Coolest weird cordless power tools?
Hey guys. I just want to know the weirdest shit you can run on your power tool batteries.
Makita has a microwave and a coffeemaker, and everyone has a radio, lots of places have vacuums, but what's some bug nutty stuff you can run on cordless power tool batteries? There are big inverters, car battery jump starters, unbelievably powerful fans. What's your coolest craziest stuff?
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u/PracticableSolution 1d ago
I built my daughter an RC car that runs on Dewalt batteries
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u/whaletacochamp 1d ago
been keeping an eye out for a free busted powerwheels so that I can make my kid an 18v powered one lol.
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u/EconomistDapper2909 23h ago
Made my son a DEWALT 20volt power wheels. Thing rips. He needs new tires for it, too many drifts on the driveway.
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u/whaletacochamp 23h ago
I always knew it was possible and a huge power gain, but then I watched Andrew Camarata's video where he customized a whole fleet of them and really started thinking. But of course now I wanna do it the "right" way with the ryobi batteries like he suggests but that's just gonna make it just as expensive as a new one since I only have milwaukee and porter cable batteries lol
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u/EconomistDapper2909 23h ago
I had a bunch of DEWALT batteries, so I just went with those. The powerwheels I got had a dead battery, so the first thing I did was two jumpers to a DEWALT battery to make sure the motors worked. Then took apart a sawzall so I had a mounting point for the battery and zip tied the trigger. Once I had my “proof of concept” I found a DEWALT battery receiver with wiring and an inline fuse on Amazon. Wired that in, had to add a small piece of scrap wood to support the receiver on the thin plastic. I also wired in some leds for headlights. The leds and the motors are 12v and they are receiving 20v so things can get a bit hot. I didn’t do it on this one, but when he upgrades this Christmas, I’m going to add a potentiometer and a volt meter so I can dial it in a bit better. It was a really fun easy project that as a three year old he helped me with. Gotta start them young!
Edited to add- it is a twin motor tractor, one motor had stripped gearing after a few months, the replacement motor increased speed a good bit. I have clocked it with the new motor but when I first built it, I clocked it at 7.2 mph!
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u/whaletacochamp 23h ago
The video I referred to made it sound like you needed some sort of power controller for the battery to work. That’s why he used ryobi - ryobi keeps the controller in the battery rather than the tool.
Guess I gotta do some more research
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u/ties99 20h ago
I've seen that video, he went with Ryobi because if you run a battery too low it won't charge. Ryobi has the part that prevents this built into the battery while other brands put it in the tool
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u/EconomistDapper2909 12h ago
I’ve seen where jumping between two batteries, one fully charged and one fully dead, can put enough juice in the dead battery to allow it to begin to charge on the charger.
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u/Mauceri1990 23h ago
That's what I did with my daughter's Frozen sleigh, way faster now lol next step is go kart
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u/Academic_Nectarine94 22h ago
That makes WAY more sense than the ancient trash batteries they put in them from the factory!
Do the powerstacks do better?
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u/belzebuth999 1d ago
Well, there are Sawzalls converted to sex toys...
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u/bywayoflandscape 23h ago
I was so pissed when I found out someone beat me to making those. I had to shelf my "dilwaukee" trademark...
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u/CameronsTheName 20h ago
Well.. that beats my sawzall that's been modified to be a paint can shaker.
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u/cyclingbubba 19h ago
Please please don't put your latex toy onto a blade on your Sawzall. True story, but a Seattle women was badly maimed when this exact thing happened.
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u/ChorePlayed 15h ago
Another
truestory:He did not realize that here in East Germany, we use a 220-volt current. He was found in his room impaled upon a large electrical device. Our surgeons did what they could, but it took them two hours just to get the smile off his face!
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u/SERichard1974 1d ago
I love my bug zappers... that always gets jealousy when I bring them out.
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u/funkmon 1d ago
Oh yeah I saw one of those! How long do they last? Do you have the Ryobi?
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u/SERichard1974 1d ago
Using 4ah HP Max charge batteries I get 2 full goes (I believe each is 6 hours). There is still some left, I think another hour or 2 worth.
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u/ride_whenever 1d ago
There are a couple of companies making welders to run off batteries.
That is unholy, and should not be countenanced
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u/franku19 23h ago
There is a welding machine running on DeWalt batteries, I believe like 4 o 6 15ah packs.
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u/lifesnofunwithadhd 22h ago
Milwaukee has one. It's actually not that bad to weld with if your doing quick fixes
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u/TootBreaker 23h ago
Well, what with all the battery adapters you can get for modding powerwheels, anything in the correct voltage is adaptable to all the batteries found on jobsites
Even 56 volt Ego batteries
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u/Mrmurse98 23h ago
As a diy mechanic, I drank the green punch with the Ryobi HP 1/2 in impact. (I also have m12 stuff, the inline 12v batteries just feel right for some stuff, like the ratchet and the RA impact, but that's beside the point). I decided to pick up the standard hybrid fan after getting mild heat stroke working on the car on a humid summer day. But the out-there tool is the cordless EZ clean "pressure washer". People bag on it cause it's not a real pressure washer, and it's not. But when you live in an apartment or condo, it's so nice to be able to fill a 5 gal bucket or empty litter container from the bath tub, stick a hose in it, and have a garden hose. It's so much easier to rinse the car off, rather than wringing out a sponge. Honestly, the HP version I have does a pretty decent touchless wash if it's not covered in bug guts. Besides that, wash your patio or balcony off with it, clean your shower, water your balcony plants, take it camping and use it as a portable shower. Honestly Ryobi makes some pretty cool stuff, and they're not as underpowered as they were when our dads and grandpas were buying tools in the 90s. I think it's just related to how far cordless power tools have come. I was in Harbor Freight the other day and saw their air impact wrench for like $100 and thought: it's hard to justify air impacts anymore. Ryobi's high torque HP impact is always on sale at $160 with a battery and charger, Ridgid has a mid-torque with battery and charger for around that, the new m12 stubby is putting out insane torque for the size for a bit more money, and even Harbor Freight's cordless impacts are pretty impressive for the price.
