Angle grinder...corded or battery?

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I couldn't get anything to come up in the search function, although I'm sure this has been brought up before...I am tired of changing back and forth from cut off to flap disk to grinding wheel. I'm just a weekend warrior that doesn't depend on my tools for a living, but don't like to buy stuff just based on price.That being said, I'm thinking about getting a battery powered grinder. I currently have DeWalt tools, so that would be what I would get. I'm thinking it would be convenient to have a cordless grinder, but curious as to how long they will last on a 4ah battery. I've been pleasantly surprised at how long the 1/2" impact and circ saw lasts, and figure the grinder will be about the same.I may also pick up a $20 HF 4 1/2" just to have on hand...but I'm not expecting much from that one.Any of you guys use a battery grinder as your go-to?
Reply:You no ha’ GoogleFu!Here is my recent review. I have since bought a second for mobile use. I wouldn’t use them where easy power was available. They are battery pigs, but I keep about a dozen of the 3 and 5 amphour batteries on hand as well as a charger and inverter in the truck.https://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthrea...grinder-review
Reply:I have a older 18 volt Dewalt. You'll need lots of batteries for sure. OK for minimal usage, but corded is my go too. I would consider a variable speed grinder. Definitely a plus with wire wheels. It will extend wire wheel life at slower speeds and save from removing wires from clothes. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Reply:Corded or battery grinder?  Yes!  That's obviously a joke, but I mean it....both is really the way to go.  I have a newer DeWalt 20V MAX brushless grinder and really like it, but use it far less than the two DeWalt corded grinders I have.  It goes through batteries pretty quickly, but I have five or six and two chargers, so that's not a big concern.  It's heavier, not balanced quite as well with the battery hanging off the bottom, and it's larger.  All of that adds up to me using the corded grinders for most things, and the cordless for quick jobs where it's not worth dragging an extension cord out to where I need to work.I will say there have been times when I've had a grinding wheel on one corded grinder, a flap disc on another corded grinder, and a non-woven abrasive wheel on the cordless so I didn't have to change between steps, and that worked well.  I know more than a couple of guys who just buy a couple of the cheap HF grinders and consider them disposable....I've used one and it had enough power.Check out my bench vise website:  http://mivise.comMiller Syncrowave 250DXMillermatic 350P with XR AlumaProMiller Regency 200 with 22A feeder and Spoolmatic 3Hobart Champion EliteEverlast PowerTig 210EXT
Reply:

Originally Posted by walker

You no ha’ GoogleFu!Here is my recent review. I have since bought a second for mobile use. I wouldn’t use them where easy power was available. They are battery pigs, but I keep about a dozen of the 3 and 5 amphour batteries on hand as well as a charger and inverter in the truck.https://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthrea...grinder-review
Reply:We had one just to take the burs off the material going into saw. beyond that all corded or air.
Reply:My thoughts - Corded for grinding discs & flap discs. Battery for wire brush.Sometimes you need to lean on the grinder - loads up the motor. Wire brush requires a lot less energy & battery will last for a while.Otherwise - you need AC power close to keep the battery charger going & $300 worth of batteries, so why not just run a cord?
Reply:For very small, quick jobs battery would be fine. But grinders are the one of the very few tools I would buy corded. I usually don't change discs, I have a grinder for each purpose."Where's Stick man????????" - 7A749"SHHHHHH!! I sent him over to snag that MIC-4 while tbone wasn't looking!

" - duaneb55"I have bought a few of Tbone's things unlike Stick-Man who helps himself" - TozziWelding"Stick-man"
Reply:I bought one to try out and wasn't very impressed. I keep it in the tool box of my pick up truck. It has saved me time and money there as I've used it to cut stuff when just looking at jobs. It makes jobs a one trip instead of two. Regular use though, it's almost worthless.
Reply:

