Power Tools / Battery Tools

[Jaco De Jongh]

We Share a lot of knowledge on Solar and show off our installations , but very few of us complain about everything involved in getting an extension lead to the roof because the Battery Drill you bought last month cant keep its charge, and then realizing you forgot the chuck key for the Corded drill in the garage on the other side of the house just as you are about to secure the first bracket unto the roof. We all know proper tools can make any job a pleasant experience, but once you struggling with tools it turns into a nightmare in seconds.. 

We up north truly has a very limited selection of tools available and normally it will be something in the lines of  the HandyLine Ryobi. Ordering Stuff online from lets say Takealot also proves to be risky as you never really know what will arrive.  I am sure everybody here has dealt with the good and the bad power tools and formed ideas and opinions of what to buy and what to stay away from. 

About two years ago I practically replaced all of my power tools with models available from a Black & Decker range that was sold in the local Game ( Best place in town believe me) 

I regret this and said that i will never buy a B&D ever again. The best Cordless Drill on the shelve was a 12V 1000mA 10NM drill. That one lasted about 3 months and cant keep a charge any more. The Baby Grinder gave problems after the second Month when the button that lock the gearbox while loosening the blade literary jumped out of the grinder while using it. Big grinders switch sticky ext ext.

And then today while searching the available options in town for a cordless drill,  I was faced with follwing ,  2 Brands offering 12V 10 NM 1000mA  and 2 Brands offering 18V 20 NM 1200mA and 1300mA , and guess what,  a B&D Model 18V 30 NM 1500mA. There goes my promise never to buy a B&D again because i am out of options and time. I need the Drill now.   

Please will the guys that uses tool extensively like the installers, give some advice, or for the DIY guys in the forum, would you mind sharing your opinion and preference about power and specifically Cordless tools. Maybe one of you came across this certain Ryobi blue model that just exceeded all your expectations and just keeps on going. Or maybe you want to warn us to stay away from certain Brands or ranges?

I am hoping to hear opinions from guys like @SilverNodashi  (I guess he is a DeWalt fan) and  @Mike and  what happened to @superdiy ? I guess he will have a strong like or dislike in certain brands.  But anyone else might have equally important opinions, so please feel free to post it here.   

[Chris Hobson]

They are expensive but I can recommend Makita. You can have more than 1 battery. They even have a charger that takes 2 batteries. Batteries are interchangeable. I used a reciprocating saw (borrowed from the chap adding decks to lodges)  to cut through 2.5mm unistut. Their machines are beasts. The reciprocating saw is about R3k. 

[Mike]

I only use Makita and Bosch Tools.........and maybe very soon all my tools will be for sale as i will be opening office elsewhere and not taking anything with, cheaper to replace with new.....

[Jaco De Jongh]

9 minutes ago, Mike said:

as i will be opening office elsewhere

Wow Mike. And all the solar on your current place, Leaving or taking with? That's a big decision. Please let me if and when you decide to sell, will gladly take a look at what you don't need anymore?  

Good luck with your new venture...

[Mike]

41 minutes ago, Jaco de Jongh said:

Wow Mike. And all the solar on your current place, Leaving or taking with? That's a big decision. Please let me if and when you decide to sell, will gladly take a look at what you don't need anymore?  

Good luck with your new venture...

Thanks Jaco,  Solar is staying on the home. Yes a decision that has taken a few months and still prolly a few more with planning. I will still be in Solar, in a new country that relies on Hydro and 3 whole solar farms. Found a 15hec piece of ground for me to play on, will build a few guest cottages on for " visitors" and long term rental all the way in Panama, where 9kg gas cost $5.....more info to come tho, doing passport renewals tomorrow..

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, Mike said:

Panama

Pray till us more if you can ... please?

[Jaco De Jongh]

1 hour ago, Chris Hobson said:

They are expensive but I can recommend Makita. You can have more than 1 battery.

