Cordless Tools Brushless Or Brushed?

[rjweb]

I was looking at the harbor freight Bauer cordless tools, they look good, the only thing that concerns me is that the warranty is 90 days, has anyone had a problem. And i am like Ray, I buy cheap  because i will probably go before the tools, RJ

[BadBob]

You can buy up to 2 years of Extended Service Protection.

I'm not sure if they still do this, but they used to do in-store exchanges for broken tools if you had a service plan. Ask at your local store.

[kmmcrafts]

I'm sure every store is different but my local store has exceptional customer service.. I have never had any hint of trouble doing returns etc.. In fact, a few years back my son bought me a electric power washer for either my birthday or Christmas.. I never opened up the box until late spring / early summer.. and when I did there was a part missing. Being winter I didn't open it, I took the whole box in.. no receipt and explained that I never opened it up because it was winter and they exchanged it.. I was sure they'd say oh well no receipt..

Their tools have improved greatly in recent years.. I've had not really ever had but one problem and that was 15 years ago on the cheapest sawzall they had.. which was like $9.88, LOL.. It and several more after it broke.. I finally just tossed them and bought a better one,

The way I see those extended warranties is.. most items you pay close to half the price of the tool for the warranty.. I usually chance it because in both cases it's costing you.. and why pay up front and not need to use it, LOL.. 

[BadBob]

I have exchanged tools at my local store with no issues. No receipt was required, but no power tools. My policy is buy cheap if you only need it once if it breaks by a better one.

[OCtoolguy]

Regarding the issue of battery types, yesterday I had something interesting happen. I was using one of our 5 cordless phones that we purchased in 2010. They all have nickel metal hydride batteries in them. A pair of AAA in each phone. They've never been replaced. Not once. Yesterday, for the first time, one of the phones gave me a warning that it was out of juice and it went dead. As of this morning, it appears to be back to fully charged. It makes me wonder why/how these batteries have lasted for 13 years and never needed replacing. All the same type batteries on my Makita drill went bad within 2 years of purchase. I'd love to hear why. Anybody?

 

[Gene Howe]

Geeze  Ray. I've had a Makita drill and two batteries for probably 15+ years. Its used almost every day. Never had a problem. 

I thought the battery in my Samsung phone was giving out as it didn't want to take a charge. Took it to Batteries Plus. Turns out it was a faulty charging port. Took them 30 minutes to diagnose and repair it. 

Edited September 27, 2023 by Gene Howe

[Bill WIlson]

I've had good luck with my Makita drills as well.  I am otherwise reluctant to dive into the deep end of cordless tool ownership.  While the convenience is nice, it isn't a necessity for me.  Battery life, obsolescence and cost are the primary obstacles.

I bought my first Makita probably 10-12 years ago.  I liked it enough to splurge on a drill & impact driver combo a couple years later.  All still going strong.  I don't use them constantly, but they hold a charge for a very long time, without use.  My old NiCad Ryobi batteries would drain significantly after sitting idle for a few weeks, even when starting out fully charged. Unfortunately Makita no longer offers my model and the batteries aren't interchangeable with the current version.

[OCtoolguy]

3 hours ago, Bill WIlson said:

I've had good luck with my Makita drills as well.  I am otherwise reluctant to dive into the deep end of cordless tool ownership.  While the convenience is nice, it isn't a necessity for me.  Battery life, obsolescence and cost are the primary obstacles.

I bought my first Makita probably 10-12 years ago.  I liked it enough to splurge on a drill & impact driver combo a couple years later.  All still going strong.  I don't use them constantly, but they hold a charge for a very long time, without use.  My old NiCad Ryobi batteries would drain significantly after sitting idle for a few weeks, even when starting out fully charged. Unfortunately Makita no longer offers my model and the batteries aren't interchangeable with the current version.

