Depends on why you want the battery. Is it so that you can use it at a site without power, or so that you don't have to worry about accidentally slicing through the cord with the saw while you use it?
Depends on why you want the battery. Is it so that you can use it at a site without power, or so that you don't have to worry about accidentally slicing through the cord with the saw while you use it?
Power inverters are AWESOME to have, for more than just running tools. Once you have that option available to you, all sorts of different opportunities pop up.
The one on my competition car has a USB jack, which I use to top off the battery in my Go Pro between heats, for instance. It's not quite big enough to operate power tools but it will run small household appliances and various things like that just fine. (A $30 inverter is cheaper than a $100 laptop battery when it comes time to tune the ECU)
The inverter I have has threaded studs on the back. I can unthread the connections, remove it from the car, thread on the alligator clips that came with it, and use it with an old battery I tote around sometimes. Not good enough to start a car reliably but the inverter is happy with it, and it has a handle.
i've grown to love cordless tools- the newish 20 volt Dewalt tools are the shiznit- but i don't think a circular saw will have very good battery life yet.
Go to town.
Haven't actually done this but I keep meaning to try. Let me know if it works.
I love not getting tangled up in cords any longer.
When it comes to 110v tools, I almost never see inverters at job sites, I see generators. Usually smaller and cheaper generators.
If you decide on batteries, a few things.
An inverter for the battery charger is still needed if you want to recharge the batteries at the site.
You cannot carry too many batteries!
Try to go with a standard theme on your cordless tools, unless you like carrying multiple types of batteries and several different chargers.
Battery powered circular saws whack 2x4's and such just fine. Ripping a piece of plywood on the other hand.... They can do it, but it's slow and not at all satisfying.
Brand wise, I see more and more DeWalt battery tools in the hands of construction workers it seems.
novaderrik wrote: i've grown to love cordless tools- the newish 20 volt Dewalt tools are the shiznit- but i don't think a circular saw will have very good battery life yet.
You may be surprised, but I agree one has to be realistic. I have an 18V DeWalt circular saw and jig saw. They are great when you only need to make a few cuts and save time vs. dragging out the corded saw and an extension cord since I usually try to do circular saw cuts (often ripping plywood to width) outside to keep the dust out of the house.
The jig saw is similar. If I need to make cuts on the second floor and don't feel like hauling the chop saw (with stand) upstairs, the jig saw does the job. Especially when accuracy isn't critical like when I'm cutting short filler pieces.
I like DeWalt simply because they offer so many different tools and the combo kits are reasonably affordable. Or, if you want to build on a budget over time, many of the tools are available "bare" for a significant savings if you already have batteries and a charger or two. I bought my 18V 1/2" impact gun from Lowes a couple of years ago for ~$130.
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