Battery powered circular saws

I was at Home Depot yesterday and was in the tool bin area and saw a DeWalt 18V circular saw. It got me thinking if it would be better to have battery operated tools or buy a generator and use the good old electric ones out on my property? (for building my pole barn)

Has anyone used these 18-24V tools? How long does the battery life last? I am leaning towards still going with the idea of buying a generator. I don't want to get all set up on the property and have to quit because my batteries ran down after just a couple hours.

there's a lot of energy expended in turning that blade when you're cutting .... so (my experience is that) batteries don't last long enough for real work. I love the portable for carrying around and doing the odd cut .... but still find that they lose their oomph at just the wrong time. I find the same thing with the 18v circ saw and the 18v rattail.
If I have a fair amount of cutting to do .... then I haul out the sk8il saw and the generator and don't worry about how long I can cut.

WingNut,

You have confirmed my suspicions -- thanks

Hi Gatorboy,

I've got two cordless sets from Dewalt with 18 volt batteries. The first set has a 5 1/4 inch Circular Saw in it. I've used it to do a lot of projects. I never was without a full battery. My set came with 2 batteries, so when one ran out of charge, I put it in the charger. It takes 1 hour to charge the newer batteries. The batteries seem to last a long time when fully charged. There is one word of warning that I had for you, about these saws. The 5 1/4 saw will not cut a 4X4 in one pass. You will have to filp the board over to finish the cut. If you only need to cut 2X4, or less , you will not be disappointed. Good Luck, I hope this helps.

Kent

I bought a cheaper brand at Home Depot. It was a package deal by Ryobi. 18 volt had a circular saw,sawall,flashlite and drill. Also 2 bateries and a case.I do not use them a lot but when i need them they sure are handy. The circular saw does not have the power of a corded one but for limited use it does fine.

Thanks
daryl

Never had a cordless saw until last november. I was planning on getting a Dewalt set, but went to Sears to pick up something for my wife. The local store had a display of 18 volt, Sears combos, consisting of a saw, drill and a flashlight head for $149.00. This set also included two batteries and a charger. Needless to say I bought the set, the Dewalt I wanted was close to $500.00.
My son-in-law was wanting to remodel his living room but had no saw or drill. I gave him my combo and bought another for me. He remodeled his whole living room usng the battery powered tools. They are handier than pockets and have a place in the shop. I still have My Milwaukee circular saw for the big jobs but always grab the cordless for small projects.

Look at them kindof like compact tractors - They are awful handy/convenient and can do a lot of work, but don't expect them to have the same capabilities as a "full size rig." 20 sheets of 3/4" particle board? nope... 1/2" plywood siding & 2x4's? Go for it. Based on my experience, I'd agree that the multiple battery route is definitely a big help. I attached a little project I did with a 18V saw - only items I used the AC version for was the flooring. (BTW, mine is a $59 version I got from Harbor Freight.)

<font color="blue"> Look at them kindof like compact tractors </font color>
Excellent analogy Ranchman. I've got a Dewalt 12v saw which is great for small projects and quick jobs but for anything serious I get out the corded tools. I noticed the framing crews on our house used some cordless tools but primarily corded. I think they used the cordless when working overhead and up high on staging. By far, the majority of their work was with corded tools though [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

I agree with pretty much all the comments so far. When we framed my cousin's house this summer, the corded saws stayed on the ground for the serious sawing but the battery saws were GREAT for various cutting on the roof and ladders. I will put in a plug for the 24V dewalt saw... It's a hoss.

I've built my last two barns with nothing more than two sets of dewalt cordless tools. I can't say enough good about them. I have six batteries and two chargers so I am never without a fresh battery. I hate having a noisy generator going all the time, running cords everywhere, etc. and this was certainly the answer for me. Plus it is so nice just to carry the tool and not have to fuss with cords and such, especially when you are on top of the building.

There are actually three different saws that are cordless 18v. They have a trim saw, the regular size cordless circular saw, and the 24v model. The trim saw I don't like and it only good for that, trim work and cutting 2x4's and 2x6's. The regular size cordless saw has the power and the ability to cut through anything your regular corded saw will. The 24v is the same as having a very good worm drive circular and will cut through anything and last a long time.

I bought a battery saw and drill set with two batteries. I really did not think that I would use it that much. The two batteries are a must and they will recharge before I will drain the other. I can't remember the last time I used my corded drill and only drag out the 7 1/4 circular saw when I have some real heavy cutting to do.

Buy them you will love the freedom. I was going to buy a generator too but never got around to it after buying the cordless units. If you don't have electric at your site then you may want to add another battery.

Hmmmm. I think it may be a better idea for me to go with the cordless saw w/ multiple batteries.

I've either got to buy a generator, and load that into my truck, unload it at my property, and then haul it back home, unload it back into the garage each day that I work on my pole barn, or go with the cordless and avoid all the hassle.

