Are pneumatic tools obselete?

[mrdap]

I like a small electric driver for small things around the engine compartment or in the interior etc.
They are reasonably light and compact and handy and no cord to slow you down.
But for heavy chassis work, etc I still prefer the pneumatic.

 

[hoagster]

Act

The big advantage of battery powered tools is mobility. If you have a functioning air system I would stick with the air tools, multiple battery packs and chargers are expensive. The batteries don't last forever if you use them a lot they die in relatively short time.
The amount of available air tools is huge and they are smaller and cheaper than battery tools so I don't think they are obsolete.

Actually the more you use your Battery powered devices the longer the batteries last. The key is to drain them and recharge regularly.

 

[justhorns]

Air tools last longer..

 

[cjdock]

Big fan of battery tools. Just very convenient and no compressor noise! (or hose) Though, for my air chisel its air all the way.

 

[MikeB]

I have a Bosch 3/8" impact wrench and 3/8" drill that use the same 18v lithium ion batteries. After 10-12 years, the batteries still hold a charge for a long time. That's fantastic compared to batteries we had back in the 90s. But if I ever need to replace a battery or the charger, I could be SOL if Bosch stops making them. Or even if they're still available, the cost for a "real" Bosch battery (not a cheapo Amazon clone) is around $60. A kit with two batteries and a charger costs around $200!

On the other hand, I have air tools from the mid-late 90s that still work great, and they will always have power available!

 

[ali_c20]

Act

Actually the more you use your Battery powered devices the longer the batteries last. The key is to drain them and recharge regularly.

That's true, I meant hard use on daily basis. Friend of mine works at a steelworks fabricator and they have Makita tools, the Batteries last a year max. They are not dead but they loose power. Maybe Makita is not that good Idk

 

[Ricko1966]

Just 1 of many studies that shows deep discharge and extreme temperatures is what shortens lithium ion battery life. Actually partial discharges and then recharge is prefered.

BU-808: How to Prolong Lithium-based Batteries

BU meta description needed...

batteryuniversity.com

 

[TPISly-C10]

my millwakee tool made the job easyer...my compressor now only put air in my tire! loll

 

[AuroraGirl]

That's my bitch about cordless tools. They seem to work fine until you need them to really work then they get hot, cry and die then I'm trying to not hit the hand holding the breaker bar as I wack it with a hammer.

I havent had that issue, thermodynamics came into help whenever that may be approaching. cold weather helps sometimes!
But Wait, no , I can say that the 16 inch chainsaw, I noticed how that isnt limited by the battery it comes with so much as it is the heat on the chain . I noticed that i had to adjust the tension far more than ive noticed on a gas.. but i dont remember what size that was, it may not be a fair comparison its been too long lol
But I also knew I wasnt going to be a lumberjack and I did technically use a slightly differernt bar and chain its meant to use, the chain is a TAD wider which I imagfine means it has to work harder to do same cuts. But i wasnt about to be using a proprietary chain when oregon almost exactly the same but different paint color on the bar , logo, and the smallest chain increase and it be stocked locally for cheap lol..

 

[AuroraGirl]

Just 1 of many studies that shows deep discharge and extreme temperatures is what shortens lithium ion battery life. Actually partial discharges and then recharge is prefered.

BU-808: How to Prolong Lithium-based Batteries

BU meta description needed...

batteryuniversity.com

i mean thats... widely understood and known and anyone who has used a flashlight when its warm vs -20 or even a cell phone if you left it in the car and it was cold.
Big bertha still with full charge and biggest battery I have she cant budge a bolt. I had prided myself in not being bested by any bolts yet.
I even layed into the anvil use and used penetrating fluid. Based on hhow the car wanted to move rather than the bolt yield I gave up that attempt (when i used breaker bar and pipe)

 

[ChuckN]

One thing that others haven’t mentioned (sorry if I missed it) is that a reasonable air compressor takes up a lot of space in a cramped, small garage. We live in an area with small residential housing, and nobody in our neighborhood has a good sized garage. Ours is a “two car “ but only just barely. I get by with mostly hand tools, but there been times that my little Dewalt 18v impact wrench has saved my bacon a couple times and doesn’t require the space take-up of an air compressor.

