Cordless Tools Reviews

After looking high and low for a replacement battery for our Black and Decker cordless drill, we finally found this one at Amazon. It charges and holds a charge great, just like the original one. The price is very reasonable, too. We are very happy to finally have a replacement battery.

I have had my Firestorm drill for six years with lots of use around the home and garden. Its dependability and comfort makes me very happy with this tool from B&D. The batteries are just now going after 5 and 6 years respectifully. The drill/driver has been dropped from six feet onto cement and kept on working. A small crack is all that now shows.

This battery has more than enough power for around the house and working on the car. I am a master carpenter and use a variety of battery powered tools on the job and the power of this battery would be more than adequate if I were to use it on the job.

When I read 2.25 HP being described as "powerful," I thought this must be some kind of sick joke. I use chainsaws all the time with my carcasses, and 16" ain't nothing. First of all, let's get one thing straight, o.k.? Electric chainsaws have their limitations. That being said, I could still use it for chopping down trees and roundin up firewood. However, as for my, shall we say, clandestine operations, I have found this Milwaukee variety of chainsaw to be less than cutting edge, pardon the pun.

I purchased this chainsaw in March 2001 and immediately noticed oil leaking. I notified a Milwaukee representative who informed me that a small leakage of oil was normal but if the oil reservoir was empty then I should bring it to a service dealer. I finally did this once I was convinced that it was leaking too much and after waiting about 4 weeks I was informed that the parts needed were still on back order. In turn for my inconvenience I was given a new chain saw. Unfortunately, this new chain saw is doing the same thing. I have put out an inquiry regarding this problem to Milwaukee but still have not heard back.
I must say that I am very satisfied with the way this chain saw works and easily cuts through large sized logs.

LBuono

when the time came to get a new chainsaw I saw Milwaukee made an electric. With the advent of portable power generators it made sence. The Milwaukee power chainsaw cuts everything it goes up against. The safety features are great and dont impede the "average" guy trying to get a "job done". Its tough, dependable (as your generator), and will cut anything its gas powered "cousin" will without all the "hoopla".

I bought this drill/driver because I already have a Porter Cable 19.2 Volt hammer drill. Getting two more matching batteries and a needed tool seemed like a good idea. But when I received the new drill, I discovered that it has smaller batteries with a shorter life. Both tools are 19.2 volt, but the drill/driver batteries have 1/4 to 1/3 less life. Very disappointed, and feel their should have been some disclosure.

I ordered this kit primarly for the two 19.2 volt batteries it came with as I already had a combo/kit with two bad batteries.
This item (9826) came with two batteries allright, but they are much smaller in size than the orgianal ones. The websight isn't clear that these are comsummer batteries and not commercial grade.

Fantastic item with plenty of power, durability, and long battery life. Is used in construction, and does the job very well.

This unit is NOT A GENERATOR - it's a BATTERY. You can charge it up, and use the power later. Don't be confused at the name.

This storage battery is pretty good. I am using it right now to run my laptop computer. It is reasonably quiet, all you hear is a small fan blowing air, not the usual buzzing noise of an inverter. The battery performs as promised and is reliable. The only drawback I noticed is the awkward DC charging system which uses the output of your car's cigarette lighter - if you forget to disconnect the charging cable when you stop for gas or whatever, then you undo some of the charging already accomplished. My battery takes 32 hours to recharge from an electrical outlet. Now I see they are advertising only 10 hours to recharge.

I was looking for a good but enxspensive generater to buy for house and card. Well after looking found this generator at amazon. Read about and thought this could be just what I am looking for. I purchased this generator over 4 months ago and felt now would be a good time to write a review. This works great. I had to jump a car and (following the instructions) the car came to life. It also has a light that comes with the unit. This has been proving very helpful at times. It also has a magnet so you don't have to hold the light just stick it on a metal part and hands free. It does not take long to charge except when you first open the box. It tells you to charge the unit as soon as possible. This helps protect the rechargable battery from becoming damaged. Over all this unit has been great no complaints and thinking about (probably will) purchase the Xantrex 852-1830 C X-power 300c Portable Electonic Generator. This has a built in light, air compressor,along with the jumper cables the same as this one. And it is cheaper. Looks like a good deal. And it is at amazon. Over all, good purchase just keep the unit charged when it needs to be charged to protect the battery.

I really had a difficult time finding this item in stores, but when I checked with Amazon I found it quickly and received it just the same. Thanks!

Couldn't find a 9.6 battery anywhere, but Amazon had it and much cheaper then I expected. Came faster then I thought. David

As the title would imply, I needed a battery for 9.6V Quantum
series drill. Even though this battery is listed for the Firestorm series, it fits & performs perfectly in Quantum series.
The price was so good I bought a pair & the shipping was the same
as for one. So, I'm a happy camper!

