# Request for Recommendation: Best Battery Tool Suite



## nysepete (Jan 15, 2019)

Hey all -- 
I am gonna start upgrading some of my lithium-ion tools.

*I want to stick with a single brand so the expensive batteries have multiple uses.*

Things I am looking to add:

Chainsaw, Hedge Trimmer will likely be the first 2 -- the hedge trimmer will be first.
Other tools to follow as current tools in my garage start to fizzle out.

I am hoping you guys can point me in the direction of what *brand has the most compatible pieces and also is high quality.*

A lot of what some have suggested so far are not cheap -- so I am not going out to buy a 10 piece set -- but want to slowly and methodically buy the things I need.

We do a lot of our yard work ourselves -- but are not looking to clear cut a forest if you catch my drift! 

Thanks in advance!


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## Windows on Wash (Aug 30, 2011)

Hmmm....the million dollar question. 

I prefer Makita. They seems to have the most diverse tool offering out there and while I don't put them through their paces like staff does, I defer to their opinions on a bunch of this stuff.


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## SeniorSitizen (Sep 10, 2012)

nysepete;
-- so I am not going out to buy a 10 piece set -- but want to slowly and methodically buy the things I need.
[/QUOTE said:


> I'd consider this myself if i had more faith in those future tools being compatible with what i bought today. If history repeats itself, someone is going to change voltages in something so we can begin anew.


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## Marson (Jan 26, 2018)

Makita, MIlwaukee, or Dewalt. Any one of these will do. Look at what tools you are looking to add and if they are available in that platform.


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## ratherbefishing (Jan 13, 2011)

What Marson said. I used to study and research every tool I bought. Then I figured out that if I bought any of the top brands - Makita, Milwaukee, Dewalt, P-C or Bosch - I'd be happy. P-C may have fallen off the list since B&D "repositioned" them. 

When I asked my local independent repair guy, he said the same thing. Then he added "If you look at how they're built, you'll buy Makita. FWIW.

You might also consider who has a service center close by. Here in ATL, we have all of them.

Unfortunately, I have no experience with the first two tools you've listed. Even Stihl is making those. Probably excellent. But less crossover to carpentry tools.


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## Bondo (Dec 8, 2007)

Ayuh,...... I started out as a Milwaukee fan, til their last up-grade, which meant my 1,000 bucks worth of milwaukee tools were worthless, so I switched to Makita, 'n couldn't be happier with 'em,.....


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## Mule Skinner (Jun 2, 2020)

I have the Dewalt 20 volt for chain saw and hedge trimmer. My wife wants it gone cuz now I am am always trimming, too much, in her mind. Battery lasts very well, I switch back and forth on tools thru out the day and am surprised at how well the battery holds up. I would buy again in a heart beat. The chain saw is great, I can 1 hand it and for “maintenance trimming” it is perfect, no fumbling with a gas or heavier saw. The saw leaks oil if stored in sitting position, I lay on its side with oil fill on top when stored and does not leak. I even take the saw camping to gather firewood, when we can have fires in Az.


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## landfillwizard (Feb 21, 2014)

If you are a just a homeowner, I would look into Ryobi. I have over 20 of the 18v battery operated tools and find them all use the same battery. I am refurbishing our pool deck right now and they perform satisfactorily.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Is a Ryobi tool better then the other brands mentioned, no, do they often cost less then 1/2 of the other brands yes!
I also have a ton of Ryobi tools, some are 10 years old, and so far have only had one sort of fail, the blade retainer on a Saws All started sticking because it got full of drywall dust.
Not the tools fault.
Just look at the cost of the different brands replacement batteries and see the huge difference in price.
All the new tools take the same battery.
If your starting from scratch I for sure would buy the biggest combo set I could, then buy any of the tools that where no included as needed to save money instead of buying one at a time.
The set I now have included a flashlight, circular saw, saws all, impact driver, drill, an oscillating saw, two battery's, and a charger.


