Tired of Batteries, Going back to Corded Drills

[Andrew Joiner]

Typically I reach for my cordless drills first, but I want more power and they need charging when I want to work. I'm using my corded drills more often these days.

I think a Retractable Cord reel may be in order to get over the" Cords are such a hassle idea"

Anyone have a favorite corded drill/driver with a clutch? I'm tired of buying and rebuilding batteries.

[Neil Brooks]

Only slightly OT .....

I'm with you. Four or five piece Ryobi cordless set ... maybe five batteries. They're ALL always dead when I need them.

Should be a battery replacement gizmo, sold, that allows you to use them in corded mode when you want to/can/need to.

[Bill White]

Mine does not have a clutch, but I use my corded when doing pocket holes. Batteries are a real rip. $80.00 for the batt. when the whole magilla costs $199.00?
Kinda like havin' to pay extra for the in-out tables for the DeWalt 955.
I'll get over my rant one of these days.
Bill

[John TenEyck]

I've been using my two 9.6 V nicad Makita drills for 25 years, and have only bought two batteries at around $35 each in all that time. I use a corded drill for pocket holes, shelf pin holes, and other things where I need a lot of torque or have to drill dozens of holes quickly. But for everything else those two drills have done the job and keep on ticking. I keep one battery in the charger so I always have a fresh one when needed. My charger takes 3 hours, but the new ones can charge a battery in 15 minutes, in some cases, so you shouldn't have to wait long anymore. I wouldn't want to go back to corded drills for everything, especially intallation work.

John

[Andrew Joiner]

Ok, so I'm not alone! Yes, I just got a quote for $100 to rebuild a pair of batteries plus shipping. So I think I'll get a cord reel and couple of these:

Ryobi 3/8 in. Variable Speed Clutch Driver $39.97 Each


http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/productImages/300/4b/4b4e4619-a0d2-4622-a2ab-3886c94f0bda_300.jpg

[Chris Tsutsui]

All cordless tools should be lithium ion or better. Nicads are old tech that are accustomed to requiring maintenance and care to get good life from them.

If you really like corded, I suggest and love the snap-on retractable cord reel that was $32 from Costco a while back, then I have a $40 Harbor Freight 3 outlet rectractable cord real (yellow with metal housing). Both work pretty much the same, have breakers built in, and are very convenient to have in your ceilings.

I only own an old skil and craftsman corded drill that works fine. I use it for mixing or prolonged use where a battery may not last very long.

[Mike Henderson]

The only time I use a corded drill is when I'm doing some big time drilling. But for everyday drilling and driving, I'll never give up my cordless. I just got a lithium battery drill/driver and it's a lot lighter than my old NiCad units. It's so nice to just grab the drill and go - not having to find the closest outlet and run a cord.

Corded drills have their place, but not for everyday use.

Mike

[Jerry Thompson]

I have an old Makita also and two batteries. When it dies I will purchase another Mikita and hope they have not made is "less" over the years.

[Dave Lehnert]

Ok, so I'm not alone! Yes, I just got a quote for $100 to rebuild a pair of batteries plus shipping. So I think I'll get a cord reel and couple of these:

Ryobi 3/8 in. Variable Speed Clutch Driver $39.97 Each


http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/productImages/300/4b/4b4e4619-a0d2-4622-a2ab-3886c94f0bda_300.jpg



This is the only corded model I know of that has a clutch. Anyone know of another brand/model?

[phil harold]

All cordless tools should be lithium ion or better. Nicads are old tech that are accustomed to requiring maintenance and care to get good life from them.and lithium does not need care either????
my nicads still out do my lithiums yes they are heavier but after 5 years still work
lithiums will degrade in 3 years if you use them or not

Get a Milwaukee 0244-1 1/2-in Magnum Drill, 0-700 RPM
slow enough rpm with enough torque to drive screws and lags
It will last you a life time of abuse

[Peter Quinn]

I'm scratching my head wondering how our cordless experiences can be so different? I've always used makita cordless drills, I bought 14.4V NiMi sets as soon as they were available, and have since gone to18V lithium ion compacts. I would not give these up for anything, maintenance has been non existent, the NiMi's will charge down if not used for a while, but they charge quick enough and last a long time. The lithium ions don't charge down when idle, last a very long time between charges, and take 15 minutes to full charge. The clutches can't be beat for driving screws or other fasteners. They are not the ideal drills for punching big holes repeatedly, but for small holes, I love them. Perhaps give a new makita a try? Or one of the other quality Li Io set available (my IL loves his hitachi set).

I've been pretty happy with milwakee drills for corded, and have used a very nice rigid 3/8" VS drill at work that seems up to most tasks, but its not a driver per se.

[Bobby O'Neal]

I only own two drills; a 12v impact and a corded DeWalt. Set up works well for me.

[Ray Newman]

I find am utilizing my older Porter Cable 3/8“ T-Handle corded drill more and more. But, not because of the dead or low power battery situation. The reason is that the old T-handle just balances better in my hands.

Am also using my older big Yankee ratchet screwdriver more.

Going back to my roots??….

[Larry Edgerton]

Andrew

Keep your eye out for Porter Cable 3/8 drills from about the 70's. I use them in the shop instead of cordless. They are small, powerful, and ergonomically as good as it gets and you just can't wear them out. I see them on ebay once in a while. They are so strong that I have used them to stir drywall compound when 1/2" Makita wouldn't do it. They are the rounded looking ones, don't remember the number, but if you want it I can get it next time I am at the shop.

Larry

[Carl Beckett]

my nicads still out do my lithiums yes they are heavier but after 5 years still work
lithiums will degrade in 3 years if you use them or not



I have had a poor experience with Li battery life. The NiCads have definitely outlasted them (and are cheaper to replace/rebuild).