If you only purchased your Makita that recently it's probably got lithium batteries. Those work great. I'm referring to the old Makitas. I was selling tools when Makita first appeared on the scene. They were orange and used a 7.2 volt NiCad battery. I bought one of the first ones. It served me well. I had to buy a couple of batteries over the years. About mid to late 80's I bought a new model 12 volt Makita that had the "newer, better" NiMh batteries. The first 2 lasted about 2 years. I took them to the main Makita service center and had them tested. They failed so I bought 2 new ones. After another 2 years they were dead. So I bought a Panasonic 12 drill that came with 2 batteries. It did well but finally those batteries gave up. Ok, I've had it with high dollar drills. By this time lithium batteries had been out for a while and I ran across a deal on B & D 20 drill kit. $29.95. I bought it. It is still serving me well after 12 years. I bought a second one to use as a screwdriver. I've got 4 batteries and 2 chargers. All tolled, under $100. I also bought a Harbor Freight 20-volt Bauer drill kit because it came with 2 attachments for trimming shrubbery. Very well-made and very powerful. $59.95. I recently picked up the matching 1/4" driver unit so now I have 2 batteries & chargers. 

 

[kigovev]

Hello. my horrible cordless drill is finally dying and I get to buy a new one. Any recommendations? Honestly, my biggest gripe about my current drill is that it is severely top heavy and it occasionally nose dives into some precious project or snaps off a narrow drill bit.

[OCtoolguy]

On 9/24/2023 at 4:31 AM, kmmcrafts said:

Many of my tools were refurbished.. or a black Friday special... My DW stuff was purchased around 2013 on black friday and it's just a drill and a flashlight I got for Christmas because I was tired of buying NiCad batteries for my old Hitachi drill and flashlight set. $99 for the 20V max drill and two batteries and charger back then. Just the smaller batteries but they've worked well enough for me most of these years. I now getting to a point where the battery dies before I can get very many holes drilled and I'm having to go steal the battery from the flashlight. 

I'm now in a spot where is it worth $70 - 80 for 1 battery when I could really use two and then $200 for a angle grinder or do I sell off / give away / throw away this DW stuff and start fresh with ryobi or the Harbor freight stuff, LOL.. DW has pretty good tools but you do pay for them.. I like having all the tools with same battery and since my other shop has no power I've been considering more tools than just the drill and flashlight.. I could see the angle grinder and a Sawzall.. and many other tools would be handy to have out in the old shop that no longer has power run to it. 

My son got me the Earthquake 1/2" impact from HF a few years ago.. that has been a really good tool used a lot too. I've always been going to check to see if that battery is the same as the Bauer leaf blower.. they look like they might work. Even the Hercules batteries look very similar.. Probably different, LOL. I know the DW battery is different even though they slide in the same way as I've tried that, Hahaha. 

What's the thoughts on the Bauer brand? My wife bought a leaf blower last year and it's been wonderful.. use it way more than we thought. That's what we have a battery for. I was thinking about getting a couple more batteries and a drill, grinder and some of the other offered tools.    

I have a few Bauer tools and have no bad words for them. Right now I'm in the process of rebuilding the battery for my B & D hand vac. We have 3 of them. The batteries are not factory serviceable but can be rebuilt. So I bought a spot welder for putting together the battery packs. No reason to dump any cordless tool unless it is worn out. The batteries are ALL rebuildable. And I find it to be fun. Thank God for Youtube.

[kmmcrafts]

I can't say I have any specific recommendations for a drill.. Of coarse the DeWalt, Milwaukee, and Hitachi were always a good known brand with quality.. That said I've bought some cheap Harbor Freight Bauer brand cordless tools over the last 4 or so years and I have not had one issue with them at all yet. I will say the DeWalt stuff I have feels better in my hand that the Bauer stuff like the hand grip area has some padding or cushion? I'm not sure but the feel is a lot better for the higher end stuff but rightfully so.. most business's use the higher end stuff.. I wouldn't want to run a Bauer drill for 8+ hours a day every day.. but DeWalt I would feel less tired at the end of a work day.. 

