Power Tools: Battery Power vs Air Compressor
- Thread starter RussTJ
- Start date
I went out and weighed a couple of mine. The little 1/4" drill ("Elmer's Drill") is 2.1 lbs! Realizing that isn't a fair apple-to-apple comparison, I grabbed the DeWalt hammer drill. It was exactly 1 lb heavier.
I hear you about balance - and that certainly makes a difference when driving screws. Doesn't really matter that much when drilling holes. Still more weight (and expense!).
Maybe its because I'm an old fart now, but I don't grok why you guys find cords such a PITA - unroll the cord at the beginning of the day, roll it back up at the end of the day or end of the job. Plug in once, boom done.
If you get an M12 Milwaukee then you can also use the batteries in your Milwaukee heated jacket. But maybe you don't need that in Florida
Get an M18 Milwaukee. Part of it is the screw your using too...but My OLD (OG milwaukee) 18V will drive 5/16 x 6" long Grex Timber Fasteners into wet landscape timbers without issue. No issues with "construction" fasteners into Ash or Oak either. It helps to predrill...but more to keep the wood from splitting vs the driver not having enough torque.
The way the impact works is just so much better than constant torque. Like @mrblaine said above...Try driving screws one handed above your head and not strip out heads with a drill...You can do it all day long with an impact driver...
I'm surprised on the weights. My two brothers and I did not fight over my late father's (he's been gone almost 20 years) power tool collection - they are still in my mother's basement. Some of those old all-metal Craftsman power tools could suffice as anchors!
Also, I don't think it's because you're an old fart - I don't think I'm too far behind you. It's just a difference of opinion.
Regarding cordless recommendations - as I said, I'm a strong Milwaukee fan. I don't buy DeWalt anymore due to the motor problems I had. However, that was about a decade ago, so they may be better now. There are other cordless brands, but Milwaukee dominates for a reason. As for the model, I always look for brushless motors these days. They're lighter, smaller, require less maintenance, and have no friction from the brushes contacting the commutator (longer battery life?) All are advantages over brushed motors, and I can't think of a disadvantage off the top of my head.
Alright you bastards, I'm going to try one of these - the Milwaukee based on both this video as well as @mrblaine 's love of the brand and apparent battery availablity. My last cordless screwdriver bit the dust a year or so back...
If you're going with the hex impact, look into Milwaukee's "Surge" technology. They use a hydraulic buffer with the impact anvil, so it's smoother and quieter, with not much of a difference in impact ability...
The two drills in question are relatively new ones, made of plastic. I should go weigh the old Thor, I'd guess its 15 lbs if its an ouce, maybe more! But there's just no replacing that one - we called it "Old Grandad" for a reason. Brushless - esp. in DC motors - rules, although the Thor's brushes were in great shape 6 years ago when I disassembled it for maintenance.
If it doesn't work out for you, Zorba, and you just have to have a cord, you could always duct-tape an extension cord to the battery for the "old skool feel"
I caution you with the strongest effort possible to not take one step on the Milwaukee trail. Every single person who has violated that advice has come back later and told me they really should have listened since now they own more Milwaukee cordless tools than should be legal. You are warned, do not heed this advice at your own peril.
If you aren't going to listen, then only buy the Fuel version of anything. If you will give us what you plan to use it for, I will tell you which one to get.
I have two of the Surge models. I would not trade them for anything else but if you are in situations where you just need more raw power, the Fuel impact driver non Surge has a bit more grunt. The Surge is a bit disconcerting in just how much power it has and the pure flexibility and trigger control to stop problem bits like Phillips from camming out in difficult drive situations.
to add to this...the technicians doing this work preferred Milwaukee exclusively. Even during the 11 years the company was owned by Ingersoll Rand and they were only being supplied with IR tools, they were doing everything they could to keep the Milwaukees (including buying batteries on their own dime), due to the superior battery life and power output. The fasteners we were driving were all DIN 7500 trilobular threadrollers into unthreaded pilot holes so it took some power to drive a 10mm fastener cutting threads in 4mm thick steel hundreds of times per day.
I spent a few weeks doing that assembly work, using 1/4" hex impact drivers, 3/8 and 1/2" impact guns, and I don't remember having to change the battery more than once in an 8 hour shift.
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I'm wanting to get the 1/4" impact - as that makes sense in a cordless version for my use case. The one in the video is a 2853 "Fuel"...
What you want and what you are doing with it are two entirely different things and I'd rather you didn't wind up with the wrong tool.
Why does there always have to be that guy in the crowd?
Try this, 3 nails per second into hard wood, zero ramp up time, and uses the common collated round head nails. I use the gold standard Hitachi Pneumatic and they have identical performance.
https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Produ.../Nailers-and-Staplers/Framing-Nailers/2745-20
I've been using the crap out of my Milwaukee Fuel impact drivers and they are the tools I've owned the longest and used almost as much as my mechanic use impacts. Not one has died yet. I have killed a few drills by being mean to them but they covered them and sent out new ones. To put that in perspective when I say being mean, I sent in a corded Hole Hawg with the two speed transmission that I blew the whole top of the case off of. Their price to fix it was more than I could buy another one for so I told them to scrap it. I don't abuse my tools but I do on occasion ask more of them than they can deliver.
Absolute musts that don't have a 110v alternative:
After you have those tools report back about how life changing they are. Without those tools I'd either spend significantly more time on the job or not be able to do as good of work.
After you fall in love with those, buy the smallest/lightest M18 battery for when you need to get into tight spaces or want a lighter tool. My biggest batteries are the 8ah M18 and I haven't found the need for larger based on the tools I currently have.
- 1/4" hex driver (used for screws and lags.)
- 1/2" anvil impact driver M18 (used for bolts on your Jeep, also buy an impact socket set for it. If you already have the air version you'll understand how useful this is)
- 3/8" drive M12 ratchet
After you have those tools report back about how life changing they are. Without those tools I'd either spend significantly more time on the job or not be able to do as good of work.
After you fall in love with those, buy the smallest/lightest M18 battery for when you need to get into tight spaces or want a lighter tool. My biggest batteries are the 8ah M18 and I haven't found the need for larger based on the tools I currently have.
I'm impressed @Zorba is going to try a Milwaukee. Looking forward to the review.
Thanks for that. I was using a generic pair of them from Amazon that seemed to be decent and I broke one on a medium sized zip tie. I will have to try the Milwaukee ones especially if they have a few different sizes for larger or smaller ties. Using scissors sucks and you have about a 10% chance of cutting the tie flush/dull enough to not cut you if you rub against it.