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We tend to miss out on all the best packs/deals/tools........ok everything! this side of the pond. But i did notice dewalt do an impact and drill pack with a typical(looks like a 2a) pack and a flexvolt . All from dewalt as a package. If i would have had that choice a year or so back, i would have bit for sure.
 
Got another 3sp impact driver on the way. As much as the single speed one i have at home is fine. I am just use to the precision control setting(1 of the 3) in work. It fastens, pauses for 0.5s then slow hammer to around 8nm . Its perfect for small m6 even some m8 bolts. Home uses tends to be more screws, again for say hanging a door or securing blinds. I found the single speed a little more unfriendly. As a slight pull can easily strip wood. The 3sp limiting the torque just makes most uses so easy.

Thats me convinced lol

Middle of next week hopefully, a body only. Could do now with another tough system case!
 
idleprocess said:
A lot of Milwaukee, DeWalt, Makita love. I'll buck the trend.

I've had an expanding set of Ryobi ONE+ tools for about 10 years and have found them to be more than sufficient for the home gamer. Outside of the terrible pack-in 1.2Ah batteries and one failing ~1.5Ah Lithium+ battery the 4Ah batteries have yet to let me down. The tools have worked for dozens of projects including a 120ft² shed build exclusively using piloted screws that I'm wrapping up. I have managed to nearly kill the ~10 year old 6.5" circular saw through abuse and neglect (mostly neglect - it got rained on at least once). Otherwise, the kit drill of ~10 years ago, a lower-end 1/4" impact driver, a 90 degree drill, a leaf blower (best described as a hard-surface air sweeper), and a HID spotlight have not given me problems.

Battery lifespan on the 40V outdoor system is another matter (Of 3 the 2.6Ah batteries I got with tools, 1 is dead, 1 is all but dead, and 1 is marginal after ~4 years), but those packs work extremely hard under almost continuous load unlike the handheld power tools.

I wouldn't recommend Ryobi ONE+ for anything significantly more serious than my usage. If you're a professional on a job site or a far more serious hobbyist than me you might find some of the better makes to be worth your money. I would, however, not suggest buying handheld cordless power tools as if they're going to last more than a lifetime - odds are these various "systems" will be abandoned at some point once something newer and better-er comes along and you're faced with the prospect of rebuilding proprietary battery packs and trying to work around various DRM trickery and other inconveniences. Your granddad's set of indestructible mid-century Craftsman tools these aren't - those days are gone and don't look to be coming back in this era of shareholder value.

A curious testament to the durability of Ryobi ONE+ tools is that the Dallas Makerspace has them in their workshop where they see far higher levels of use than mine and each tool seems to last for roughly two years. Makerspace members are not terribly ginger with those tools - they're dropped, overworked, run over by cars, tortured and hold up better than the disdain one sees for Ryobi suggests they should. They've surely murdered some of those tools, but there was malice and intent behind every such crime against tools unlike the few times we experimented with tools we didn't think that even Harbor Freight could screw up which were good for the traditional job-and-a-half.

There are many tricks to maximizing lithium-ion cordless tool battery lifespan in my experience:
  • Pay the premium for larger batteries (look for twofer specials and other sales). Longer runtime is the obvious benefit. They can also deliver more power to demanding tasks (I know that some of Ryobi's nailers demand the 4Ah batteries or better). But the real bonus is longevity - lower C rates means less stress on the chemistry, more capacity means fewer cycles, and both contribute to a longer working life. An added bonus of most larger batteries across manufacturers is that they're typically series-parallel unlike the smaller ones that are arranged in series - this means current through each series is nominally half for a 2P design (most large standalone batteries), a third for a 3P design (such as the ONE+ 9Ah monster).
  • Don't leave batteries in tools long term. Modern cordless tools almost always have some sort of standby drain - be it from the unfortunate DRM (limits tools to use authorized batteries and batteries to only accept authorized tools/chargers) that's in a number of systems as well as realtime communication between tool and battery to monitor and manage performance.
  • Don't leave batteries in chargers long term. Once it's charged, take it out. Similar to leaving batteries in tools for long periods, this tends to drain the battery.
  • Store batteries at partial charge. If there's a fuel gauge, it should be around half. If you have a DMM, ~3.6V per cell is ideal (i.e. the 5S ONE+ should be at its nominal 3.6V x 5 = 18V). If you have neither, store it after finishing as job without charging. This does mean that you might have to plan ahead before your next job, but unlike NiCd, Li-Ion batteries generally charge quickly.

I persistently failed to do the latter three for the first few years, killing the batteries I mentioned in the first paragraph. I believe they can be rebuilt (Ryobi's DRM doesn't seem to brick itself on 0 volts unlike some other makes) but that's surgery I'm not sure I want to perform; if I do, I'll be looking at at least 2Ah cells so maybe they'll live longer lives.
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I'll say that ryobi makes a good tool, seriously underappreciated. What drove me to milwaukee/dewalt/etc was the better balance of the drills/drivers. Ryobi has a long 'nose' and some balance issues, creating extra hand/wrist stress.
 
