Cordless tools dilemma

[King Nothing]

Several years ago I bought a Makita LXT kit that came with an impact driver, hammer drill, 2 batteries, and a charger. I loved it and had every intention of investing in more of the system, but hadn’t gotten around to it yet. Over the last year though I have had one battery go bad and had the keyless chuck break on the hammer drill, leaving me with the impact, one battery and charger. I’m trying to decide what to do from here. I could buy 2 batteries and replace the drill for about $175, but that’s getting close to new kit territory. What would you guys do?

1. Replace the broken drill and buy 2 new batteries for $175

2. Buy a new brushless Makita kit with hammer drill, impact, circular saw, 2 batteries and charger for around $320

3. Sell the good impact, battery, and charger that I have and invest in a DeWalt or Milwaukee set


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[erty67]

At my work, we have hundreds of Makita drills in action. They have stood up well, better than the Milwaukee previously. It convinced me to go all in on a personal set, which I just purchased. Some good deals at Home Depot. I vote for replace drill and batteries.

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[jgromada]

I Just picked up a great deal on a Ridgid Hammer Drill at my local HD. It was only $79 for the hammer drill/2 batteries & a charger. It looks pretty stout, but haven't really used it yet. There is another data point for you. Ridgid has lifetime warranty on this stuff too!

I have zero reservations about getting another brand power tools. That way you are not bound to only one manufacturer.

 

[MayerMR]

I went Ryobi and have absolute no regrets. I'm a hobbiest and a DIYer, but I've never had a tool fail me. I did just recently have a NiCd battery fail, but it was the only one I had for a long time and I used and abused the heck out of it...it made it 3 yrs. And as far as a the selection of tools and jobs, you just can't beat them.

 

[mudflap]

Im all Milwaukee and very happy.. But if you like Makita ..and can get all that in a new brushless system for $320, i would go that route.. Brushless is a big upgrade in runtime..and motor life.

 

[Voi]

What would you guys do?

1. Replace the broken drill and buy 2 new batteries for $175

2. Buy a new brushless Makita kit with hammer drill, impact, circular saw, 2 batteries and charger for around $320

3. Sell the good impact, battery, and charger that I have and invest in a DeWalt or Milwaukee set.

If you know you want a cordless circular saw I would pick choice 2 or 3.

To make that choice I'd look at the entire collection from each company & make sure there aren't other tools you don't want to expand into.

If you do go Makita they have four very different brushless circular saws. Compact 6.5" in blade left & right. They also have two X2 7 1/4". One in blade right sidewinder style & one in blade left worm/hypoid type.

I have the compact blade left & really like it.

 

[King Nothing]

I Just picked up a great deal on a Ridgid Hammer Drill at my local HD. It was only $79 for the hammer drill/2 batteries & a charger. It looks pretty stout, but haven't really used it yet. There is another data point for you. Ridgid has lifetime warranty on this stuff too!

I have zero reservations about getting another brand power tools. That way you are not bound to only one manufacturer.

I would like to keep everything with interchangeable batteries, so that means going all Makita, or all another brand


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[King Nothing]

I went Ryobi and have absolute no regrets. I'm a hobbiest and a DIYer, but I've never had a tool fail me. I did just recently have a NiCd battery fail, but it was the only one I had for a long time and I used and abused the heck out of it...it made it 3 yrs. And as far as a the selection of tools and jobs, you just can't beat them.

My Brother in law swears by his Ryobi stuff


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[King Nothing]

If you know you want a cordless circular saw I would pick choice 2 or 3.



To make that choice I'd look at the entire collection from each company & make sure there aren't other tools you don't want to expand into.



If you do go Makita they have four very different brushless circular saws. Compact 6.5" in blade left & right. They also have two X2 7 1/4". One in blade right sidewinder style & one in blade left worm/hypoid type.



I have the compact blade left & really like it.

