I thought it’d be great to have a cordless drill and one of those newfangled impact drivers, for a project. And it was SO great that I added a circular saw, a jigsaw, and a reciprocating saw (aka Sawsall). All are DeWalt 20V, as I’ve had great experiences with DeWalt corded tools, but it sounds like there are several great brands. Obviously once you start with one brand and series, you have a huge incentive to stick with just that one.
It’s a familiar story: you think you can get just one, and then you keep finding yourself buying again.
So, what else might it be good to get? Maybe one of those oscillating multitools that look so neat? A belt sander (I certainly use my corded one)? Are those goofy accessories like flashlights or blowers really useful, or are they truthfully just pandering to the overenthusiastic?
I gotta say, these things are great! I had a rechargeable drill and rechargeable power screwdriver years ago, and they didn’t work anywhere near as well as these do now, and besides, cordless tools back then didn’t always have replaceable and interchangeable batteries.
I do a variety of homeowner type things, have a small barn to maintain, various pressure treated lumber decks and walks, 1/8 mile of wooden stockade fence to maintain, etc etc. I need to install some HVAC equipment soon, we will need a kitchen remodel in a few years, et cetera. I’ve also found the reciprocating saw does great pruning (with the right blades of course) and have to think about outdoor tools too.
We got a hand vac - one of my biggest complaints about the ones with the internal battery is that the battery eventually goes bad and then you’re stuck with a useless piece of junk. Not anymore!
My husband loves the shit out of his little leaf blower. It wouldn’t do for big jobs, but for getting the leaves off the back porch, it’s perfect.
We also have a tire inflator and a lantern. My multitool is a different brand (and much older than our other stuff), but when (if?) the day comes that those batteries start to lose it, I’ll probably switch over.
I’m currently a Milwaukee cordless guy having switched from Ryobi.
I’ve got the blower and it works fine for blowing grass off the drive and stuff like that. It also comes with nozzle adaptors for blowing up inflatables.
I’ve got their fan coming tomorrow after seeing a friend with one on his bench at the gun range.
I’ve had their heated jacket for some time and it’s great. Uses the M12 batteries and my charger handles both.
I have a little Ryobi circular saw. Blade only goes to 1.5" deep, just barely enough to cut through a 2x4, but it’s nice because it’s so small and light - I can operate it one-handed in either hand, to get at stuff in awkward locations.
I changed over from Dewalt 18v to Milwaukee M18 and M12 about 6 months ago. I also dropped a few corded tools in favor of cordless. I went brushless on anything that had the option. My decision to go Milwaukee was based on their selection of specialty tools. The sheer power newer tools can put out is rather impressive. Cordless tools are now superior to corded tools in terms of torque.
My current M18 collection
Drill
Driver
Sawzall
Angle Grinder
Heat Gun
I found the M18 drill and driver to be far more than needed for daily use. I dropped to the m12’s and they are amazingly handy. I still bring the m18 drill if I need to run hole saws and such. The m18 driver is just kinda collecting dust.
The M18 angle grinder has been life changing. It eat’s batteries like crazy so there is some stuff I still bring corded grinders for, but it’s so great if I just need to cut a few bolts or such.
I’m undecided if I’m going to replace my Corded 1" Roto-hammer with a M18 one or take the cheaper route and get the M12 Roto-Hammer. The M12 is great for anchors but can’t be used as a breaker, so I’d still need to carry the corded.
I’ve been hesitating on buying a Pro-Press gun, it’s a lot of money and I still like solder joints. Every time i’m dealing with water dripping back it’s getting close to an impulse buy.
All the Milwaukee lighting is pretty advanced. They’ve been making a lot of LED choices not readily found outside specialty markets where as their competitors have been sticking with older more common choices.
I’m already invested in high powered flashlights so my need to get other lighting is limited. My tool-bag already has a 4k lumen light.
I have a cordless string trimmer which works well for my purposes (a not-very-big suburban yard.)
I have a little blower as well - some might say it’s a joke, little more than a hair dryer - it’s NOT going to blow big piles of leaves around, but it works just fine for what I use it for - blowing leaves/detritus off the front porch/back deck, sawdust/spiderwebs out of the garage, stoking fires in my grill/fire pit, etc.
