Horseart Loc: Alabama

Good for her! There are way too many hobbies I love. That's why I stay too busy to ever be bored or lonesome. I feel sorry for people who don't have hobbies.

davidv Loc: salt lake city utah

I only purchase RIDGID tools, they come with a life time warranty as long as you register the tools and batteries when you purchase them. I still have an 18v. Hammer drill I purchased 25 years a go and they have fixed it 2 times, and replaced the batteries 4-5 times. The last time they replaced the batteries with lithium because they don’t make NICAD anymore win win. If your tool can’t be repaired or they discontinued it, they will give you a brand new one at no charge. Why buy anything else?

scooter1 Loc: Yacolt, Wa.

I've had good luck with E-bay on batteries. $50 for a name brand battery but the same battery without the name on e-bay $10. Just make sure it's compatible.

PhotogHobbyist Loc: Bradford, PA

I'm with you on running a 110 line. I have experienced several incidents when battery powered tools died because of dead batteries and my corded ones kept on working perfectly. Also, a corded tool may outlive the battery powered ones by years. As an example several years ago my wife lost her last sister that lived in the family home and we had to clear out all the things accumulated. Her father, who died in 1970, had purchased a Sears Craftsman variable speed drill, a skill saw and a pad sander a few years before his death. They were stored in the attic of the home, had not been used in more than forty years, and they all worked perfectly by simply plugging in the cord and pressing the on button. I have not seen a battery powered power tool that would do that, yet.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

As previously noted, running a 110 line is not always a practical consideration.

And yes, I have had batteries run down while using them. I have spares for that very event. And I use the battery tool enough to keep the batteries charged and replace batteries that will not hold a charge.

The only other possibility is to carry a generator with you to remote jobs. A good, reliable generator, will cost a lot more than a few battery tools, and has the disadvantage that you have a heavy item to lug around along with fuel to run it.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

Like I said the other day, Try using that corded tool in the rain or standing in a foot of water !!!
A few years ago I had to change a pump in my bosses infinity pool the flange bolts were so tight and there was so little space in the pump house I had to saw the 3/4" Stainless bolts off, there was about 4" of water in the pit, there was no way I was going to use a corded SawZall !!! Three blades and and about 40 mins. of sawing and the bolts were cut.It took three very husky guys to lift the pump out of the hole.
Why they put a six inch pump in for this job I don't know, they had put valves in to reduce the flow so the water would fall into the catch basin instead of over shooting it, this overloaded the motor on the pump causing it to need to be rebuilt every two seasons. New pump Two inch intake and output, with a variable speed motor was more than enough for the job. The fun was reducing the six inch pipe to two inch and having the pump easily removable.
The boss helped me for the first hour and we got one fitting ready to install, he left and about a half hr later the pump was ready for the electrician !!!
Had I used a corded saw I probably would have made the 12 o'clock news!!

chasgroh Loc: Buena Park, CA

...I use corded tools in my shop, sanders and benchtop tools, but in the field it's as much a time thing as anything else. I very rarely run a cord in the field anymore. Used to be the *saw* was the big deal for me and I carried my Skilsaw as a part of my kit. No longer, not since the major players developed more powerful batteries and 7 1/2" saws that will hold their own with the corded variety. Sometimes I still need the power of my Skilsaw, but those times are becoming few and far between.

n3eg Loc: West coast USA

Ryobi has the most cordless things of any manufacturer. I had a collection of Black & Decker tools before I discovered Ryobi, and now I have several odd Ryobi tools along with B&D to Ryobi battery adapters.
I also rebuild the batteries when they go bad, but that's another story.

John N Loc: HP14 3QF Stokenchurch, UK

Just wondering, over here we are beginning to see common battery packs interchangeable between tools - and I think in some cases between brands. That happening over there yet?

I'm waiting for it to settle down before ditching the 14v Bosch.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

But I can continue playing with my wood projects when we lose power. And think of all the money I'll save by not have to plug into an outlet.

One thing I've found with cordless - if I don't have to deal with a cord and find an outlet, I'm more inclined to use it. My cordless vacuum is a perfect example.

agillot

i use the HART brand [ white in color ] from wallmart , very inexpensive , and work well .20 volt battery fit all tools .the edge trimmer is a hybrid , you can use it with the battery , or plug it in .

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I looked at Direct Tools, and they do have good prices. Comparing what I paid at Home Depot, though, adding a $9.99 shipping charge negates some of the savings. What I bought from HD was less expensive. I'll always check Direct Tools, though, before buying.

https://www.directtools.com/

EDIT: And all seem to be refurbished or blemished.

hcmcdole

I gave away my old Ni-Cad cordless drills (Porter-Cable) as the replacement batteries were almost as much as a new drill set over 15 years ago.

Then I went with Ridgid (not Rigid but it certainly seems that way when I first bought them as the extra D in there was not registering with me) with the better Ni-MH (this was a Xmas bundled multi tool set with 3 batteries and dual charger). Well, eventually every one of those batteries died on me. Instead of chunking those I held on to them and read about getting the batteries to recharge using a 9 volt battery - enough to make the charger think the battery was chargeable.

I bought a Ryobi Li-ion drill set because I needed to fix a mail box post on the next street. This went for a while but eventually those batteries died too. I went on Amazon and bought generic batteries for that drill at half the price.

Hmm, let me check out batteries for my old Ridgid tool set. They have them in Li-ion too? Now we are talking. I bought two and a new charger just in case. They work great and didn't cost me much at all. Even the old charger works with the Li-ion batteries.

The brushless Ryobi compared to the brushed Ridgid set has some advantages as well - more efficient, less maintenance, and no motor smell.

My latest acquisitions are the 56V EGO lawn tools including a lawn mower. So far, so good. The one thing I don't like is there is no battery status - just blinking red when it is close to dying, green otherwise. I cannot imagine using a corded chainsaw, hedger, or lawnmower these days.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Btw, it’s not obvious, but my Ryobi and Porter Cable batteries have a state of charge indicator built into the battery. In both cases, there’s a push button and a series of LEDs showing the charge. They’re easy to miss if you’re not looking for them or RTFM.

Abo

Mate! disassemble the battery pack and solder in new Lithium ions... play your cards right
and you can even have more amp hours in the same case Jerry.