I've only used my neighbors milwaukee 6.25 inch 18vdc saw a few times, and was used to direct drive mMakita and worm drive mag77 skil at the time. Its been a while and no comparison to other battery saws.
I went with Ridgid drill and driver with two 2.0ah batteries for 140$ in March thjs year, , and then shortly after Ridgid angle grinder with 2 4.0ah batteries and charger for 179$.
Home depot short lived 'exclusive deals'.
Since then went with some makita lawn tools.
I have recently acquired battery adapters.
I can use my Ridgid batteries to power Makita tools or the Makita batteries to power the Ridgid tools.
I also have a ridgid to Ryobi adapter as my old man has ryobi blower and i like the compact ryobi 18v compressor with tank idea.
I am not limiting myself to any one tool brand, based on a single baTtery system anymore.
The adapters range from 15 to 25$. So many options.
Some are 3D Printed here, in the states.
Can't recharge the batteries using adapters though.
I'm eyeballing some milwaukee 'tool only' options and will get either Ridgid to MW or Makita to MW adapters at that point, or perhps both, as options are wonderful.
Ridgid 4.0 ah batteries and charger often go on sale for under 100$ and if registered within 90 days of purchase, have lifetime service agreement.
I know an 84 year old carpenter who is using a Ridgid 18v 7.25" battery saw.
I respect his opinion, and experience.
He says he likes it, a lot.
He didn't know about the battery adapters till i told him, but he went with Ridgid impact driver and saw,, when his Dewalt batteries needed replacement.
He has since ordered more Ridgid batteries, and Ridgid to Dewalt adapters.
The common recommendation is to choose one tool brand so all batteries work, but the adapters nullify much of that.
The Dewalt or Ryobi battery to other tool options add ~2" to the height of the battery, and can affect balance, and might not fit all tools.
My ridgid to Makita or Ryobi adPter thickness is not a factor, nor is the maKita to Ridgid, and while the added connections of an adapter, add electrical resistance which reduce performance, most will never notice the slight loss of voltage to the motor or slightly reduced run time by using one.
One thing to keep in mind is dewalt '20v' tools are still using nominal 18v batteries, 5 cells in series. The '20v' is just marketing. They do not have more energy potential than 18v systems.
My ridgid batteries come off charger at 20.49v and shut down at 16v.
5 cells at 4.2v is 21v. So they are preventing 100% charge in order to get more cycles from the batteries.
I need to check the voltage of makita batteries warm off charger, and when the low voltage disconnect activates, just have not, yet.
My ridgid chargers, come with a wall wart with about 6 feet of 22 awg to charge cradle. Wall wart says 18v and 60 watts.
Wall wart output is actually 20.49v and basically 40 watts max.
I used a different dc power supply, set to 20.49v, powering cradle, yes knowingly voiding warranty. Exceeded 200 waTts into well depleted battery, before blowing fuse inside cradle.
I added an inline fuse holder. Cradle works fine still.
Both my '60 watt' Ridgid wall warts, are limited to 40 watts output.
The charge cradle can handle more, but i forsee few instances where i will need faster recharge times, but off grid, i can power cradle via 12vdc system, using my voltage booster, no inverter needed.
Happy tool hunting
Sorry, it's true