I will only be cutting 2x lumber, so I think it may work out well. Eventually, I will be having electric brought out to the barn, so the need for a generator will be far less. I know at home, I will always grab my cordless drill/screwdriver over my electric one 9 times out of 10 -- with 10 being the time I forgot to charge up my batteries. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

While I usually agree with Richard 100%, I have to respectfully disagree on this one .... I've never yet seen a battery that charges itself from absorbing electrons from the air (sorry, couldn't resist). So you have to have power somewhere nearby to recharge them.
I've just found ... in my case where I'm out in the boonies working by myself ... that running back and forth for batteries is more time consuming. Yeah, I suppose I could buy a multiplicity of batteries, but they're not a tax deductible item for me and are VERY expensive. Plus, I've never seen a battery tool yet that has more torque, for any period of time, than a powered tool. When I was building the foaling pen, I took the 18V saws out there to cut the top of the 4x4's off. Had 2 batteries. Made it 1/2 way around. Went and got the genrator and saws.
Generator is noisy? Can you speak louder please? Sorry, it's one of those days. I don't really notice the generator noise, becuase it has a good muffler and I have safety equipment on ... which includes safety glasses and hearing protectors.
The generator powers my power tools, my compressor (for my nail guns) and the radio. It idles when I'm not drawing juice.
Whatever works for you ... but I'll stick to my (nail)guns on this one. The portable tools are great for occasional use but not for serious "putting up a horse shelter" use.

Gatorboy,
If I recall you have both a tractor and a skid steer. I'm assuming you have both because they both do some things better than the other. I would apply that same logic here and get both the generator and the cordless saw w/multiple batteries. You can get the saw first and if that is all you end up needing then great. If you find you need more power then go get the generator. You will find uses for both of them in the future.

My first cordless saw was a 9.6 volt Makita with around a 4" saw blade. I now have a 18 volt Makita with a 7" blade. Believe it or not the 9.6 volt still gets used every now and then. That thin and tiny blade works great for cutting FRP in commercial kitchens. I also have two generators, a 7500 watt Dayton from Graingers and a 3000 watt Honda. The little Honda is my favorite as it is one of their quietest models. It has the idle feature which throttles down the engine when it is not under load.

Here is the link to the Honda generator that I have.

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
you have to have power somewhere nearby to recharge them

[/ QUOTE ]

I have a charger that plugs into my cigarette lighter on my truck. If I start the day with fully charged batteries (I have four) and put the first one in the charger when it's dead, etc., I don't usually run out of power. [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Gatorboy, I have a Riobi 18v circular saw that I've used for the past couple of years for what I call "detail sawing". The blade is quite thin and is great for jobs when a small kerf is important. They make claims that the saw (and saws from other manufacturers like them) that it will cut so many 2X4s but I have never depended on it for my only saw. We just finished a barn on my property and the workers' TWO compressors were going constantly, primarily charging batteries for their bolt guns and powering their circular saws, drills and nail guns. Hope this helps

I have the 18v DeWalt that I've had for probably 5 years or so and love it. I bought in a combo with the drill. Came w/ 2 bats and charger. I did buy an extra battery. I actually cheated and bought one of the B&amp;D ones. DeWalt service rep told me it wouldn't fit, but it does. I used to be able to tell which was what, but now that the batteries have lost some of their ump (I actually replaced the B&amp;D case w/ DeWalt case that I aquired about a year ago) I can't tell. For the most part the batteries do a good job. Can I cut all day with it? No. But I have used it quite extensively. Actually when I built my 8x16 shed it was the only saw I had at the time. Still use it when I only need to make a few cuts, up in the air and need to make a cut, or when I'm away from power. The key to it is keep a sharp blade on it and make sure not to bind the wood you are cutting. That little slow down you hear on a normal circular saw is just that a little slow down, but w/ the batteries that is a drain of power.

Lowes has on sale in our area a SKILL cordless 14v drill AND 14v saw for $99...

I had a cordless B&amp;D drill but at that price I couldnt turn it down. The $99 included two batteries also.

i priced the dewalt circular saw / drill combo package here in dallas at around 450 bucks at the home depot....i was seriously considering it until i realized i could buy a generator for just a little more and use it for so many more projects ..and i already have all the electric tools i need, so i just throw the generator on the trailer hooked up to the 4 wheeler and go just about all day on it...

I read some time back that Dodge was working with the military for a TC truck that would have power generation ability. Suppossedly it would have batteries, and could operate on the batteries in "quiet mode".

Suppossedly, they were looking at a takeoff on the idea for a construction work truck. I have no details to back that up though. I think it was in a magazine that got thrown out long ago.

It is a cool idea though... But, it's kinda like having a pto generator on a tractor; your putting hours on your regular engine...

I'm looking at that package now for $199. @ Home Depot. (and a few friends have the DeWalt pkg. for $389. for basically the same units - without the recip saw)

I've got a number of Ryobi tools and never had a lick of problem with 'um... (well one of my guys kinda cooked (overcharged manually) my 12v. sole battery pack... then I find out the price of one battery alone is almost the cost of a complete new kit... [img]/forums/images/icons/blush.gif[/img]

Gatorboy, I am pretty far along on my pole barn now and I thought I would share my experiences so far.