 

[bucket]

One thing that others haven’t mentioned (sorry if I missed it) is that a reasonable air compressor takes up a lot of space in a cramped, small garage. We live in an area with small residential housing, and nobody in our neighborhood has a good sized garage. Ours is a “two car “ but only just barely. I get by with mostly hand tools, but there been times that my little Dewalt 18v impact wrench has saved my bacon a couple times and doesn’t require the space take-up of an air compressor.

This is a good example of the usefulness of battery tools, but not a threat to pneumatic tools. In a scenario like that, there would never have been pneumatic tools anyway, just hand tools.

 

[SirRobyn0]

Just 1 of many studies that shows deep discharge and extreme temperatures is what shortens lithium ion battery life. Actually partial discharges and then recharge is prefered.

BU-808: How to Prolong Lithium-based Batteries

BU meta description needed...

batteryuniversity.com

Right, that's because people get battery technologies confused or they read an old article or were told old information. NICad & NiMH had "memory". For those batteries complete discharge and recharge to full was the only way to go, and they would sometimes increase the length of time they'd hold a charge for in the beginning if that formula was followed. On a regularly used power tool it was common to replace those batteries annually and it was also almost necessary to have multiple batteries for one tool, because they drain relatively quickly and were slow to charge. Lithium changed all that. No more "memory" means no need to completely discharge and in fact not completely discharging is better for these batteries. Compared to the other technologies they charge much faster, provide power for longer uses and and last for much longer. Several of our cordless power tools both at the shop and on the farm that are used constantly have batteries in excess of 5 years old and still going.

I was resistant to get as deep into coreless tools as I am now, because of my past experience with older battery technologies, but a new hire at the shop about 5 or so years ago and he owned a few cordless lithium tools. Getting to see him use those and for that matter borrowing a few times was all it took for me to realize these newer cordless tools put the old stuff to shame.

 

[CheemsK1500]

The old lead acid batteries ranged from usable to absolute crap. Dewalt does actually sell a manufacturer approved adapter to adapt their old style tools to modern lithium battery packs. I was pleasantly surprised that they would even offer forward compatibility for any of their older offerings. It seems most of the industry trys to punish us for clinging to our older stuff lol.

 

[AuroraGirl]

The old lead acid batteries ranged from usable to absolute crap. Dewalt does actually sell a manufacturer approved adapter to adapt their old style tools to modern lithium battery packs. I was pleasantly surprised that they would even offer forward compatibility for any of their older offerings. It seems most of the industry trys to punish us for clinging to our older stuff lol.

I Saw that! I have, oddly, 5 batteries and only a simple dewalt drill but im guessing because it was physically light and it was also decently powerful my gpa got it for less fatigue, and the 5 batteries maybe for keep going or over time needed it.. or maybe he planned to get some more of theirs but thats around his health issues (COPD) really put an end to his wood working. I actually can still charge one of the packs and it will work for notably not long but long enough i just put a drill bit in it for general stuff and then leave it near the charger. step bit come in handy lol.

but I want to get one since I have 4 dewalt 20 SLIM (2. amp?) packs meant for heated jacket but one battery lasts a long time on that
And this will give me a use for them that doesnt have to bulky adapt to my milwaukees AND matches colors and then I have a decent drill to use

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definitely slow by todays standards. but does great for rear echelon duties at home. Like a humvee but its not grossly overused beyond its intent or powered by a inefficient weak slug (6.5 lol... ) old ones at least


Since I want to get adapters for other old tools,
Im really looking forward to using some old 18 volt And looking at maybe even old milwaukee 12 volt tools. An LED bulb and I will have a good spot light 12
a 18volt drill thats heavy and large Ise good for holding the paint mix thingy Or if I ever had a "portable" drill press mock it up in one of those.
There is a right angle drill thats pretty small but would be handy for things. I have a corded one too.

i have the sawzall but I would like to get a modern one since the weight alone is a lot on the old kind

I think theres a jigsaw in the 12 but I would have to look.