Cordless Tools Guide

Here are some points to consider regarding the purchase and use of cordless tools.

Battery Size
For cordless tools, power is measured by battery voltage: the higher the voltage, the more power and torque the tool is going to have. While more power sounds like a good thing, there are trade-offs to be made. With higher voltage cordless tools, along with the additional power, comes additional cost and additional tool weight.

Consider this comparison. A 9.6 Volt cordless will typically weigh about 3-1/2 pounds and cost in the range of $35 - $150. By comparison, a 19.2 Volt cordless drill can weigh up to 10 pounds and cost anywhere from $125 - $300. If you really need the power of a 19.2 Volt drill, then the added cost will certainly be worth it. But if you are using your cordless drill to occasionally drive screws in your home, a 19.2 Volt cordless drill will be harder to use (because of the increased weight), and harder to stomach purchasing (because of the increased cost). If you really do not need the extra power, a cheap, light-weight cordless drill may suit your needs better.

Battery Type
There are two types of batteries available for cordless tools: Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) and Lithium Ion (Li-Ion). Do yourself a favor, do not buy a cordless tool that uses NiMH batteries. Yes, it may be cheap, but it is cheap for a very good reason. NiMH batteries suffer from memory problems (they need to be fully discharged before they are recharged or else they lose charge capacity), they do not last for as many charge cycles (they die sooner), and they are lower power than equivalent voltage Li-Ion batteries.

Number of Batteries
Another thing to consider when buying a cordless tool is the number of batteries that come with the tool. If you plan on using your tool often, you will want to make sure that you have two batteries. There is nothing worse than having your battery go dead and having to wait an hour or two for the battery to charge before you can continue working. When you are purchasing a tool, make sure it comes with two batteries. If it does not, find out the cost of an additional battery and include that when you are comparing prices between tools.

Charging Your Batteries
Some cordless tools come with advanced chargers that allow the battery to be charged in a very short period of time; on the order of fifteen minutes. Other cordless tools come with chargers that can take up to 3 hours to charge a battery. If the battery charge time is going to be an issue for you, look into the charging options that are available before you purchase a cordless tool.

Battery and Tool Storage
Even when your tool is not being used, it will draw a small amount of power from the battery. So when you store your cordless tools, always remove the battery; this will help keep it charged. Do not store your battery in the charger. Yes, there are some chargers that claim to be "smart" about this, but in general storing your cordless tool batteries in the charger will lead to them dying sooner than if you do not. When storing your batteries avoid heat and cold. Cold weather will not permanently harm your battery, but it will reduce the amount of power available when the battery is cold and being used. High heat can permanently harm the batteries of your cordless tools. Avoid it, and do not charge your batteries in an area that is extremely hot, this can really damage your battery.

Pick a brand
One way to avoid issues with battery availability is to pick a brand and a battery size and stick with it. If you buy the same brand of tool with the same battery size when buying drills, trim saws, reciprocating saws, screwdrivers, etc, you will be able to share batteries and chargers across all of your tools. This greatly increases the number of batteries you have available and it ensures that you will never run out of charged batteries.