Thinking about streamlining my tools.

[bigcountry78]

Because I’m bored at work, and because of a couple experiences last week, I’m thinking about streamlining my power tools and I want some input. I currently have three different tool brands, and four different battery sizes to keep up with. This is not anything I did, it is the result of the past few Christmas presents I’ve received. Bear with me. Right now I have:
Dewalt 20v: drill, 1/4 impact driver, multi tool, sawzall and handheld spotlight, three 2 aH batteries.
Metabo 18v: drill, 1/4 impact driver, multi tool, work light, single hand sawzall, circular saw, grinder, two 3 aH batteries.
Kobalt 24v: drill, 1/4 impact driver, 1/2” impact gun, two 4 aH batteries and one 2 aH battery.
Kobalt 40v: leaf blower, weedeater, chainsaw, and two 4 aH batteries.

Clearly I have too many drills and 1/4 drivers, the kobalt have never been used. I was leaning towards getting rid of the Metabo and going full dewalt, until last week. I was attempting to use the sawzall to cut up some decent sized tree limbs to make them easier to handle and load, but the batteries kept overheating within a couple minutes, think less than 2. They would overheat and stop functioning until they cooled down. So I swapped over to the Metabo, which is a smaller saw and it handled everything perfectly. I also have a good head start on the Metabo lineup, about the only thing I’m lacking is a full size sawzall and a couple more batteries. Now I’m leaning towards either dumping dewalt, or giving them to my son.

I also did a bit of googling, and apparently the 2 and 3 aH dewalt batteries don’t have thermal protection so the sawzall overloads them and they shut down. Now why make a tool and battery combination that can’t interact with each other well enough to complete a job, when a competitor can? That doesn’t make sense to me. Anyway if your still here, let me know what you think about the Metabo HPT lineup vs the dewalt 20v lineup. Oh and I noticed the other day, playing with the Metabo tools a bit closer, that they all have the ability to turn the led lights on and off independently, and the 1/4 driver has variable speeds and tourqe settings. The dewalt does not. And something else to consider, I’m not making a living with these tools, just general homeowner repairs, upgrades and projects. Like chicken coops….

Anyway, let me know your thoughts, opinions and concerns. Here are pictures of the two different saws. I would think the dewalt should have handled this task better.

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[TotalyHucked]

I don't really have much to add since I've never used Metabo anything but I'm shocked you had issues with a DeWalt. The DeWalt stuff we have at work have been through hell and back and never skipped a beat, we literally beat the hell out of them all the time. A couple construction buddies also swear by them.

I'm in a similar spot as you, I have a mix of Milwaukee, Earthquake XT (discontinued Harbor Freight) and Ryobi and keeping up with the batteries/chargers has gotten aggravating. I have more Ryobi than anything else and a bunch of their batteries so I've decided from now on, any battery tool has to be Ryobi to keep things easy.

 

[Grit dog]

Assuming they’re all newer Lithium ion battery tools, otherwise anything that isn’t, is a dinosaur but you can still use them with adapters.
I wouldn’t expect a 2aH battery to run something like a full size sawzall very long, they are more for drivers and small stuff. But I understand what you said about them.
Can’t comment on tool quality. But unless you’re wanting to sell off 2 of the brands and keep one, why not just pick a battery brand you want for the brand of tools you use the most or plan to add new tools and get a couple adapters for the other brand tools to run your preferred battery? The adapters are cheap and work. Been using some on my old Dewalt Nimh powered tools with Milwaukee batteries for a while now.
And going forward don’t be ashamed to exchange a tool gift for a different color or model. No different than exchanging a shirt. No one will be offended.
I didn’t have near the collection of cordless tools a few years ago. Just a dewalt drill, hex driver and a semi useless circular saw. I bit the bullet and dropped the $ on a full new Milwaukee set with most of the tools I use regularly, when there was a sale. Now I have a spare drill and driver(dewalt) which is nice. And the kids got me a Milwaukee buffer. Those are spendy but nice! Been using an air powered one for 30+ years til now. So nice.
I just looked though and didn’t see a Milwaukee battery to kobalt adapter but did see dewalt battery to kobalt 18v adapters. Also saw dewalt to Metabo/Hitachi.
For professional use, the adapters are probably clunky but around the house, meh, they work fine for me. I frequently have both hex drivers chucked up with different size socket or hex bits when working on a vehicle.
The 40V stuff, just keep it separate. Doesn’t cross over to hand tools anyways

 

[bigcountry78]

Yea I was considering selling off the dewalt to fund a couple Metabo tools and the chainsaw. I would sell the 24v kobalt stuff completely if I could find a good battery 1/2” impact to replace that one. It’s been great other than the original battery giving out.

