How many battery platforms are you using for power tools?

[Crazyjake8493]

Milwaukee M12 and M18 for 90% of my stuff
Hitachi 18v for framing, finish, and pin nailers
Ryobi for glue gun and hedge trimmers

 

[Spindifferent]

Only two platforms:

Red (M18 Milwaukee)
Green (Ego)

Each color has plenty of compatibility to power whatever I may need...

 

[imagineer]

Currently 4.

Porter Cable 20V for most of the cordless tools (drill, impact, angle grinder, flashlight)
Milwaukee 18V (very old) for a hammer drill only.
Milwaukee M18 for a compact impact driver and oscillating multi tool.
Ego, for a string trimmer and leaf blower.

Going forward, any necessary tool replacements or new additions will be Milwaukee M18.

 

[finn]

8.

Milwaukee M12 and M18

Dewalt 12 v and 20v (plus an old 18v with a 20v adapter). Also some Flexvolt that should be counted separately, I think

Bosch 12v and 18v.

Skil 18v plus an old Li integrated battery drill that I won’t count since I don’t think its battery is serviceable separately . Still works fine though, and there are NiCad substitutes listed on the internet, should I decide to keep it once the current lithium battery dies (if ever).

Also an old Toro and a couple of ancient B&D weed whips that have batteries built in. I have replaced the batteries with non oem, and they still work but should be replaced with more modern tools.

So that’s 8 or 12, depending on how you look at it.

That’s divided between three houses in two states, plus a shop, so it’s really not an issue to have that many platforms.

I also have a dozen or more air tools which should be counted when asking a question like this, plus gas powered chain saws, concrete saws, pole saws, mowers blowers, etc

 

[Dakotadadv8]

2 Dewalt & Makita, Drills, impact drivers, multi tool.

 

[tak1313]

Milwaukee (M12 and M18), and Ryobi (18+ and 40v).

Just about all my Ryobi stuff is outdoor/gardening related, whereas the Milwaukee stuff is automotive, drills, etc.

I'm not a pro gardener, so I'm not going to pay the money for a Milwaukee string trimmer, etc., when the Ryobi stuff has worked perfectly for usually less than half the price.

I do find that Ryobi tends to make more "creative/useful" stuff for the homeowner, whereas Milwaukee concentrates so much on the pro markets that it's a very "industrial" line of products that the average homeowner has nothing to do with or would be interested in, but what DOES fall into "DIY/home" use is always topnotch.

 

[Sumboodie]

1

 

[tiredoldironworker]

Milwaukee 12 and 18, greenworks 60v for yard tools.

 

[Bessy]

I'm up to four:
DeWalt 20v, 12v
Ridgid 18v
Porter Cable 12v, single drill and impact kit that I picked up about 10-12 years ago for $59 on sale. I bought it for using at the marina so if it ever took a dive off a dock, it wasn't my DeWalt stuff. Now that pair are in the closet of the house for the odd time I don't feel like going out to the garage to hang a picture, or if someone needs a loaner for a project.

 

[wxm]

Milwaukee M18 & M12 - mostly auto work
Makita - wood work
I sold my ridgid set which I regret. It had the best 1/4” impact.

I don’t mind adding more brands as long as the prices are right.

 

[mreisner]

Milwaukee 12 and 18, DeWalt 20 and 60 volt, a handy little Stihl cordless chainsaw, a couple of older 18 volt Ridgid that are still left after their **** warranty proved to be useless, and Snap on 14.4 basically only thing I use air for anymore is an air chisel, 1 inch impact for semi trucks, and a d/a sander for body work.

 

[Magna86]

One DeWalt only. When I finally had to start buying a system I made the choice I would only use one platform.

 

[Jim greengo]

Dewalt 20v

 

[desertdog256]

I have about 10 Dewalt 20v and 20 Ryobi 18v tools. If I had to generalize, I’d say Dewalt for quality and Ryobi for variety. But I have some garden tools, some woodworking tools, and some mechanic tools in both platforms and both have served me well.

I have had only one tool failure, a Ryobi recip saw and it failed as my wife was sort of twisting it as she cut. Not really the tool’s fault. surprisingly, I have Ryobi batteries that are going on 15 years old that still take a charge.

I do have one Ridgid tool, one Ridgid battery and charger: the high torque impact.

 

[lardy1]

Trying to get to two. My shop tool platform is Bosch and my yard tools are Black & Decker. I no longer purchase outside those two and my wife's old Craftsman **** is wearing out and being replaced with Bosch if replaced at all. She has her own tools.

 

[afinepoint]

Right now I am running three: Metapbo HPT (36v) out in the garage, older Ryobi in the house. Ego lawn blower/trimmer.

