Your Frustration with Cordless Power Tools – Discover how the Manufacturers’ are solving your woes!

Cordless tools have become very popular with tradespeople and are beating a path to take over the industry. As cordless technology continues to advance, cordless tools are also becoming more and more capable of meeting the requirements of trades.

Cordless tools are very easy and convenient to use, offering better mobility due to the cords not being in your way. The weight of tools is often lighter and easier to carry, not to mention the reduced strain on the user because an air pressure hose or cord isn’t causing downward force on the tool.

Although cordless tools are quickly becoming a trade favourite. The technology does come with its own disadvantages.

Not enough power

POWER, WE WANT MORE POWER – An outlet, whether it is 110v or 240v, is able to provide much more power than current (See what we did there!) battery technology, meaning that cordless tools are not as powerful as corded tools. This is important if you have to punch a hole through a concrete wall to start first fit.

Time wasting whilst charging

Time is money…so why you make me wait? Cordless power tools also need their batteries charged often to keep them working. That means you will continually need to make sure your tool is charged and has power, which may cause disruption to your work productivity. Unless you have a massive bank tools budget and you carry a squillion (that is an actual number) batteries around with you.

The draw back is the end of the day, when you need to recharge your multitude of types of batteries. The whole of your workshop, garage or the kitchen is taken over with wires and some strange anti cordless ritual.

Next month we will be covering more on battery technology and how things are going to get better.

Too much theft

Those thieving little gets…The theft of power tools is a widespread criminal issue in the UK as their perceived value and easiness to steal is catching the eye of thieves. Cordless tools are appealing and there is always going to be a market for cheaper tools. With modern marketplaces on social website providing a lucrative pathway to sales of second hand tools and equipment of questionable origin, there is always going to be an issue.

(It is a good job we have explicit checks planned for the roll out of our tools marketplace)

Those frustrations are leading to innovation in three areas:

Electronics

Better brushless motors which have been proven to be more efficient than their brushed counterparts. In fact, nowadays some power tools with brushless motors can outperform a corded machine. They are smaller, lighter and give you a longer runtime from your batteries, proving a big step up in the cordless tool evolution.

Makita 40v Max XGT power tools are leading the way for higher power batteries in the industry too. With their innovative tool design and higher output batteries, they are a providing a real solution for high demand industrial users and many tradesmen.

Charging

Makita have used some of the most advanced technologies that make its lithium-ion batteries charge faster than standard lithium-ion batteries. The 18V 1.5 Ah battery takes around 15 minutes to charge, which is the fastest in the industry so far.

Whether the next movement in battery technology will be an advancement of Lithium-Ion or a brand new form of battery chemistry is unknown, but the industry is striving to improve cordless charging by innovating flexible charging systems and tools that last longer.

Digital

With tool theft on the rise, it’s no surprise that we have seen a number of loss prevention systems and asset tracking software’s appear. Online tools such as itemit offer a tracking system that let you keep an eye on your tools whereabouts and locations. The app will allow you to see where your assets were last, who had them and when.

It offers your business complete transparency so your team can see the equipment they are responsible for. With plans from just £9.99 per month, it’s a very affordable app which may just come in very handy!

Technologies such as Milwaukee One-Key is providing a pathway to better inventory management, including security. These are early days for this technology, with many an innovation on route to counter our trades frustrations with cordless.