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Also have some Ryobi stuff. Got a surprisingly affordable (under $150) package deal with a drill, impact driver, oscillating tool, reciprocating saw, flashligh

Also have some Ryobi stuff. Got a surprisingly affordable (under $150) package deal with a drill, impact driver, oscillating tool, reciprocating saw, flashlight, and small circular saw. Came with a charger and two battery packs. None of these are incredible tools, but none of them have failed on me. The only thing that's died is one of the battery packs and I replaced it with a larger one since the included ones were pretty small. Pretty sure I killed it by using it with a more demanding tool not included in the package. In retrospect, I'm thinking the cheapo deal was a way to get people like me - just bought a fixer upper house and looking to do some light-to-moderate DIY work - invested in their ecosystem. Well, it's worked. When I need other cordless tools, I get more Ryobi since they work with the same battery packs. Grinder, hand vacuum, etc. have been the same brand. That said, I've needed higher quality tools as well, and when I got a better circular saw and a big hammer drill, I went corded and had the benefit of not worrying about battery brands. Probably should've gone corded for the grinder as well (it kills battery packs quickly).

xyzelement 3y ago
The nature of the tool makes the corded/not corded decision easier too. The ones I mentioned (weed whacker, leaf blower, drill) are usually used when you're moving around and having to plug in and drag the chord around is a real pain in the ass. For something like circular saw, I think that's much less of an issue. I picture that as something you set up in a spot and use for the duration of the project. So I guess I am surprised it even comes in a battery option.
- hx8 3y ago
  > So I guess I am surprised it even comes in a battery option. If you're going to a job site with limited electricity and don't know the exact cut of wood you need before arriving, I can see value. This option isn't for medium/large workloads, and isn't for the guy operating a wood working shop, but might be for a guy that does small jobs away from a shop.
- ihattendorf 3y ago
  Cordless tools tend to be more convenient. While a corded tool might technically be more powerful, for a quick cut it's annoying to unravel the cord, possibly grab an extension cord and unravel that, make the cut, then wind up the cables again. Vs. grab a cordless tool and maybe throw a battery in. Cable management can also be annoying sometimes when moving around.
- soylentcola 3y ago
  The battery powered circ saw is nice because it's lightweight and easy to use for quick cuts. I've even taken it with me to rough cut stuff in the parking lot of a store so it will fit in my car. Didn't need anything better until a few years later and bought a big beefy Milwaukee. I still use the battery powered Ryobi for 80% of stuff though, just due to convenience. That said, I see things like battery powered table saws and have zero desire to mess with any of that.
  - JohnBooty 3y ago
    The only real use case I can think of for battery powered table saws is for hobbyists/homeowners who do their work in the yard, or maybe in an unpowered tool shed. A lot of older homes have no outdoor power outlets. For "pro" use on a job site, it's hard to imagine a battery powered table saw having enough power or endurance. I know my plug-in table saw seems to use at least ~1,200 watts @ 120v when cutting something tough like pressure-treated lumber, because it trips the surge protector. But, I don't know. I see Dewalt has like a 60V powered table saw. With a big enough battery maybe it's enough to be useful for pros.
    - SAI_Peregrinus 3y ago
      A 15A 120V wall outlet (not uncommon in the USA) can provide at most 1800W (a bit less in practice to give some headroom to avoid tripping excessively sensitive breakers). The motor wastes about half that, so you expect about 900W power output if hooking a tool up to a dynamometer. DeWalt's 60V cordless circular saw can put out over 1500W into a dynamometer[1], with similar waste (up to about 3600W max from the battery). The batteries get discharged at about 50-60A max according to the DeWalt specs I could find, which makes sense given the measured power output. Modern cordless batteries are better for actual power output than (15A) corded tools, comparable to 25A corded tools! They're worse for run-time, of course, batteries get drained. Endurance is the issue, but battery powered tools can beat corded tools for power these days. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Cjf0beYXfU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Cjf0beYXfU
      - 3y ago
- quickthrowman 3y ago
  > I picture that as something you set up in a spot and use for the duration of the project. So I guess I am surprised it even comes in a battery option I believe you are confusing a handheld circular saw with a miter saw. A miter saw has a base, an arm, and a blade guard; and must be placed on a flat surface/table to use it. A circular saw is a handheld tool.
  - xyzelement 3y ago
    You are absolutely right, I was making exactly that mistake. THANK YOU
    - bombcar 3y ago
      Doesn't matter, battery powered table saws and miter saws exist. https://www.milwaukeetool.com/2736-21HD https://www.milwaukeetool.com/2736-21HD https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Products/Power-Tools/Woodworking/Miter-Saws https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Products/Power-Tools/Woodworki... (some of the table saws from other brands are "duel fuel" and can take a battery or a plug, can be nice). Battery power table saws seem a bit silly until you realize that the construction people often arrive before there's any site power at all, after all, someone has to build the site power connections.
bombcar 3y ago
As a note, you can get some good deals on Ryobi both on Home Depot sales, and places like: https://www.directtoolsoutlet.com/brand/ryobi https://www.directtoolsoutlet.com/brand/ryobi
- soylentcola 3y ago
  Yeah, I am pretty sure the "starter pack" was a deal they had going at the Depot. I typically avoid big packs of things (pots and pans, knives, etc) since I end up using just a subset and would rather get higher quality versions of those. But this was a straightforward way to get a bunch of reasonable quality tools cheaply and I've honestly used all of them without any failures, so it's worked out.
  - bombcar 3y ago
    Those starter packs have also gotten better, they used to be something like one brushless tool and a bunch of cheaper brushed tools - now they're often all brushless.
interestica 3y ago
You can get adapters to use your battery packs with other brands of tools. And a making a wireless tool wired should be doable from a technical standpoint.
- bombcar 3y ago
  Some modern battery tools take advantage of the battery and can (in shortish bursts) power the tool more than a standard 15 amp 120v outlet could.

