As everyone moves over to lithium ion tools we are seeing some really great deals on the NiCd tools. The manufacturers are producing more and more lithium ion which is great because it drives the prices down. On the other hand the manufactures still have warehouses full of NiCd tools they want to get out the door. What does that mean for us consumers? Great prices! At Ohio Power Tool you can buy a Milwaukee 14.4V NiCd combo kit with Drill/Driver, flashlight, 2 batteries, charger and case for $137.60. These kits retailed a very short time ago for $326.00 and they flew off the shelves. These are great tools from Milwaukee, one of the best manufacturers of Power Tools. Like everything we sell these tools are brand new (no refurbished tools ever) and they have the full 5 year warrants. We have hundreds of customers out there with NiCd tools, rest assured we will be servicing and provide parts for all the NiCd we sell for at least another 5-10 years.

V28 and V18 tools are clearly the future and nobody is fighting that. If you want a V18 Drill/Driver the prices are coming down on those as well (just not as fast) V18 Drill/Driver & Impact Kit for $299.00. If you currently have an 18 volt NiCd Milwaukee system you can easily upgrade to lithium ion with this kit: V18 2 batteries & charger 48-11-1833.   

Of course everyone wants the latest and greatest tools; you wouldn’t be reading a blog about power tools if you didn’t take some pride in your arsenal. For $137.60 there is no shame in adding a few brand new Milwaukee tools to your line up. These things will more than pay for themselves over the many years you will be using them. Call Ohio Power Tool at 800-242-4424 if you have any questions about selecting the right Milwaukee tools. 

Posted by Jay A. at 09:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In a recent post we briefly compared the Bosch 10.8V Pocket Driver PS20-2 and the Milwaukee 12V Micro Driver 2401-22. At the time we had not receive the Milwaukee 12V tools so it was more of an on paper comparison. Now that a few months have past and we have some customers using them it is time to take another look.

I would like to start off by saying both these tool lines have been incredibly successful and I really feel these are professional tools that just happen to be very small. The Sub Compact Tool category has a very legitimate place in many professional tool boxes. An estimated 80-90% of our customers are professionals who come to us for their tools and repairs and we wouldn’t sell any products we don’t stand behind.

The Bosch PS20-2 claims to be able to drive 100 3” screws on a single charge and I though a good comparison would be to see if that was true and then see if the Milwaukee 2401-22 could match it… then though about screwing in 200 3” screws and decided against that particular comparison.  

On paper it looks like the Milwaukee Micro Driver has a serious advantage over the Bosch Pocket Driver.

Milwaukee 2401-22 Micro Driver   –   12 Volt   –   120 ft lb

Bosch PS20-2 Pocket Driver   -   10.8 Volt   -   80 ft lb

Some interesting information on the PS20-2, the rating is actually on their “average power” not the “initial power”. The claim from Bosch is that their starting power rating is actually above 12 Volts and the initial ft lb torque is also higher, presumably around 120 ft lb like the Milwaukee 2401-22. The entire line of 10.8V Bosch tools will actually get a name change to “Bosch 12 Volt Max” at some point in the near future. This explanation leads me to believe their will be no real changes to the components only the name will change to reflect their “Max” power rating. This information is from Bosch so you should consider the source; Milwaukee probably has a completely different view on comparing the two products.

If this is the case essentially these two tools are even more similar than they appear. When you look at the batteries they look almost identical in shape and size. It is not hard to believe the power output would be very similar as well. The chargers and cases are also very similar as you can see in the picture below. I did test these both out on a few screws and from that basic test I couldn’t feel any real difference in power although I wasn’t exactly testing the limits.

Currently Bosch has 4 tools in their line-up while Milwaukee only has the 1 but both companies are planning to have 20-30 tools out for each line in the next year or two. It will be very interesting to see what new tools we will see in the sub compact tool market. Milwaukee for instance has plans to create a product that will compete with the Ridgid Seesnake Micro 25643 so we are going to see all sorts of new tools outside traditional saws, drivers and drills. This makes the comparison much more difficult because you always want to choose the line that will have the most versatility using the same battery system.

Bosch does currently have a special for a free ESPN fleece with all 10.8v purchases until April 11th if that might effect your buying decision.

So who wins the ultra compact driver comparison between the Bosch vs. Milwaukee? I personally would have to give a slight advantage to the Milwaukee 2401-22 and this is under the assumption the power output and torque are more similar than the numbers say, which I can believe. The Milwaukee had a few features over the Bosch that makes it stand out. First, the quick bit-loading 1/4” hex chuck is really nice and easier to use than the Bosch. Second the Milwaukee has a battery gauge, where the Bosch doesn’t. Finally the Milwaukee 12V Driver just looks cooler. Now the Milwaukee did come out 6 months later so they had time to really make more improvements. Both tools have build in light, weight about the same and feel very similar in hand. What would really make the decision much easier is if I knew what 20+ products were going to be added to each company’s line up. These are just the drivers; I can’t wait to see how competitive this gets in the next year.