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## SeniorSitizen (Sep 10, 2012)

landfillwizard said:


> If you are a just a homeowner, I would look into Ryobi. I have over 20 of the 18v battery operated tools and find them all use the same battery. I am refurbishing our pool deck right now and they perform satisfactorily.


I have an old old Ryobi drill that's heavy and tuff as a leather boot heel that i need a battery for. The only place i find the battery now is through amazon. Do i have any other options?


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## Colbyt (Jan 27, 2014)

I have the 18v Ryobi and it serves me well and has for years. The batteries always go on sale for Father's day as do some of the tools. I have, drill, light, old circ saw, and sawsall. The wife has a light duty weed eater and blower. The blowers does a great job on the deck and other hard surfaces.



When you speak of chainsaws you need a bigger battery to do any serious work. You may have to shop for that one. The sawsall with a pruning blade handles the small stuff.


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## Old Thomas (Nov 28, 2019)

I have several sets of Makitas and they are great except that batteries are expensive. I wanted a lower cost set to keep in FL and a Hitachi set was on close out really cheap. I was surprised how good it is and the batteries last for 8 months in storage without any problems.


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## TheEplumber (Jul 20, 2010)

I run Ryobi and Dewalt. My Dewalts seem to grow legs and walk off once and a while. But not my Ryobi's. People seem to think they are not worth taking. I'll keep buying Ryobi


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## Mystriss (Dec 26, 2018)

2nd vote for Dewalt 20V series. We love all of them. 

The hedge trimmer is one of the few we're missing, but the chain saw is awesome, as is the pole saw, and the trimmer too, so I imagine it's good. Drills, sanders, saws, routers, etc. are all great also. I love the 4 1/2" circular saw and the compact router


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## nysepete (Jan 15, 2019)

Great stuff... I'm going to think about this and will let you all know what I decide to go with -- or come back with additional questions


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

You really can't go wrong with any of the major brands. My main set is Makita but I have a couple other specific tools by other brands.... a Dewalt multi tool, a Milwaukee 3/8" ratchet. I tried to stay with 1 mfg but for those 2 tools there were things about them that just seemed better than the Makita offerings. I also have a Bosch drill/driver set at mom's house and an older Porter Cable set and a B&D hedge trimmer at the inlaws. They all work great. good luck, and watch out. This can get addicting.


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## CodeMatters (Aug 16, 2017)




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## Tymbo (Jan 18, 2018)

Makita has over a 150 tools in their 18v platform with some that use 2 batteries for 36v.


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

I don't know which system is better, but I use the 20v Dewalt system. I am happy with it. I would probably be happy with any of the major 20v tool lines, including ryobi.


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## jbfan (Jul 1, 2004)

Here is a deal to help make up your mind. Great deal. almost half price.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/DEWALT-7-T...-Included-and-2-Batteries-Included/1001307084


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## nysepete (Jan 15, 2019)

That is a sweet deal -- although I am not sure if I really need all those pieces at the moment...

I feel like I should buy it just in case before it sells out so I have extra time to think about it.

I had been checking out Makita on The Home Depot website earlier after Tymbo's post.


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## Colbyt (Jan 27, 2014)

Got curious so I checked, Ryobi does have a small chainsaw for their 18V line. I suspect it would do the job for around the yard trimming.


Now I have something for my wish list.


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## HotRodx10 (Aug 24, 2017)

I have Makita for my shop tools. I've used Dewalt and Milwaukee. All three are good quality.


I've have really good results with aftermarket batteries; in my experience, they're at least as good as OEM, at half the cost. For Makita and Dewalt, at least, they're also available in larger sizes than the OEM batteries, which may be useful for the chainsaw, especially.


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## nysepete (Jan 15, 2019)

Colbyt said:


> Got curious so I checked, Ryobi does have a small chainsaw for their 18V line. I suspect it would do the job for around the yard trimming.
> 
> 
> Now I have something for my wish list.


