What’s the field feedback on the V28 tools? Everything I’ve read seems to be positive. But have never tried them. I know that HD had the whole set for 20% off at Christmas time, and I was really tempted to buy it.
I was taking with a rep from DeWalt and he said that they were coming out with something like the Milwaukee V28, but much higher voltage. I don’t remember the voltage number he gave me (it was in the thirty-range, I think), but it struck me like “I’ll have to see that to believe it”.
And when a fella does convert, what the heck do you do with the standard 18V set that he’s now using. Especially when the 18V batteries are near the end of their useful life. Donate the tools to Habitat and tell them that they’ll need to purchase a new round of batteries?
Replies
I bought the 28V set as soon as it hit the market, which I believe was last spring. I've had the 18V set for some years. I have found that everything Milwaukee said about these tools is true: they bring corded power to the cordless world. The battery charge lasts a very long time, the tools are powerful, and my crew hasn't picked up a corded circular saw in a year. These are spectacular tools
Pertz,
What sort of work do you and your crew normally do?View Image
Maintain, build, and re-build at a children's summer camp in the Adirondacks. Some of the buildings (thirty plus, lost count) are over 90 years old. We have built one new building a year (on average) for the last ten years or so, while ripping rot and re-everythinging the rest...four of us work year round.
Wow... on both accounts. First wow is that your work sounds like a pretty good test for cordless tools, and it sounds like they pass. Second wow is for your work.... that sounds like a nice gig. I know the 'grass is always greener', but still that sounds like steady interesting work you have there.View Image
yeah, got it pretty darn good.
Check it out here. I have 12, 14.4, 24V in DW and do not think I will go for any other voltages. I just keep my eyes open for battery deals. Ebay is a good source if you are patient.
http://www.dewalt.com/36v/
I've been using the V28 system for about 9 months.
Great set up.
If I'm roughing in a house I'll flake out a cord and use the hole hawg for most of the drilling, anything smaller and it's the V28 cordless.
Cliff
I think the Dewalt set coming out is 36v. In respect to the 18v Milwaukee's, I'm pretty sure I heard that they were coming out with 18v Li-Ion batteries that could retrofit your NiCd. That got me excited...I want the big power, but my 18v NiCd still has too much life in it to give up yet. So when it's time to buy new batteries, I'll buy the Li-Ion.
Young, poor, and eager to learn
"In respect to the 18v Milwaukee's, I'm pretty sure I heard that they were coming out with 18v Li-Ion batteries that could retrofit your NiCd. "
You are correct. I just got a newsletter from Milwaukee announcing that. The V18 tools will be available "second quarter 2006" - and the bats will be compatible with their 18V NiCd tools.
I've had the V28's since Sept. Good stuff. Corded circ saw hasn't seen the light of day in a long time.
-Norm
That, my friend, is great news. According to Milwaukee, they'll be out in June.
couldn't you get a pretty good jolt from a 36V battery? changing it or whatever?
If you stick your tongue on it, yeah.There are no electrons! It is all made up. Don't believe it.
Electricity is made by GREENIES.
well, it was a serious question - not that I know much about electricity, but it seems to me that if you had a 36V battery in your hand with fingers across the contacts, and say, were standing in a puddle,wouldn't you get pretty much 1/3 the shock value of a regular 110V outlet? Doesn't sound comfortable to me.
What if they come out with 110V batteries.......or maybe 240V?
hmmmmm.....shrivels me up just thinking about it.
"hmmmmm.....shrivels me up just thinking about it."Don't put THAT on it!Putting your fingers on the terminals won't do much- the only time there would be any effect is if they're wet and even then, not much will happen. Standing in a puddle will do absolutely nothing in this case, other than getting you wet. Getting jolted by 110V or 240V is different because of the nature of AC vs DC voltage.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
Although I have read about cases where adults were harmed by as little as 48v AC (one case involved a fatality, but the actual voltage involved could never be known for sure), 36v is very unlikely to ever be felt. You can touch the two terminals of a 9v battery and feel nothing, but the same battery will cause a very noticablr bite if touched to your tongue.
The difference is the resistance. Dry skin has higher resistance than wet skin.
Also, all power circuits that do work (or shock you) must be closed loops(hence the word circuit). In the case of a DC battery the circuit starts at the negative terminal, goes through the tool (or whatever) and back to the battery via the positve terminal. Standing in water would be a concern if we were talking about 120vAC because the ground(earth) is a possible path that the electricity can follow to complete a circuit. The ground could not, however be a part of a 36v DC circuit.There are no electrons! It is all made up. Don't believe it.
Electricity is made by GREENIES.
thanks for the explanation - I know enough about electrical stuff to, wire a remodel for example (tho in Oregon I can't legally do it), but I don't know much about the actual mechanics of electricity.
I know when I get shocked I don't like it much. maybe that's why my electrician charges $80/hr.
Another two thumbs up for the V28 stuff. Love my set, I have my eye on a cordless bandsaw and impact gun. Hope that they will come out with an impact screw gun.
If anyone is looking for a reason to run out and buy a V28 tool, Milwaukee has a deal going until the end of the month. If you buy any V28 single tool kit, they will send you a V28 tool (tool only) free.
