Does anyone know what the Volts are on this set? My parents have Ryobi and they have worked great for them for the past three years. I'm just not a fan of the Ryobi circular saw as it was having trouble cutting plywood.

Duke

 

18v

 

black and decker. period.

 

They are no where near as good as they once were and I dont think they were ever the best "period".

Didnt they buy Dewalt a few years back..have to check that

 

hmm, this may just be the winner.

For a 18V setup with so many tools for just $189 on sale at HD. The same thing in a Craftsman is $300+.

Does anyone know if the Craftsman impact driver could work to take the lug nuts off our truck rims safely? If so, then I would be leaning back towards the craftsman for this tool.

Duke

 

I didn't see anyone answer your voltage question...

Higher voltage indirectly means more power. It's more power because there's more current available due to the higher voltage.

As far as battery life, I have an 18V Craftsman set that is maybe 3 years old or so. I have 2 battery packs that I alternate and until recently, that's never been a problem. My batteries are dying over time and it's about time for a replacement set... $26 each.

Also, most new craftsman stuff is 19.2v, so if you go with Craftsman, I'd go with that.

 

I have never had a problem with my porter cable tools

 

well theyre great for people who dont need them for work and they match up to what he needs.

 

For Christmas I got a 18V Dewalt kit that has the drill, an impact driver, a sawzall, 2 batteries, quick charger and contractors bag. I love the new tools. They relpaced a Ryobi set that did an ok jos, but the batteries have not lasted. The other set is less than 2 years old and the tools were great, but the battery capacity has never been very good at all.

 

Yeah I like the craftsman stuff. The one thing I've read that seems to go with each manuf unless buying one with Lithium batteries is the circular saw is only good on trim due to battery life and the 5" blade. Only the ones with 6" blades and Lithium batteries seem to be good circular saws. But at that point I can and probably should just get a corded circular saw.

I REALLY like the Milwaukee 28 volt Lithium-Ion 4 Pack Combo Kit. However, the cost is crazy.

Does anyone know if the Craftsman cordless impact will work to take lug nuts off our trucks rims? Would that be a safe way of doing it?

Duke

 

Yeah I've been reading the specs on all the manuf and I'm not that impressed with Dewalt. They have good stuff, but unless you buy the top of the line Dewalt set, you're better off going with a cheaper Ryobi set since the specs are the same as the mainstream Dewalt tools.

Right now I'm looking at

Craftsman
Ryobi (cost advantage over Craftsman)
Milwaukee (best overall quality/size of saw and length of lithium battery life, but cost is very high)

 

I've had the Ryobi set for a while now and no problems. The batteries are starting to crap out on me though but big deal. These tools hold up great and work well as well. Most of you that visit the 2004+ forum know that I've been using these tools lately, with no problems!

The only CORDLESS impact that I've seen take off lug nuts well was a Snap-On. I don't even want to know what that set my friend back either so good luck!

 

Black & Decker bought Dewalt about 30 years or so [maybe more] for their radial arm saw line. About 10 years or so, B&D replaced their professional line with the yellow Dewalt line, and made the B&D line the consumer end of things. Just like Bosch did with Skil

As far as the voltage: generally the more volts, the more torque produced by the drill. As a byproduct, there is also more storage [amp/hours] so the tool will run longer at the same drain. The downside is weight. Another problem is that most producers [including Dewalt] have more than one line of tools. If you look at their batteries, the pro stuff is listed as XR, XR+, etc, where as the base units are just listed as 18v. While they all produce the same voltage, the pro stuff will hold more power, hence longer run times. This is also why you can find cheap imports with 19.2 volts, good torque, but no run time at all. Feel the weight of the batteries, it is a good indicator of the amount of cells/run time/amp hour of the battery.

Another battery area: some of the new Milwaukee's and Makita's have Lithium Ion Batteries [like the cell phones] They hold the charge, have great run time, no "memory effect", and are much lighter than the typical NiMH used by most. We sold some Milwaukee 28v LIon kits to guys doing work after the hurricanes hit Florida, and they were able to run all day on just 2 batteries [saw, drill, recip saw] The downside is price.

I sell all of them [except Craftsman] and have a Dewalt 18v set up, but mainly because I like the radio/ battery charger they have. But I did add the small 7.2v cordless screwdriver for those times when the 18v stuff was just too heavy and too big. Now I use that 7.2 almost 50% of the time.

And just for the record, Ryobi now owns Milwaukee, Black & Decker owns Dewalt, and Bosch owns Skil-> a real hodgepodge.

If you are looking for a decent tool, go with the Dewalt professional [XR type batteries] in 14.4 or 18v, or the Milwaukee in 18v or any of the Makita.... These all have the better bearings, metal gears, and better chucks. Just my 2 cents. See what fits your hand the best.

Woof
Bowser

 

Cool, then the Craftsman will actually be fine/even better.

Snap On Cordless Impact:
"Suited for on-the-spot service tasks, 18 V, ½ in. Model CT4850 helps users remove lug nuts, loosen tie rod ends, and secure fasteners. Equipped with heat-treated alloy gears, unit provides 3,000 impacts/min and max tightening torque of 550 lb-ft. Tool features high-impact, glass-filled nylon housing, cushion-mounted motor, and over-molded cushion grip, as well as oversized contoured trigger and easily accessible forward/reverse switch for one-handed control. "

The craftsman cordless impact is 19.2V and has 900 lb-ft of torque.

Side note. How does one use an impact on lug nuts? I want to make sure it's not overtightened.

Duke

 

The Dewalt 18v, the Milwaukee 18 & 28v impacts will do it, I would not trust any of the others. They might do it for a while, but since most of the others have nylon in the drivetrain, and the hammer/anvils are not hardened, they ain't going to last.

Woof
Bowser