Battery powered tools

Rob Keeble

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Messages
12,633
Location
GTA Ontario Canada
I would think by now most here know of the CPO series of online stores.

Seeing Rennies post on his Ryobi tools and mentioning budget i thought i would share some experiences.

I am cheap when it comes to buying tools. And before i do always check out Cpo Bosch, Cpo Milwaukee and Cpo Dewalt etc just about most of the brands,
http://www.cpomilwaukee.com

http://www.cpotools.com

http://www.cpopowertools.com


They have reconditioned and clearance section where if one keeps an eyeout you can pick up power and cordless tools at serious discounts to buying in the orange or blue borgs.

Example getting a Bosch palm sander for in the $30's range or take their deal at present for the Bosch colt palm sander in the $60's range of prices.

These tools all come with good warranties and i have yet to have a bad experience.

I do believe you can have great quality tools for low cost with a bit of letting the fingers tickle the keyboard and doing some online web research.

My experience with HD and Lowes is nothing but overpaying for tools.

Hope this helps stretch the tool budget. 😉
 
I needed a new hand drill and, like you, researched carefully before pulling the trigger. Almost all info sources pointed to DeWalt and that is what I settled on. No gripes with the drill. I'm sure it will outlast me. But........the batteries :mad: croaked just a few months after I got it, and I am not a heavy user. Replacing or rebuilding the batteries is more costly than I'm willing to pay. Buying a whole new outfit is about the same money. But I hate waste and that would mean it would join the pile with four others (different brands) that suffered the same fate. I guess the upside is I'm learning to love my old, and I do mean old corded drills all over again.
 
As far as saving money, I certainly have no objection to doing that. But, when I am buying a power tool I want to be able to hold it in my hand and get the feel of it before I buy it. If I pay more going to Lowe's or HD to do that, I will. Hardheaded I guess. I do buy my replacement turning tools online but I know what they are and so on. No risk there. So unfortunately I don't buy power tools online. I too have had bad experiences with cordless tools as well. Developed a great disdain for them, actually. I will continue to buy corded power tools until I buy no more. :D
 
I've always had great luck with dewalt, porter cable, ryobi, milwaukee battery operated tools, ni-cad and Li-ion.

I mean I've gotten years and years out of some pretty basic tools.

I basically try to make sure I don't run the batteries all the way down, I try to charge them up right after use, and make sure to keep them mostly charged, most of the time.

I also like to have multiple tools for when I'm doing something that requires drilling holes and driving screws. I keep one loaded with a drill bit and one with a driver bit. Just makes things a lot easier than switching bits out.

It's also nice not to have to drag a cord around everywhere, particularly for a drill. The powered saws I'm not totally sold on, but I do like the battery operated saber saw for doing a quick one off cut of something here or there.

Here are what appears to be some pretty decent tips for keeping your batteries in shape.

http://www.todayshomeowner.com/how-to-care-for-a-rechargeable-cordless-tool-battery/
 
My experience with battery powered tools was mixed at best until I bought into Makita lithium. I purchased an 18 volt combo drill and impact driver. I simply could not be more satisfied. I have used these tools "hard" and the original 3 amp hour batteries still perform as well as when new---hard to believe but true. since than I own --circular saw---reciprocating saw---angle grinder---. I add that the purchase mentioned earlier was in 2008. All of the additional cordless tools were purchased "bare". I recently did acquire a 4 amp hour battery, primarily to use with the angle grinder when I am in the metal fabricating shop.
 
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