The Power Tools Thread

[leviathan]

A place to discuss anything and everything concerning various tools for the lazy people that run on electricity or other power sources.

 

[leviathan]

And to start us off, a quote from the Random Thoughts Tech Edition thread:

I was under the impression that it's Ryobi who do all sorts of random stuff with their 18V system, but it seems Makita is up there as well.

 

[Matt2000]

May as well post the latest Project Farm video - a great place for power tools we didn't even know we wanted.

 

[Perc]

And to start us off, a quote from the Random Thoughts Tech Edition thread:

That post of mine was a little sloppy, let me elaborate:

This seems to be a proper compressor based cooler. Having an actual compressor in a cool box has its disadvantages: price, size and weight. The compressor is heavy and bulky. The upside is power consumption, because, well, you can run it off of 18V tool batteries for half a day or so at the beach. It can also reach proper freezing temperatures if you want. When it isn't needed elsewhere, it'll make an awesome beer cooler in the garage. It probably won't mind being plugged in 24/7.

Your average 12V cool box costs a small fraction of this Makita cooler, but it'll kill your car battery if left plugged in for any length of time. I never leave mine on longer than an hour or so at some rest stop. They also usually only reach temperatures of like "20C under ambient" or thereabouts, which means your groceries are going to have a bad time if the weather is warmer than a nice Finnish summers day. Not to mention having to drink warm beer.

 

[NecroJoe]

And to start us off, a quote from the Random Thoughts Tech Edition thread:



I was under the impression that it's Ryobi who do all sorts of random stuff with their 18V system, but it seems Makita is up there as well.

Ryobi doesn't have a coffee maker. Makita does....although there is a Ryobi launch event this afternoon in 27 minutes so...anything could happen. Ha!

 

[93Flareside]

Ryobi doesn't have a coffee maker. Makita does....although there is a Ryobi launch event this afternoon in 27 minutes so...anything could happen. Ha!

Now I've seen everything. A drill battery powered coffee machine, that's amazing.

I still want one of those Milwaukee heated jackets...

 

[Quiky]

Lithium‑Ion Brushless Cordless Power‑Assisted Wheelbarrow. wat.

 

[Matt2000]

They're trying to install a new server rack at work and it's basically too big, I keep offering to buy a Makita portaband on expenses to cut it in half.

Now I've seen everything. A drill battery powered coffee machine, that's amazing.

You haven't seen everything until you've seen this:

Focus you fack!

Actually while I remember and related to the image up top - Why does DeWalt in the US lie to people that their tools are 20V when they're really 18V and that's what they tell everyone else? They literally have the entire line stickered up differently for the US. Madness!

 

[NecroJoe]

Lithium‑Ion Brushless Cordless Power‑Assisted Wheelbarrow. wat.
View attachment 3559539

Ever have to wheel barrow after barrow after barrow of concrete down along narrow, bumpy alleyway? This would have saved me two days where I couldn't get out of bed. :lol:

 

[NecroJoe]

Actually while I remember and related to the image up top - Why does DeWalt in the US lie to people that their tools are 20V when they're really 18V and that's what they tell everyone else? They literally have the entire line stickered up differently for the US. Madness!

Well...it's not a lie...technically.

OK, so Dewalt already had an 18v line of NiMh batteries. To differenciate, they could have given their new Lithium Ion platform a name like "Ion X" or something, to make sure people knew they were actually different batteries. Instead, they called it 20v. Which...isn't technically wrong, but it's not useful information.

If you take a battery off the charger, and put your multimeter up to it, it'll show around 20v. So they aren't lying. But they are being purposefully deceitful because the battery drops to 18v output the moment there is a load put on it.

Dewalt saying "20V max" is like me saying that a car can go 300mph, but that's only in a vaccuum, with no driver to weigh it down, and with illegal tires in a lab. The moment you get in and drive it, on a road, with atmosphere and tires that exist, you can only go 260

 

[Blind_Io]

Zero to AvE in 8 moves. I'm surprised it took that long

As for that power wheelbarrow, after hauling several tons of landscaping stone up hill this summer, I would have very much liked a little help.

 

[Matt2000]

Well...it's not a lie...technically.

Fair enough, I accept that they're not lying. Taking that into account It actually makes less sense that they label tools in the US as 20V Max and the tools in Europe as 18V Max when the old 18V battery system exists in both places. Maybe it's a legal thing.

Also did anything interesting come out of the Ryobi launch?

Zero to AvE in 8 moves. I'm surprised it took that long

I posted the Project Farm video for an attempt at education but with the coffee machine there was only one place to go.

 

[NecroJoe]

Also did anything interesting come out of the Ryobi launch?