Originally Posted by Bob

I bought one to try out and wasn't very impressed. I keep it in the tool box of my pick up truck. It has saved me time and money there as I've used it to cut stuff when just looking at jobs. It makes jobs a one trip instead of two. Regular use though, it's almost worthless.
Reply:Like G-ManBart says, BOTH. I am pretty impressed with my Makita 4.5" 18 volt and Makita 7" 36 volt but I rarely use the 7", I only bought it basically on sale to get two 5AH batteries and a dual charger and the grinder was basically free. Add to that I have 7 or 8 corded 4.5" in use and one 7" corded in use and two 4.5" corded Bosch still in the box for spares, because, like you I hate changing discs back and forth. The Makita cordless is great for going to my outdoor 20 foot storage rack to cut of a piece when I don't need a whole one, and I used it all the time in my electrical business. I didn't know I needed one till I bought one.Miller Challenger 172Miller Thunderbolt AC/DC 225/150Miller Maxstar 150 STLVictor 100CVictor JourneymanOxweld OAHarris O/ASmith O/A little torchNo, that's not my car.
Reply:You'll never have too many grinders. I'm just doing my own farm repairs so I'm not running them full time, but corded 4.5 I have DeWalt, Milwaukee, and a Hitachi as well as a Blue Point 7" air and a DeWalt 2 HP 9". For battery op I use a DeWalt 20 v. As noted it is best suited for light grinding... light rust before welding etc. It is a good little grinder and gets me through things where I don't have access to electricity, but you'll need at least 3 4ah batteries to keep it running steady. If you're pushing it hard for cutting or heavy grinding, that might not be enough. I usually have a 4 and 5 ah to keep it going but that's not steady grinding. One of the little batteries will last about 3 mins. so they are hogs, but it's so damn handy for some jobs, I don't care. I like it. At least 2 of the Chinese ones ended up in my trash bin, they didn't even last long enough to bother with.250 amp Miller DialArc AC/DC StickF-225 amp Forney AC Stick230 amp Sears AC StickLincoln 180C MIGVictor Medalist 350 O/ACut 50 PlasmaLes
Reply:I stopped buying battery-operated tools a couple years ago.  Got tired of the companies changing battery types after a couple years and no longer servicing the older models.  The whole tool will be perfectly fine, but because it's three years old.... you have to throw the whole thing away when the batteries finally die because you can't get new batteries that fit it anymore.  Such a waste!One trick I learned from Essential Craftsman on Youtube was to replace the short cords that come on the power tool with something that's longer.  If you look at how far you travel from the nearest outlet, a 10' power cord on your drill or grinder is usually plenty long enough to reach your work area.  The extra-long cord isn't so long that you feel like you're weighing down the tool, and not having to worry about an extension cord that's ten times longer than you need is pretty nice.Or you can install a retractable overhead extension reel.  I have one over my bench and it's pretty handy for tools that I'll be using right at the bench.In general, I'm only interested in "vintage" tools that have metal bodies.  If they were made before 1970 or so, you know they're going to be built well and be fairly easy to work on when you need to replace brushes and the like.  Plus, they develop that wonderful patina that plastic can never match.
Reply:Not too long ago, I was in Vaughn's camp and vowed I wasn't buying any more useless battery operated tools that went dead about the time you got to work. The kids got me a 20 volt one year for Xmas and that was a game changer for me. The one 18 volt drill I have has also been converted to 20 volt and my batteries will be 5 ah or bigger from now on. The brushless 1/2" impact has become one of my new fav. toys.

I had a job to do cutting some 3/8" stock so I decided to test the battery operated grinder out. With an older 4ah battery fully charged, it made 5 cuts through the 3/8 steel over 1/2" long. The new 5 ah battery did significantly better, but I got into other cuts so I wasn't able to really compare. If you are cutting and welding and working fairly steady, but not cutting steady, the 2 batteries would keep you going. If you are doing nothing but cutting steady you will need 3  5ah batteries. I was kind of impressed at how well it kept up with fairly steady use.  

250 amp Miller DialArc AC/DC StickF-225 amp Forney AC Stick230 amp Sears AC StickLincoln 180C MIGVictor Medalist 350 O/ACut 50 PlasmaLes
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Originally Posted by whtbaron

You'll never have too many grinders.
Reply:

Originally Posted by Oscar

Amen!  And not only battery and corded, pneumatic!   



Reply:

Originally Posted by cwby

My thoughts - Corded for grinding discs & flap discs. Battery for wire brush.Sometimes you need to lean on the grinder - loads up the motor. Wire brush requires a lot less energy & battery will last for a while.Otherwise - you need AC power close to keep the battery charger going & $300 worth of batteries, so why not just run a cord?
Reply:I prefer the corded Dewalt grinders with a paddle switch, I have the 9amp and 11amp grinders. Probably gonna pick up at least one more in the near future if I catch them on sale again. The 11amp with one of the Lenox diamond edge metal cutting blades just chews through metal in no time.Current machine: Miller 211Past machine(s): Hobart Handler 190“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants” - Thomas Jefferson