Please check the voltage and mA rating on that specific ones. I see one or two brands with multiple tools using one standard interchangeable battery. I just want to compare ratings?

[Mike]

5 minutes ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

Pray till us more if you can ... please?

moving my import/ export and solar wing over to Panama, no tax on work out the country and only 7% in the country. They rely on hydro for power and now also have 3 solar farms, so a lot of solar work coming up in my view. Under the friendly nations visa system, one only needs a company or property there for permanent residency. Certain works are restricted to Panamanians so one has to enquire as to what one can do, farming is great in the tropics i believe, my mini farm has avo, lemon, citrus, mango and another local fruit type on, so i will put up a greenhouse for some tomatoes, onions......and sell fruit at the local Tuesday farmers markets for the hell of it and hopefully i then can sleep every night without worry about who is outside. my dogs are going with with only a 40 days home quarrantine... thats about it

[Guest]

33 minutes ago, Mike said:

Panama

Just did a bit of Googling - did not know it was that easy to get in, relatively speaking. Very good to know. You are going to post here about your exciting new lifestyle?

Me, I'm still eyeing driving trucks on a green card after 3 years in the USA. That min 3 year experience my only little issue ... 

Alternatively I become The Republic of Cape Town's President ... that wall needs to be built.

[Cassie]

On 2018/08/22 at 7:11 PM, Jaco de Jongh said:

About two years ago I practically replaced all of my power tools with models available from a Black & Decker range that was sold in the local Game ( Best place in town believe me) 

I regret this and said that i will never buy a B&D ever again.

And then today while searching the available options in town for a cordless drill,  I was faced with follwing ,  2 Brands offering 12V 10 NM 1000mA  and 2 Brands offering 18V 20 NM 1200mA and 1300mA , and guess what,  a B&D Model 18V 30 NM 1500mA.

Hi Jaco,  I might be very late.  See your post dated back to 2018/08/22    But I want to tell you about my experience with battery tools.  First one (2006) was also a 12v Ryobi  ni-cad or something like that.  Wow! very impressed the first week, second week not so good, third week it was flat when I reached the top notch/step of the ladder - then it was ignored.  Second drill about 2 years later a Ryobi 18v again ni-cad or something like that.  Thought it would be better after 2 years, new technology etc. - but the same story.  I realised then that battery tools are just rubbish.  

Then visited my son in Canada in 2014 and noticed that he's got some impressive battery tools.  A drill and an impact driver, both 20v Lithium Ion.  I really couldn't believe the power and the extended period of usage on a charge.  And the impact driver and the Canadian square-hole screws were just an eye opener for me.  I immediately went to Home Depot and could only afford a Black&Decker 20v Lithium Iron combination set.  It had the one motor with 2 slide-in chucks.  One for drilling and one for impact-driving.  I came back with it and it is still as strong as the day I bought it back in 2014.    In 2016, I again visited my children in Canada and US and bought a combo DeWalt 20v (Lith iron) set for my other son in South Africa (he build wooden houses and decks in Limpopo).  A complete drill and impact driver with brushless motors for less than what the DeWalt 18v (Lith Ion) non-brushles drill only, in South Africa costs.  Only 18v Lith ion  tools were/are available in South Africa until I walked into ACDC last year and saw on promotion a ACDC branded 20v Lith ion drill and impact driver on promotion.  I bought both for under R 2000 and also bought another impact driver for my son in Limpopo.  And I must say these ACDC branded models are very impressive, my son compared it with his DeWalt tools and said his first choice when building is the ACDC impact driver.  To conclude:  I still have the old 18v Ryobi, but is going to use it as the driving mechanism (powered by a 20v DC transformer) for my remotely controlled pet door, and lastly I've dumped all flat and star screws in the dustbin - have only a variation square hole screws in stock in my little tool room.  Thanks to Lithium ion batteries,  battery tools are now an essential part of my arsenal !

