Charging Chordless Drills & Power Tools

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by cadmus

Do any of these brands have good international distribution/availability?

Yes you can get them anywhere.
They are used by RC modellers to charge lithium/ Ni cad batteries for model planes / helicopters etc from car batteries
Because they need to charge the batteries quickly the better ones will punch out plenty of current and they have very accurate voltage calibration and adjustable control, which is needed to safely charge batteries quickly.
My experience has been the cheap Chinese ones fail after a couple of years of near daily use (still not bad value for money, given the low cost) the better brands like the german Schultz are indestructible.
Get a cheap one from ebay similar to the link I posted. For $30 you will not get much else that is as good value. If you find it useful get a better one for long term use.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by cadmus

Do any of these brands/systems have good international distribution/availability?

Checked Ryobi tools website and they showed distribution in Australia and all around Europe. Didn't check any further but from this I'm assuming they have pretty broad coverage.

[Tellie]

Gotta go with Dewalt 18v stuff. During my commercial electrician days it's practically the only drills you'd see on any job site. They've treated me well. But I gotta also point out the Dewalt vacuum Rebel Heart uses as well. There ain't a better tool to inflate a dingy, especially an old beat up and leaky one like mine.

[clockwork orange]

Originally Posted by Cotemar

The 1st mate brings me up the mast in the Bosun's chair with a Milwaukee right angle drill with a winch bit in it. She does it all by herself. I have the 24 volt one, but now even they have changed to 28 volt. Just can not keep up

This is exactly the problem with most of the manufacturers,they keep changing things and make the one you bought last year obsolete, i wont support companies that do that. I have quite a few Milwaukee corded tools but i only buy from the pawn shop.

Steve.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by clockwork orange

I switched to the Ryobi 18v one plus tool from home depot because i got tired of all the other brands i had been using coming out with new tools and making the old ones obsolete. The Ryobi have cheaper batteries that have outlasted all my previous brands ,im still using the originals from 2005 along with the newer lithium ion ones that still fit the old tools, i like that. Another thing i like is that they have a 12v dc to 18v dc charger available for cheap that i can use on the boat, also a great wet and dry vac and a good hand held spotlight, lots of good tools that can be bought bare as well as some silly ones.

Steve.

Yes but having owned most of the ryobi 1+ the basic units are pure cheap junk and not worth a damm, irrespective of how good the batteries I have Makita, hitachi & bosch professional gear now and its the best so far

On building sites and in hire stores its nearly all Mikita round here. ( 110V on building sites of course )
Dave

[ReMetau]

I have an 18v Makita drill and use it regularly. I have been very pleased with this tool. I do have a spare battery for it, and when the currently used battery dies, I charge it while using the other. At anchor, I use the inverter for charging.
I have a battery operated Dremel, but I am unhappy with it since it doesn't seem to hold its charge. I have switched back to using a corded Dremel.

All the other power tools I own are corded. I don't use anything else often enough to keep a battery charged for it.

[clockwork orange]

Originally Posted by Cotemar

I am with you on these Ryobi 18 volt tools. Have been using them for 5 years now
These pictures are the ones I use on the boat. I do have the 12 to 18 volt charger, but have used my little plug in inverter with the same good results. My boat has solar, so no problem charging.

Had the Craftsman for years but became tied of the model and voltage changes they seem to do, which was expensive for me to keep up with.

All the tools i have are the older blue ni cad ones because they just wont wear out but i do have 3 of the newer lithium ion bateries and smart charger which go right into the old tools. The first Ryobi tools i bought were a corded 110v sander/polisher which ive had for 25 years and its still going strong although the 2 speed switch has always been problematic, when i bought it i looked at all the other brands and the ryobi had the highest amperage for the lowest weight, i bought their laminate trimmer at the about same time and after using it for years i gave it to my son when he got a job as a cabinet maker,he has been using it for about 15yrs now and sees no reason to downgrade.

Steve.

Steve.

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by Guy

You can run 12 v cordless directly from your boat. Most have something like spade terminals on the bottom. So some jumpers etc..

Ditto that. Mine are all 28 volt Milwaukee including the 1/2" right angle with the winch adapter. They can run directly from my 24 VDC house bank and will charge as well.

Any time we run the generator for the fridge & freezer we plug in all of the wall warts. Its 12 KW so we try to get the most from it when its running.

As noted, there are DC-DC solutions for charging directly. Try these guys. They have some really small converters with consequently small parasitic losses. Murata Power Solutions | DC-DC Converter, AC-DC Power Supply, Digital Panel Meter, Inductor, Common Mode Choke and Pulse Transformer | Murata Power Solutions

[clockwork orange]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Yes but having owned most of the ryobi 1+ the basic units are pure cheap junk and not worth a damm, irrespective of how good the batteries I have Makita, hitachi & bosch professional gear now and its the best so far

On building sites and in hire stores its nearly all Mikita round here. ( 110V on building sites of course )
Dave

Im sorry you have had bad luck with the one plus tools, as i said i have been using them as a full time boat builder since october 2005. I have a drill, 2x impact drivers, 1 x sawzall, 1 x wet and dry vac, 1 x jigsaw, 1 x spotlight, 1 x flashlight and 3 x shop radios, there may be others. They are not all perfect, the jigsaw is not good, and ive had 1 charger go bad and 1 radio fail, thats it, a new charger was $30 at the time and a radio about $25, thats good value and thats what i care about, i dont care about price as much as feeling ive gotten good value. The only other brands of battery tools i still have that have stood up to the abuse is a 9.6v makita right angle drill which has always been a rattley bucket of bolts but very reliable and the afforementioned Makita sliding compound miter saw that got a new lease on life with a Ryobi battery.