I spent the better part of the day working with two gas line trimmers/fighting with two very finicky gas line trimmers. :hairpull:
Spent the better part of the evening L@@King at the DeWALT 60v line trimmer. :takeit: er, maybe. I'm still reading reviews and watching YouTube videos. $275.
 
Me to CG , I have a gas trimmer (I call them strimmers). It works but it’s always a little fun and games. So I have been looking at the 18 and 54v versions. The 54 will probably be overkill so the 18v would be more ideal. Cheapest I have seen body only is around £160-£180 ish(not bad).

There is also a pole saw CG that looks super useful, 8” bar and extendable! Darn it, at this rate I could end up having to paint the garage yellow n black :crazy:
Must resist !
 
The FlexVolt are beasts, beauty is you can use on your 20v stuff. But they do add some weight , probably like having 2 x 20v batteries. I would go 9a or even 12a if possible , to really benefit if choose that system. You have a nice big garden, so would probably benefit (I don’t).
 
Looking at prices, comparing bare body 18v(around £160 ish) and 54v body (£280 ish). Its a good £120 more for the flexvolt strimmer.

I am going to hold off for now, my strimmer use is once or twice a month, for maybe 15 mins. The hedge trimmer looks a nice tool which would be useful, maybe even more useful for me in the front.

Dewalt is very addictive for me, so i need to stop looking. What is holding me off, the garage needs a full clear out and i wont put nice tools in there. Not until its all sorted anyway. I can just see my dewalt shadow board now..........:whistle: must resist! I might add the lawn mower once my petrol one packs in. But i am hoping that wont be for some time!
 
Having used 2 different models of Black & Decker 20v trimmers, 20V hedge trimmer, and 20v blower I find the older 20v trimmer (1 speed) is rather underpowered and doesn't cut that great while the 2 speed on high cuts decently well but nowhere near a gas trimmer as it uses 0.65 line and my electric trimmer uses 0.80 line and is about 2/3 as powerful as a gas trimmer with the 20v about 1/3 to 1/2 the power on high. For a smaller lawn and 15 mins of use not cutting deep deep grass it does fine especially on a 4A battery. If you have a smaller lawn and keep it up decently a 20v trimmer like mine is adequate and will save you time and money vs gas or corded ones.
Now the 20v blower is about 1/4 (or less perhaps) the output of my gas blower and is more of a broom for sidewalks than a blower for leaves. You have to get the nozzle down where the stuff is for it to do much but it is useful for quick sweeping after a mower and very light but for fall leaf blowing... forget it. My B & D hedge trimmer is a jewel works as well as my corded one and is LOT easier to use as it is lighter and without a cord you can go anywhere instantly. If I had a larger yard I may consider a higher voltage trimmer and use a gas blower instead of battery one. I certainly wouldn't spend a lot on a 20v trimmer definitely not a higher voltage model when gas trimmers are cheaper to buy. When I do my yard I can trim the lawn then the hedge then blow it off and often with just one 4A battery when it isn't raining a lot during the week. If I were to get a 60/80v type lawn system (minus mower) I would be even more ecstatic if they had a light that also used the batteries that had a whopper of an output as that size of battery would make for a tremendous emergency power source.
 
I was(still am to an extent) a huge fan of gas tools. Strimmer, hedge trimmers, lawn mowers all gas. Now back maybe 15yrs or so when i 1st invested in gas stuff, batteries were pretty lame at best. Basically not much choice and nothing on what we have today. Gas can and is troublesome at times, but saying that my strimmer is still working all those years on. Hedge trimmers packed in, this is maybe my 3rd mower now. The mower is gas and starts 1st pull every spring(for around 4yrs now).

As batteries have hugely improved over the last decade or so, moving to 20v or 60v is so easy(but generally more expensive). Quieter, if buy body only, money to be saved if use same pack or 2. I cant justify a full move to 60v right now as i have too much invested in 20v tools. These get seldom use at home, but daily use in work. I have another flexvolt battery on the way(just ordered about 1hr ago). Not decided if a work battery or home yet, more than likely work though.

Few pics to follow next week with impact and battery and decision where they may end up:thinking:

Will have to do a tally of them as well, off top of my head, 1x4a and 4x5a and 1x9a so far.

Be cool to see some tool pics Lynx if you get chance:)
 
Those flexvolt batteries are best for hammer drills and heavy use saws, not really needed or that good for normal drilling or 1/4 impact but could be very good for a grinder.
I've got most of the decent porter cable 20v stuff now including the oscillating tool, the jigsaw, the hammer drill and the very hard to find USB adapter. I have a bunch of drills 4 regular, 2 hammer drills, and 2 impacts and 2 sizes of circular saws plus a sawzall and about a dozen batteries. I want the grinder and the high power work light I think 2000 lumens? Black and Decker also makes a palm sander, an air compressor and there is a porter cable vacuum that I think is hard to get now that I would like to have.
 