So, if you don't need the case for the extra tool, and you can work with only two batteries, your set. Or, if you buy two kits, you get two free tools. (Tool Shed guy told me that there is no limit) I figure on getting a Drill kit and a free drill, and a sawzall kit and a free circ saw. $800.00 for two drills, sawzall, circ, two chargers, four batteries, and cases for one drill and the sawzall.
Check out the Milwaukee website.
http://www.milwaukeetool.com/us/en/site.nsf/frmIndex?ReadForm
There are no electrons! It is all made up. Don't believe it.
Electricity is made by GREENIES.
Edited 3/20/2006 10:39 pm by bosn
What I want to know is, where do the electrons go after they leave my toaster?It's cool that the 18V Li-ion batteries will retro fit. My spare NiCad is just about toast, so I'll have to call my friend at Milwaukee and get one of the new ones. I asked the guy in their service deopartment if the 28 V batteries would work in my 18V hammer drill. He basically told me they would. Once.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
The v28's are a superior cordless tool, I've the circ saw, recipro and the impact wrench and they are all good.
I carried the drill around HD last week to get a feel for the weight/balance ...
compared to my DeWalt 14.4 ... it felt like a cinder block!
definitely not comfortable to my hands.
I've been holding off waiting for the lithion ion prices to drop ... as it is ... my old Dewalt batt's won't hond a charge over nite ... gotta plug in the charger before I roll out the drop cloths each morning .... really time for something new.
I did some reading ... and I've decided I'm leaning toward the Makita 18v lithium ion.
They're still way pricey ... a hair over $300 for the drill kit.
what I really want is just a drill/circ saw combo ... like back when I bought my ifrst DeWalt cordless kit.
Might just get another recond's Dewalt for $99 and wait for the big price drop and/or more combo choices.
Makita has a current deal where U buy one drill kit and get a free impact body as a mailed rebate. They also have a 4 piece kit for around $600 ... good over all price ... but it has the hammer drill as opposed to the drill/driver ... and I certainly ain't gonna spend $600 and get settle for a drill I didn't want in the first place.
Jeff
Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
I like the Makita LI set too. I don't know if you saw it, but it's featured in the new FHB this month. I played with the set a bit at the tool store this weekend and really liked it, but we just don't use cordless tools that much. And I've got two 12Vmakita impacts, a 14.4V makita impact, a 14.4V makita drill, a 15.6V panasonic Multi-driver, a Bosch 18V drill/driver and just gave away my old 18V Dewalt drill/driver. Only thing we really use them for is deck building. I use them around the house quite a bit though.... especially with the current state our house is in.View Image
but it has the hammer drill as opposed to the drill/driver ... and I certainly ain't gonna spend $600 and get settle for a drill I didn't want in the first place.Jeff,Why would having the hammer capability bother you? Couldn't possibly add that much weight to the tool, does it?I have the Bosch 18 volt kit, and the hammer function of the drill is handy as heck to use in a pinch - seems very efficient and fast.Everyone's referring to dying batteries - I wonder if the chargers make a big difference? I got a free 15minute charger when I bought my Bosch kit 3-4 years ago and have used it since day one.Although it sounds backwards - they say the batteries will last longer when using the smart fast chargers. Don't know if it's true, but the 3-4 batteries I have still last a good long time - can't tell a difference between them; perhaps they'll die next week, but so far, so good. And having freshly charged batteries in 15-20minutes compared to 50-65minutes is worth a whole bunch.Just picked up the Makita 10 minute charger for my Makita 14.4 kit, again, kick-butt to have batteies charged so fast.JT
in a pinch I already have a Bulldog out in the van.
a little more weight ... and one more thing to break down.
Nope ... I'll buy the drill/driver I need to drill and drive as a ... drill/driver.
compromises have to be made for each feature added to tools ... I just buy the ones I need for each specific job. Drill holes ... drive screws. Leave the hammer drilling to the hammer drill out in the van.
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
Can't argue with that I guess,The other day, some guy on Ebay was selling about 10 brand new Bosch 18volt hammer drill kits at the same time - no reserve. I picked up three kits (2 batteries, charger, case, etc.) for $115 each with shipping.Figured I could use a few more batteries and get rid of the rest.JT
Julian,
You won't find a Li-Ion charger that tops off your batteries in less than an hour or so (maybe 45 minutes?) - Li-Ion batts are delicate and need to be charged slowly to prevent damage to the cells within. Justin Fink - FHB Editorial
Although I'm a tool junky - I've no inclination to switch combo's at this point - been very happy with the Bosch 18 kit and Makita 14.4 kit that I'm using.In the Makita setup - the blower is the handiest tool - great for when you've cut a bunch of sheet goods in a cutomer's driveway or to blow off the tablesaw or mitersaw before you wrap it up for the day.And in the Bosch setup - the cordless planer is the whip and I've just picked up the 18volt rotozip and look forward to trying out the router base to see if it can double as a cordless trim router for laminate and edgetreatments.I also use the 24volt Bosch Mitersaw - nice - it's only 25lbs - hardly ever use my slide saw anymore.Combined with the fast chargers - no worries or complaints here.JT