LiIon or Nicad

[thightower]

I have the Porter Cable 18V Nicad system. Looking into getting the 1/4 imact driver for my work truck. It will be riding in a service truck everyday. My question is should I stay with the NiCad or go with the LiIon? Pros/Cons.

 

[aaron h]

I have the Lithium Ion 18v impact from porter cable and if the battery is too cold or hot it wont charge till the battery gets in that acceptable range. really a pain in the *** for field work. I dont know if other systems are like this or not, I carried the battery in the cab of work truck to stay warm and charged, but it was a PITA so the porter is back at home

 

[Provincial]

I'm using nicads in my 1/4" hex Hitachi impact driver. They work fine in all temperatures. They don't have as much capacity as lithium-ion batteries, but do an acceptable job. Keep a pair with the tool and charge the second while using the other. When the tool slows down I move the battery to a flashlight and run it out before charging to keep from developing a memory at less than dead flat.

 

[carterbeauford]

Nicad has lasted a lot longer in my experience.

 

[Hammer1963]

I've switched to all Lithium Ion over the last couple of years, sans my Snap-on 3/8" impact. The L Ion seem to be a more powerful unit

 

[rslaback]

I've been sticking with Nicd at this point. The reason I do so is that they are user serviceable in that I can rebuild them with subc cells and a soldering iron. Once a Lion is dead it it time to head to the store for a new one. They can of course also be rebuilt but it is not nearly as easy as a Nicd.

 

[woody 73]

I am not able to help the op with his question about which battery to go with, but I will tell you this I got to see the new Dewalt DCF895 at lowes this week and that sucker weighs next to nothing (as compared to my old 18 volt dewalt with a monster battery pack).

That sucker not only weighs less but the kicker is it runs on 20 v as compared to my heavy 18V impact. I believe the new battery is the lithium Ion and it is the new brushless motor design.

The Problem is I buy the new Dewalt tools today and next year they will come out with even more new features to empty my wallet

 

[Mastermind]

the "20v" lions are actually 18 volts. from what i;ve heard, the LiIon batteries are full power or nothing, they carry thier power thru 90 sum percent of thier charge. nicads get weaker as u use them in a steady downhill rate. i've heard lithiums hold a charge forever too. i still run nicad myself, outta 4, two are great, other two won't drill a hole. need a rebuild.

 

[GSteg]

Depends on what battery. My Craftsman lithiums don't do so well in the cold, but my Bosch batteries do not complain, even down to 20F.

 

[P0234]

Glad to see there are other nicad holdouts. They may not have the power of lithium but they can take the abuse.

 

[itguy08]

I
That sucker not only weighs less but the kicker is it runs on 20 v as compared to my heavy 18V impact. I believe the new battery is the lithium Ion and it is the new brushless motor design.

It's the same 18v as everyone else. Off the charger they are 20v but quickly settle in to 18v. That is the same for all the 18v LiIon batteries. It's just that DeWalt decided to be shady and call them 20v.

 

[cheechi]

Dewalt didn't decide to be shady, they had to distinguish from the pretty well universal 18v that they already had when they redesigned it. Same as every single brand here with their '12v' tools are really 10.8v (or 10,8 in European volts)

What will the tool be driving? If you want to get a cordless impact driver I would get a brand that performs better than PC. But if you want to use it as an impact wrench get an impact wrench. Get it with LiIon batts and get big ones. 3.0 aH or better.

Also there have been about 10 threads addressing this in one way or another this month.

 

[kythri]

I only recently added a couple of Li-Ion's to my stable because I got a killer deal on them.

My other NiCads, some of which are 7-8 years old, still charge and work well.

For the price, you can't beat NiCad.

 

[kythri]

Dewalt didn't decide to be shady, they had to distinguish from the pretty well universal 18v that they already had when they redesigned it.

So, it's not shady to distinguish it with claims of 20V, rather than the 18V that it actually is?

