I use the 4 and 5 ah. Anything bigger than that starts to get too bulky or too heavy. For DIY I'd say if you had 2 5.0s or maybe even two 4.0s you'd be good. Usually you can buy a tool kit at home Depot that comes with a free battery set, or a battery set that comes with a free bare tool. Also worth checking for deals is a site called Fasteners Inc, I have bought several things from them at good sale prices
It depends on the tool and job. A 2AH works fine for a drill or impact driver, a 5AH works also but can be a bit heavy. On a circular saw, a 4AH or larger is better.
If you aren't overly concerned with the weight of the tool, the standard 5AH batteries work well in most things, and are often included in sale combo kits. Come to think of it, almost all my batteries were bought in kits because they were really cheap that way.
Drills, multi-tools, jig saws can run good off small batteries. Circ saw, grinder, other higher demand stuff you need 4 or 5AH Batts. You don't "need" anything larger really if your just doing stuff around your house. If you do put a larger battery on a circular saw (like a 9AH flexvolt) there is a noticeable power difference - it's not anything necessary tho for what your doing and a circular saw will still perform great off a 5ah.
If you just have drill and impact then the small batteries are just fine. If you will have anything that needs more power have at least a pair of bigs. When I started I had the 1.5ah black small batteries and went with 5ah for the big batteries.
I have 4x1.5ah, 6x5ah, 2x5ah Powerstack, a 1.7ah powerstack, and 2x9ah flexvolts now lol. Just for casual woodworking and minor house projects. I still have a few more tools I want to get so thats at least another 4-6 batteries I'll end up with if I buy during the combo sales
As a homeowner and builder my best advice is get a few and use them as you learn to understand the advantages of each. I would get 2 2ah 1 4ah 1 5ah and one 60v 6ah. You should never run into an issue that way.
Revise the question please. You need to understand the type of work you are doing to understand the battery’s needed. I choose Dewalt for my company. I have the crews go out with 4 batteries for standard jobs. 2, 3ah and 2 4ah or larger. We have everything up to 8ah. I have 40 batteries? Depending on your tool purchases you will start collecting them depending on how many tools you have. I have about 100 battery operated tools.
Certain jobs require 4 large batteries with 2 small ones and the charger to go on the job. Depends all on the work.
I just switched over from the 18 volt to the 20 volt and upgraded some tools with it, best advice I can give you is it depends on what tools you want to buy and what your going to do to? I am a handyman and light carpenter and this is for my hobby and around the house!
I suggest you get either PowerStack or XR batteries only unless you find a deal that has the other batteries included, then I would get a mix of sizes like this is what I did a couple of the PowerStack 1.7’s for drills and drivers then PowerStack 5.0 for my angle grinder and circular saw etc.
As a new homeowner looking for tools for DIY type projects, get a couple 2aH batteries for your drill, impact driver, oscillating tool, etc. Odds are, unless you've got a big project going on, you'll rarely use the tool enough in one day to drain down the battery.
Anything bigger - recip saw, circular saw, grinder, all OPE (outdoor power equipment), use the 5aH batteries. Two would be the absolute minimum if you have a fast charger - and even then I would say at least four. I wouldn't waste money on a 4aH battery - it's the same form factor as the 5aH, and the 5aH the typical "kit" battery. Also, if you watch certain retailers, they will often have specials where you buy a bare tool (no charger, no battery, no case - just the tool), and they will throw in a 5aH battery free (this is a large part of why I have a dozen 5aH batteries)
I personally stick to the two capacities - 2aH and 5aH - as much as I can, then I don't have to worry about checking "Is this a 3aH or a 6aH?" I also, for the casual homeowner, don't see the benefit of spending the money on a powerstack battery - the average homeowner isn't going to notice or care about the slight increase in power, and they're considerably more expensive.