If you have any opinions about either of these tools or any other sub compact tools feel free to post a comment.  

Posted by Jay A. at 07:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

The Seesnake Micro 25643 has been an incredibly successful product. The price is affordable, it’s easy to carry around, extremely useful and just a lot of fun. There have been a few complaints. It is after all a brand new product. Specifically customers have had problems with the heads breaking during heavy use. Also the neck is not always flexible enough for different plumbing jobs. Many of our customers have used the regular Seesnakes for years and know the Seesnakes are durable machines. I think perhaps some users got a little aggressive with their micros and had it doing jobs they maybe should have used something like a Seesnake Compact 95542 instead.   

If you have found yourself in this situation there is good news. Ridgid has come out with a new 3’ camera head that is more flexible and the head is 9.5mm (current model is 17mm). Another big advantage is the new camera head will be made of aluminum, instead of plastic, so it can take more abuse without cracking. There is no immediate plan to replace the heads on all new Seesnake Micros so everyone will still need to buy the regular Micro 25643 and then also buy the 9.5mm 3’ camera head 30068.

Good news is you can pre-order the 30068 Camera Head for $99.95 at Ohio Power Tool. The bad news is it won’t arrive until May and there will only be a limited supply so if you don’t pre-order you could be waiting until mid summer before you get your hands on one.    

Posted by Jay A. at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For some time Ingersoll Rand has been one of the top names in pneumatic tools. Even when Ohio Power Tool started modestly 25 years ago servicing and selling mostly pneumatic tools they were one of the leaders. In fact before starting Ohio Power Tool in 1983 our company president had spent many years prior as a saleman for Ingersoll Rand products across the mid-west. We have grown tremendously and now offer a wide range of pneumatic, electric and hydraulic products as well as rentals and repair service. Since 2008 marks our 25^th anniversary in business we wanted to honor of humble beginnings by making serious efforts to be the lowest price supplier for Ingersoll Rand pneumatic tools on the internet; not an easy task with the hundreds of other suppliers out there. I encourage you to do some searching but I think you will find we are one of the cheapest for most products. On top of great prices we also have an extremely knowledgeable staff that will actually pickup the phone and answer your questions, not an overseas call center or automated system… this is done intentionally to provide the best service possible, don’t believe it call 800-242-4424.

Popular Ingersoll-Rand Impact Tools        

 
The ½” 2135 Impact Wrench has been one of the most popular impact wrenches on the market for some time. The newest model is the 2135TiMax ½” Impactool™ which replaces the 2135Ti. The Ti indicates Titanium Duty, “Max” is the newest line of Titanium Duty which provides additional controls and new triggers, among other improvements. This has become such a popular model because it provides 780 ft. lb. torque and weighs less than 4 lbs. The best power to weight ratio in its class. Our price is $249.72.

For the 1” heavy duty impacts with 6" extended anvils there are two popular models the 285B-6 and 2190Ti-6. Some differences in the models are the 2190Ti is lighter by 11.8 lbs. at 15.5 lbs and provides 200 ft. lb. more power at 1650 ft. lb. torque. It also features a chainsaw style handle specifically made to change large tires on trucks and other equipment. The 285B-6 is an extremely capable machine and if you can handle a little extra weight the price is right at only $399.00, while the 2190Ti-6 is $619.86, also a great price.      

Still fairly new to the Ingersoll Rand brand of tools is the IQv cordless impacts and complete line of cordless tools. Since IR traditionally makes air tools we were pretty skeptical that they would make a cordless line that could really compete with the high end Milwaukee or Bosch lines. I assure you this was not some ill though out re-branded product which we have seen in the past when other manufactures trying to expand their product offerings. The IQv cordless line offers some significant advantages including complete interchangeability with NiCd and Lithium Ion batteries between similarly powered tools. A universal charger and light which work with all the batteries: 7.2v, 14.4v and 19.2v. This line is specifically made for automotive work with size and weight as key factors in design. They weigh up to 35% less than traditional 18v, 24v, 28v and 36v tools but provide 2.4 Ahrs higher than many other cordless tools. The specific tools are also automotive in design with several impacts, drill/drivers, ratchets, grinders, a cutter and the universal light.

There are hundreds of other great products I could go on for days about and obviously IR is extremely well known for more than just impacts. They have so many great pneumatic products including grinders, sanders, cutting tools, drills, air compressors and many more. Find many of our IR products listed on our Ingersoll Rand Home Page. Let us know if you would like to more information on any IR products.

Posted by Jay A. at 02:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)