Just purchased 2 14.4 Dewalt XRP batteries, the originals where at least 10 years old. But as with any battery they don't last forever. Could not see replacing with an 18 Volt when there was nothing wrong with the drill, a 1/2 hammer model. Charged the first one and could not believe the difference, made it feel like when it was new. Still using the first battery and its been at least 3 weeks since it was first charged. I'm not a contractor just a diyer, but they were still worth the money. If the price goes up anymore though for each battery then I'll look at the DeWalt 18 volt.If these last as long as the first pair, they will out last me.

Battery works hard and long. The new battery design is much better than its predecessor. You can actually get your hand around the battery now to release it. It's true that the new battery will not fit in the old case. Hint: use a utility knife and alter the plastic case so the new battery fits.

The difference between this battery and the "regular" 14.4v DeWalt batteries is like night and day. I was always fairly pleased with the performance I got out of my original batteries, but once I picked up one of these I was convinced that the hype is justified. Right out of the box I noticed that this battery is a bit larger and significantly heavier that the regular 14.4's. Once fully charged, I slapped it in my drill/driver and was AMAZED at how much more powerful this battery pack was. I have also been impressed with the run time between charges, but since I have not yet used it to build any decks, etc., I cannot say if the battery truly lasts 25% longer (or 40% or whatever).

I highly recommend this as a quality product that performs amazingly well.

There is signficant wobbel in the Chuck that is provided with the 14.4v Hammer Drill. I've contacted the Dewalt customer service representatives, but they deny there is any systemic issue with their manufacturing and quality control process on this particular drill(I've seen several other reviews on this drill that indicate similiar problems). I like the 14.4v impact driver, tons of power. However, after using my dads Makita I find that drill impact driver to probably be a better balanced tool and the metal hydride batteries are a plus. If I can get the Chuck wobbel straightened out with Dewalt on the hammer drill I would still consider this a good deal.

Just got these in the mail today and used both of the drills tonight. So far they work great. I am building a house right now and I can already tell how useful these drills will be. The impact drill drives screws fast and easy. I am building the countertops for my home and the screws I drive into the plywood sheets enter the wood with amazing speed. The other nice thing about this drill is that the torque "breaks" when the screw is flush with the wood. Although you can still drive the screw deeper if you wish. The hammer drill works great too. I used it tonight to drill a door catch for my basement door. The security screws that hold the deadbolt catch are so long that you have to drill into the foundation. No problem at all with this drill. The other thing I love about this drill is the ease in tightening the bit onto the drill. With one hand you can tighten the drill bit...like I said I am in love. I would recommend this package to anyone in the market for a new drill set. A+.

Sweet deal, hammer drill is very handy with alot of torque, first project was drilling with a 4" holesaw - prepare yourself for power !
I changed Impact from 1/4 drive to 3/8 square drive, very powerful with alot of torque (around 130 lbs)
I have a 2 year old 12v Dewalt dw051 Impact that is still going strong......I'm sold.
I would like to see more 3/8 square drive Impacts from Dewalt
other than the dw051.

I should say something about DeWalt that not a lot of people know. DeWalt and Black&Decker are one company. So what is behind that black and yellow casing could be Black&Decker!! ( Please don't misunderstand me, I am not saying it is; it could be-what is inside of a Lexus is a Toyota-Don't be fooled by advertising and what other people think ) Many pro. tool users will probably agree with me that DeWalt is not an industrial brand; it is premium household!

Anyway, about this light, I am very happy with the amount of light it produces and the length of the time with one charge. (I have the 14.4V) But, there is a problem. The reason why I bought this light is the problem, the flexibility. There is really no flexibility. This light will NOT be flexible as you would think it will. It will loose the balance and will fall. I used it for about a month, got tired of it and got the regular version of this light. That will do anything this "flexible" light does and saves me about 400-500% time on tiring to change the light angle.

Nice light output, nice run time. Like those features alot.

However, the light won't stand on the battery base. It tips over! The goose neck is not useful and it costs (...) more than the swivel head version (which is how you end up using the product).

Maybe the 14.4V or 18V have enough mass to support the goose neck, but don't bother with the 12V unit. Buy the swivel neck version. I wish I had.

i could think of a better design.. i.e. they could have made this unit with a "lantern" feature like the flashlights that you use for camping.. it would have made this unit especially useful since it was meant to be used in tight areas i.e. where there's a lot of piping, in subfloors, attics, etc...

also, there's no feature that allows it to focus ... but then again... the more bells and whistles .. the more screws there are to break and that itself hampers durability... besides... i dont think a focus feature would be very useful anyway......

but having said that... the 18v of power didnt go completely to waste.. this unit still gets the job done.. the neck not only does a good job of angling but it doubles as a handle.. and lastly.. i dont think the guys at Dewalt intended for this unit to be used primarily with it sitting up.. but rather that the light should be directly to it's useful angle... so in regards to that.. this light does a great job.

i got mine with the four tool kit.. i wouldnt hesistate getting another if i needed it.