xyzelement 3y ago

The nature of the tool makes the corded/not corded decision easier too. The ones I mentioned (weed whacker, leaf blower, drill) are usually used when you're moving around and having to plug in and drag the chord around is a real pain in the ass. For something like circular saw, I think that's much less of an issue. I picture that as something you set up in a spot and use for the duration of the project. So I guess I am surprised it even comes in a battery option.

hx8 3y ago
> So I guess I am surprised it even comes in a battery option. If you're going to a job site with limited electricity and don't know the exact cut of wood you need before arriving, I can see value. This option isn't for medium/large workloads, and isn't for the guy operating a wood working shop, but might be for a guy that does small jobs away from a shop.
ihattendorf 3y ago
Cordless tools tend to be more convenient. While a corded tool might technically be more powerful, for a quick cut it's annoying to unravel the cord, possibly grab an extension cord and unravel that, make the cut, then wind up the cables again. Vs. grab a cordless tool and maybe throw a battery in. Cable management can also be annoying sometimes when moving around.
soylentcola 3y ago
The battery powered circ saw is nice because it's lightweight and easy to use for quick cuts. I've even taken it with me to rough cut stuff in the parking lot of a store so it will fit in my car. Didn't need anything better until a few years later and bought a big beefy Milwaukee. I still use the battery powered Ryobi for 80% of stuff though, just due to convenience. That said, I see things like battery powered table saws and have zero desire to mess with any of that.
- JohnBooty 3y ago
  The only real use case I can think of for battery powered table saws is for hobbyists/homeowners who do their work in the yard, or maybe in an unpowered tool shed. A lot of older homes have no outdoor power outlets. For "pro" use on a job site, it's hard to imagine a battery powered table saw having enough power or endurance. I know my plug-in table saw seems to use at least ~1,200 watts @ 120v when cutting something tough like pressure-treated lumber, because it trips the surge protector. But, I don't know. I see Dewalt has like a 60V powered table saw. With a big enough battery maybe it's enough to be useful for pros.
  - SAI_Peregrinus 3y ago
    A 15A 120V wall outlet (not uncommon in the USA) can provide at most 1800W (a bit less in practice to give some headroom to avoid tripping excessively sensitive breakers). The motor wastes about half that, so you expect about 900W power output if hooking a tool up to a dynamometer. DeWalt's 60V cordless circular saw can put out over 1500W into a dynamometer[1], with similar waste (up to about 3600W max from the battery). The batteries get discharged at about 50-60A max according to the DeWalt specs I could find, which makes sense given the measured power output. Modern cordless batteries are better for actual power output than (15A) corded tools, comparable to 25A corded tools! They're worse for run-time, of course, batteries get drained. Endurance is the issue, but battery powered tools can beat corded tools for power these days. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Cjf0beYXfU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Cjf0beYXfU
    - 3y ago
quickthrowman 3y ago
> I picture that as something you set up in a spot and use for the duration of the project. So I guess I am surprised it even comes in a battery option I believe you are confusing a handheld circular saw with a miter saw. A miter saw has a base, an arm, and a blade guard; and must be placed on a flat surface/table to use it. A circular saw is a handheld tool.
- xyzelement 3y ago
  You are absolutely right, I was making exactly that mistake. THANK YOU
  - bombcar 3y ago
    Doesn't matter, battery powered table saws and miter saws exist. https://www.milwaukeetool.com/2736-21HD https://www.milwaukeetool.com/2736-21HD https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Products/Power-Tools/Woodworking/Miter-Saws https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Products/Power-Tools/Woodworki... (some of the table saws from other brands are "duel fuel" and can take a battery or a plug, can be nice). Battery power table saws seem a bit silly until you realize that the construction people often arrive before there's any site power at all, after all, someone has to build the site power connections.

bombcar 3y ago

As a note, you can get some good deals on Ryobi both on Home Depot sales, and places like: https://www.directtoolsoutlet.com/brand/ryobi https://www.directtoolsoutlet.com/brand/ryobi

soylentcola 3y ago
Yeah, I am pretty sure the "starter pack" was a deal they had going at the Depot. I typically avoid big packs of things (pots and pans, knives, etc) since I end up using just a subset and would rather get higher quality versions of those. But this was a straightforward way to get a bunch of reasonable quality tools cheaply and I've honestly used all of them without any failures, so it's worked out.
- bombcar 3y ago
  Those starter packs have also gotten better, they used to be something like one brushless tool and a bunch of cheaper brushed tools - now they're often all brushless.

interestica 3y ago

You can get adapters to use your battery packs with other brands of tools. And a making a wireless tool wired should be doable from a technical standpoint.

bombcar 3y ago
Some modern battery tools take advantage of the battery and can (in shortish bursts) power the tool more than a standard 15 amp 120v outlet could.