Funny - I just looked at my leaf blower -- the one with the very big battery -- and it is Ryobi.


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## Seabrook1983$ (Jun 19, 2019)

Colbyt said:


> The batteries always go on sale for Father's day


And perhaps just as well. I just got two more for $49, about 1/2 price, bought them because I've had a 2nd battery fail. Put it in the charger, get a green light, still dead and won't drive any of the tools. And I am not a heavy user.

Still, all of the tools I've bought -- IIRC it's six -- still work and everything including the batteries are so far affordable.


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## cmerrell (Dec 7, 2016)

Bondo said:


> Ayuh,...... I started out as a Milwaukee fan, til their last up-grade, which meant my 1,000 bucks worth of milwaukee tools were worthless, so I switched to Makita, 'n couldn't be happier with 'em,.....



What upgrade was this? Recent?


Anyway, i'm fully in the Milwaukee ecosystem and I love their tools. The packout system is also amazing if you are into that kind of thing, they are in most cases larger and more durable than anything else that i've seen. I have thousands of dollars worth of their stuff, and i'm trying to recall anything ever failing.... nope. I recall a specific incident a few years back where I was trying to make a hole (actually 1 big hole and 4 small holes) in some engineered countertop. It was brutal. At one point we switched to a corded rigid drill to save battery and it started smoking after a few minutes. My Milwaukee finished the job with me basically laying on the drill and is still working today.



If you go with Milwaukee make sure you always get FUEL (brushless) when possible.


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## jayhanig (Feb 1, 2019)

SeniorSitizen said:


> I'd consider this myself if i had more faith in those future tools being compatible with what i bought today. If history repeats itself, someone is going to change voltages in something so we can begin anew.



Exactly. I went from 12 volts to 14 volts to 18 volts which is where I sit today. Naturally, now the best offerings (for drills, impact drivers and the like) are now 20 volts. And it doesn't matter very much which company you're talking about. I went from Milwaukee to DeWalt but the story is the same.


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## HotRodx10 (Aug 24, 2017)

> Originally Posted by *Bondo*  Ayuh,...... I started out as a Milwaukee fan, til their last up-grade, which meant my 1,000 bucks worth of milwaukee tools were worthless,



Forgive my confusion, but why would the tools you have become worthless due to an "up-grade"? I presume you mean they came out with new tools. I can still buy batteries and chargers for my tools from 30 years ago.


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## Colbyt (Jan 27, 2014)

Seabrook1983$ said:


> And perhaps just as well. I just got two more for $49, about 1/2 price, bought them because I've had a 2nd battery fail. Put it in the charger, get a green light, still dead and won't drive any of the tools. And I am not a heavy user.
> 
> Still, all of the tools I've bought -- IIRC it's six -- still work and everything including the batteries are so far affordable.





Probably bad luck. Mine don't charge quit as high as they formerly did but are still going strong and they have to be at least 7-8 years old. I don't discharge them daily like I once did but I still use them.


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## HotRodx10 (Aug 24, 2017)

> I don't discharge them daily like I once did but I still use them.



That's good practice for Ni-cad batteries, but doesn't do any good for the Li-ion (and complete draining is quite detrimental to Ni-MH batteries).


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

Just as an FYI.. I just came across a screaming deal on a Makita 16" 36v chain saw that comes with 4 5Ah batteries and charger for $409. The deal gives you 2 extra free batteries. The batteries sell for $149 each at the local Home Depot.... although they can be had for less online. If you were in need of a battery chain saw and some Makita batteries that can also be used with your other tools this would fit the bill. 

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Makita-...ERCH=REC-_-pipsem-_-206686954-_-312451214-_-N


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## HotRodx10 (Aug 24, 2017)

> The batteries sell for $149 each at the local Home Depot.... although they can be had for less online.


 I just bought a pair of 5 Ah batteries for my 18V Makita for less than $60, for both. That was a few months ago; they're down to $50 now.


