Cordless V. Corded

[WelshWood]

Hey guys,

So after buying a few more tools recently, I was debating with myself whether Corded or Cordless is better, obviously each have their own perks but I am interested to hear why you justify what you've opted to go with.

My outlook is when i'm on a site, I'll be using my extractor, that needs power, and thus it just makes sense to me to have the corded versions of tools.

I look forward to hearing your opinions on this  [wink]

~WW

 

[AlexThePalex]

The only tool that HAS to be cordless for me is the drill/driver. You're really mobile with it and use it all over the place, while the power of batteries is sufficient for this tool.

With all other tools I prefer the power of corded models. 

 

[Locks14]

The only cordless tools I have are my impacts drivers, 18v drills and 24v SDS, everything else is corded.

I always work within close proximity to a power source and apart from drills/drivers I prefer the more powerful nature of corded tools. Plus, as you point out, even if I did go cordless for more tools I'd still be tethered via my dust extractor.

 

[wrightwoodwork]

It's a bit of both I  think and also depends on the type of visited your work on what I've found or at least it seems to be my opinion is on the likes of barrat and Taylor wimpey sites. There is a complete lack of power or very hard to get power unless you have your own generator. You can use cordless circular saws and chop saws to a certain extent they will turn a blind eye to no dust extraction if you are outside and also have a dust mask to hand. Preferably dust extraction is the preferred choice and ideally should be used the problem is getting power to it. The cordless dust extraction units seem more geared to hand tool use. I did last year look at the hilti hybrid vac. I decide against for a couple of reason extremely expensive and the performance on how long it would last was around 18 minutes I was told at a cost of 1800. By the time you buy the batteries to use on it. It would be great if someone like festool or anybody else come up with something like a ctl sys in a cordless version and was triggered with something like Bluetooth to switch it on.
Where on the balfour beatty, laing o rouike jobs power is there so you can use the power tools with dust extraction and get the job done. On tools like cordless and corded ts55 there is no difference in performance which for most tasks is fine yet if need bigger cut or doing rips then corded is maybe the better choice

 

[jnug]

My advice, if you can do corded do corded every time you can. As others have said, the impact driver is the only place where cordless provides an advantage....maybe a cordless screwdriver if you need one for some reason. Obviously I am not taking about people that have to work at sites that don't have power. But with the exception of the tools I just mentioned, I would not touch cordless again with a ten foot pole.

 

[tony_sheehan]

Funny, I always tend to reach for my cordless makita jigsaw in preference to my carvex, particularly as I don't find the dust collection particularly great on either, so I figure I might as well have the freedom that cordless gives.

 

[sae]

I have a lot of cordless.

Drop lights x 2
Drill driver
Impact driver
Rotary tool
Multi-tool
Impact wrench
SDS
Jigsaw
Circ saw

I couldn't imagine having any of those corded to be honest.

I still need to pickup a cordless angle grinder. Trying to catch an extension cord on my roof while having below try to toss it up to me was way more dangerous than getting a cordless one.

The only tools I have in cordless that I have semi-duplicated in corded are the circ saw (as a track saw), the SDS (as a demolition hammer), and the drop light. The multi-tool is the only one I would really consider getting the corded version as the Fein is so good, but way easier to handle as cordless, especially when working overhead where the cord ALWAYS hits you in the face.

 

[tony_sheehan]

"I still need to pickup a cordless angle grinder"

When someone does a variable speed cordless, then I'll bite!

 

[eddomak]

Drills / Drivers = cordless.

Anything that needs dust extraction = corded (since you would plug it into the extractor, and that needs power anyway, and you don't want to manually switch on the dust extractor)

I was debating things for the Carvex, and I am really glad I went cordless on that one - even when hooked up to dust extraction I still need to do further clean up anyway. Having at least one cordless cutting tool is very useful. I am really happy that I can bring it with me on various places where there is no plug in power - eg I can cut select parts off furniture left on the side of the road, or places where it is extremely inconvenient to drag a cable (roof spaces etc).

