cordless power tools suggestions

Clonehomer

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Apr 11, 2006
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For the trimmer and blower, I'm a big fan of our Kobalt 80V's. The blower feels just as powerful as our gas powered stihl. Trimmer is a little heavy for an electric, but it so far has held up well.
 

Sousaclone

Well-Known Member
Apr 29, 2006
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North of Seattle
Basically you can't go wrong with any of the tool brands listed so far (Milwaukee, DeWalt, Makita, etc). I'm in heavy civil construction (bridges, marine structures) and those are our go to brands. I've had decent luck buying tools off Zoro as well.

Buy the set that has the tools you want or you think you'll want. Average homeowner won't be able to notice the difference. Be prepared to spend $$ on the high amp-hour batteries if you want the high draw tools or the tools where you are using them for extended periods of time to be worth anything.
 

SCyclone

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Mar 11, 2014
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Fort Dodge, IA

SpokaneCY

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Apr 11, 2006
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Spokane, WA
For the trimmer and blower, I'm a big fan of our Kobalt 80V's. The blower feels just as powerful as our gas powered stihl. Trimmer is a little heavy for an electric, but it so far has held up well.

What does a rich guy like Bob Kraft buy for a trim and a blow? Because, ya know, I'm like 12 and stuff.
 

mramseyISU

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Nov 8, 2006
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Waterloo, IA
I bought into the Milwaukee 12V set-up for my around the house stuff a 7 or 8 years ago. I can't find a single thing to complain about and would do it all over again. However if you're looking for a common platform for outdoor power tools like a weed whacker there are probably better options out there.

With the amount of power they have I'm been thinking about selling my gas powered weed whacker and chainsaws and replacing them with battery powered ones no more than I use either of them any more.
 

Gunnerclone

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Jul 16, 2010
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DSM
I have a mixture of a lot of different stuff. I research pretty hard a lot of this stuff (especially the batteries) all come from the same place. I’ve gone to HD dead set on some Milwaukee stuff and ended up with a Ryobi equivalent because it’s the same thing with different colored plastic.

Some of the Hitachi stuff I have has been crazy good quality but it can be harder to find.
 

cybychoice

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Jun 27, 2014
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Ankeny
Honestly it depends how heavy the usage is on the tools, I run dewalt but I bought a fixer upper house and use gas for outdoor stuff. If I was completely switching to all electric and didn't need tools for heavy use I would consider ryobi, there is an outlet at the altoona mall that has a lot of equipment for good prices.
 

jdcyclone19

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Apr 14, 2017
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Iowa
I bought a set of rigid tools 6 years ago. They're all still going strong and have a lifetime warranty. I have no regrets. At the time they were much cheaper than Dewalt or Milwaukee. If price was not a worry, I'd have all Milwaukee but for the average homeowner you'll probably never see much of a difference between the middle tier brands and top tier.

Black and Decker makes the following brands:
Dewalt
Black and Decker
Bosch
Craftsman
Porter cable
(I'm sure I'm forgetting one.)
 

JP4CY

Lord, beer me strength.
Staff member
SuperFanatic
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Dec 19, 2008
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Testifying
Honestly it depends how heavy the usage is on the tools, I run dewalt but I bought a fixer upper house and use gas for outdoor stuff. If I was completely switching to all electric and didn't need tools for heavy use I would consider ryobi, there is an outlet at the altoona mall that has a lot of equipment for good prices.
That store in Altoona has some good pricing.
 

jcyclonee

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Apr 12, 2006
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Minneapolis
They're not sold everywhere but Panasonic makes pretty good tools. They're well-balanced and have very good batteries.
 

ianoconnor

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Nov 11, 2007
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Johnston
I love my Bosch 12v tools.

I haven't really picked a horse for 18/20v... Still have some old hand me down Craftsman that work.
 

CycloneCJ

Active Member
Jan 21, 2008
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Plymouth, MN
I have a slew of Ryobi tools including a weed wacker that works great. They have pretty much every tool available and they all run on the same 18v batteries. A lot lower priced than other brands and they work well for my homeowner needs. I've never had any issues with my Ryobi tools and some of them are the old blue and yellow style from back in the Ni-Cad battery days.