As far as the dewalt batteries, they would show 2/3 of a charge still after they cooled down, so I was able to confirm that they were simply overheating and quitting. I wasn’t cutting anything crazy, just a dried pine limb maybe 3” in diameter. I’ve been much more pleased with my Metabo stuff, it’s done everything I’ve asked it to without complaint.

Ideally I’d like to sell off the dewalt and 24v kobalt, add a full size Metabo sawzall, some sort of 1/2” impact and then a 40v chainsaw and I’d be set for anything I need to do. Ive also read up on the 20v dewalt chainsaw, but there are a lot of people out there that are dissatisfied with it.

Kinda considering giving the 24v stuff to my son, but at his age he doesn’t have much use and I’m afraid that by the time he would actually need them the batteries would all be junk.

EDIT: I also considered selling everything and going all in on Milwaukee, but I can’t justify the price for the piddling I do, especially since I have most of what I need already in the Metabo line.

Everything I have is lithium ion, and less than 4 years old.

 

[bigcountry78]

Well it turns out Metabo makes a few different 1/2” impacts. A few 36v and a couple 18v. One in particular they sell at my local Lowe’s, it puts out 430 lb ft of torque vs the kobalt at 650. But 430 should be sufficient for what I do, mainly loosening lug nuts and the occasional stubborn bolt. Bonus that it comes with a 4 aH battery and a 2.5. It’s looking more and more like that’s the way to go for me. The only downside I see is that it’s not brushless, but I’m not sure how important that is.

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[DoubleDingo]

Doing a quick search of dewalt with battery, the sawzalls use a minimum of 20V 4Ah battery, with the majority coming with 20V 5Ah and higher, and the maximum is 60V 9Ah. Sounds like you are lacking in battery, not tool with the dewalt.

 

[Catbox]

We a few years ago went all in on Milwaukee when they had a sale.
Watching our axle guy spin the head off of a left hand thread carrier bolt with ease is what sold us right there.
Since then we shop the pawn shops for the tools and have quite the collection of different tools and batteries.

I have a Bauer 1/4 inch driver from Harbor Freight that has done very well by me as well.
It is a brushed unit and one day in the junkyard I was trying to remove a bolt with it to no avail.
I went and grabbed the Milwaukie brushless 1/4 driver and that thing zipped that bolt right out with no sweat.

If you can swing them, buy brushless stuff all the way.
They are more efficient and powerful.

 

[CheemsK1500]

I’m by no means a brand loyalist, but I tend to lean towards Milwaukee simply for the fact M18 batteries are very abundant. On one of my few Bauer tools, I run a cheap M18 battery adapter in it, If my two last Dewalt Batteries die before the tools do, they will be getting M18 adapters as well. I’m tired of having to keep track of more than one to two kinds of batteries.

 

[Sad Sack]

My stable consists of Dewalt 20v and Chinese / Temu Dewalt 20v knock-offs and batteries (they work pretty darn good too...so far... and way, way cheaper). I don't rely on my tools professionally and if the Chinese ones fail, I'll throw it away and just get another.

 

[Ricko1966]

I don't really have much to add since I've never used Metabo anything but I'm shocked you had issues with a DeWalt. The DeWalt stuff we have at work have been through hell and back and never skipped a beat, we literally beat the hell out of them all the time. A couple construction buddies also swear by them.

I'm in a similar spot as you, I have a mix of Milwaukee, Earthquake XT (discontinued Harbor Freight) and Ryobi and keeping up with the batteries/chargers has gotten aggravating. I have more Ryobi than anything else and a bunch of their batteries so I've decided from now on, any battery tool has to be Ryobi to keep things easy.

