DeWalt 24 volt cordless saws

[MetalMedic]

Our Dewalt 24V saw has arrived. Haven't put it in service yet but it seems to be pretty user friendly. The quick release for saw blades is a nice feature. The adjustment for the saw blade length could have been longer, but with the quick change to a shorter blade, you accomplish the same effect. The trigger control area is a little bit small for a gloved hand to work in but acceptable. The AC Chargers have a reconditioning function you can do manually. Our plan is to keep two batteries in the charger on the truck at all times. We'll wait and see how that works out.

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Richard Nester
Orrville (OH) Fire Dept.

[TheQman]

I borrowed the DeWalt 24v. recip saw from our local rep. We used it to make cuts on the A, B and C posts. It did well but be prepared for a lot of vibrations. Also watched a DeWalt demonstration cutting a salvaged late 70's model Caddy. They cut through the roof and floor pan. The cut took approx. 30 minutes and several blades (about 15)and 3 battery changes. I am not convinced this is a tool we need to spend $300 plus spare batteries and blades.

[MetalMedic]

Haven't had the need to cut a '70 Caddy in half for a while, I'll be sure to have extra blades and batteries on hand when that time comes. All reciprocating saws will vibrate, that is more the fault of the saw blade action and not the saw. While my first choice to cut A, B, C, etc posts is the C/C cutter or the rescue tool... I think the cordless reciprocating saw is an excellent back-up tool as well as being my first choice for cutting sheet metal. As for blade use, during the demonstration, was soapy water being applied to the blades during the process to reduce friction?

As with anything else in the rescue field, alot of your results are based upon your technique.

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Richard Nester
Orrville (OH) Fire Dept.

[Cosch]

We have the 24v unit on our Tower trucks (they do the extrications)But we also use an electric saw as well. When we have a pin job we bring both. The reason is because when checking out the 24v in the morning it works great but its not until it is under a load before you know how much battery you realy have left, for that reason we bring the electric saw with us, also you can have 2 people cutting at the same time. Remeber always have a back up if posible it's better to be proactive then reactive that's why we use one of each.

[Firekatz04]

Well, we just had a "rescue weekend" in our twp. We had a County/State cert/re-cert course for all 5 companies in our twp, using all the twp. equip. We got to "play",er, um, "TRAIN" with everybody elses stuff. Another dept. has the 24v., and 18v. cordless. I wasn't overly impressed with either. The positives outweighed the negatives. Positives: They handled well. You don't have to worry about getting caught in the wire. You CAN work from inside the vehicle better (if need be). Quick change out time on the batteries and blades.
Negatives: Frequent battery changes (only about 7 minutes of power per batt.) cut A, B, and C (rear) post. Had to change out on the C due to lack of power. Made stress cuts on the A post high and low of bottom hinge for dash roll. Had to change out again. Went through 3 batts. total per side. BIG safety issue... no "power" person or safety person at cord (something we stress).
On the whole... I liked them, great for the arsenal, BUT, I don't know if I can justify the expense for us.

[MetalMedic]

Interesting that we are seeing both good and bad reports on battery life on the 24V saw. I'll be sure to pay close attention when we finally get to "train" with ours. We do have the AC adapter that plugs into the battery port on order. According to the sales rep, the thing isn't in production yet. At any rate, that should solve the battery life issue if it becomes a problem.



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Richard Nester
Orrville (OH) Fire Dept.

[TheQman]

Again, I was not impressed with the DeWalt cordless as a primary vehicle extrication saw. Although there are advantages; set up time is virtually eliminated. However, the air chisel with a "crow's foot" blade works much better on sheet metal and the Hurst cutters are superior on the posts. However, the advantages may lie in other uses. Has anyone had any experience with these in a confined space incident or any other situations other than extrication?

[This message has been edited by TheQman (edited March 06, 2000).]

[LHS]

If everything is just perfect you can cut for 5 to 7 minutes before it is dead. We carry them on every rig in town, but on a few occassions the corded saws had to save the day. Pay more for less capability? You can buy 3 corded for the price of one cordless.