The circular saw was the next tool I was looking to buy


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[jgromada]

I would like to keep everything with interchangeable batteries, so that means going all Makita, or all another brand


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well your Makita batteries didn't last! At least the Ridgid batteries are lifetime warranty.

 

[850xpeps]

well your Makita batteries didn't last! At least the Ridgid batteries are lifetime warranty.

Just because they didn’t last doesn’t mean others won’t. My lxt batteries are 12 years old. 1 finally died and seen lots of cold temps.


Stick with makita. Good tools. There are some things I wish they made like a good grease gun. I like Milwaukee grease gun.

I upgraded some tools to brushless. Grinder, drill and impacts. And what a difference. Next will be to upgrade my circ and maybe get a metal cutting one too.

 

[NC Rick]

I am going on a little rant about cordless tools, wonderful things they are. I still have perfectly usable power tools from the late 50s and great Milwaukee stuff from the 70s and 80s. Since the advent of common cordless tools, I have had to dispose of a number of them because the technology gets better (great) and the batteries are no longer supported. Things I don’t use all the time, I buy corded quality stuff and it lasts practically forever. I’m in the boat with you with you on my Mikita cordless 18v drill, I would love another of their tools but they changed the batteries again and don’t have cross compatibility. I need to look at these as disposable consumables. That isn’t how I view tools and it irks me.

 

[anndel]

Several years ago I bought a Makita LXT kit that came with an impact driver, hammer drill, 2 batteries, and a charger. I loved it and had every intention of investing in more of the system, but hadn’t gotten around to it yet. Over the last year though I have had one battery go bad and had the keyless chuck break on the hammer drill, leaving me with the impact, one battery and charger. I’m trying to decide what to do from here. I could buy 2 batteries and replace the drill for about $175, but that’s getting close to new kit territory. What would you guys do?

1. Replace the broken drill and buy 2 new batteries for $175

2. Buy a new brushless Makita kit with hammer drill, impact, circular saw, 2 batteries and charger for around $320

3. Sell the good impact, battery, and charger that I have and invest in a DeWalt or Milwaukee set


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I would go with Option #2

 

[Xcursion88]

Several years ago I bought a Makita LXT kit that came with an impact driver, hammer drill, 2 batteries, and a charger. I loved it and had every intention of investing in more of the system, but hadn’t gotten around to it yet. Over the last year though I have had one battery go bad and had the keyless chuck break on the hammer drill, leaving me with the impact, one battery and charger. I’m trying to decide what to do from here. I could buy 2 batteries and replace the drill for about $175, but that’s getting close to new kit territory. What would you guys do?

1. Replace the broken drill and buy 2 new batteries for $175

2. Buy a new brushless Makita kit with hammer drill, impact, circular saw, 2 batteries and charger for around $320

3. Sell the good impact, battery, and charger that I have and invest in a DeWalt or Milwaukee set


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Option two all day long.

I'd put Makita against anyone cordless. Corded it's Milwaukee

 

[WIHD]

I am going on a little rant about cordless tools, wonderful things they are. I still have perfectly usable power tools from the late 50s and great Milwaukee stuff from the 70s and 80s. Since the advent of common cordless tools, I have had to dispose of a number of them because the technology gets better (great) and the batteries are no longer supported. Things I don’t use all the time, I buy corded quality stuff and it lasts practically forever. I’m in the boat with you with you on my Mikita cordless 18v drill, I would love another of their tools but they changed the batteries again and don’t have cross compatibility. I need to look at these as disposable consumables. That isn’t how I view tools and it irks me.

Thats a HUGE buying point (or not buying for that matter). Would irk me too.
In the market for some new cordless tools and this is the type of thing I'm looking out for.

 

[850xpeps]

I am going on a little rant about cordless tools, wonderful things they are. I still have perfectly usable power tools from the late 50s and great Milwaukee stuff from the 70s and 80s. Since the advent of common cordless tools, I have had to dispose of a number of them because the technology gets better (great) and the batteries are no longer supported. Things I don’t use all the time, I buy corded quality stuff and it lasts practically forever. I’m in the boat with you with you on my Mikita cordless 18v drill, I would love another of their tools but they changed the batteries again and don’t have cross compatibility. I need to look at these as disposable consumables. That isn’t how I view tools and it irks me.

