Notice tv ads for these combinations. What is the point ?. The battery is ALWAYS the first thing to die (I have a big box of dead battery tools all with dud batteries) and the replacement battery cost is always pitched to make reinstatement uneconomic.
mybooks,
Nov 18, 5:24am
I have some of the Ryobi tools with two batteries - the batteries stay well-charged for a long time. highly recommend them.
ryanm2,
Nov 18, 11:36am
A good quality lithium battery, if looked after should last for years and years. My gearbox failed on the Makita dril before any batteries in my case. (replaced under warranty).
franken1,
Nov 18, 11:50am
Most batteries used in DIY fail from misuse or lack of use. These combo kits provide an array of tools for less cost and force better use of the batteries.
eagles9999,
Nov 18, 5:52pm
Methinks these ads are misleading.They show a wide range of tools that can operate with these batteries but they dont say how long they last. I imagine that after you have used a couple of tools that the batteries are fully discharged
maddie44,
Nov 18, 9:25pm
If all those tools used the same battery it would be worth buying a couple of replacement batteries.
stevo2,
Nov 18, 11:11pm
They are currently advertising 2 lithium batteries for $249
mm12345,
Nov 18, 11:37pm
Most kits come with more than one battery. I don't think the ads are misleading. I get a day's use out of a 1.5AH 18v battery in my impact driver with no problems. A roofer driving screws all day wouldn't - nor would they expect them to. The decent brands have fast chargers. IIRC the 1.5AH batteries for my tools charge in about 15 minutes, 4Ah in about 35 minutes.
newtec1,
Nov 19, 1:07am
1.5AH batteries are for toys,as you say 4 AH would be the min for a tradie.
tub4,
Nov 19, 1:25am
Like mybooks I have a number of Ryobi tools and love them. My oldest battery would be around 3 years old now.
marte,
Nov 19, 2:29am
Haha, Remote working situation, one battery, no 240V AC power. = no charger = no work done.
I have a large toolbag full of battery drills of all makes and one battery and no chargers. So I brought a 'supercheap' battery drill.
(their 9 Inch angle grinders a great machine, just tighten the 4 screws holding the angle drive and Loctite them in place.)
socram,
Nov 20, 9:31pm
What you are overlooking is that previously, every manufacturer updated their drill batteries every 5 minutes, (just like the compact camera manufacturers) so when your battery did die, a replacement was either not available or prohibitively expensive.
With the move to a common battery across several tools, there is far less chance of any tool being obsolete. Higher power options maybe, as technology develops, but I'd be pretty confident that the tools won't be obsolete.
timbo69,
Nov 21, 1:18am
No your wrong, Have you felt the weigh of those 4-5ah batteries? The smaller batteries are a fraction of the price and obviously easy to change, they have just as much grunt just don't last as long.
golfdiver,
Nov 21, 1:46am
We weighed up the pros and cons of big V small batteries with our gear. The kits came with 4 amp , we have one 2 amp and now just buy 5 amp batteries for $125 which is pretty good for de Walt . We have 8 brushless units and so far they have been light years ahead of anything else we have had.
marte,
Nov 21, 4:59am
'Battery powered angle grinder' (sniggers)
OK, they probably do have a use, cutting thru a peice of metal pipe down at the bottom of a hole. Better than a hacksaw while effectively standing on your head down a hole you dug yourself.
marte,
Nov 21, 5:01am
A good use for old 9 - 14 volt battery tools is to connect a long cable up to the battery connections and put a cigarette lighter plug on the end. Run it off the cars lighter socket.
ryanm2,
Nov 21, 12:44pm
Battery powered angle grinders are probably the most used skin behind a drill or driver. Every sparky and plumber finds them awesome. I use mine probably twice a week. Dont really understand why you wouldn't think they are useful.
mm12345,
Nov 21, 3:29pm
I've got a 125mm brushless Milwaulkee grinder. If you can live with the limitation that you get about 10 -15 minutes continuous cutting per 4AH battery, then it replaces / does everything that 230v grinders do very effectively. The weight of a 4AH battery makes it balance in hand very nicely. The bayonet click button to rotate or remove the guard is very effective and avoids the usual stuffing around. It is lower "free-running" RPM than most 240V grinders. but seems to have more torque - RPM when cutting stays more constant - this combined with the general ergonomics makes it much nicer, quieter, smoother to use (and safer). Brilliant tool. I don't think I've used my 230v Makita once since I bought it.
tigra,
Nov 21, 8:56pm
And by the time you buy the tools you're looking at several hundred dollars hmmmm- I wonder if thats what the OP had in mind
iluvmuse,
Nov 21, 9:17pm
i'm hoping someone brings out an LED Worklight that runs off swap-out batteries, i.e. 20W or greater
ryanm2,
Nov 21, 9:58pm
They do. The watts is irrelevant though, its the lumen output which is the measure. Something around 1200 lumens should be a good starting point.
apollo11,
Nov 21, 10:11pm
The Li On battery packs all probably use the same 18650 cells, which you can buy on TM and Flea Bay. Open up the pack and solder in some of these, should be as good as a new one.
golfdiver,
Nov 21, 10:12pm
We use our one to cut in a chase flashing around old chimneys all the time. Absolutely brilliant and no cords to get caught up in. Wouldn't be without it. Obviously not what an engineer in a workshop needs but horses for courses.
harm_less,
Nov 21, 11:49pm
The future of power tools including the likes of lawnmowers and trimmers will be battery electrical, in the same way that vehicles are increasingly heading in that direction. Battery technology is moving ahead hugely and this will be the crux of progress in these regards.
Oh, no. I do agree with you, that senareo of being down a hole with a battery grinder is a real life situation. One that would happen a lot to a plumber. Hell, I'd do just about anything in real life so that I don't have to pick up a hacksaw.
But I sometimes spend 10 hours on the end of a 9 inch grinder. That's a hell of a pile of flat battery's!
(I'm a welder fitter/turner, a angle grinders the second most used tool I use. Behind a milling machine)
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