For those stuck on OEM batteries, I took a look on Ebay just now, and found this pair of 5.0Ah actual Makita brand batteries for $110.


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## Edmiester (May 25, 2020)

I have in the past used Crafts,am power tools. Batteries suck.


I've use the older Makitas, batteries suck


I have 1 dewalt reciprocating saw I like it


I have about 20 old and new Ryobi tools. I love them. Batteries seem to last forever. Litium.:biggrin2:


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## jbfan (Jul 1, 2004)

nysepete said:


> That is a sweet deal -- although I am not sure if I really need all those pieces at the moment...
> 
> I feel like I should buy it just in case before it sells out so I have extra time to think about it.
> 
> I had been checking out Makita on The Home Depot website earlier after Tymbo's post.


I just found this . This is a great deal!

https://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-...Jb0AqqOXfIrMhkfFvtrcmejVFb2YD3dpOFkAP4OP8BnYY


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## rogerwrob (Oct 3, 2019)

I have about 20-25 18 volt tools from Ryobi . started about 10 years plus ago and I am happy with them . batteries seem to last no tool malfuntion . I love when they have there specials . Not sure what is better just know Im happy with what I have


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## GWLANDIS (Apr 14, 2010)

nysepete said:


> Great stuff... I'm going to think about this and will let you all know what I decide to go with -- or come back with additional questions


using ryobi now, works well with flexibility and cost; sales can be found on occasion, as is true for other brands.
ryobi is not a professional line by reputation apparently but jeez the cost of higher ends are outa sight for a diy guy like me.
At the risk of getting biotchslapped, I'd look at harbor freight and other off-name brands, possibly. 
I must say, the $10 angle grinder and $20 oscillating saws are excellent, so far, with nothing else to compare them to.
The prices led me to try them, otherwise never would have considered using those tools.
I had b&d first and when the batteries died it was better to upgrade and step up, as the technology keeps improving.


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## huesmann (Aug 18, 2011)

I have an old blue Ryobi 1/2" chuck drill that's been like a tank for me. I've since supplemented it with one of the new green impact drivers for screws and bolts, because I feel an impact works better for driving those.


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## nysepete (Jan 15, 2019)

I realize it's been a while -- but 5 kids + pandemic + virtual schooling ....

Well - I finally got started and went with the Ryobi 40v Lithium Series -- since I already had 1 tool from the set.

Got a Chain Saw RY40503 and a Trimmer RY40602

Batteries are charging as we speak -- I am excited.

Good prices at Home Depot and came with additional batteries at a better price than buying batteries solo.

Figured one of you might be curious.


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## gthomson (Nov 13, 2016)

I'm curious if you decided on one to go with?

I think I'm focused on two or three - okay not really focused 

Greenworks 80v - lawnmower, weedwacker and chainsaw
Ryobi - Weedwacker and now tire inflater recently added - I use this weedwacker mostly - light and easy to use in a quick way
Greenworks 40v - blower/sucker - wished it was available with the 80v battery, but it wasn't
Makita drill that I really like

So I've got 4 chargers.
2 batteries for the Greenworks 80v
2 1/2 batteries for the Ryobi
1 battery for the Greenworks 40v
1 battery for the Makita

I'm leaning more towards Greenworks 80v and Ryobi 18v future tools - they seem to focus more on things that are remote, so better with cordless. Greenworks not having an 80v version of their chainsaw kind of messed me up.
And for projects I might be doing in the house/garage, electric plugins are readily available, so I'm good with corded there. So then I just go with the best tool for the task regardless of brand.


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## nysepete (Jan 15, 2019)

A lot of the reason I chose Ryobi was that it is a good brand. And I already had 1 tool from the 40v product suite. The batteries ain't cheap -- so that swayed me.
I have a lot of different brands in my garage -- but mostly handed down from my father and father in-law. So it's a variety -- and I only buy new once I fully exhaust the utility of anything I already have. Some of which is great stuff - other pieces -- just waiting to hit the trash bin.


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