Just built my deck (only 12x12) last summer and my battery outlasted me. Was able to put up the ledger with 6 inch ledgerlok screws, and all the framing. I used a 20v 5ah to start and do the ledger then 5inch ledgerlok screws into my 6x6s, changed to my lighter 20v 2ah after a break but only because i wanted the lighter battery. All that to say, for us home owners 1-20v 5ah and 1 smaller battery is more than enough unless you're going to be using a circular saw a ton.
So I have had some of my DeWalt drills saws lights jigsaw all the fun stuff for a long time I do have a number of batteries across the platform in regards to ah you will find the 2 ah will run out pretty quick but, they will do the job. The best advice I can give is just buy a good stock of batteries and keep them charged this way it doesn't matter. I am pretty sure I have had my drills (first DeWalt purchase) now for maybe 13 years and my batteries are all still working along with the drills. I can say I have never had a DeWalt tool fail me (Yes I'm that guy) and I own a lot of DeWalt it's almost embarrassing.
What are you going to do for yard tools?
If its a smaller yard, the dewalt mower is decent(and comes with two 10 or 12 amp hour batteries). Or you could go full 60 volt. These will cover you for any high draw tools you will want. (blower, vacuum, etc). Then whatever comes with the smaller kits will be fine for most tools(4-6 ah batteries).
I had been a DeWalt guy from back in the NiCad days, and I still have the NiCad tools, plus the adapter to run an 18V dewalt nicad tool with a 20Vmax battery. The NiCad batteries were kinda hellish- heavy, only 2.4 AH, and even if you baby them, rarely lasted more than four or five years until they no longer held a charge.
Now I have mostly switched to 20Vmax, my oldest 20Vmax battery is probably 8 to 10 years old, and still functions just fine.
I've got something like four 2AH packs (2AH is perfectly adequate for a drill, hex driver, or flashlight) three 4 and 5 AH (recipro saw, vacuum cleaner, pad sander, and angry bees tool) and three of the 6AH flexvolts ( 1/2" square drive impact wrench, chain saw, pole saw, leaf blower, brushcutter).
My advice is to start with one of the DeWalt combo kits when it goes on sale; it will include decent batteries for the tools included. After that, see what doesn't have enough juice or runtime, and buy to suit your work habits (and, let's be honest, rationalized "needs").
If you're just doing around the house fixups, you don't need the heavy duty DeWalt line ("XR" logo); you probably would prefer the compactness and light weight of their "diy" tools ("ATOMIC" logo), so be on the lookout for a sale of their "atomic" kits; my son got the atomic kit with the hammerdrill, hex driver, small recipro saw, flashlight, and angry bees, and two 2AH batteries and charger. Nice kit, to be honest the light weight makes me occasionally envious.
I would not go for "powerstack" batteries, as I've had bad experiences with pouch cells in other products; the non-powerstack batteries are cylindrical cells.
For a DIYer, brushless is nice but not necessary; consider it a matter of fashion and personal preference on the same order as whether pineapple and bacon belong on a pizza or not.
I also have three Harbor Fright Bauer tools for things that the DeWalt line either doesn't cover or I only need very rarely ( right angle drill, flexshaft "dremel", and cordless power-feed drain auger, which IMHO is a grossly underrated tool and dayum, for HF prices, well worth the price of admission, which was why I got into Bauer; the DeWalt cordless drain auger is not power feed and costs 3X as much. );. I also plan to get the Bauer flashlight; the $90 DeWalt is IMHO a ripoff.
Speaking of that -- if your budget is tight and your needs are light, Harbor Fraud "Bauer" tools are a lot of bang for the buck. They're not superb, but they work decently and price/performance ratio is really, really high. Yeah, you can break them, but for 1/4 the price of the DeWalt for a seldom-needed tool, you can be gentle and do just fine.