It's a good deal, but the mfr claim is a little overstated: "The DW990 is the industry's most powerful 14.4-volt drill, delivering 334 in./lbs. of torque". Maybe true at one time, but not now. See the comparable Porter Cable 14.4-volt Model #9878, it's 360 in-lb, and for a few more bucks the Milwaukee #0516-22, at 390.

This drill underperformed in several areas. The chuck continued to break loose, the fit and finish lacked in several areas, and the torque numbers rubbed off almost immediately. In general I'm a big Black and Decker (the parent company) and DeWalt fan. Not for this product. I ended up sending it back for a Porter Cable model.

THE DRILL CAME IN GREAT CONDITION, I WAS VERY PLEASED BY ITS PERFORMANCE. I WOULD DEFINITLY RECCOMEND IT FOR ANY ONE.ITS A GREAT TOOL

I ordered this saw thinking it would be good for cutting Formica type laminates. It actually has too low a speed to cut without chipping the material.

After my 9.6v saw gave out right in the middle of an interior trim job (but after nearly fifteen years of dutiful service), I ordered this 14.4v version of my broken 9.6v saw. This new saw base plate is much different than the 9.6v version. The 14.4v uses thumb screw fasteners for all adjustments and is essentially a scaled down version of a standard circular saw. It even comes with a rip guide. I like it a lot. No more pulling off the hex wrench key for every adjustment. The 9.6v is a bit more svelte that the 14.4v cousin and easier to work on tighter jobs, but the 14.4v is noticeably more powerful. Both saws use the same blade and leave nothing more than a pencil line sized cut (which is nice, because if you draw a pencil line, that is exactly the width of material that will be cut away by the saw blade). And as was noted in another review, the saw speed (for both 9.6v and 14.4v) is considerably slower than any other saw you have probably worked with, but it cuts fine. During "built in" cabinet modifications where I made cuts without removing the cabinets, I routinely cut 3/4 inch material with the 9.6v saw. It was slow going, but I was never cutting more than a few feet anyhow. This is where the 14.4v does much better. I took delivery of the 14.4v saw and returned to finish the hall closet modification job I had been working when my 9.6v died (all 3/4 inch cutting). I took the blade right off my 9.6v saw and attached it to the new 14.4v saw and it cut like butter. I finished the remaining six or so feet in a just a couple minutes. One noticeable difference between the 9.6v and 14.4v is the saw table guide. On the 9.6v I would draw the cut line and use double stick tape to temporarily affix my aluminum straight edge right on that line. The 9.6v saw table edge was precisely parallel to the blade cut, and so the straight edge guide went right on the cut line. Pretty nice! The 14.4v saw table has about a 1/4 inch offset from the blade, so that small luxury was no more - but it was enough for me to also get my 9.6v saw repaired (only $45 at the Makita repair shop). If I had to have only one saw, I would think about what I would use it most for. When I bought my 9.6v years back, I thought it would only be for thinner stock. Looking back, I used it often for 3/4 inch material - certainly more than it was truly designed for. If I was certain that the saw was just for laminate or nothing more than 3/8 inch material and cutting would be no more than 15 or 20 feet per job, I would recommend the 9.6v version. If you know that you will be routinely cutting stock thicker than 3/8 inch and or more than 20 feet per job, then don't even think about the 9.6v saw - the 14.4v is for you. They are both great saws and I have yet to find anything that makes the clean non splintering defined cut of this 3 3/8 inch blade.

Slow? Yes, if you compare it to a 120v circular saw, but that's not what this is.

This is a must-have tool for trimming.

It has a fine kerf blade that can make some clean cuts.

Over the last month, I've used it on:
- Laminate floor (don't even try using a power saw), and it made the finest, chip-free cuts for floor vents, around doorways, etc.
- Siding. Yes, normally I'd use the circular saw, but when you're 20' in the air (2nd floor), and need to just take 1/4" off the siding to quick-fit around a window, if a power saw grabs when you're plunging, it could throw your balance off, and that's a long way to fall. Sure, this saw will kick if you hit something plunging, but it won't throw you.
- Trim work. When I don't have the miter saw at the job site, and just need some quick clean cuts, this is the tool.


Sometimes you want control, light weight, and clean cuts, not chew-up-the-board speed. To compliment your toolset, this is a must have.