You get more power with bigger batteries, I suppose that is obvious. The question really is how much power is needed. Lithium ion batteries can be made quite a bit smaller per capacity and lighter too which allows more power for a given weight so we now see up to 36 volt tools. Other changes though have also meant that for some applications less power is needed. I am thinking of impact drills and drivers for example. The question then becomes just how much power does one need and how much capacity. So far I haven't seen a 7 and a quarter inch battery powered circular saw. 36 volts might be enough but the size of battery to give one say half a day of construction site capacity, enough to keep a man working hard all day swapping out at lunch for example may well be the challenge. There are 6 inch saws. On the other hand, a 36 volt impact driver would bust off most fasteners and the added weight would be redundant.
Nothing wrong with NiCad batteries so long as they are retaining a charge. I did however purchase replacement Lithium batteries for my 16.4 volt Panasonic drill when the original NiCad batteries finally failed. they have done very well although I think beginning to fade now too. This drill is easily all I need, I do have an electric impact drill and did not go for a batter one just because the price is much cheaper and I don't drill a lot of cement. Similarly I am not sure I would buy a battery jig saw only because the batteries wouldn't get the use they should have for the occasional use I make of the saw. Probably a big 24 or 36 volt reciprocal saw would be worth while but again I don't use mine now enough and you can buy a pretty darn good corded model for about a hundred bucks. ----- Original Message ----- From: Scott Howell To: [email protected] Sent: Sunday, April 05, 2009 4:19 PM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] Lithyum Ion battery tools Hey all, got a question. I know this might seem a silly question, but amuse me please. Is there any real significant difference between a 18 volt and 24 volt tool? I suspect there is, but how significant is the difference. I recently got a Milwaukee impact driver that is 12 volts and honestly it is quite strong and can really drive some screws. I guess this little fella really is called an impact driver do to something in the way it drives a screw, but whatever it does, it does it well and I like the small size. I assume as you get into larger battery packs you get more run time and so forth. HOwever, the difference in 18 volt verses 24 volt may not make a difference if you are talking about performance in relation to cost. SO, that is why I wanted to ask. I figure there is a big difference in Nicad and the Lithyum Ion do to the battery pack itself, but perhaps those old nicads are still worth hanging on to at this rate. :) Thanks, [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