[TonyH]

On 2018/08/22 at 7:11 PM, Jaco De Jongh said:

We Share a lot of knowledge on Solar and show off our installations , but very few of us complain about everything involved in getting an extension lead to the roof because the Battery Drill you bought last month cant keep its charge, and then realizing you forgot the chuck key for the Corded drill in the garage on the other side of the house just as you are about to secure the first bracket unto the roof. We all know proper tools can make any job a pleasant experience, but once you struggling with tools it turns into a nightmare in seconds.. 

We up north truly has a very limited selection of tools available and normally it will be something in the lines of  the HandyLine Ryobi. Ordering Stuff online from lets say Takealot also proves to be risky as you never really know what will arrive.  I am sure everybody here has dealt with the good and the bad power tools and formed ideas and opinions of what to buy and what to stay away from. 

About two years ago I practically replaced all of my power tools with models available from a Black & Decker range that was sold in the local Game ( Best place in town believe me) 

I regret this and said that i will never buy a B&D ever again. The best Cordless Drill on the shelve was a 12V 1000mA 10NM drill. That one lasted about 3 months and cant keep a charge any more. The Baby Grinder gave problems after the second Month when the button that lock the gearbox while loosening the blade literary jumped out of the grinder while using it. Big grinders switch sticky ext ext.

And then today while searching the available options in town for a cordless drill,  I was faced with follwing ,  2 Brands offering 12V 10 NM 1000mA  and 2 Brands offering 18V 20 NM 1200mA and 1300mA , and guess what,  a B&D Model 18V 30 NM 1500mA. There goes my promise never to buy a B&D again because i am out of options and time. I need the Drill now.   

Please will the guys that uses tool extensively like the installers, give some advice, or for the DIY guys in the forum, would you mind sharing your opinion and preference about power and specifically Cordless tools. Maybe one of you came across this certain Ryobi blue model that just exceeded all your expectations and just keeps on going. Or maybe you want to warn us to stay away from certain Brands or ranges?

I am hoping to hear opinions from guys like @SilverNodashi  (I guess he is a DeWalt fan) and  @Mike and  what happened to @superdiy ? I guess he will have a strong like or dislike in certain brands.  But anyone else might have equally important opinions, so please feel free to post it here.   

I have a Bosch 12v Drill that is a good few years old. I was unable to find new batteries after one failed. I opened the battery and removed the lion batteries. I have attached a 2 m cable to the terminals internally and glued the lot together. Now I use old 12V 7ah batteries via spade lugs to power my drill. A 12VDC charger is cheap so I just keep charging the two 7AH batteries.  

[Richard Mackay]

On 2021/03/04 at 9:53 PM, TonyH said:

I have a Bosch 12v Drill that is a good few years old. I was unable to find new batteries after one failed. I opened the battery and removed the lion batteries. I have attached a 2 m cable to the terminals internally and glued the lot together. Now I use old 12V 7ah batteries via spade lugs to power my drill. A 12VDC charger is cheap so I just keep charging the two 7AH batteries.  

There

 

On 2021/03/04 at 9:53 PM, TonyH said:

I have a Bosch 12v Drill that is a good few years old. I was unable to find new batteries after one failed. I opened the battery and removed the lion batteries. I have attached a 2 m cable to the terminals internally and glued the lot together. Now I use old 12V 7ah batteries via spade lugs to power my drill. A 12VDC charger is cheap so I just keep charging the two 7AH batteries.  

There are also 220V power tools that don't need batteries (you simply plug them into the mains power). .. Have you considered those??

[TonyH]

10 hours ago, Richard Mackay said:

There

 

There are also 220V power tools that don't need batteries (you simply plug them into the mains power). .. Have you considered those??

you are a funny man. Can you carry 220V power stations around with you??

[Richard Mackay]

17 minutes ago, TonyH said:

you are a funny man. Can you carry 220V power stations around with you??

Are you implying that these sites don't have power?