But this thread is about corded tools - and a fair reminder, that there are times when a corded tool is still a great solution. For sure I have overused cordless for some of the heavy duty work. Im not giving up cordless - but at the same time can see where Andrew is coming from so he may have a good experience with it.

[Steve Griffin]

While I have a half dozen cordless drills, I still love my $60 dewalt corded. Great for things like drilling 50 pocket screw holes in hickory. At the workbench, it's often just as easy to plug something in as mess around with a charging batteries.

I wonder how many batteries I would have had to charge and replace for 10 years of using this old school drill?

I really should get a retractable cord wheel for this zone. Does anyone have one they recommend?

[Steve Meliza]

For me cordless is for driving screws and for locations not easy to get power to, corded is for the heavy work.

One lithium battery is not the same as other lithium batteries, it depends on what you pair the lithium with. For example, DeWalt has some "nano" packs (eg. DC9360) with LiFe (aka A123) cells that the RC model airplane community tears apart to use for electric powered flight as they can output enormous amounts of current (~60A) and are nearly impossible to kill from over charging or discharging and can be left fully charged with little or no degradation. What kills most lithium packs is being left fully charged as the high voltage causes breakdown in the cells, reportedly as much as a 10% loss in capacity per month. The ideal voltage to store a lithium pack at when not being used is half charged, but anything about 10% below fully charged will help extend their life.

[Scott T Smith]

One lithium battery is not the same as other lithium batteries, it depends on what you pair the lithium with. For example, DeWalt has some "nano" packs (eg. DC9360) with LiFe (aka A123) cells that the RC model airplane community tears apart to use for electric powered flight as they can output enormous amounts of current (~60A) and are nearly impossible to kill from over charging or discharging and can be left fully charged with little or no degradation. What kills most lithium packs is being left fully charged as the high voltage causes breakdown in the cells, reportedly as much as a 10% loss in capacity per month. The ideal voltage to store a lithium pack at when not being used is half charged, but anything about 10% below fully charged will help extend their life.


Steve, this is the first time that I've heard this information, and my explain why some of my LI battery packs have lasted for years and others haven't. Thanks for the insight.

[Ron Natalie]

While that is true to some extent, the thing that kills Lithiums is much as any rechargeable battery: HEAT. While the rapid chargers are usually pretty regulated to prevent this (though doing stupid things like continually unplugging and plugging a charged pack sometimes defeats this) most power tools do not have any regulation (like a computer or cellphone would) to stem heating due to heavy discharging.

[Andrew Joiner]

I wonder how many batteries I would have had to charge and replace for 10 years of using this old school drill?


My thoughts exactly as I started this thread Steve. I have 3 cordless driver/drills and one impact driver. Great tools when new and fully charged. They are all aging, but even when new some had unpredictable battery reliability. Even the expensive ones had battery issues.
I've heard varying theories on battery life NiMH vs. NiCad vs. Li-Ion. For my use a big factor is I only work daily part of the year with 4 months in the summer of 1 hr a month use.

I'm tired of this cycle: Oh, I need new batteries, but they cost so much I can just get the next greatest technology with batteries,drill and charger for similar $.

So I guess this may officially qualify as a rant? Maybe just a reality check. Sure I'll keep using cordless, I just want to solve a problem and keep things simple.

I bought the corded Ryobi D47CK. It's the only drill with a clutch I could find and a $30 retractable cord reel. To be honest I almost grabbed the latest greatest technology in cordless but I want to break cycle.

[Mike Henderson]

There's no doubt that a corded drill is less expensive than a cordless drill. What you gain with a cordless is convenience. If the convenience doesn't mean anything to you (or very little) then corded is the way for you to go. For me, I'll pay for the convenience of the cordless.

Mike

[Ron Natalie]

My DeWalt hammer drill was my go-to tool for several years now and then the brushes smoked. I bought new ones and cleaned things up but it wasn't quite the same. Then the gear box siezed up. I gave up and just bought a bare bones replacement. I'vv had 2 XRP packs die out of the dozen or so that I have. I can pick them up for $50 if I hit the right sales.

What I have decided is my little 12V milwaukee cordless is a whole lot more convenient to use for most things than the big Dewalt. Of cousre I realized that the 3HP ryobi and PC plunge routers are great for a router table and a few other uses but they're too darn heavy for a lot of other handheld use.

[John Lifer]

There is nothing convenient about grabbing that great shiny cordless lithium ion powered tool and finding the battery is dead and you didn't charge the other one (or you only have one battery that's working). By the time you remove the dead, and plug the charged into the drill and put the dead one on the charger and turn on the charger (don't burn down your house by leaving it on!) you could have plugged in the corded and drilled that hole. Hey, I use battery powered, but they really aren't that convenient unless you are toting out 200 feet away from the nearest outlet. THEN it IS convenient!
And honestly, there is NOTHING Green about a battery powered tool.........

[Matt McColley]

I'm setting up shop with two benches with power strips mounted and shelves underneath with corded tools plugged in and ready to go...

I'm ditching all of my plastic cases (well acutally, I'm stowing them in the barn loft).

I still use my cordless.... but like to have the corded option readilly avaiable.

[Byron Trantham]

Ok, here goes...
I have a company rebuild my batteries (NiCads). When I first started working with them, I aksed about charging - leaving them in an active charger. Here is what they told me. HEAT is a battery killer regardless of the technology. So what they recommended was buy one of those cheap timers you get for christmas lights. plug the charger into it and then set the time to start and stop for one hour or less. Now your charger turns on once a day for what ever time you set and the battery is not stressed but alway charged. I have been using my battery packs for 15 years and I aleays have a fresh battery ready.