Dewalt, Milwaukee Makita, Hitachi, Panasonic, Bosch, Ridgid, and of course the expensive brands, would all be better.
the new porter cable 20v max line
I was wondering if the porter cable 20v max are any good to buy. I am considering these and dewalt. I am leaning more towards dewalt, because i do know they are contractor grade, and last a long time. I have had no complaints with my 18v xrp. I have had the whole line for about 10 yrs, and they are still going strong. But it is time to upgrade, and with dewalt i love em, but the price is a little much. So, I have been looking at porter cable, and the 20v max looks nice, and they look of quality. But i really never new to much about porter cable, never owner any of their tools. Are they worth buying. how is their quality, how are the specs? Would it be worth it or just stay with dewalt and dish out the money?
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I'll give you my experience with the 18v PC line, and I doubt the 20v is better.
I bought some of the PC 18 volt tools back probably 7-8 years ago when Lowes started pushing the "Tradesman" line. I was still of the opinion that PC was top of the line stuff. (Well the old tools were) In a nutshell they sucked. I bought the 4 tool kit with the drill, circular saw, recip saw, and flashlight. Then I bought a bare impact driver and another drill kit so I would have 4 batteries and 2 chargers.
I was using DeWalt up to this point with a similar set up of tools. But my DeWalt stuff was old and tired and I was sick of replacing batteries at $99 a pop every 6 months.
Holy crap! I think the PC junk stayed on my truck for a whole 2 weeks before I threw it in the shop and went back tool shopping again.
The drills were actually decent but were freaking huge and unbalanced.
The impact would barely sink a 2 inch drywall screw. Forget about lags and self tappers.
The saws were completely useless. Circular saw would barely cut 8 feet of 7/16 OSB on a battery. Recip saw was a little better but not much.
The flashlight was the best piece of the bunch. I actually liked the light it was basically just a copy of an older DeWalt.
The batteries were just plain awful. I tried to use the drills in the shop but found myself having to charge batteries every morning. The wouldn't hold charge overnight.
Ended up with a bunch of Bosch tools. I like them, my oldest drill is about 7 years old and it still runs like a champ. It has been used and abused and it just refuses to stop.
I bought some of the PC 18 volt tools back probably 7-8 years ago when Lowes started pushing the "Tradesman" line. I was still of the opinion that PC was top of the line stuff. (Well the old tools were) In a nutshell they sucked. I bought the 4 tool kit with the drill, circular saw, recip saw, and flashlight. Then I bought a bare impact driver and another drill kit so I would have 4 batteries and 2 chargers.
I was using DeWalt up to this point with a similar set up of tools. But my DeWalt stuff was old and tired and I was sick of replacing batteries at $99 a pop every 6 months.
Holy crap! I think the PC junk stayed on my truck for a whole 2 weeks before I threw it in the shop and went back tool shopping again.
The drills were actually decent but were freaking huge and unbalanced.
The impact would barely sink a 2 inch drywall screw. Forget about lags and self tappers.
The saws were completely useless. Circular saw would barely cut 8 feet of 7/16 OSB on a battery. Recip saw was a little better but not much.
The flashlight was the best piece of the bunch. I actually liked the light it was basically just a copy of an older DeWalt.
The batteries were just plain awful. I tried to use the drills in the shop but found myself having to charge batteries every morning. The wouldn't hold charge overnight.
Ended up with a bunch of Bosch tools. I like them, my oldest drill is about 7 years old and it still runs like a champ. It has been used and abused and it just refuses to stop.
I agreeI'll give you my experience with the 18v PC line, and I doubt the 20v is better.
I bought some of the PC 18 volt tools back probably 7-8 years ago when Lowes started pushing the "Tradesman" line. I was still of the opinion that PC was top of the line stuff. (Well the old tools were) In a nutshell they sucked. I bought the 4 tool kit with the drill, circular saw, recip saw, and flashlight. Then I bought a bare impact driver and another drill kit so I would have 4 batteries and 2 chargers.
I was using DeWalt up to this point with a similar set up of tools. But my DeWalt stuff was old and tired and I was sick of replacing batteries at $99 a pop every 6 months.
Holy crap! I think the PC junk stayed on my truck for a whole 2 weeks before I threw it in the shop and went back tool shopping again.
The drills were actually decent but were freaking huge and unbalanced.
The impact would barely sink a 2 inch drywall screw. Forget about lags and self tappers.
The saws were completely useless. Circular saw would barely cut 8 feet of 7/16 OSB on a battery. Recip saw was a little better but not much.
The flashlight was the best piece of the bunch. I actually liked the light it was basically just a copy of an older DeWalt.
The batteries were just plain awful. I tried to use the drills in the shop but found myself having to charge batteries every morning. The wouldn't hold charge overnight.
Ended up with a bunch of Bosch tools. I like them, my oldest drill is about 7 years old and it still runs like a champ. It has been used and abused and it just refuses to stop.
I'll give you my experience with the 18v PC line, and I doubt the 20v is better.
I bought some of the PC 18 volt tools back probably 7-8 years ago when Lowes started pushing the "Tradesman" line. I was still of the opinion that PC was top of the line stuff. (Well the old tools were) In a nutshell they sucked. I bought the 4 tool kit with the drill, circular saw, recip saw, and flashlight. Then I bought a bare impact driver and another drill kit so I would have 4 batteries and 2 chargers.
I was using DeWalt up to this point with a similar set up of tools. But my DeWalt stuff was old and tired and I was sick of replacing batteries at $99 a pop every 6 months.
Holy crap! I think the PC junk stayed on my truck for a whole 2 weeks before I threw it in the shop and went back tool shopping again.
The drills were actually decent but were freaking huge and unbalanced.
The impact would barely sink a 2 inch drywall screw. Forget about lags and self tappers.
The saws were completely useless. Circular saw would barely cut 8 feet of 7/16 OSB on a battery. Recip saw was a little better but not much.
The flashlight was the best piece of the bunch. I actually liked the light it was basically just a copy of an older DeWalt.
The batteries were just plain awful. I tried to use the drills in the shop but found myself having to charge batteries every morning. The wouldn't hold charge overnight.
Ended up with a bunch of Bosch tools. I like them, my oldest drill is about 7 years old and it still runs like a champ. It has been used and abused and it just refuses to stop.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMxH7JLVdhc
I had the PC way back when, 19.2 and wasnt overly happy with them. I went with 18v Dewalt and loved them, the last year I have been buying 20v over the last year and I am very pleased. Got my second brushless impact last week, ordered oscilator and framing nailer last week and they should be in this week or early next. I have the brushless drill and I am amazed how long the 4.0a battery will last, I only have 2- 2a batteries and 10 to 12 (not sure exactly, that might show a tool hoarder problem) 4.0a batteries and love them. I dont feel you can go wrong with Dewalt, IMO.
1 - 6 of 6 Posts
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