[raricciuti]

Just got back from the FDIC in Indianapolis. Checked out the Fiskars/Nomad booth, and the DeWalt booth. At present, Fiskars makes a Nomad for the 18 volt, but not the 24 volt. The rep stated it "may be available in the future". No idea of how long that might be. At the DeWalt booth, I looked at both 18 & 24 volt saws. Both are nice, but there is a little discrepancy in accessories. You can get 110 volt corded adapters and 110 volt chargers for the 24 volt unit, but not 12 volt chargers. For the 18 volt unit, they have both 110 & 12 volt chargers, but no corded adapter. The rep stated that he knew of no plans to fill out the accessory lines. Sure would be nice if you could get the same accessories for both flavors of saws. In any event, they're pretty handy tools, but I feel (as did some of the reps) that these saws are complementary to corded units - each have distinct advantages and disadvantages; neither could be termed "best" for all situations. Of course, the old hacksaw never runs out of juice - only the operator needs recharged! Stay safe.

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R.A. Ricciuti, Firefighter
Mt. Lebanon Fire Department
www.mtlfd.org

[traumadogg26]

The cordless saw works great when a car has
gone over an embankment. Extra batteries are
easier to carry than tools and power units.

[This message has been edited by traumadogg26 (edited March 09, 2000).]

[JFIRE18]

We bought the Dewalt 24v with 2 spare batteries, once we get them into service I'll be sure to let you know how they work for us. We bought it to replace an older saw and we also carry a corded saw and two hacksaws, so I think we're safe on the battery issue. As for spraying the blades with soapy water, in a previous job, I used rec. saw every day without it and I did not notice any diffrence in performance.

[DWFrancesca]

I work for DeWalt Power Tools in our Field Marketing, aka Swarm Team. If anyone has any direct questions on our 24 volt line or any other tools or accessories, I will be happy to help. It has been great reading some of the positive feedback about our saws. We are very proud of our products and we are very proud that users like yourselves are trusting us to provide a high quality, "guaranteed tough" tool for your extrication purposes. We appreciate your business and again, if there are any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Thanks and be safe!!

[Ron Shaw]

What you should be looking at is the mechanics of the tool, the battery is secondary. Try using a Milwaukee 18v against the 24v system and see what the results are.

Both companies have the alternative feature for external battery power source. Dewalt has the Fiskis. Milwaukee can use the Curtis Wright battery pack. If you have the Power Hawk tool, you may want to go with a Milwaukee Sawzall, you will not have to buy an battery pack. This will extend your operation drastically.

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Ron Shaw
http://www.extrication.com

[DWFrancesca]

HEY GUYS
DeWalt here. I just wanted to respond to some comments I've seen.

As far as charging batteries, it is safe to leave the batteries on the charger for consecutive days as long as it is done in a cool environment. Room termperature is ok too, but cool is preferred. Heat is a BIG no no. Our advanced charging system, which allows our batteries to NOT develop memory, keep the cells at a constant maintenance phase when left over long periods.
When it comes to batteries and RUN TIME, there are several factors affecting what you can get from your batteries:
1. Charging time--our batteries charge in one hour, but that is just a "quick charge." After two to three hours it kicks into the "equalization" and "maintenance" stages. This brings all the cells to their fullest potential. You know you work better after eight hours sleep as opposed to five.

2. Technique--remember to keep the shoe flush with the material. You need to control the saw. Also, move it around a bit--play with it. Don't forget the adjustable shoe--it allows you to use different parts of the blade and you can remove it for different applications. The blade can also be turned upside down for different applications like plunge cuts.

3. The width or grade of material--harder materials will obviously drain the battery faster.

The biggest thing you have to remember about this 24 volt is that we have an AC/DC CONVERTER!!!! You have the convenience of both cordless and corded! If you have the saw ready to go, you can run out of the truck and start working with zero set up time, and by the time the battery runs out, your team has already set up power with the generator. You can then pop out the battery and slide in the converter and you're good to go indefinitely.

I just did an event today with Miami's USAR team and they used our 24 volt saw with our 10/14 TPI demolition blades and they absolutely loved it and felt confident that it would help them do their job faster and more effectively. That is our goal guys, so if you have more questions, please feel free to email me.
Take care!
DW Francesa

[Rob]

DeWalt was kind enough to allow our department the use of an 18 and 24 volt saw for some testing. This was also during the period of time Ron's column in Firehouse was being printed.
We ended up enjoying the 24 volt so much that we have just purchased one. We also invited the City of Calgary fire department to our tests and they are taking the idea of the cordless saw back to their v-ex people.
We too, have hack-saws and a corded recip saw in our inventory.
Also, the soapy water just takes up another pair of hands that can be used elsewhere.

[This message has been edited by Rob (edited April 09, 2000).]