[yozick]

I like the freedom and ease of use with battery stuff. But if I’m doing alot of work with anything more then my drill. Then I’ll pull out the corded or pneumatic stuff.

[BiggKidd]

BOTH They each have their place. Say for instance you need to stir a five gallon bucket of sheetrock mud or run a large holesaw you want a corded drill. For running in a bunch of screws or drilling smaller holes cordless. Grinders corded for a large welding job cordless for a bunch of quick cuts. Saws corded to frame / trim a house cordless to replace a piece of this or that. See what I mean they each have a purpose.

[The1plantguy]

I agree with both; but also have means to live and work with zero power.

[mlthompson]

I use all three, air, corded, battery , depends on the job.

[Private_Cluck]

I’ve mostly migrated to battery powered tools. I’ve standardized on the Ryobi line of battery powered tools. I think I have most of them. I would really like to get a Ryobi battery powered miter saw. I still have a few corded ones just in case. The only corded tool that I use regularly now is a drill for mixing sugar syrup for feeding our bees.

[Sandra]

I love my battery power tool but I also love my electric tool, don’t have a battery power tiller, I do have a Sun Joe electric tiller that’s awesome, some jobs I need more time or power then battery power tools can handle, so I have both. As long as we have the sun I can run and charge them. My husband prefers his gas and air power tools and they are better tools. However I can’t start any pull start tool so they are of no use to me.

[skainsgirl]

They all have their place. I do like the battery powered tools just because they are more mobile. But so is my old faithful Ryobi foldable table saw that has wheels. I have a big air compressor down in the shop but keep a portable one here at the house. I prefer gas powered yard tools, but I will use whatever I have that works as long as I don’t have to drag 200 ft of cord around the yard.

[Maytag]

For those who use cordless Milwaukee stuff, the M18 line of tools seems to have battery compatibility between the tools, but there are tons of different batteries. How do you chose the appropriate batteries when they claim they’re all interchangeable? I mean, seems like that the smaller batteries wouldn’t be too practical on a heavier duty tool like a table saw even if they will “technically” work.

[BiggKidd]

If you use to small a battery on a tool with large of a power draw it will quickly overheat and die. I generally use 4AH minimum

[Squeeze]

the bigger batteries dont give more power, just more tool life. Some tools with a larger draw will require more amps. I run most everything with 5 mah batteries. bigger tools (table saw, blower, chop saw…) need at least 8 mah, and really in most cases up 12, or double 8-12. A 5 battery from a drill will run the blower for about 10 minutes, an 8 mah for about an hour…12, I dont know. A drill will run off of a 3 mah, but just not for long. Battery tools have come a long way. bigger batteries are more expensive, but will cycle less and last longer. (and are heavier) I use them professionally, but really the average homeowner would be fine with almost any. I used to use panasonic, but they got too hard to find and very expensive. I have since switched everything to milwaukee. Mostly because I think the drills are best, and the rest is to keep one interchangeable battery and charger rack. Even the table saw and chop saw are kind of light duty. You will definitely get more bang for the buck in a corded tool, but the ease of use in a cordless is undeniable.

For driving screws, cordless wins hands down. the trigger control is light years ahead. A corded drill does not have a brake, so letting off the trigger still has a rotational wind down. It CAN be done, but if you are not very experienced with it, it definitely wont be pleasant.

[BiggKidd]

Here’s a little something I found interesting about M18 batteries and their generic counterparts. After buying a M18 angle grinder I also decided to get some more batteries since I knew I need them using more tools at one time. I looked around and had sticker shock and decided to go with a pair of 6AH aftermarket batteries for the same price as one genuine M18 4ah battery. When they came in I was surprised they were the same size as my original 4ah batteries and weighed less! Well after owning them about a year I’ve realized they are more susceptible to dying in cold weather and don’t last quite as long as the original 4ah batteries do. They are also a LOT more difficult to get in and out of several of my tools and radio. So spend your hard earned dollars wisely.

[TagNBee]

This is great stuff. Exactly what freesteading is suppose to be. Thank you

[Grampa-J]

Since getting older I am leaning more to battery. Have both and switch to the hand tools when the batteries run out. Learned on the hand tools (hand saws, brace, breast drill, hand drill, yankee screw driver) before my dad would let me use the power tools. All corded back then.

[Reynolds-in-Texas]

I really like my Milwaukee battery tools the 5 amh the big batteries work great last quite a while but the cold weather is the enemy the batteries don’t seem to lay as long so I keep my corded tools and a predator generator cause you never know if by some fluke you get the dreaded red and green blink in the charger which shows a bad battery