Many years ago, maybe 25 years, a neighbor had a mesh enclosed fire pit. He was having issues getting the fire going so I brought over my AC powered leaf blower. Got the fire going so fine we melted some of the mesh. There was no alcohol involved either on the fire nor in us.
We also have a cordless electric chainsaw. It’s not going to cut down any trees, but for dismembering the branch that fell into our back yard, or for trimming the dead branches off the bottom of our pine tree, it’s great.
I also love the cordless leaf blower. Again, it won’t handle the whole yard, but its light weight and lack of cord makes it great for cleaning out the gutters.
If you get drawn into the cordless world, I suggest stocking up on batteries. Inevitably, the battery style gets changed long before the tools themselves die. We’re on our 3rd generation of cordless, battery exchangeable tools. About every 10 years, the batteries get discontinued, the ones we have eventually die, and we have to replace the whole bunch.
Honestly, after having years of using Ryobi cordless and then in the past few years switching to Milwaukee, I’d say that for the homeowner you’d probably be better off buying into the Ryobi line. Don’t get me wrong, the Milwaukee tools are superior but they are also $$$ and they don’t have near the selection of useful tools as Ryobi. I’ve had the Ryobi 18V string trimmer, it was OK but bogged down alot, so I bought into their 40V line and bought the trimmer that I could change out the attachments (so I could have a battery-powered edger). The 40V trimmer is much more powerful than the 18V, but I bought into the 18V milwaukee line and eventually got a “free” string trimmer with the purchase of their new (at the time) high-capacity battery and hedge trimmer. THAT string trimmer blows everything else away. It’s not even in the same league as the Ryob timmers I’ve had. Even the 40 V.
But looking a the huge selection of tools that Ryobi offers, for the money it can’t be beat.
I just upgraded to Dewalt’s 20 volt stuff from their 18 volt. Even though the 18 volt tools are over ten years old, Dewalt still sells the batteries, as well as an adapter that lets you use new 20 volt batteries, plus there’s tons of knockoff battieries out there. Without looking, I’d guess the situation is similar with Makita and Milwaukee, probably not so much with Ryobi or Ridgid. In other words, the big brands will probably be supported for years to come, no stockpiling needed.
Back to the new tools… The 20 volt drill was a bit of a game changer for me as it’s much lighter - the drill and a 2AH battery weigh as much as one 18 volt battery alone.
I went down the Ryobi line myself, I found them great for home usage, including a full internal renovation. I couldn’t justify the extra cost of Milwaukee or DeWalt. (Although having said that a mate brought a DeWalt impact driver over to help one day and it was very nice). In addition to what you already have I would say my three most used were an angle grinder, the multi tool, and a little palm sander.
We’ve been converting everything to battery, either DeWalt or Worx brands. My gf got a small chainsaw that can be used solo or on a pole; she absolutely loves it. It’s lightweight enough to take on horseback to do trail maintenance. We also have a full size (16 inch bar) chainsaw that has gotten a ton of use already.
One I haven’t seen mentioned is a power washer. My gf bought a Worx power washer and she likes it. I think it’s crap; underpowered silly little water sprayer. She thinks it’s convenient for washing things the hose doesn’t reach.
I bought a 18V drill/driver combo from Bosch and am really happy with it. They replaced the Rigid 14.4 cordless drill and I have to say it’s a night and day difference in power and ergonomics. As a plus, it was $50 cheaper than the comparable DeWalt set. A 4 inch circular saw is next on the list, and I’d love to get a decent 14 inch bandsaw (corded) but I have to make room in the garage and bank account for that…
I’m kinda down on cordless tools these days, because the tools themselves may be great, but the batteries go dead after a year or two, and in recent years, the replacement batteries always seem to cost as much as buying new tools (with battery included).
Since we’ve got a thread full of people who are enthusiastic about cordless power tools, I figure some of you can tell me which brands have good batteries whose cost is reasonable, compared to the cost of the tools themselves. Thanks in advance for any recommendations!