Electric vs. Battery-Powered Tools

Battery-powered hand tools typically employ lithium-ion, nickel-cadmium or nickel-metal hydride rechargeable batteries. Lithium-ion batteries, as well as nickel-metal hydride hand tool batteries, are designed to stand up to around three years of regular use, while nickel-cadmium batteries start rapidly deteriorating after about five years. Nickel-cadmium and nickel-metal hydride batteries will self-discharge in storage, while lithium-ion batteries are not prone to self-discharge as rapidly. Makita's cordless power tools feature 18-volt, 14.4-volt, 12-volt, 9.6-volt or 7.2-volt rechargeable batteries.

Both corded electric hand tools and battery-powered hand tools require a certain level of regular maintenance to perform safely and efficiently. Both types of hand tools should be regularly lubricated to promote fluid movement of parts. The batteries used in battery-powered hand tools should be fully charged and discharged about once per week for optimal efficiency. Storing most types of batteries at lower temperatures helps extend battery life. Cordless power tool batterycontact points should be kept clean to promote a steady charge.

Safety is always a primary concern while operating both corded and battery-powered hand tools. Cordless and corded hand tool operators should read their hand tool's instruction manual before attempting to work with the tool. Blades, bits and other attachments should be secured before any power hand tool is operated. Wearing face shields or goggles helps prevent face and eye injury from flying debris while operating corded and cordless hand tools.

The power rating for corded electric drills is usually used is wattage in the UK and horsepower in the USA. The drill with the higher wattage equals to a more powerful drill. Most household models are in the scale of 500 to 1000 W.

The strength of a single drill is usually revealed by its wattage, a higher wattage drill should is equipped with more sturdy bearings and gearbox. A low wattage drill that is stretched will be operating at maximum power every now and then would be pushing its bearings closer to their limits. While a higher wattage tool will use lesser effort to performance the similar job, with a resulting in reduction of wear and tear. In plain terms, the more you are going to work the drill, the higher the input wattage should be.

The distinct advantage over the corded version is that they are not restricted by the wire, but it relies on the limited power of the battery pack. Fortunately, majority of models come with replaceable battery packs and include a spare, the electric drill will come back life with a fully charged BOSCH power tool battery pack.

Voltage is usually used for rating this type of power tool, the higher the voltage, the more power it has. Most household models come in the range of 9.6 to 16 volts battery pack, there also some that come in 32 volts battery packs which are targeted for the professional usage.

To sum it up, we have gone through the two different version of this power tool. Generally corded drills offer higher power and higher maximum drilling speeds than cordless ones. However, cordless drills offer higher flexibility without the hassle of messy wires.