I'm staying with EGO for outdoors. However, I want to update my inside the house power tools. I thought about taking advantage of Ryobi days and just updating everything. I'm also thinking of just going Metabo HT subcompact in the house and use the same batteries (multivolt).

Is anyone have multiple tool battery platforms?

Hitachi - impact driver, Bosch - power screwdriver, Milwaukee - palm nailer, Ridgid - drill, nailer, caulk gun, light, whatever else and Ego for outdoor tools.

 

[Bessy]

Drank the red koolaid today with my first M12 purchases, bringing me to five cordless brands. I was looking for a cordless rotary tool, and ended up picking up a screw driver as well because it came with two batteries and a charger for $20 more than a single battery/charger kit. Did I need another driver? Absolutely not, but for $20, no brainer to get a second battery.

Wanted to grab the ratchet as well, but they were out of stock this time around locally.

 

[nadogail]

I am using Makita exclusively.

 

[kbeefy]

Dewalt/Mac 20 and 12v (the majority of my hand tools)
Dewalt 18v (my first cordless woodworking set that still gets used when I need duplicates)
Dewalt 40v Outdoor Power Equipment
Bosch 10.8/12v (same batteries, different stickers).

I also have a Porter Cable 19.2v Hammer drill and a IR 19.2v 1/2 impact, but I'm not sure if I could find them if I wanted to.


I was helping my Mom clean out the garage last year after my father passed away and found an old Makita, the ones with the big NiCad stick battery. I think it was 9.6v. It was in the original metal box with a couple batteries and a charger, looked brand new. That thing was a heavy beast, I forgot how sturdy they were. As far as I know it was his only cordless tool.

A couple years before I helped him do some repairs to his boat trailer. He was tediously removing some stubborn screws by hand. When I zipped them out with a 12v impact driver he looked like he just caught Santa Clause in the living room. He talked about it the rest of the day.

 

[GrayFlattop]

Like garagmahal mentioned a few months ago, I buy for the tool - not the battery platform. Sometimes this leaves a few stragglers, but nothing is forever (particularly cordless tools since they seem to get better and better. While I no longer have my Makita 7.2 or 9.6 v nicad drills, they served me well enough in the 80’s.

Now, well, it seems like a lot, but it is what it is.

Milwaukee M12 & M18 (up to 12AH) as well as a few legacy 2.4v nicad for the older screwdrivers (Panasonic)
Makita 18v
Bosch 12 & 18 v
Ryobi 18v & recently 4v
Older hitachi 10.8 (12) volt as well as 3.6 volt
And some Festool 10.8 batteries for their older installation drill/driver.

So 11 platforms and probably 50-60 in current use.

When the festool 10.8 batteries give up the ghost, I won’t replace them.

FWIW, I’ve yet to have a failed Bosch, Makita or Ryobi battery. I’ve had several M12 & M18 batteries fail, which pisses me off. A couple of the older hitachi 10.8 became unusable as well.

 

[Rockable]

One. HF Hercules and I have no complaints, so far. I have a Sawzall, impact and a drill that all use the same batteries. If I decide to buy another battery powered tool tomorrow, I will look at Hercules first.

 

[cody1325]

Craftsman V20 (impact, Sawzall, and the wimpy POS weedeater that only gets used around stuff I don't want to destroy with the Stihl FS40C and 70R).

Hitachi 12V Li-Ion (my grandmother's impact and drill--given as a gift to my grandparents in 2009, used and abused ever since, and still going strong). I use them a lot too, as I have yet to buy my own cordless drill--my ratcheting braces and Millers Falls 2-A have been adequate for most stuff out of range of an outlet.

Hyper Tough 12V MAX--my little impact. Not bad for $30, and Walmart has a huge range with them. They have a tool similar to Milwaukee installation driver, as well as a Hackzall copy I have kept looking at. Lost my adapter, so I might as well buy the fast charger.

DeWalt 18V. Wondering what to do with it, since the batteries are toast. I've got a Sawzall, drill, impact, and light. Not sure if getting the adapter for modern batteries is worth it.

Wanting something better 12V--currently a little stuck between the Bosch on sale at Tractor Supply, or saving up for Milwaukee M12 FUEL.

 

[shoggoth80]

1. HF Bauer line
But I'm only running an impact driver, and a 1/2" gun. So far, so good. Was on a tight budget for a little extra oomph for home jobs. They're putting in the work, so can't complain. I really should pick up extra batteries though. Lol.

 

[Jgaz]

Four
Milwaukee M12 and M18
Bosch 12volt (When my 1/4” impact driver was released it was marketed as 10.8 volts!)
Ryobi 18v

 

[webscrounger]

Milwaukee M18 & M12, Ryobi 18v & 40V

 

[Wrench80]

Ryobi 18v, Ryobi 40V...affordable, simple, and so far it all works as advertized

 

[Hohn]

Two. Well, more like 1.1 since they old Bosch 10.8 screwdriver almost never gets used now (it's from 2008 or so?).