At first I thought I would pound the nails in by hand. Luckily I came to my senses before I got started nailing and bought a Bostitch NW-88 nailer. This was the best combination of power and fastener availability I could find. I tried running the nailer with my small Ingersoll Rand twin tank compressor. This little compressor just couldn't keep up with the nailer. I need to run the nailer at it's maximum of 120 psi in order to sink the nails through all the treated lumber. If I let the compressor get down below 100 psi they won't be flush. So I had to bring down my larger Ingersoll Rand compressor to run the nail gun. Now the problem I had was that my smaller Honda EU3000i generator couldn't start up the larger compressor. So I had to bring down my larger (7500 watt rated, 10000 watt surge) Dayton generator. So now I have enought power to run my air compressor, 10" dual slide compound saw, and my 7 1/4" worm drive circular saw.

I know you don't want to haul a whole bunch of tools around on your pickup truck everytime you want to work on your barn. You could look into one of those freight containers that they use to transport goods across the ocean. They rent for about $70 to $90 a month around here plus delivery.

So I don't know if you were planning on using a nail gun or not but I would recommend it. I had over 4,000 nails in my barn before I even got started on the roof. If your going to use a nail gun you are going to need a good sized compressor to run it. Those cordless nail guns don't have near the power you will need (execpt for the roof).

<font color="blue"> At first I thought I would pound the nails in by hand. Luckily I came to my senses before I got started nailing and bought a Bostitch NW-88 nailer.</font color>

Nothing like the right tool for the job [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img] Too bad I always have to apply for approval to get it. I feel like I'm in the movie Groundhog day

Home improvement #1
Staple chainlink fence to rail fence to bring it up to code for pool
Me: Honey, we need to buy an air stapler.
Her: Do we really need it or do you just want another toy?
Me: Yes we need it beg, beg,
A couple weeks later I buy one
Do Job, let her use the tool (It was her favorite untill we got a shop vac)
Finish fence, 8,000 staples later.

Her: "Don't know how we could have done that without the stapler"

Home improvement #2
Crown molding in bedroom
Me "We need finish nailer &amp; compound miter saw"
Her "How come you get to get all new toys every job you do"?
Me "Do you want the house to look nice?"
get tools, do job
Her "It looks fantastic, when can you do the downstairs?"

Next was the tablesaw for the wainscotting &amp; hardwoodflooring. You see the pattern. It's even harder for tractor implements. She always forgets the "It looks great / we couldn't have done it without the tool / we saved much $$$$ by doing it ourselves part"

Those cordless nail guns don't have near the power you will need (execpt for the roof).

My last barn I put up, 86x120, was all done with a Paslode cordless nailgun. Very rarely did it not sink the nail all the way in. The only place I had a problem with it that a corded gun would have been better was putting in the oak stalls. On more of them the nail would stick out a little bit. But in the pine and treated wood I had no problems.

My cousin has a Paslode cordless and the only problems when building his house we had was for the manufactered beam over the garage opening. The air nailer wouldn't drive them either.
In fact, the only quirks of the Paslode I didn't like was that the battery doesn't seem to last long and the nail shoots out 3/8" or so behind where my air nailer does so one has to watch when "aiming." The next major project, I'm gonna get one with an extra battery. [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Yea I agree about the batteries. I've got an extra one.

I was watching a show on TV the other day and they had a guy on that had took an old VW bus and rigged it with batteries and covered the roof with solar collectors. They said it put out 4500 watts, the solar collectors were good for 15 amps. That might be overkill but if you were building yourself a good sized house and barn over a period of time it might be worth it to not hear a generator.

<font color="blue"> She always forgets the "It looks great / we couldn't have done it without the tool / we saved much $$$$ by doing it ourselves part" </font color>

Hazmat .... next purchase ... tape recorder!

I have the DeWalt combo pack. I always did pretty good with the two batteries, as you said, when I remembered to charge them. I have done some fencing work, cutting 2x4 and 4x4. The batteries lasted fine.

Since I am using the set more out in the field though, I did buy a third battery. I also picked up a 12v charger. That has worked out fine. My brother in law is a plumber, and has been using the same setup for a few years now.

I am curious though, how they get the 18V battery to charge on 12v supply. They must run some sort of charge pump circuit in the charger.

I have a paslode cordless framing nailer and it works great for 2X lumber. I wouldn't have worked for the barn's rough cut 2X6 poplar and 2X6 oak boards. We used 20 penny nails. I don't think I could handle a gun that would shoot those nailes.

Steve

It sure looks like you got enough input, but here mine anyways [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img] Ive got the 14.4 riobie from Home Depot. Its got 5-1/4 blade and the cordless drill came with it for 99 bucks. I use it in cabinet making roughing 4x8 sheets of birch and oak sheets of plywood. Then i can handel them on the table saw for presice cutting. I can cut 3/4 oak plywood no problem. You have to use the right blade is all and the battery lasts. It came with 2 batteries the charger saw and drill for 99.00 I think it was a great buy. But i dont think it would last thru lots of framing lumber.
Good luck and take care, Larry