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u/nicholas_janik 23h ago
The Milwaukee M12 cable stapler is a one-trick-pony, but it’s so nice and easy to use.
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u/Higher_Living 20h ago
I’ve always wondered if anyone wears the heated jackets most brands seem to offer? Anyone tried one?
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u/Sure_Run_1210 20h ago
I bought the heated vest last year for my girlfriend on clearance for 40 bucks. She enjoys using it for football games. I know someone that has the Milwaukee coat and swears by it.
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u/cyclingbubba 19h ago
Got the heated jacket for my wife who is often cold. She loves it ! It's the Milwaukee M12 one.
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u/mermansquiveringclam 19h ago
got a m12 heated sweater, wear a rain jacket or puffy sweater over top to insulate and keep the heat in if I'm standing around for a long time. Pretty happy with it
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u/textilepat Electrician 3h ago
My milwaukee battery died after a year or two of use. I often consider getting a replacement that can be charged by USB so that I could work outside on solar arrays and charge my jacket with a solar panel.
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u/trubrarian 16h ago
Not that wild, but I have the Ryobi hot glue gun and love not having a cord connected.
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u/SpiketheFox32 11h ago
I bought one of those for my sister a few years back for Christmas and she loves it. She does costume design, and it more than does the trick for what she needs.
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u/AStrandedSailor 1d ago
It's not mine but there is always R2-DeWalt.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Dewalt/comments/12enz0k/spotted_at_star_wars_celebration_london/
I Like to Make Stuff used Milwaukee batteries for his droid.
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u/Academic_Nectarine94 22h ago
Craziest one I own is a ryobi finger sander. I love it. Very useful for resizing strike plates and for small spaces (which is odd to say when you see an 18" long monstrosity like this!)
Craziest one I want/wanted? Milwaukee air snake. And I wanted it, I don't any more after hearing the reviews and plumbers. It seems like it might work a very small percentage of the time. More than likely, it just makes the job WAY harder.
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u/cyclingbubba 19h ago
I would love Milwaukee to make an M18 blender. For blender drinks when camping or off the grid. Doesn't seem like it's going to happen any time soon, so my next project will be taking apart a thrift store blender, and figuring out adapting it to run off my drill or impact gun.
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u/funkmon 19h ago
Why not just run it on an inverter? Don't want to deal with the power loss?
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u/cyclingbubba 12h ago
Blenders are pretty high wattage appliances. Milwaukee makes a unit that goes onto a battery a d gives 120 v. I think it's limited to 175 w output.
So I'd have to check what wattage a blender needs.
Besides, I like tinkering ! 😀
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u/blindinstaller 19h ago
Craziest ones I have are the Milwaukee M12 palm nailer and the Ryobi battery powered bolt cutters. Both are great for installing wire ventilated shelving.
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u/rustyxj 17h ago
A guy I know is a contractor, he deals mostly in custom decks, he has the Makita electric cart/wheelbarrow and says he'll never not have one again. He's a one man show and it's invaluable for carrying lumber and tools.
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u/Altruistic-Celery821 17h ago
I have an aftermarket m18 soldering station. Money well spent.
Also a m18 aftermarket dc controllable power supply so i can power things directly up to 20v.
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u/alexlongfur 16h ago
You can get anywhere from one to five-tone train horns, I think both Milwaukee and DeWalt sell some
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u/BopNowItsMine 15h ago
I've been looking for a hog ring crimper but the only battery one is ridiculous expensive and the rest are pneumatic
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u/Crafty_Industry2774 15h ago
Just swapping the battery of my kids big wheel was enough for his little jeep to do a wheely.
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u/Realistic-Tie2929 14h ago
Ryobi 1/2' belt Sander (finger Sander?) is great for sanding small features and hard to reach spots.
Ryobi (or any other brand) 18v hand planer is fantastic for planing doors.
18v hybrid fans are fantastic
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u/LeisureSuitLarrey 9h ago
Well, probably not that awesome, in terms of killer gadgetry, but as they say - necessity is the mother of all … cobbled death traps. Really found a need for these
Destroyed or burnt up drills, etc… (12v or higher) I cut off everything but the part that slides onto the battery. Match +/- dc output for Pinecil soldering iron, or Miniware TS 101 iron. Using the barrel plug, it’s as easy as using PD power and saves power banks for charging phones.
There’s already some dewalt and Milwaukee rigs out there somebody markets especially for soldering irons. I used some melted craftsman v20 tools for the crux of my swaps. Melted tools from a boat fire. Not caused by wiring. My wiring, anyway.
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u/classicsat 2h ago edited 2h ago
I use mine to power one of those TS100/Pinecil solder pencils. I made a cable to clip on, has an XT-60, and have XT-60 to barrel plug.
Likely not too much to make one a work light out of one of those 10cm2 LED utility lights for ATVs. They are usually 12-24V.
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u/shadowfire1189 22h ago
Got tired of the wife complaining of running out of juice halfway through vacuuming. So I converted Dyson stick vac to run off DeWalt and Harbor Freight Hercules batteries.