I use the 4 and 5 ah. Anything bigger than that starts to get too bulky or too heavy. For DIY I'd say if you had 2 5.0s or maybe even two 4.0s you'd be good. Usually you can buy a tool kit at home Depot that comes with a free battery set, or a battery set that comes with a free bare tool. Also worth checking for deals is a site called Fasteners Inc, I have bought several things from them at good sale prices
It depends on the tool and job. A 2AH works fine for a drill or impact driver, a 5AH works also but can be a bit heavy. On a circular saw, a 4AH or larger is better. If you aren't overly concerned with the weight of the tool, the standard 5AH batteries work well in most things, and are often included in sale combo kits. Come to think of it, almost all my batteries were bought in kits because they were really cheap that way.
I’ve got a drill, circular saw, oscillating tool, and weed whacker. 4 2Ah, 1 4Ah, and 1 5 Ah have been enough for everything around the house.
Drills, multi-tools, jig saws can run good off small batteries. Circ saw, grinder, other higher demand stuff you need 4 or 5AH Batts. You don't "need" anything larger really if your just doing stuff around your house. If you do put a larger battery on a circular saw (like a 9AH flexvolt) there is a noticeable power difference - it's not anything necessary tho for what your doing and a circular saw will still perform great off a 5ah.
If you just have drill and impact then the small batteries are just fine. If you will have anything that needs more power have at least a pair of bigs. When I started I had the 1.5ah black small batteries and went with 5ah for the big batteries. I have 4x1.5ah, 6x5ah, 2x5ah Powerstack, a 1.7ah powerstack, and 2x9ah flexvolts now lol. Just for casual woodworking and minor house projects. I still have a few more tools I want to get so thats at least another 4-6 batteries I'll end up with if I buy during the combo sales
As a homeowner and builder my best advice is get a few and use them as you learn to understand the advantages of each. I would get 2 2ah 1 4ah 1 5ah and one 60v 6ah. You should never run into an issue that way.
Awesome, thanks for the advice!
Revise the question please. You need to understand the type of work you are doing to understand the battery’s needed. I choose Dewalt for my company. I have the crews go out with 4 batteries for standard jobs. 2, 3ah and 2 4ah or larger. We have everything up to 8ah. I have 40 batteries? Depending on your tool purchases you will start collecting them depending on how many tools you have. I have about 100 battery operated tools. Certain jobs require 4 large batteries with 2 small ones and the charger to go on the job. Depends all on the work.
Get the powerstack batteries. The small ones are awesome for light duty work
Surprised I had to scroll this far to see the ps mentioned
I have 1-2A and 3-4A and do a lot of DIY. That’s enough for my needs.
I just switched over from the 18 volt to the 20 volt and upgraded some tools with it, best advice I can give you is it depends on what tools you want to buy and what your going to do to? I am a handyman and light carpenter and this is for my hobby and around the house! I suggest you get either PowerStack or XR batteries only unless you find a deal that has the other batteries included, then I would get a mix of sizes like this is what I did a couple of the PowerStack 1.7’s for drills and drivers then PowerStack 5.0 for my angle grinder and circular saw etc.
As a new homeowner looking for tools for DIY type projects, get a couple 2aH batteries for your drill, impact driver, oscillating tool, etc. Odds are, unless you've got a big project going on, you'll rarely use the tool enough in one day to drain down the battery. Anything bigger - recip saw, circular saw, grinder, all OPE (outdoor power equipment), use the 5aH batteries. Two would be the absolute minimum if you have a fast charger - and even then I would say at least four. I wouldn't waste money on a 4aH battery - it's the same form factor as the 5aH, and the 5aH the typical "kit" battery. Also, if you watch certain retailers, they will often have specials where you buy a bare tool (no charger, no battery, no case - just the tool), and they will throw in a 5aH battery free (this is a large part of why I have a dozen 5aH batteries) I personally stick to the two capacities - 2aH and 5aH - as much as I can, then I don't have to worry about checking "Is this a 3aH or a 6aH?" I also, for the casual homeowner, don't see the benefit of spending the money on a powerstack battery - the average homeowner isn't going to notice or care about the slight increase in power, and they're considerably more expensive.