Makita has had the same batteries for a long time. The new ones just have a piece on the edge that’s different. Either cut the little square notch from the old tools or cut the little piece off the battery.

 

[fourjeepin]

I have invested in Ridgid because of the warranty and the low prices if you buy the Black Friday/ Christmas special buy kits when they start to clearance. But I also have a Ryobi hedge trimmer and like to stick with one type of batteries/chargers so I built an adapter from the top of a Ryobi battery and the bottom of a ridgid led light.

 

[pbon]

I think any are fine — Ridgid, Ryobi, Milwaukee, Makita, DeWalt. Ryobi and Milwaukee seem to have the best selection. Ryobi are cheapest. I have Milwaukee and think the tools are great and the batteries long lasting. The Milwaukee tool warranty is 5 years.

 

[Brownsfan]

I was just in Home depot this morning . They had a dril/impact combo brushless for 229 with 3ah batteries. Then you get a free battery (cant remember which one ) . Im actually in the market for a new cordless tool platform and this is now high on the list. At least at my area stores.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Makita-...h-Driver-Drill-Impact-Driver-XT281S/306888066

 

[P0234]

I am going on a little rant about cordless tools, wonderful things they are. I still have perfectly usable power tools from the late 50s and great Milwaukee stuff from the 70s and 80s. Since the advent of common cordless tools, I have had to dispose of a number of them because the technology gets better (great) and the batteries are no longer supported. Things I don’t use all the time, I buy corded quality stuff and it lasts practically forever. I’m in the boat with you with you on my Mikita cordless 18v drill, I would love another of their tools but they changed the batteries again and don’t have cross compatibility. I need to look at these as disposable consumables. That isn’t how I view tools and it irks me.

And that is where the Ryobi one system comes in. The batteries design has stayed the same.

 

[850xpeps]

I was just in Home depot this morning . They had a dril/impact combo brushless for 229 with 3AH batteries. Then you get a free 4AH battery free. Im actually in the market for a new cordless tool platform and this is now high on the list.

In Canada here I watch bc fasteners and Kms tools. They always have deals like this. Along with $75 instant rebate. My last drill combo was the big 1/2” drill, heavy impact and 3 - 5.0 ah batteries for $375.

 

[Brownsfan]

Here is the special combination deal.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Makita-...Bonus-Battery-2-0-AH-XT281S-BL1820B/308763963

 

[red94chev]

I'm also a fan of Makita. Check out CPO Outlets for better deals on batteries and tools. One of my original 1.5ah batteries died after a couple years and I bought a 2 pack of the 3 ah batteries and I love them.

 

[Handyandy23]

If you know you want a cordless circular saw I would pick choice 2 or 3.

To make that choice I'd look at the entire collection from each company & make sure there aren't other tools you don't want to expand into.

This is a good point - look at the full tool lineup of Makita vs the competitors and make sure whatever system you invest in has all the tools you would want. And also the specs on the tools you want.

I went Ryobi and have absolute no regrets. I'm a hobbiest and a DIYer, but I've never had a tool fail me. I did just recently have a NiCd battery fail, but it was the only one I had for a long time and I used and abused the heck out of it...it made it 3 yrs. And as far as a the selection of tools and jobs, you just can't beat them.

I looked at Ryobi, but the problem I had is they are certainly cheaper in-store, but when you look online there are a lot of good deals on the higher end brands. So good that you can pretty much Amazon Prime any DeWalt / Milwaukee / Makita tool to your front door for a similar price to the Ryobi in-store at HD. And once you remove the price advantage of Ryobi, it kind of lowers the appeal for me.

