Cordless tools, the next level

[brino]

I have seen places selling adapters to make one bat fir another. Don't recall if it was amazon, or ebay.

You can also buy adaptors that allow different brands to be used together.

I have seen some adapters on thingiverse. So if you have access to a 3D printer, you could make your own:

Here's just a couple.......
Milwaukee M18 to Ryobi Battery Adapter:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1677812

Milwaukee to Black and Decker:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:31058

-brino

 

[MrWhoopee]

I bought a 14.4v Craftsman driver drill back in the mid to late nineties. I finally replaced the original pair of Nicads with Li-ions 2 years ago. Pretty impressed. I'm interested in a battery chainsaw for camping, my Stihl 009L attracts too much attention in campgrounds.

 

[Tozguy]

Since many campgrounds forbid cutting any kind of wood around campsites, there would be a stealth factor to consider For such a specialized occasion maybe these are worth a look.

Amazon.com : mini chainsaw

www.amazon.com

Sorry to poke fun at you MrWhoopee, hope you are not offended.

 

[tjb]

If I lived in the USA I'd be headed to Home Depot right now. ON SALE

DEWALT 20V MAX 12in. Brushless Cordless Battery Powered Chainsaw (Tool Only) DCCS620B - The Home Depot

The DEWALT DCCS620B 20-Volt MAX batteries. Gas-free operation eliminates the cold starts, fumes, carburetor issues and maintenance involved with gas-powered chainsaws. This battery powered chainsaw is

www.homedepot.com

Looks like this one can be used with one hand only. Not something that anybody recommends but when up in a tree hanging on to branch one handed operation is the only way to go. I miss my little old Homelite just for that.

Showed this to my wife. Yesterday morning, she went to HD and bought one. A nice tool, but it's no substitute for a 'real' chainsaw. I have a Stihl 16" gas-powered, and they're light years apart. Granted, a 16" is a lot different from a 12", but they don't handle anywhere close to the same. (I have a 12" Stihl pole saw, and there's no doubt it is more powerful than this 12" DeWalt.) The DeWalt cuts down brush and very small saplings well enough, but about 2" diameter is all it can handle without beginning to bog down. The worst thing is that, unlike the Stihl, it has a bit of a 'kick'. Even with light brush, it's more than I would have anticipated. Unofficially, I attribute it to a far slower chain speed. The teeth tend to 'grab' instead of 'cut'. Easy enough to adjust for - once you realize it's going to happen - but for that first cut, it's a little unanticipated. It CAN be used one-handed, but I wouldn't recommend it. That just seems to exacerbate the kickback characteristic. The really nice feature is convenience: press the thumb safety, pull the trigger, and your sawing. No throwing out your shoulder cranking it a thousand times while you're clearing brush. And no stepping out of the thicket, cranking, and repositioning yourself after you get it running. That's very nice.

Am I glad I have it? Yeah, I think so. Since I have a rack full of DeWalt batteries and chargers, for a hundred bucks, it was worth the gamble. Will it replace a gas powered? Not a chance. In my opinion, it's a different kind of tool, altogether. It won't replace anything for me, but it allows some stuff I'm doing with its gas cousins to be done a little more easily. I must say, however, it has introduced a degree of caution into my considering the larger 60 volt version. I'll need to examine the specs, but if the 60v doesn't have a higher speed than the 20v, I'm not interested.

Regards

 

[Papa Charlie]

While I cannot complain about the convenience of battery powered tools. I have had way too many of them become obsolete because they no longer made the batteries. Many I spent hundreds on. That then required me to have to purchase another set that utilized the battery of the day until they were no longer available.

I believe it is a good thing to try and reduce pollution, but I think there is more a marketing strategy to this than environment. I have gas powered tools that are still kicking after 30 years, my chain saw for one. While electric tools seem to last about 2-5 years before they fail or become obsolete for one reason or another. That ensures that I will have to go and buy another. We live in a manufacturing world. They have to keep us buying to sustain the process.