Makita LXT 18v for everything.

 

[borgdog]

Up to 2 now having just added a Milwaukee M18 track saw and sander to my Makita 18v lineup. Yard tools all Makita 18v as well, although mower and chainsaw are 2x18V. Looking for an excuse to jump to 40v Makita but don't need any more tools at the moment.

 

[Hohn]

Up to 2 now having just added a Milwaukee M18 track saw and sander to my Makita 18v lineup. Yard tools all Makita 18v as well, although mower and chainsaw are 2x18V. Looking for an excuse to jump to 40v Makita but don't need any more tools at the moment.

having used the x2 18V makitas a bit now (I have the chainsaw, blower, and worm saw) I can't see the utility of a 40V platform.
If anything else, it affirms to me the wisdom of Makita's choice to use 2x 18V rather than proliferate another voltage initially.

I've found all the tools quite wieldy despite the 2x battery config.

 

[dnschmidt]

Like garagmahal mentioned a few months ago, I buy for the tool - not the battery platform. Sometimes this leaves a few stragglers, but nothing is forever (particularly cordless tools since they seem to get better and better. While I no longer have my Makita 7.2 or 9.6 v nicad drills, they served me well enough in the 80’s.

Now, well, it seems like a lot, but it is what it is.

Milwaukee M12 & M18 (up to 12AH) as well as a few legacy 2.4v nicad for the older screwdrivers (Panasonic)
Makita 18v
Bosch 12 & 18 v
Ryobi 18v & recently 4v
Older hitachi 10.8 (12) volt as well as 3.6 volt
And some Festool 10.8 batteries for their older installation drill/driver.

So 11 platforms and probably 50-60 in current use.

When the festool 10.8 batteries give up the ghost, I won’t replace them.

FWIW, I’ve yet to have a failed Bosch, Makita or Ryobi battery. I’ve had several M12 & M18 batteries fail, which pisses me off. A couple of the older hitachi 10.8 became unusable as well.

This has been the Achilles Heel of Milwaukee cordless for a long time. Hopefully, the new M12 2.5 and 5.0 batteries and the M18 Forge batteries will fix the problem but Milwaukee has had more battery failures for me than Metabo, Makita, Bosch and DeWalt combined.

 

[mikey03]

I like that newish M18 compressor look really sweet.

hadnt seen that before looks pretty sweet
is it only really good for driving nails? Could you use it for air hammer work in small amounts like taking off a wheel bearing from time to time or not really?

 

[theoldwizard1]

hadnt seen that before looks pretty sweet
is it only really good for driving nails? Could you use it for air hammer work in small amounts like taking off a wheel bearing from time to time or not really?

You could it with a pneumatic impact wrench or an air chisel, but it all depends on how long you hold the trigger. And if you willing to wait for the tank to refill !

 

[mikey03]

You could it with a pneumatic impact wrench or an air chisel, but it all depends on how long you hold the trigger. And if you willing to wait for the tank to refill !

Its not my house and mom doesn’t want me to get a compressor my aunt complains all the time about the noise from the one my uncle got and there’s some air tools honestly mostly and air hammer that you can’t do without a compressor there’s no real electric substitute.

so I mean if it takes a few minutes or ten minutes idk to fill up from turning it on and you got enough juice to blast off a wheel bearing before the one tank dies then I think that would be pretty good tbh.

 

[Chester in Florida]

Ego 56v for one of my chainsaw’s. Surprisingly. Nice tool.

Echo 56v PAS powerhead. Not bad, but I might sell it. I almost always use my Gas powered PAS system. The Echo 56v is not as good as Ego’s, and this coming from a big fan of Echo.

Makita 18v LXT. Very nice tools for the most part.

Hercules 20v. Just added, but so far so good. Have a 3/4 Ultra torque impact wrench and a 1/4 impact drill. I wanted something to compliment my Makita tools, so I could shop for the tool and have a cheaper option. Really like the two tools I currently have and several more in the foreseeable future.

 

[IRQVET]

One

Dewalt 20V for everything (2ah, 4ah, 5ah, 6ah)

For me it was a strategic decision, as they make something for almost every activity I engage in. And I was really trying to stick with ONE battery platform.

 

[isb cornbinder]

Right now I am running three: Metapbo HPT (36v) out in the garage, older Ryobi in the house. Ego lawn blower/trimmer.

I'm staying with EGO for outdoors. However, I want to update my inside the house power tools. I thought about taking advantage of Ryobi days and just updating everything. I'm also thinking of just going Metabo HT subcompact in the house and use the same batteries (multivolt).

Is anyone have multiple tool battery platforms?

Milwaukee M12 and Milwaukee M18, only.