Sort of. The whole video released 26 new tools, but virtually all are just additional tools in their new HP brushless line. The circular saw with the vacuum port is quite desirable... but it'll all come down to holiday pricing for me. These HP tools cost more than their "regular" line, so the value proposition isn't as strong, to where it may be worth a little more to me to go with the Milwaukee.

New drills, new recip and jig saw, new multi-tool, new angle grinder, new 1/2" impact wrench and 2 new impact drivers, and a slew of new outdoor items.

Like I said, I would consider the circular saw because the dust port is important to me, when I decide to replace my plug-in circular saw. I have a Milwaukee M12, but it's too small for many applications. Besides that, the 18v leaf blower they say has 75% more power, which I could actually use, and then I'm going to be in the market for a new push mower, and their smallest new 16" brushless mower is on my radar...although the older 13" one is cheaper, and is still "enough" for my use, while also being lighter.

Their new cordless post hold digger/auger is something I would have spent my own money on as a kid to save myself from having to dig so many damned post holes. We had bison for years, then emu at two different places, and my brother and I had to dig tons of post holes over the years as kids. Ha!


When I wanted to start getting some cordless tools, i hemmed and hawed over which brand/platform to pick like I'm sure all of us. I couldn't justify the super expensive Milwaukee lawn care stuff, but the Ryobi stuff was just a little bit too cheap-y for me in many cases. So in the end, I decided I would let myself have two platforms: Ryobi for the lawn care, Milwaukee for the stuff that I might end up having to use for work to where I really needed "contract grade" reliability because my job depended on it...and then I'd still have that Ryobi platform for some of the more unique tools like the belt sander and also for tools where I DIDN'T need the pro-level stuff, like the caulk gun.

And then I realized my milwaukee charger could also charge M12 batteries, so I got a more compact bit driver (should have gotten the drill instead...), and the compact circular saw.

...and then work bought me the Dewalt 12v 3-way tripod green laser level. So I have that system now, too. Ha!

 

[BerserkerCatSplat]

I've managed to keep all my cordless shop tools to the Ridgid system due to the backwards-compatible batteries and kickass warranty. Recently expanded to electric lawn tools and went with the Greenworks Pro 80V, so much power.

 

[leviathan]

You haven't seen everything until you've seen this:

Focus you fack!

This is amazing. I'm now considering finding some similar DC-capable machine and fixing up an adapter for Ryobi 18V, just for the lulz. Also for use in the field while RC flying, that would actually rock. Might also fit an XT60 adapter for my drone batteries

 

[Matt2000]

This is amazing. I'm now considering finding some similar DC-capable machine and fixing up an adapter for Ryobi 18V, just for the lulz. Also for use in the field while RC flying, that would actually rock. Might also fit an XT60 adapter for my drone batteries

What voltage are the drone batteries? Are they just like a tool pack with a different configuration? Can they supply enough amps? Too many questions?

 

[eizbaer]

Can they supply enough amps?

Oh, that they should definitely, at least for a short while - I've seen screencaps of fpv drone people with frankly crazy high draw - like 30+ amps

edit: looking at below post, to clarify, that seems to be 30amps per rotor

 

[leviathan]

What voltage are the drone batteries? Are they just like a tool pack with a different configuration? Can they supply enough amps? Too many questions?

Depends. Most I have are 4S, so 14.8V nominal / 16.8V fully charged; some are 3S (11.1V/12.6V). 5S would be basically equivalent to most 18V/20V tool packs.
Basically they are the very similar - just some lithium pouch cells wired in series wrapped in heat shrink for lightness, while the tool batteries are usually 18650s wired in series and sometimes also in parallel for higher capacity + some charge state and temperature monitoring ICs stuffed in the plastic housing. The drone batteries can supply a stupid amount of amps, I would wager much more than tool batteries - peak current for some racing drones can easily exceed 120-140A, and modern batteries can keep that up easily.

 

[Matt2000]

Funny that the wheelbarrow came up, this just appeared in my YT subs from Makita (yeah fanboy whatever):

I like the mower that finally offers a proper size cordless version, already have the reciprocating saw, circular saw and angle grinder.

 

[Blind_Io]

I got a Makita impact and cordless drill a few Christmases ago, and a pretty heavy duty corded drill that I used to drill some rather large holes in some pressure treated 4x6 timbers. I also have an orbital sander and a cordless work light that uses the same batteries. I wouldn't mind more Makita stuff, I have my eye one a cordless power ratchet.

Later today I will get some photos of some classic Craftsman stuff I have - back when Craftsman was good.

It's kind of a shame this is only for power tools, I've been drooling over some Wera torque wrenches recently.