 

[Holmesx10]

I say if you ever intent on doing mechanics work go Milwaukee if not stick to makita

 

[House Frau]

I have had Ryobii for a lot of years from drills to pipe snakes to sawzalls and every silly gadget that pops up in between. The only thing I ever destroyed was the weed wacker and that item was junk from the start. You really get trapped into these things brand wise the more you buy, I picked up a Hitachi combo with a gift card at Lowe’s once just out of boredom. One thing I am cautiously optimistic about is Ryobi claims that as they upgrade their batteries they will always fit earlier tools but you really never know if you’re gonna be starting from scratch as things improve.

 

[King Nothing]

I am going on a little rant about cordless tools, wonderful things they are. I still have perfectly usable power tools from the late 50s and great Milwaukee stuff from the 70s and 80s. Since the advent of common cordless tools, I have had to dispose of a number of them because the technology gets better (great) and the batteries are no longer supported. Things I don’t use all the time, I buy corded quality stuff and it lasts practically forever. I’m in the boat with you with you on my Mikita cordless 18v drill, I would love another of their tools but they changed the batteries again and don’t have cross compatibility. I need to look at these as disposable consumables. That isn’t how I view tools and it irks me.

Whoa, so the new batteries won’t work in my old tools? I was about to buy a 2 pack of 4.0ah to replace the bad one and give me an extra in case I decide to go with the 2 battery circular saw or weed whacked later on


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[King Nothing]

I was just in Home depot this morning . They had a dril/impact combo brushless for 229 with 3ah batteries. Then you get a free battery (cant remember which one ) . Im actually in the market for a new cordless tool platform and this is now high on the list. At least at my area stores.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Makita-...h-Driver-Drill-Impact-Driver-XT281S/306888066

I saw that one last night. They also have a hammer drill, impact, circular saw kit for $299. Probably no free battery though. Honestly, if I could find just a hammer drill with 2 batteries and a charger that’s the way I would go but it doesn’t seem like that’s readily available


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[Jazzman442]

I use to buy Dewalt. Last year I had to get new ones. I choose Ridgid for their warranty and their battery. They warranty their battery's for life. That is hard to beat. Their tools are way better than the competition by feel and build quality. There are a lot of people that get stuck to one brand and then tell everyone how great it is because they have invested in that brand. Buy what you like to me it was feel build quality and warranty that I switched. I also have a Craftsman impact that i will never give up.

 

[Handyandy23]

Not trying to put down Ridgid, I don't own any of their cordless stuff. But when manufacturers say "lifetime" warranty I am kind of skeptical. Like sure that works now while the batteries that you're using are current, but what happens in 20 years when we're using 100V tools powered by moon rocks? Ridgid isn't going to produce old style 18V batteries for forever just to have on hand for warranty replacements if tech moves on.

People are finding the same issue with lifetime warranties they thought they had on discontinued brands like Craftsman/Sears and Kobalt. The warranty is more the lifetime of that brand and tech than your lifetime.

Again not saying it's still not a good warranty, but I wouldn't personally use that as my deciding factor and expect to actually have warranty coverage for more than the near future.

 

[850xpeps]

Whoa, so the new batteries won’t work in my old tools? I was about to buy a 2 pack of 4.0ah to replace the bad one and give me an extra in case I decide to go with the 2 battery circular saw or weed whacked later on


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How old? Yes makita old and new batteries work on both sets. They say they don’t but it’s just a little square piece of plastic blocking the battery from sliding in on the old tools.

 

[redidbull]

I have a bunch of Ryobi tools. The tools have held up well and the batteries, well maybe 2 years before they go. I had 3 bad batteries and emailed Ryobi. They have a battery exchange based on the date on the battery. I got 1 free one out of the 3. I am not sure what the time was. I am going to rebuild the old packs. I was an electronic tech for 40 years and we used to do pack rebuilds on all kinds of over the years. I also have some garden tools that use the same battery. Jim

 

[Cooter Brown]

I need to look at these as disposable consumables. That isn’t how I view tools and it irks me.