Steve.

[Cotemar]

Originally Posted by clockwork orange

All the tools i have are the older blue ni cad ones because they just wont wear out but i do have 3 of the newer lithium ion bateries and smart charger which go right into the old tools. The first Ryobi tools i bought were a corded 110v sander/polisher which ive had for 25 years and its still going strong although the 2 speed switch has always been problematic, when i bought it i looked at all the other brands and the ryobi had the highest amperage for the lowest weight, i bought their laminate trimmer at the about same time and after using it for years i gave it to my son when he got a job as a cabinet maker,he has been using it for about 15yrs now and sees no reason to downgrade.

Steve.

The Ryobi tools are on par with the Craftsman, but Ryobi is a better value because they keep the 18 volts and all the batteries are upward and downward compatible.

The vacuum goes forever on the Lithium+ battery. We have a few boat vacs, but none have been as good as the Ryobi and at $25 usd its a good value

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by clockwork orange

Im sorry you have had bad luck with the one plus tools, as i said i have been using them as a full time boat builder since october 2005. I have a drill, 2x impact drivers, 1 x sawzall, 1 x wet and dry vac, 1 x jigsaw, 1 x spotlight, 1 x flashlight and 3 x shop radios, there may be others. They are not all perfect, the jigsaw is not good, and ive had 1 charger go bad and 1 radio fail, thats it, a new charger was $30 at the time and a radio about $25, thats good value and thats what i care about, i dont care about price as much as feeling ive gotten good value. The only other brands of battery tools i still have that have stood up to the abuse is a 9.6v makita right angle drill which has always been a rattley bucket of bolts but very reliable and the afforementioned Makita sliding compound miter saw that got a new lease on life with a Ryobi battery.

Steve.

I'm sorry but I don't worry about the quality of radios and flashlights. Neither are much use ripping mdf IMHO.

The 1+ jigsaw is a toy as is the circular saw. , ve had two speed controllers on the drills fail in two years

But you're right , cute radio.
Dave

[downunder]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Checked Ryobi tools website and they showed distribution in Australia and all around Europe. Didn't check any further but from this I'm assuming they have pretty broad coverage.

All the brands mentioned in this thread are available easily in Australia.

Makita, DeWalt, Milwaukee, Bosch ,Hitachi and Ryobi.

Bunnings the largest Australia wide distributor of building gear carries a large range of Ryobi tools.

[cadmus]

If we are talking quality I will put in my 2 cents. I paid for college by building guitars and musical instruments. Also fixed a lot of little boats and tinkered alot. so i went through a lot of toys.

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Makita, hitachi & bosch professional gear

I like makita but they have a lot of digital stuff in their electronic equipment making it imposable to fix and i had several things break shortly after warranty which makes me think they have a programed wear out schedule. My hitachi pneumatics are good but i can not do pneumatic on a boat so i am phasing it out. These brands and Milwaukee are kinda pricy, not festool pricy but pricy.

Originally Posted by Tellie

Gotta go with Dewalt 18v stuff

Everying i have owned from Dewalt has died early. Perhaps things have changed.

Originally Posted by Cotemar

The Ryobi tools are on par with the Craftsman

I had a Ryobi drill press and a circular saw. Both lasted a long while but the bearings/spindles had play so i never trusted the tolerances.

I had great luck with craftsman if it was built before 1990. It was a slow decline to 97, then it became plastic. Some things have improved, most have not. However i did receive a craftsman chordless drill that was ahead of it's time about 13 years ago and it took a licking. (used maybe 10h/week for 11 years) It got wet. It got stuccoed. It was dropped 2 stories... As much as i hate what craftsman has become that drill kicked ass. The batteries are 11 years old and still ok. I wanted it to die in the warranty, but no luck. Because i have extra bats, because they have a nice wet/dry vac, I might stick with them.

Porter cable was good to me for nailers and routers and sanders prior to 2007 +/-3. I wonder what happened because some is sketchy.

I think i am just getting old and cranky.

[mbianka]

I have a 12 volt charger for my SEARS 19.2 volt drill on board. Use it to raise sail with a winchbit and for projects. Battery also fits a Sears Hand Vac for quick cleanups.

[btrayfors]

Go with the DeWalt 18V system. The batteries come in two sizes, and they stay charged a long time and seem to last forever.

I have many of their 18V system tools and use them professionally.

The Craftsman drills are junk. After using them for decades, a few years ago I literally threw away three sets. The batteries don't last, don't stay charged, and are damnably expensive. The chuck bearings are substandard as well.

Tellie's right: look at any jobsite and you'll see a profusion of the yellow 18V DeWalt tools. Great value, IMHO.

Re: Porter Cable, I have a PC compound mitre saw which is of very good quality. But, you're right, I have the impression that the quality of their tool line has been declining of late.

Bill