bosch and Panasonic, both are great but probably no better than Hitachi and Makita.

It also depends on if you're buying the trade rated tools or the cheaper versions.

reven

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#759550 11-Feb-2013 15:02

probably get something like these

Makita LXT618 18V Lithium-Ion Cordless 6-Tool Kit

KTL718C Hitachi 18v Lithium Ion 7 Tools Kit

though i may have to just get a dual set of power drills for the time being (I'm spending too much money on other house stuff ATM, network/nerd stuff :))

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