 

[kngelv]

It's the same 18v as everyone else. Off the charger they are 20v but quickly settle in to 18v. That is the same for all the 18v LiIon batteries. It's just that DeWalt decided to be shady and call them 20v.

They actually did it because we live in such a litigious society. In England it is referred to as the 18V/XR system. If you call it 18V here then some people with the current 18V line might get confused and buy the wrong tool or battery. Then some lawyer will start a class action suit against DeWalt. I know it's ridiculous, but that is where we are as a society. Quite sad.

James

 

[itguy08]

Dewalt didn't decide to be shady, they had to distinguish from the pretty well universal 18v that they already had when they redesigned it. Same as every single brand here with their '12v' tools are really 10.8v (or 10,8 in European volts)

It's shady, same as the 12v stuff. They could have called it 18v compact, 18v XR, whatever. Then again I expect shady tactics from DeWalt as they don't use torque rather some UWO BS.

Like they say if you don't have the goods, obfuscate.

 

[itguy08]

They actually did it because we live in such a litigious society. In England it is referred to as the 18V/XR system. If you call it 18V here then some people with the current 18V line might get confused and buy the wrong tool or battery. Then some lawyer will start a class action suit against DeWalt. I know it's ridiculous, but that is where we are as a society. Quite sad.

James

Why? Just return it and be done with it. And those types of suits should be laughed out of court.

 

[kythri]

Why? Just return it and be done with it. And those types of suits should be laughed out of court.

And litigants that sue because of their own confusion and lack of research/education should be ostracized from civilization.

 

[rslaback]

They actually did it because we live in such a litigious society. In England it is referred to as the 18V/XR system. If you call it 18V here then some people with the current 18V line might get confused and buy the wrong tool or battery. Then some lawyer will start a class action suit against DeWalt. I know it's ridiculous, but that is where we are as a society. Quite sad.

James

The cost for the appointment to have the lawyer laugh at you is more than the cost of the incorrect battery you just bought. I highly doubt Dewalt was worried about litigation.

 

[woody 73]

I don't know about "Shady" from being 18V/ 20V as I first said I don't know which battery is better, heck give it some more time and Dewalt is coming out with their New and improved Battery called the Dragon powered by two Bruce Lee high output cells that weighs in at 5 ounces and has a 30V charge; retail price of $$89.99 (see just more ways of getting money out of your wallet).

I hear snap on is coming out Soon with their new and improved "Mega" 120 tooth count Ratchet I do hope the plastic handle is the real deal!

Happy New Year everyone.

 

[GSteg]

So, it's not shady to distinguish it with claims of 20V, rather than the 18V that it actually is?

Not shady at all. If they claim their tools run on a nominal 20v, then yes, it's a misrepresentation. However, they did add the word "MAX" after the 20V, and that is not a lie... It is 20V off the charger. Hell, they even added a disclaimer so they're not hiding anything. It's marketing, but that's the nature of a large company trying to sell millions of their own tool.

 

[kythri]

Semantics. It's shady.

 

[softailgarage]

Lithium has more power, but the ni-cads seem to last longer. I prefer more power.

 

[thightower]

From the responses, I believe I might stick with the NiCad. Just to save a little money right now. I already have the charger and batteries, they still work fine. All I'll have to buy is the 1/4 driver.

Cheechi, I will mainly be using it for valve covers and light stuff like that. The heavier stuff I will get out the air.

 

[Provincial]

thightower, that is exactly what I use my 1/4" hex driver for. I stick to 1/4" bolts and smaller, but occasionally attack up to 3/8" nuts with it. I find that the bigger bolts take enough torque to twist the shank on even high quality square drive adapters, so I use the air impact on them.

I have found that the battery packs sold at the big-box stores are not as durable or powerful as the ones available through the industrial suppliers. I believe the retail batteries (especially the ones included in the sets) are made with cheaper (lesser-quality) batteries. I stick to 3.0 ah batteries in my 18V tools, as the lower capacity batteries don't last.