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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

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
  - JohnBooty 3y ago
    Wow, thanks for pointing that out. That's really badass.

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
- JohnBooty 3y ago
  Wow, thanks for pointing that out. That's really badass.