A couple of my Bauer tools I bought for just a specific job and figured I'd throw it away once the job was finished but I found I use these tools way more than expected and they've held up very well considering the price I paid and what my expectation was.  

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Dewalt is probably the best on the market. The one thing to caution you though is what platform do you have and stay within that if you have other battery tools. If not then Dewalt has a total line of battery tools that are top rated. They have a few different drills that may interest you. I suggest go to Home Depot and try them out. Buy the brushless series. Again not knowing what you are using for is hard to recommend. But they have small versions that fit the hands of smaller people. Battery design is changing all the time. Dewalt is trying to stay within those designs so that the battery fits their tools along the entire line. Also word of caution stay away from off brand batteries for all tools no matter what brand tool it is. Not designed for tool. Companies design batterys and tools to work best together. This is not just hype but truth. Also remember these are lithium batteries and the stories of fires is also true so stay with reputable company. I had switched to the dewalt line a few years ago and well satisfied. I did my homework and this platform is well constructed. No problems. If you are buying large batteries for things like lawn mowers and others, be very careful charging these. Again heat is the problem with battery operated tools. 60 volt batteries create alot of heat when charging and especially if fully drained. My two cents worth for an older thread. 

[OCtoolguy]

If I were younger and starting from scratch, I think I'd buy a whole set of Milwaukee cordless tools. I watch a lot of heavy equipment restoration videos and a large segment of those folks use Milwaukee with little to no problems. I still can't believe using a battery powered impact wrench to loosen rusted bolts on a bulldozer. Amazing.

[Scrappile]

BUT, now that I am old, I buy tools with cords!  A fraction of the cost and I'm not doing big construction anymore. In my little shop there is a plug-in close by.  Don't get me wrong, I love the battery tools but the cost and use for me turns me away from them.  

[kmmcrafts]

1 hour ago, OCtoolguy said:

If I were younger and starting from scratch, I think I'd buy a whole set of Milwaukee cordless tools. I watch a lot of heavy equipment restoration videos and a large segment of those folks use Milwaukee with little to no problems. I still can't believe using a battery powered impact wrench to loosen rusted bolts on a bulldozer. Amazing.

I agree, My son has the Mac ( only because a co-worker over spent his money and couldn't pay the tooltruck bill and he offered it to my son for the payoff of them.. which was only 1/4 of the total cost and only a month old, LOL.. He got the whole set from 3/8 drive to 1" and let me tell you from experience.. It'll either loosen them or break them off, LOL. I was only using the 3/8 drive due to the bigger ones not having enough clearance to get on the bolt and that little bugger broke a 1/2" U-bolt in half.. Son says the guys with the Milwaukee ones are right up at the same level.. I have a cheapy HF one that's quite old now.. not sure the brand but it's before the Bauer stuff came out. Think it might be Earthquake or something.. Love the cordless impacts for working on cars and tractors etc.. can be out in the middle of a field and just grab the impact.. years ago before this cordless you had to have a tool truck with gas powered air compressor etc..  Anyway my cheapy got quite a lot of power but nothing like the good ones. 

I watch a lot of car restore type youtube and a lot of those guys run the DeWalt cordless and I've seen those do some things too.. I'd say they gotta be up there close to the Milwaukee etc. too. 

[dgman]

4 hours ago, OCtoolguy said:

If I were younger and starting from scratch, I think I'd buy a whole set of Milwaukee cordless tools. I watch a lot of heavy equipment restoration videos and a large segment of those folks use Milwaukee with little to no problems. I still can't believe using a battery powered impact wrench to loosen rusted bolts on a bulldozer. Amazing.

I agree with Milwaukee tools.  I have a Makita 18v drill and an impact driver. I very rarely use them. I mostly use a Milwaukee 12v drill/driver 99% of the time . I also use a Milwaukee 18v 6 1/2” circular saw which i use to break down rough boards from the lumber store. I also use a Milwaukee 18v string trimmer with an edger attachment and a Milwaukee 18v blower. The Milwaukee tools work well and the batteries last a long time.