Power tools!

[mjennings23]

Now perhaps I'm missing something, but I seem unable to find a thread on power tools on a petrolheads forum... What is going on!

On a serious note, I think it's about time I invested in a cordless system and I'm looking for advice/experiences. First part will be an impact wrench naturally, along with batteries and charger so will effectively be committed to one brand going forwards.

My dad's always had excellent experience with DeWalt so I'm tempted to continue this, their 18v range seems universally praised while being cheaper than the likes of Milwaukee and Snap On.

Any other suggestions or experience from anyone? It's only for DIY use so I don't need professional grade stuff, but I also don't mind paying for quality if it's justified.

 

[gregl342]

I've got a bunch of Ryobi 1+ stuff and it's been faultless. Decent value and good quality

 

[Mister T]

I can highly recommend the Makita LXT range. Best tool I've ever bought is the DTW450 impact wrench

 

[Phoenixboy]

I used to sell power tools, and Makita and dewalt are both good kit.
personally for diy I would probably go the Ryobi route.
be wary of certain offers, which often include lower ampage batteries, meaning shorter run time.

 

[kis]

Cool. Will continue to watch with interest, I'm thinking of getting a few things too!

 

[Buckley06]

Not a fan of dewalt, Makita lxt are the set I have.
If you have the money festool are the best on the market.

Before falling into engineering I was a carpenter for 7 years so I am speaking from experience.

Ryobi just misses any man power and doesn't last long.

 

[Phoenixboy]

Not a fan of dewalt, Makita lxt are the set I have.
If you have the money festool are the best on the market.

Before falling into engineering I was a carpenter for 7 years so I am speaking from experience.

Ryobi just misses any man power and doesn't last long.

festool is top notch tools for a chippie or kitchen fitter, but would be vast overkill for diy use, and its expensive.

 

[john-e89]

I’ve used Dewalt, Makita but found both to lunch their batteries very quickly, especially Makita which have a reputation for it, Dewalt are vastly overrated and tbh I won’t touch either of them again, not that I want an argument with Phoenixboy, if they work for him that’s good. I switched to Bosch blue line and won’t use or buy anything else now, never had a problem and I’ve kicked the hell out of them, extremely robust, light, and a good range of tools. The 10.8V range will do what 14V on other tools do, they’re very powerful.

 

[PerryGunn]

I can highly recommend the Makita LXT range.

I agree with this - over the last several years I've built a decent collection of Makita 18v LXT kit and they've been faultless.

It's always worth buying batteries when they're on offer - the 4Ah seems to be at the sweet spot in pricing at the moment. It's a good idea to have a couple of spare batteries as you don't want to have to either stop working or be in a situation where you're having to swap batteries from tool to tool - it's also surprising how often a second charger gets used. I try to pick up the body-only version of the tools (with a case if possible) and, by preference, buy tools with brushless motors as there's less maintenance and the batteries last longer.

 

[mjennings23]

So it seems a range of experience and recommendations for a range of brands!

Found a pretty nice deal on a DeWalt kit including a Wrench, 2 4.0ah batteries, charger and case for around £240 which seems a fair price, can always add the smaller wrench later on too.

Basically I'm just tired of dealing with rusty bolts by hand, and with the Mrs getting her first car soon too I have no doubt my "workload" is going to be increased! Ironic really, since there's probably very little work to do on the Z these days that would require such tools that I decide to buy them now!

Would have been lovely to have when I was changing the front struts, that bloody pinch bolt!

 

[Phoenixboy]

I’ve used Dewalt, Makita but found both to lunch their batteries very quickly, especially Makita which have a reputation for it, Dewalt are vastly overrated and tbh I won’t touch either of them again, not that I want an argument with Phoenixboy, if they work for him that’s good. I switched to Bosch blue line and won’t or buy anything else now, never had a problem and I’ve kicked the hell out of them, extremely robust, light, and a good range of tools. The 10.8V range will do what 14V on other tools do, they’re very powerful.

Makita batteries was an issue a few years back, not sure if that's still the case.
in fairness most were replaced foc.
its horses for courses really, especially if its only light use.
most will do the job, some better than others.
shop around for deals with extra batteries.
you can never have enough batteries.

 

[Buckley06]

For diy use anything other than titan is good

 

[john-e89]

I’ve used Dewalt, Makita but found both to lunch their batteries very quickly, especially Makita which have a reputation for it, Dewalt are vastly overrated and tbh I won’t touch either of them again, not that I want an argument with Phoenixboy, if they work for him that’s good. I switched to Bosch blue line and won’t or buy anything else now, never had a problem and I’ve kicked the hell out of them, extremely robust, light, and a good range of tools. The 10.8V range will do what 14V on other tools do, they’re very powerful.

Makita batteries was an issue a few years back, not sure if that's still the case.
in fairness most were replaced foc.
its horses for courses really, especially if its only light use.
most will do the job, some better than others.
shop around for deals with extra batteries.
you can never have enough batteries.

Going on experience it’s still a problem with Makita batteries. I lunched one of my mates just the other day using his circular saw, the damn thing had only done a few hours work over a year. The joiner I use for windows etc has about 8 lined up all knackered, he’s seething but has to keep going with them as he’s got so many tool bodies, it’d cost him a fortune to swap.