A term for this is" Engineered Obsolescence" or "Planned Obsolescence". How ever you look at it. You won't have to worry about someone buying our old battery powered or other modern tools for that matter, in an auction and restoring them like we do with many of the large machines we buy today (Mills, Shapers, Surface Grinders, etc). They will be ground up and made into new plastic tools to fit the flavor of the day.

 

[Tozguy]

Terry, Thanks for your thoughts on the Dewalt. Most of my comparisons of battery powered tools to gas or corded tools have been like 'taking a knife to a gunfight'.
The chain on my Greenworks 80v did seem to cut differently than my gas Stihl. Not discounting the fact that the chain was new it seemed as though it was designed differently and it took some practice to adapt to it. The Greenworks can certainly handle the type of work I usually face more conveniently.
Hopefully you will still find a niche use for your Dewalt or get a refund if its dangerous or useless.

 

[MERLIncMan]

A friend needed his bushes trimmed, so he got a hedge-trimmer: Stihl, 40v (I think) battery. He is an elderly gentleman, so I did the trimming.
Only came with 1 battery (unacceptable in my mind).
The thing was really easy to use out of the box, only bound on branches about 5/8" thick - but it could do them one off.
My gripe was that the battery only lasted for about 30 minutes (maybe longer - I topiaried about 4 bushes in that time).
It charged about 7/8 full in the time it took to gather up the clippings.
Moral of the story?
It was nice having no cord and no gas - it was lighter and quieter.
Battery capacity has a little ways to go.
MINIMUM of 2 (4 is better) batteries.

 

[tjb]

Terry, Thanks for your thoughts on the Dewalt. Most of my comparisons of battery powered tools to gas or corded tools have been like 'taking a knife to a gunfight'.
The chain on my Greenworks 80v did seem to cut differently than my gas Stihl. Not discounting the fact that the chain was new it seemed as though it was designed differently and it took some practice to adapt to it. The Greenworks can certainly handle the type of work I usually face more conveniently.
Hopefully you will still find a niche use for your Dewalt or get a refund if its dangerous or useless.

I'm very comfortable with keeping the DeWalt. Finding the right 'niche' is a good way to put it. I don't consider the tool 'dangerous' but, like you noted, it's 'different' and has a bit of a user's learning curve associated with it. I won't be looking for a refund on the DeWalt. I'm glad I have it. There is a convenient niche in my spectrum for which it is well suited. But it won't replace what I routinely do with my gas powered chainsaws. In my opinion, it would be a disappointment to a potential buyer who assumed differently.

Regards, and thanks for the heads-up on the Home Depot sale. I'm glad I saw it.
Terry

 

[Tozguy]

My Greenworks 80v chainsaw is at least equivalent to my old gas Homelite Bandit in performance. The Homelite was a great saw for one handed work, when I could get it to run.

https://flic.kr/p/GFAynM

I would consider getting a second battery powered chainsaw specifically for one handed work if it took the same batteries as I already have.

 

[tjb]

A friend needed his bushes trimmed, so he got a hedge-trimmer: Stihl, 40v (I think) battery. He is an elderly gentleman, so I did the trimming.
Only came with 1 battery (unacceptable in my mind).
The thing was really easy to use out of the box, only bound on branches about 5/8" thick - but it could do them one off.
My gripe was that the battery only lasted for about 30 minutes (maybe longer - I topiaried about 4 bushes in that time).
It charged about 7/8 full in the time it took to gather up the clippings.
Moral of the story?
It was nice having no cord and no gas - it was lighter and quieter.
Battery capacity has a little ways to go.
MINIMUM of 2 (4 is better) batteries.

That was the big selling feature for me. All of my cordless tools are DeWalt (20v), so I'm loaded up with batteries and chargers. If I had to buy new/different sets, I'd probably pass.

Regards,
Terry