Well, now I'm leaning toward the 20v line trimmer. The reason is I already own two 20v 6ah batteries that were purchased with a chainsaw. The electric will be primarily used for edging. My gas line trimmer works great when holding the head parallel to the ground. However, when I rotate it in order to edge, it starts playing-up. Also, sometimes it's a bear to start. I prefer tools that allow me to work smarter rather than harder.
 
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After ~5 years of using the Ryobi 40V outdoor tools I'm at a point where I may need to re-rationalize. Of the 4 batteries I've owned that came with various tools - 2.6Ah from the mower (x2), another 2.6Ah from the edger/trimmer, and a newer 3Ah that came with the leaf blower - I am down to but the 3Ah still in service and that proved to be not enough to do the entire lawn on one charge yesterday after appreciable growth. While it's possible that it would have sufficient Wheaties to get the job done whenever the grass is not quite as overgrown, I'm likely to get no more than the remaining season of use out of the thing with that kind of abuse.

Thus I need to consider some sort of action since I'm not inclined to hire a lawn mowing service and necessitating my long-neglected gas mower is apt to be more effort and expense than I care to exert. Remedying my lack of sufficient battery is cheaper than

  • Procure another battery : 4Ah batteries go for $140 at Home Despot
  • Procure tool that's supplied with a battery : Both the chainsaw and a newer trimmer are available with a 4Ah battery; the latter running the same $140 as a standalone battery
  • Rebuild existing battery : A few hours of surgery and throwing ~$70 at twenty Samsung 25Rs should net another 3+ seasons of use and a nominal 5Ah 180Wh battery

Of those options, the pricing strategies of the Ryobi-Home Despot conspiracy have me leaning towards a new trimmer simply because I get more for the same outlay. The new base model trimmer solves a moderate problem with the ~2015 model I've got (bump string advance) but introduces a bigger problem (no accommodation for edging sidewalks).

The final option would ordinarily be more appealing, but the local Makerspace has been closed due to COVID-19, thus I have no access to their battery spot welding station.

Long term, the situation with Ryobi's 40V system is not so appealing. Best I can tell, none of their 40V batteries offer balance charging nor do they parallel-ize their strings, thus a singe cell deficiency/failure will invariably cause the battery to ultimately fail. And as the pricing above suggests, Ryobi is all too happy to make absurd profits on standalone batteries.
 
CG- Thats what i will end up with, as tempting as the 54v tools are. I dont use/work them hard enough to really justify the more hardcore tools. For me it is defo more a want than need. The beauty of 20v for me to, is also lots of batteries and tools. The flexvolt will work along all my other 20v batteries. Just more in the tank.

Tough call idleprocess, the most pocket friendly would be the rebuilding of the pack. My 5a dewalt have the 25r cells in(the 4a 20r). I will be honest, so far over the last 2yrs or so, they have been awesome.

If you have a large enough yard and dont mind spending a chunk of bucks, i watched the 60v leafblower tube vid the other day. Its a beast!!!!

Granted not best review type vid, could have shown against a pile of leaves!,but maybe worth a little look.
 
Lynx_Arc said:
I've got most of the decent porter cable 20v stuff now...a sawzall and about a dozen batteries. I want the grinder...
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I just got the Porter Cable sawzall unit and it works great with good torque, but the small batteries which work perfectly for the drill and screwgun run out way too fast with the saw. What amperage battery are you using for your saws? I'm already planning on getting the grinder too, but expect that it will need a higher amperage battery as well.
 
kaichu dento said:
I just got the Porter Cable sawzall unit and it works great with good torque, but the small batteries which work perfectly for the drill and screwgun run out way too fast with the saw. What amperage battery are you using for your saws? I'm already planning on getting the grinder too, but expect that it will need a higher amperage battery as well.
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I use a clone Flagpower 4A battery I got off Ebay for about $27 about a year and a half ago that works well, the problem with the black/red single layer PC batteries is they are only 1.3/1.5A batteries so a 4A battery has a huge advantage in 2 ways over them... total Ahr and also 2 layers means the batteries split the current draw on them by 1/2 would reduces greatly the voltage drop and increases runtime more than the difference in current draw. I get 3-5 times the runtime off my 4A battery and use it on saws and whenever I am very heavily using my drills and especially on my yard tools. I can do all my yard work on the 4A battery except at the start of the mowing season I once had to grab a second small battery this spring to finish blowing my yard (last thing I do) as the weedeating was a lot heavier.
I would highly recommend getting a 2A (fast) charger for the 2 layer batteries it can also charge the single layer batteries in less than an hour. The standard PC slide on charger I believe is 1A rate the normal base charger is 1A also.
 
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