Corded or Cordless Tools, Which is Best

[Heathenly Twins]

If one is on a budget what is best? I was first inclined to think cordless tools were preferable but damn, they are expensive!

Would it be better to just run corded tools off an inverter/charger?

[rslifkin]

In general, cordless tools are great. But on the boat I tend to stick to corded. Less batteries to worry about, no concern for if they're charged after sitting for a while between uses, etc.

[Discovery 15797]

What is best is what your budget can afford.

IMHO, cordless tools are the way to go. Lithium batts hold their charge for a long time. Additionally, you can get one of those small inverters and hook it up to the load side of a solar controller and charge your batteries.

Get a couple extra batteries and you're set, and now just about any tool you can imagine is available in cordless...even a heat gun.

[akopac]

I got a car charger for all my cordless tools. Like you would use at a job site building a house. I hate inverters. Why change the power from 12v dc to 110 ac to ??dc? Power loss converting for nothing is crAzy

[Chotu]

Corded.

More universal, no batteries to worry about, a safety to keep it from falling in the drink, cheaper, more powerful, absolutely never run out of batteries in the middle of a job, simple.

[Singularity]

Originally Posted by Heathenly Twins

If one is on a budget what is best? I was first inclined to think cordless tools were preferable but damn, they are expensive!

Would it be better to just run corded tools off an inverter/charger?

Do read up a little bit about rare events of batteries randomly cooking themselves off even while not in use and not in the charger. There was a first-hand account reported here about a fire en route in the Gulf of Mexico...boat lost, fortunately crew rescued.

I bought an entire ensemble of Makita cordless tools with several batteries reasoning that not only would cordless be convenient, but perhaps the angle grinder could be helpful in an extremely rare event that I needed to cut something free quickly. Now I'm wondering which rare event is more likely...a battery cooking off, or the need to emergently free rigging or some such.

I've got a diesel genny along with LFP and an inverter; all considered I might just replace the cordless tools with all corded. My 2 cents.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Heathenly Twins

If one is on a budget what is best? I was first inclined to think cordless tools were preferable but damn, they are expensive!

Would it be better to just run corded tools off an inverter/charger?

"damn, they are expensive!"

Buy cheap ones!

You are not a professional carpenter or other type of full time worker who needs the best tools and can afford them. You need your tools once a month.

Don't be sucked into the benefits of "top of the line" rechargeable tools. Yeah, they are better, but the cheapest Chinese, Korean or Vietnamese work reasonably well for 1/5 the price (top of the line DEWALT 20V MAX Drill/Driver, 3-Speed, Premium 4.0Ah Kit (DCD980M2 $250, cheapo Black and Decker, $36).

I've got bottom of the line Skill tools I've been using for 25 years (with new batteries), and Black and Decker 20v tools I've been using for 8 years. Don't let the snobs tell you you should buy only the best.

(Well, I've also got a corded skill 3/8 drill I've had for 40 years, needed a new switch, but I made one work)

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Heathenly Twins

If one is on a budget what is best? I was first inclined to think cordless tools were preferable but damn, they are expensive!

Would it be better to just run corded tools off an inverter/charger?

I recently sold all my corded tools and all my air tools (and compressor) and replaced them with battery tools. The only thing I held back was my belt sander, because Milwaukee doesn't make a cordless belt sander at this point, though I expect they will add one in the next few years.



They are far, far more convenient for working on the boat whether at the dock or on the hard. No cords to run, or trip over, or put away every day, or that make a mess after pulling through wet paint or dirty bilge. No need to ask permission to plug in.


Many of my most heavily used and oldest corded tools were getting worn out and needed to be repaired or replaced anyway even though I had bought the good stuff (Milwaukee, Makita, Porter Cable). The cords and switches go first. These end up being expensive repairs. Extension cords are also costly wear items if in regular use. I know that with the cordless tools the batteries will not last forever but I don't think the overall cost profile will be any different.


Safety wise, store the batteries in a fireproof container while aboard if concerned. There are several options for that.

[Chotu]

What about the environmental cost of battery powered tools?

All those toxic metals to mine, then dispose of. Most probably go in the land fill.

A corded tool has none of that. It’s just the tool and a cord, which you need anyway to charge battery powered tools.

So the environmental cost of battery powered tools can’t be denied.

[tkeithlu]

DeWalt cordless, centering around a 20v 1/4" hex impact driver. I own four Dewalt 12v drills and two DeWalt drivers. The drivers out perform the drills in most cases. I still move to the drills to tap screws and other cases where the driver torque can mess things up. Lithium batteries don't lose much charge sitting.

That said, I do keep a 1/2" corded drill and a corded 4 1/2" grinder on the boat. Some jobs require the speed of the grinder or the bit size of the drill.

I might substitute Milwaukee tools for DeWalt, but I would not mess with lesser brands. DeWalt makes quality tools.

[keepondancin]

Hard to take a corded drill up a mast.

[MicHughV]

I'm not sure there is any need for a vast array of power tools on a boat.
At a dock, you can use shore power.....and likely the place you will actually be using them.
At sea, you are not likely to be using any power tools at all.

At anchor, seems most modern cruising boats are fitted with a 115v Genset........or big power inverter, fed by solar panels.....so in the event you do actually want to use a power tool....115v is available.

I don't see anyone using a grinder for hours while at sea or anchored...at best you might use a drill for a few minutes...and you can use a hand drill for that. Hand tools, screwdrivers, pliers, etc, will likely serve most of your boating needs when anchored.

Even battery operated tools need to be re-charged....and then what ???

Battery powered tools....to me...seem awkward in size.....with that big battery pack hanging on the bottom.....difficult to get into confined spaces...etc..etc....

I love tools as much as the next guy....but I would not have battery powered tools on my boat. I would not have them at all !!! They make great xmas sock stuffers for dad, which to me, is about the extent of their purpose.

[tkeithlu]

"Battery powered tools....to me...seem awkward in size.....with that big battery pack hanging on the bottom.....difficult to get into confined spaces...etc..etc...."

Actually, one advantage to the 1/4" hex impact driver is that it will get into small spaces, and is convenient for jobs up the mast or other out of the way places, as mentioned.

I don't suppose that many cruisers have any reason to carry the tools that I do, but I built the boat and during it's first few years was forever straightening out and modifying the results. I carry less now, in agreement with the thought that I'm not likely to make that sort of repair en route - it can wait for time at the dock. On the other hand, I have supplied tools to other cruisers who needed them, even in one case to a skipper who did not have on board a wrench with which to adjust his alternator belt.

[mikedefieslife]

Cordless for sure especially your main drill which should be 18v really, you'' use it an awful lot. You'll soon get sick of having to plug in extension leads and run them through your windows everytime you want to do a small job at the bow for example.

If you buy all from the same manufacturer and a bunch of aftermarket batteries they shouldn't be any more expensive.

[Chotu]

Funny side story. I’ve actually had to use an angle grinder on the fiberglass boat. Yes, corded.

It was in an old anchorage used by a million boats in the past.

I pulled up a twisted, knotted mess of my anchor and chain mixed with another one that had been abandoned down there for years.

I took the dinghy forward with an angle grinder (corded) and cut through the old chain in several areas to get my ground tackle free from it.