I went on ebay and bought a power wheelers adapter for Ryobi batteries.The other tools as the batteries died I put cords on the tools or on a gutted battery. Now I can run everything on Ryobi batteries. Tried with 2 other brands of batteries you want to use Ryobi,their batteries were designed to be backwards compatible with Nicads.Kind of turned my tools into corded tools but the cord is only 8 feet or so and the plug in is a Ryobi batteries. I'll look for pics. Check back. If you have a sharp eye you'll notice I have a corded Ryobi battery. That's because I started this adventure using Kobalt batteries,then Worx batteries.After I bricked a few I started using Ryobi,because the BMS is in the battery,because it's designed to be backwards compatible. I smoked 3 other batteries before I learned this.Alsobwas using 2 prong connectors switched to cigerette lighter chords.

 

[Old Guy Bill]

For home use Dewalt has served me well for the last several years.
I won't consider a battery less than 5ah, not enough juice for any of my tools.
Now where I work they use Milwaukee, and they are an excellent tool.

 

[bigcountry78]

Doing a quick search of dewalt with battery, the sawzalls use a minimum of 20V 4Ah battery, with the majority coming with 20V 5Ah and higher, and the maximum is 60V 9Ah. Sounds like you are lacking in battery, not tool with the dewalt.

I Had thought about that, until the little Metabo was able to do the same task with a 3 aH battery without any trouble. Do you think there is that much difference in battery capacity? Would I be better off investing in dewalt tools with higher power batteries? If I went that route, I’d need to buy a circular saw, grinder and impact to match the Metabo stuff I already have. Not a huge deal since they offer all of those tools in their lineup, I’m just further ahead with Metabo as far as the things I need for around the house.

 

[bigcountry78]

For home use Dewalt has served me well for the last several years.
I won't consider a battery less than 5ah, not enough juice for any of my tools.
Now where I work they use Milwaukee, and they are an excellent tool.

I do like my dewalt stuff, and it does feel better in the hand. There’s a reason they are my go to drill, driver and multi tool even though I have multiples of each. I always go for the yellow. And after pricing a circular saw, grinder and 1/2” impact from dewalt there’s not a huge dollar difference. Two of them come with 5aH batteries which sounds like it may fix my original sawzall gripe as well. Going down the dang rabbit hole.

 

[DoubleDingo]

I Had thought about that, until the little Metabo was able to do the same task with a 3 aH battery without any trouble. Do you think there is that much difference in battery capacity? Would I be better off investing in dewalt tools with higher power batteries? If I went that route, I’d need to buy a circular saw, grinder and impact to match the Metabo stuff I already have. Not a huge deal since they offer all of those tools in their lineup, I’m just further ahead with Metabo as far as the things I need for around the house.

It took me years to finally go and buy anything battery-powered, and even then I was hesitant to do so. I was overwhelmed with the amount of brands out there. The names I knew were Milwaukee, Dewalt, Kobalt, and the brands I'd never heard of was a long list. I didn't really do any research, I went with my gut and bought Dewalt, mainly because that's what I see contractor's using on a regular basis. That, and Milwaukee, but I still went with Dewalt. If it were me, I'd go with what will most likely be around the longest and will have the best warranty. I personally only have an impact gun, and an impact ratchet, but bought two extra batteries so I have three total, all 5Ah. The batteries are way more expensive than I expected them to be, so I wait for sales on batteries. What I have used the tools for, no complaints. Been meaning to get a sawzall for exactly what you used yours for, cutting up limbs if I get lazy and don't want to use the bow saw. Bow saw usually wins, though...lol...

Crap! I need to check my tool bag, I may have already bought the sawzall...lol...

 

[DoubleDingo]

I do like my dewalt stuff, and it does feel better in the hand. There’s a reason they are my go to drill, driver and multi tool even though I have multiples of each. I always go for the yellow. And after pricing a circular saw, grinder and 1/2” impact from dewalt there’s not a huge dollar difference. Two of them come with 5aH batteries which sounds like it may fix my original sawzall gripe as well. Going down the dang rabbit hole.

Not the rabbit hole!