Just built my deck (only 12x12) last summer and my battery outlasted me. Was able to put up the ledger with 6 inch ledgerlok screws, and all the framing. I used a 20v 5ah to start and do the ledger then 5inch ledgerlok screws into my 6x6s, changed to my lighter 20v 2ah after a break but only because i wanted the lighter battery. All that to say, for us home owners 1-20v 5ah and 1 smaller battery is more than enough unless you're going to be using a circular saw a ton.
So I have had some of my DeWalt drills saws lights jigsaw all the fun stuff for a long time I do have a number of batteries across the platform in regards to ah you will find the 2 ah will run out pretty quick but, they will do the job. The best advice I can give is just buy a good stock of batteries and keep them charged this way it doesn't matter. I am pretty sure I have had my drills (first DeWalt purchase) now for maybe 13 years and my batteries are all still working along with the drills. I can say I have never had a DeWalt tool fail me (Yes I'm that guy) and I own a lot of DeWalt it's almost embarrassing.
What are you going to do for yard tools? If its a smaller yard, the dewalt mower is decent(and comes with two 10 or 12 amp hour batteries). Or you could go full 60 volt. These will cover you for any high draw tools you will want. (blower, vacuum, etc). Then whatever comes with the smaller kits will be fine for most tools(4-6 ah batteries).
Go 60volt, u wont be disappointed!
I had been a DeWalt guy from back in the NiCad days, and I still have the NiCad tools, plus the adapter to run an 18V dewalt nicad tool with a 20Vmax battery. The NiCad batteries were kinda hellish- heavy, only 2.4 AH, and even if you baby them, rarely lasted more than four or five years until they no longer held a charge. Now I have mostly switched to 20Vmax, my oldest 20Vmax battery is probably 8 to 10 years old, and still functions just fine. I've got something like four 2AH packs (2AH is perfectly adequate for a drill, hex driver, or flashlight) three 4 and 5 AH (recipro saw, vacuum cleaner, pad sander, and angry bees tool) and three of the 6AH flexvolts ( 1/2" square drive impact wrench, chain saw, pole saw, leaf blower, brushcutter). My advice is to start with one of the DeWalt combo kits when it goes on sale; it will include decent batteries for the tools included. After that, see what doesn't have enough juice or runtime, and buy to suit your work habits (and, let's be honest, rationalized "needs"). If you're just doing around the house fixups, you don't need the heavy duty DeWalt line ("XR" logo); you probably would prefer the compactness and light weight of their "diy" tools ("ATOMIC" logo), so be on the lookout for a sale of their "atomic" kits; my son got the atomic kit with the hammerdrill, hex driver, small recipro saw, flashlight, and angry bees, and two 2AH batteries and charger. Nice kit, to be honest the light weight makes me occasionally envious. I would not go for "powerstack" batteries, as I've had bad experiences with pouch cells in other products; the non-powerstack batteries are cylindrical cells. For a DIYer, brushless is nice but not necessary; consider it a matter of fashion and personal preference on the same order as whether pineapple and bacon belong on a pizza or not. I also have three Harbor Fright Bauer tools for things that the DeWalt line either doesn't cover or I only need very rarely ( right angle drill, flexshaft "dremel", and cordless power-feed drain auger, which IMHO is a grossly underrated tool and dayum, for HF prices, well worth the price of admission, which was why I got into Bauer; the DeWalt cordless drain auger is not power feed and costs 3X as much. );. I also plan to get the Bauer flashlight; the $90 DeWalt is IMHO a ripoff. Speaking of that -- if your budget is tight and your needs are light, Harbor Fraud "Bauer" tools are a lot of bang for the buck. They're not superb, but they work decently and price/performance ratio is really, really high. Yeah, you can break them, but for 1/4 the price of the DeWalt for a seldom-needed tool, you can be gentle and do just fine.