 

[mr wilks]

I’ve used Dewalt, Makita but found both to lunch their batteries very quickly, especially Makita which have a reputation for it, Dewalt are vastly overrated and tbh I won’t touch either of them again, not that I want an argument with Phoenixboy, if they work for him that’s good. I switched to Bosch blue line and won’t or buy anything else now, never had a problem and I’ve kicked the hell out of them, extremely robust, light, and a good range of tools. The 10.8V range will do what 14V on other tools do, they’re very powerful.

Makita batteries was an issue a few years back, not sure if that's still the case.
in fairness most were replaced foc.
its horses for courses really, especially if its only light use.
most will do the job, some better than others.
shop around for deals with extra batteries.
you can never have enough batteries.

Got to sit with John here , still very much hands on after 3o years a joiner ( sole trader subby) ive always avoided Makita due to the woeful battery life .
That may be sorted now ( i don't believe it is ) but too late as you generally find with tradesmen that once they buy one tool - battery - charger they then buy the whole range so unlikely to change brand unless they want to shell out thousands .
Bosch blue has served me very well , never had a issue with failing of any battery , charger , tool until the point of exhaustion ( 5yrs + )
That's not to say they make the best tools but across a broad range id say they do a very decent job for very fair spend .
The problem with upping the spend to Milwaukee / Festool is when they get stolen from site / van they cost far more to replace & same when they fall off scaffolds or get run over with machinery
As for 2ah 3ah 4 ah 5 ah batteries , it doesn't give the tool any more performance , just lasts longer between chargers & a downside being heavier so need to work out suitable battery size for the different tool / task required
Decent Bosch starter kit here https://www.uktoolcentre.co.uk/bag-6rs-18v-6-pce-li-ion-cordless-kit-6-tool-package-3-x-4ah-batteries.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMInqDozp-O3gIVxJTVCh3KVAOWEAQYASABEgL2SfD_BwE

Also worth noting if you do go for the newer brushless tools , avoid the copy batteries on the market as they might work ok but they will goose the tool in .
Otherwise ive got non Bosch branded 18v & 10.8v used alongside the branded Li coolpack ones & honestly have never seen a difference in use time or longevity yet cost under half the genuine ones .
Happy tooling , it gets addictive once you start buying

Metabo also a worthy brand to look at if & this kit looks very good value for the £730 https://www.dm-tools.co.uk/product.php/site/froogle/sn/METCOMBOSET6/google/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIrOvauKOO3gIVBfhRCh3wNAKLEAQYDSABEgK6HPD_BwE#.W8eWdmhKjIU

 

[andystone]

Any chance that links to recommendations can be provided? I’m also unsure of which to buy.

 

[mjennings23]

Well, I've had a look at plenty of reviews etc and ended up starting the kit off with the DeWalt DCF899. Yes it's a heavy bugger but my logic is simple enough; it won't ever be used away from home, will be significantly easier physically than fighting rusted bolts in any situation even if it is heavy, and it seems from reviews that there isn't much it won't break open with no effort. 1600nm of breakaway torque is decent!

 

[Z4M-2006]

I have a Dewalt 1/2 18v impact gun
Dewalt 18v drill
Dewalt 18v impact driver that has 1/4 and 3/8 drive attachments

Used daily for a couple of years commercially and been excellent...

About £650 for the lot with 3 batteries and one charger iirc..

 

[john-e89]

I have a Dewalt 1/2 18v impact gun
Dewalt 18v drill
Dewalt 18v impact driver that has 1/4 and 3/8 drive attachments

Used daily for a couple of years commercially and been excellent...

About £650 for the lot with 3 batteries and one charger iirc..

Bloody Dewalt......Just like crisps Gaz.....you don’t know s**t from clay....... :wink:

 

[PerryGunn]

Well, I've had a look at plenty of reviews etc and ended up starting the kit off with the DeWalt DCF899. Yes it's a heavy bugger but my logic is simple enough; it won't ever be used away from home, will be significantly easier physically than fighting rusted bolts in any situation even if it is heavy, and it seems from reviews that there isn't much it won't break open with no effort. 1600nm of breakaway torque is decent!

Ignoring 'Brand Wars', unless you envisage you're going to have a lot of large & rusted bolts that you need to remove, for DIY use I'd have gone with a more general purpose Impact Driver rather than an Impact Wrench - it's easy enough to get 1/4" & 3/8" drive bits for an impact driver.

That said, it's all down to how you think you're going to use it, I tend to use use my impact driver for screws/coach screws/concrete bolts much more often than I use it for anything on the car - although I do find it very useful using a 1/4" adapter and long plastic sheathed socket when removing/replacing wheels as the middle torque setting on mine puts wheel bolts in to about 100Nm leaving just a little nip-up with my torque wrench to get them perfect

 

[Z4M-2006]

I have a Dewalt 1/2 18v impact gun
Dewalt 18v drill
Dewalt 18v impact driver that has 1/4 and 3/8 drive attachments

Used daily for a couple of years commercially and been excellent...

About £650 for the lot with 3 batteries and one charger iirc..

Bloody Dewalt......Just like crisps Gaz.....you don’t know s**t from clay....... :wink:

Typical of you that John...

A man who abuses his tool on a daily basis...