[added later..]
I might as well add that I have a cordless (relatively low powered) multitool (a la Vecturo / Supercut) and went cordless with that one because I imagined using it for short durations only, and in situations where it could be awkward or difficult to get a cord to, or where a cord might get in the way. I'm only a home user / hobbyist so it is never for long periods or for things I can't just wait for a recharge. If I ever got a nicer one (Fein, Festool) then it would need to be a cordless one.

 

[Ed Bray]

I have a lot of Cordless Ryobi Tools (feel free to look down your nose at them) and I think the majority of them are great. There are a couple of Lemons though as to be expected with any system. There are more good tools in the range I have than poor ones.

The Newer Jigsaw is easily as good as my Metabo Corded Jigsaw (the old one was a lemon), the drills whilst good suffered from poor chucks, I replaced them with better quality chucks. My two Cordless Airstrike Nailers (18g & 16G) are fantastic (whilst the old stapler is a lemon), the Angle Grinder is excellent as is the Circular Saw and the impact driver is too good, kept breaking bits until I started to buy Wera specific impact driver bits.

The big difference I found for these tools was to buy a large number (11x) of 4.0Ah Batteries and (2x) 6 port conditioning Battery Chargers. This with my 1.7Ah Battery gives me 12 Batteries all ready to use at a moments notice.

But, I have to add, that should I be using dust extraction then it just makes sense to use a corded unit as the hose has to be connected anyway.

 

[Gwerner]

Like most, the only cordless I use regularly are my drills and impact driver. I do have a cordless circular saw and recip saw, but those are for quick, non precision work.

 

[jeh]

I decided to look up the Metabo Jig Saw to see some details on it and did a quick Google search with the 2nd or 3rd result being a link to an Amazon review of it from a Robert Morino from Glen Ridge, NJ. It could be a coincidence, but probably not. In his defense of supporting another brand it was posted shortly after Festool entered the US market and the they had very few resellers other than possibly themselves. I think McFeely's was one of their early resellers as that is where I bought my first saw. Of course this was before Bob became a reseller himself (not sure of the year) and who I consider to be the premier US reseller.

Metabo would be proud of this glowing review.

 

[jaguar36]

I love having a few cordless saws.  Sure I have corded versions of my jigsaw, osc and circular, but frequently I just need to cut something, and don't care about cut quality or speed, and its just going to be one cut so power doesn't matter.  Its alot more convenient to just grab the cordless and make the cut, rather than drag out the cord.  This is multiplied when I'm working in an inconvenient area, up a ladder or on the roof.

 

[Ed Bray]

I decided to look up the Metabo Jig Saw to see some details on it and did a quick Google search with the 2nd or 3rd result being a link to an Amazon review of it from a Robert Morino from Glen Ridge, NJ. It could be a coincidence, but probably not. In his defense of supporting another brand it was posted shortly after Festool entered the US market and the they had very few resellers other than possibly themselves. I think McFeely's was one of their early resellers as that is where I bought my first saw. Of course this was before Bob became a reseller himself (not sure of the year) and who I consider to be the premier US reseller.

Metabo would be proud of this glowing review.

That's the Metabo I have, had it for years and it is very good. Old reliable, but typically I now just reach for the cordless Ryobi.

Just an update on the Ryobi Cordless Items, I used my Ryobi Multitool yesterday quite extensively and was very impressed with it in use. I used it because I am rewiring a room and had disconnected the power supply so was unable to use my Fein Multimaster, the Ryobi did everything I asked of it and did it without any fuss. The Ryobi also has a much better blade holding system than my older Fein on which the blade often becomes loose in use and needs to be retightened every few minutes, this is even with the purchase of a Fein washer adapter supposed to prevent this. The Ryobi does not suffer from this at all.

 

[Floorman70]

Recently bought the Fein cordless supercut,have been thinking about getting one for ages(usually when i`ve lugged in my transformer and corded fein,plugged it all in,finished with it,put it all away,only to realise 20 minutes later,i needed it again.).Now wish i`d got it ages ago,ok,so £500 is a bit steep but it works exactly as the corded,the batteries last for ages,even with the amount i use it,for the convenience of being able to just pick it up and use it as and when i need it,for me,it was well worth the money

 

[Mort]

Cordless is the bomb. I would've gotten the cordless Carvex if it wasn't $200 more than the corded one (I don't have any Festool batteries).

