Hitachi 5.0Ah cordless - any good?

Best · Oct 12, 2014

Why does anyone really need 5.0Ah batteries? Surely 4.0Ah is more than good enough as long as you have another spare battery when the charge goes. The Ah is just how long the battery can last between charges, - its fuel tank really & not its power. Is it just simply, - mine is bigger than yours?
Only real benefit I see with the slightly bigger Ah battery is because it lasts a little longer before needing charging, then it will require less charging than a lower Ah battery to do the same work over a few years & therefore will be be more value for money as will have longer life. But that's if the higher Ah battery is similar cost.
I would prefer the lightest & smallest battery for working above my head or in tight spots, but I wouldn't want to pay too much for low Ah batteries. Four of 2Ah would be better than two of 4ah IMO if same price.

Masood · Oct 12, 2014

Best said:
Why does anyone really need 5.0Ah batteries? Surely 4.0Ah is more than good enough as long as you have another spare battery when the charge goes. The Ah is just how long the battery can last between charges, - its fuel tank really & not its power. Is it just simply, - mine is bigger than yours?
Only real benefit I see with the slightly bigger Ah battery is because it lasts a little longer before needing charging, then it will require less charging than a lower Ah battery to do the same work over a few years & therefore will be be more value for money as will have longer life. But that's if the higher Ah battery is similar cost.
I would prefer the lightest & smallest battery for working above my head or in tight spots, but I wouldn't want to pay too much for low Ah batteries. Four of 2Ah would be better than two of 4ah IMO if same price.

Depends on a couple of things, Best. If you're at a job long enough to get a depleted battery up to full charge, then fine, lower Ah won't matter. If you're doing a lot of smaller jobs then one flat battery means you have no backup when the current one goes.

But for me it's not about going bigger. I'm not dead set on 5Ah for any reason. When I do replace my AEG kit which is still going strong, the only thing I am set on is that I want brushless motors. If I get a killer deal on 4Ah or even 3Ah batteries, I'll grab them. Just now there are decent priced packages with the 5Ah.

kay-jay · Oct 12, 2014

my milwaukee batteries were both completely flat on a job this week. i put one on charge for 3mins. yes three minutes and i stuck it on the impact and drove 250 screws into a sheet of ply before it died again. this took twenty mins and by then the other battery was upto 4 bars. 3ah batts.

AWheating · Oct 12, 2014

Most of these 5ah batts are the same size and weight of the older 3ah ones. in 2 years you will prob not see 3 and 4ah sold with tools sets. it will prob be a choice of 5ah or 2ah or simularish (prob 6ah and 2.5ah if progression keeps going).

I think if you have several tools a combination of normal and compact batts will suit most tradesmen. compact in your screwdriver/ smaller tools and normal in your saw and sds.

Masood · Oct 12, 2014

kay-jay said:
my milwaukee batteries were both completely flat on a job this week. i put one on charge for 3mins. yes three minutes and i stuck it on the impact and drove 250 screws into a sheet of ply before it died again. this took twenty mins and by then the other battery was upto 4 bars. 3ah batts.

That's seriously impressive!

Ermintrude · Oct 12, 2014

Mine live in van on 6 bay charger or a 150w inverter . Pretty much charged 24/7 nowerdays but I'm doing less and less work and more and more driving around

morganb · Oct 12, 2014

5.0ah batteries are brilliant if you have a grinder/circular saw. The radio also lasts nearly 2 weeks without charging.

AWheating · Oct 13, 2014

morganb said:
5.0ah batteries are brilliant if you have a grinder/circular saw. The radio also lasts nearly 2 weeks without charging.

You need to turn the volume up 🙂

Millsy 82 · Oct 14, 2014

I can see the appeal when on sites when charging is a nightmare and saves lugging 6 batteries when 3 will do (I'm going back to when I worked on site and had to carry 6 2.4ah batteries to get me through the day.

When working in houses though I can't see the point have 2 batteries in use and 1 on charge.