18 volt News & Reviews

Literally, if you took all of the products Bosch Germany announced the other day and multiplied them by X, they would surly weigh a ton or more. There are so many tools I don't know where to start—how do tools that talk to your smart phone sound?

While some brands advertise that their cordless tools can be used with compact batteries and full sized batteries, Panasonic has gone one step further by making a series of dual voltage tools that accept both 14.4v and 18v batteries. Panasonic is also leading the charge with 4.2Ah batteries, the highest in the industry.

Milwaukee Tool has been really targeting and capturing the speciality tool market with their cordless line over the last few years. While most of their speciality tools fall under their M12 line, the newly announced Milwaukee cordless grease gun will indeed be powered by 18-volts.

We took a little bit of time off from our giveaways over the holiday season, but we are back in the new year with a great new giveaway from Milwaukee Tool. Up for grabs this month is the Milwaukee 2603-22 high performance M18 Fuel brushless cordless Drill/Driver, a tool that features some of the latest in cordless tool technology. If you are looking for a powerhouse in a drill, this is it.

Porter-Cable has announced a February release date for their new 20V Max Lithium-ion Drill and Impact Driver. And Tool-Rank still hates having to explain to people that 20V Max is the same as 18V.

In need of moving some air without having to be tied down with long extension cords? Makita has you covered with the introduction of their new BCF201Z 18-volt LXT cordless fan. With it you have a hassle free way to dry mud, or just keep cool in the summer.

We have been hearing rumors about the new Bosch 4.0 batteries for a few months now and we have even seen some press releases for European tools that picture the new batteries. Now we have received word that the new batteries will hit European stores next month.

Back when Makita first announced their 36V rotary hammer 3 years ago I wondered why they just didn't make the tool run on two 18v batteries. I am sure they had their reasons, and maybe they expected to have more 36v tools out by now, but the 18v line is super popular and it just makes sense to have a tool that runs on the most popular battery.

If you do not own an impact driver you are missing out on one of the best inventions to become mainstream over the last decade. They are a God send to anyone who drives screws, and many who use an impact driver find it impossible to revert back to driving screws with a traditional powered drill/driver. To learn more, check out: What's the difference between a hammer drill and an impact driver? Bosch Tools was awesome enough to sponsor this month's giveaway and provide one of their NEW model IDS181-02 18-volt Impact Driver Kits, so that...

Flashlights are always handy to have around and the music from a radio seems to make the day go by faster, so why not combine the two into one compact package? Besides, you can't show off your slick dance moves in the dark.