Irks me too. I think it's partly a generational thing.

All battery tools should be viewed as consumables. I've got a pile of unuseable battery tools from Milwaukee, Makita, Porter Cable, all top of the line tools when they were bought, now derelict because it doesn't make sense to rebuild the batteries any more than I've already done. Corded tools from the same era and older are of course going strong.

All of the tools themselves have plenty of life in them. The batteries are shot.

The situation with battery tools is the opposite now. The batteries last much longer but the tools themselves will be the limiting factor in the equation. The old Porter Cable drill drivers I have are damned near indestructible--they've been dropped off ladders, roofs, driven thousands of screws each, would still go if the batteries worked. As it is I'll salvage the Rohm chucks off of them and use those for something else.

I got some Milwaukee drivers and drills to replace them--no way in the world they will take the abuse and last as long as the PCs.

The tradeoff is that the Milwaukees are a lot lighter in weight, which is a good thing.

My advice to the OP would be to bite the bullet and get the new set, and keep the mindset that tools like this have become consumables, as Rick said.

 

[Robinson1]

Makita makes top notch tools. I've never been disappointed by anything with the Makita name on it.

Fact of the matter is there's so much competition in the tool market today no top manufacture can afford to put out a bad tool. You'll not see a ton of difference in any of the pro brands

 

[Moparman390]

OP, if you are going to invest in a new platform entirely, I'm not going to tell you which one to get, they all make good tools, buy the one which is best suited for you and gives you the best value. Now, what I will reccomend is waiting. If you want to start with a new tool platform the best way to do it is a combo kit and those have great sales twice a year, the holiday season and Father's Day (where they pretty much recycle the black Friday deals.) Every retailer has several combo kits for sale from each brand at those times plus battery deals too. Unless you find a smoking hot clearance deal (some did on Ryobi brushless), and those mostly come in January, it's best to wait.

*Also, when it comes to the Ridgid lifetime warranty, many people here have had bad experiences with it, and it is complicated. I would not factor that in to a decision to buy Ridgid, instead I would compare the tools on their merits and the price, the lifetime warranty should be viewed as a nice bonus if it ends up working for you hassle free if there comes a need for it, I wouldn't base a purchase on it.

 

[vavet]

My predecessor in my job bought a bunch of Makita tools. The drill chucks and batteries were ****, IMHO.
I went all in on Ridgid, for both work and home use. I love the warranty, but the actual execution of it is ****. If you live near a Ridgid service center, maybe it is better, but my choices are "pay for the shipping" or "take it to my local Home Depot store." Depending on who waits on you at HD, your experience will vary. I've sworn them off because of consistently inconsistent policies (meaning they're always changing) and it always *****. It's not worth it. I haven't bought anything new since my last warranty experience more than a year ago when I almost lost the LSA on my recip saw because the store associate was misinformed.

If I was starting fresh, I would look at Ryobi. I know it's the same manufacturer as Ridgid, but at least the price is lower. I'm a bit envious of the breadth of tools offered by Ryobi.

 

[King Nothing]

How old? Yes makita old and new batteries work on both sets. They say they don’t but it’s just a little square piece of plastic blocking the battery from sliding in on the old tools.

Probably 6 years. They are 18v LXT tools


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[850xpeps]

Probably 6 years. They are 18v LXT tools


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They will work. I cut the little square block out of all my old tools to fit the new batteries. The batteries look identical to the old just have a star symbol on them and one side has a piece of plastic that sticks a bit higher and that’s what hits.

 

[King Nothing]

I guess another option I have is to replace the chuck on the drill and buy a pair of batteries. Can anyone recommend a decent 1/2 inch chuck that isn’t too expensive. I’ve found a few on amazon and eBay for around $30. Wondering if those will work for me?


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[ChrisLS8]

What other tools if any do you want to add in. As far as quality goes it's hard to go wrong with just about any major brand