My cordless Sawzall is better than my corded Craftsman recip saw, and it's not even a Fuel model. Cordless tools have advanced so far recently there's really no reason to stay plugged in. And it's only going to get better.

 

[jnug]

And as it "gets better" your newer cordless tools won't take your previous generation batteries and and the batteries you just bought with your new tool won't fit previous generation tools even from the same manufacturer.

Its a rat race. Cordless is necessary for users that have to work away from power but until replacement batteries are available at much more reasonable price than they are now, just not worth it at least not to me. But I doubt that will happen because that is the "gotcha" of cordless power tools, much like cameras are cheap but film or photo quality print paper is expensive. The cost element is so out of whack that you can buy a brand new cordless tool, with two batteries and charger for about twice the price of a single replacement battery. Since if you need a replacement battery you probably really need two given the originals that came with your tool are probably both dead or near dead at the same time you're stuck buying two of them. So your choice is buying two replacement batteries and really committing to previous battery technology or dumping your perfectly good tool for a new one just because the batteries are shot. You can have a brand new tool with new batteries and charger for that price and that just does not fit with my perspective on my tools.

I want to buy the best tools I can possibly buy, care for them meticulously, and store them carefully knowing that they will be exactly the same the next time I call on them whenever that is. I don't at all like the idea of having to decide to dump a perfectly good tool because buying replacement batteries for it makes no economic sense compared to buying a new tool. 

The cost of replacement batteries is only one issue that still and I guess always will plague cordless power tools. They are wonderful for people that have to work away from power, that is as long as you can carry enough batteries for a day's work and that is where newer battery technology has had a major impact. But until the financial imbalance that exists between buying new tools and replacement batteries goes away, if ever, I will only go cordless for tools that offer much improved functionality for being cordless. Newer battery technology has yet to resolve the imbalance between the cost of new tools and replacement batteries I suspect because suppliers don't want it to go away and I don't have any interest in playing that game with the suppliers. But I freely acknowledge that the power tools I use, the environment I am allowed to use them in and the types of work I do allow me the freedom to resist cordless for everything but an impact drill/driver or wrench, a hammer driver if I had use for it or a cordless screwdriver.

 

[crazydave789]

when I started it was all you could do to keep a drill going all day when you only had the one, life got easier as you expanded to four site drills in use and a couple of spares bought to up your battery count. battery saws just couldn't hold it. I have one cordless jigsaw I've used a few times but it was free with a drill otherwise I wouldn't have bought one.

the new kit though is excellent powerwise as long as you will actually use them enough before the batteries fade.

yet to see a battery router  [eek]

if as site didn't have mains power I went away intil it did. I found that most 1000w+ electronic tools do not like generators.

 

[carlb40]

when I started it was all you could do to keep a drill going all day when you only had the one, life got easier as you expanded to four site drills in use and a couple of spares bought to up your battery count. battery saws just couldn't hold it. I have one cordless jigsaw I've used a few times but it was free with a drill otherwise I wouldn't have bought one.

the new kit though is excellent powerwise as long as you will actually use them enough before the batteries fade.

yet to see a battery router  [eek]

if as site didn't have mains power I went away intil it did. I found that most 1000w+ electronic tools do not like generators.

Porter cable brought out an 18v version of their excellent 690 router, but it was only in production a few years.  [sad] I think ryobi make/ used to make a cordless router too.

When i was on maintenance here in the uk 99% of my kit was cordless. It was too much of a faff to set up a transformer/ leads etc in a tenants home. Plus you would get the - what, you want to use my electric?  comments often.  [huh] So i went all cordless with makita LXT.

Now i'm a site chippie and mains is readily available ( on the sites i've used ) , i have more mains powered tools creeping in. Probably helped by the fact i am changing fully over to Festool.  [big grin]

 

[Ed Bray]

And as it "gets better" your newer cordless tools won't take your previous generation batteries and and the batteries you just bought with your new tool won't fit previous generation tools even from the same manufacturer.

And another reason why I like my Ryobi One+ 18v tools, they all take the same batteries whether new style or old style and why I was happy to invest in so many 4.0Ah ones. Apart from the amazing range of tools on offer, they also have a few now that are 36v which take a pair of the 18v One+ Batteries.