# Battery or Hydraulic KO sets



## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

The Greenlee looks a little more flexible for getting into tight spots. 

The Greenlee uses Makita batteries and of course the Milwaukee uses their own M18 batteries. Keeping the batteries the same as your other tools is usually a good idea.


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## Majewski (Jan 8, 2016)

I've played with them at expos and love the Milwaukee! Oh I also love Milwaukee.
I think you should get the Milwaukee!


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

Having the same batteries as your other tools is nice. The other thing is, how long will you be able to GET batteries? Because if this isn't a tool you use that much, you probably won't wear it out, but in five years you'll still need new batteries. The M18 Fuel line is so popular you'll probably be able to buy batteries or knockoffs in ten years, the Makitas, probably not.


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

splatz said:


> Having the same batteries as your other tools is nice. The other thing is, how long will you be able to GET batteries? Because if this isn't a tool you use that much, you probably won't wear it out, but in five years you'll still need new batteries. The M18 Fuel line is so popular you'll probably be able to buy batteries or knockoffs in ten years, the Makitas, probably not.


I appreciate the comment but, the secondary market will always seem to have a solution.
I do have another option.
I can use my existing dies and punches, use the big bolt with the ball bearing out of a ratchet set and get the big 18 volt impact from............ Milwaukee.


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

HackWork said:


> The Greenlee looks a little more flexible for getting into tight spots.
> 
> The Greenlee uses Makita batteries and of course the Milwaukee uses their own M18 batteries. Keeping the batteries the same as your other tools is usually a good idea.


Thanks Hack,
My attraction to the Greenlee is only with the speed set up and unload hardware they use instead of spinning on the punch.
I think the slug buster punches, most of the time, take care of the sheet metal getting caught in the die which is a real PITA.

We used to have great discussions about the time spent on removing stuck slugs from the dies.
One school of thought was that labor wise, it didn't matter as we all were paid the same. If someone left the slug in the die, it might have related to an urgency during a shutdown and was acceptable. The other school argued that it was a point of housekeeping and that a slug didn't belong in a die that was returned to the KO set.
I concluded the argument with one word:
Toilet Flushing.


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## electricalwiz (Mar 12, 2011)

I have the greeenlee and love it.
When I bought it I sold on ebay all of my other knockout sets
All of my cordless tools are Makita so I already have the batteries


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## hardworkingstiff (Jan 22, 2007)

Not to hijack this thread, but ..... how many holes in a stainless steel can do you think a standard Greenlee hydraulic punch could make before it got worn out? Talking 3" and 3.5" holes, set is slightly used.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

If I was dead set on getting battery power I'd go for Milwaukee. 

That said from the first day I used my impact to operate a KO instead of going out to the van for a hydraulic pump, I've never used anything but the impact from that day forward.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

I have a Greenlee hydraulic KO set, one of the smallers ones in which the pump handle and puncher are one piece. It's a great set, but I haven't used it much.

Whenever I need to make a hole or two, I figure I will just drill it once with the correct sized holesaw instead of having to drill a small hole and bring in the KO set.


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

hardworkingstiff said:


> Not to hijack this thread, but ..... how many holes in a stainless steel can do you think a standard Greenlee hydraulic punch could make before it got worn out? Talking 3" and 3.5" holes, set is slightly used.


If you are talking about using regular punches on stainless, you would have to maybe touch up the edges every once in a while.
The stainless punches have an additional outer lip then a graduated cutting surface. It's more like cracking a starting hole then having a regular die doing the secondary work. 
I only do stainless work a dozen or so times a year. My stainless punches don't show any kind of wear or degradation in performance.
If I were setting up for a job with 10 or more 3" holes to punch, I would buy a new punch and use an electric punch as opposed to a hand pump or battery rig.


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## hardworkingstiff (Jan 22, 2007)

Suncoast Power said:


> If I were setting up for a job with 10 or more 3" holes to punch, I would buy a new punch and use an electric punch as opposed to a hand pump or battery rig.


I'm about out to pasture, so buying new stuff is ..... not desired. Do you think the hydraulic hand pump in my Greenlee set (1/2" to 4") will drive a new 3" and 3.5" knockout punch for SS?


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

hardworkingstiff said:


> I'm about out to pasture, so buying new stuff is ..... not desired. Do you think the hydraulic hand pump in my Greenlee set (1/2" to 4") will drive a new 3" and 3.5" knockout punch for SS?


Yes.
No doubt


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## daks (Jan 16, 2013)

Suncoast Power said:


> I appreciate the comment but, the secondary market will always seem to have a solution.
> I do have another option.
> I can use my existing dies and punches, use the big bolt with the ball bearing out of a ratchet set and get the big 18 volt impact from............ Milwaukee.


 That will give you the most flexibility. Plus you'll find other uses for the big 18 impact.


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

daks said:


> That will give you the most flexibility. Plus you'll find other uses for the big 18 impact.


Pit stop tire changes. :thumbsup:


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## daks (Jan 16, 2013)

Suncoast Power said:


> Pit stop tire changes. :thumbsup:


 Those too, as well as big lag bolts, Nuts on light pole studs, tugging. To name a few off the top of my head.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

daks said:


> Those too, as well as big lag bolts, Nuts on light pole studs, tugging. To name a few off the top of my head.


I use my 18v impact for more rusted and frozen hardware than anything, I don't fight that stuff and bust knuckles since I bought impact sockets for it.


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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

I'm conflicted.

I use a Gator Pro ECCX with all the trick tooling such that I'm using a battery -- at 12VDC -- to power a hydraulic punch -- to both cut cable AND to KO pull boxes. Yes, I have the adaptor, too.

Yes, I have a LOT more toys than are evidenced in this eBay photo.

The Gator has SPOILED me.

BTW, the photo does not show the correct battery. ( It's a Makita NiCad of either 2.4 or 2.6 A-Hr capacity. )

&&&&&&&&

Such a toy is super fun when terminating many paralleled secondaries -- and you're and oldie like me. 

Well, we all have our sins. 

So, for me, the issue is split.

[ Yes, I've got all the other stuff, too.]

I wince at the tool poverty of the younger set posting here.


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## sbrn33 (Mar 15, 2007)

Suncoast Power said:


> I appreciate the comment but, the secondary market will always seem to have a solution.
> I do have another option.
> I can use my existing dies and punches, use the big bolt with the ball bearing out of a ratchet set and get the big 18 volt impact from............ Milwaukee.


This is what I would do. Get the 1/2" impact and decent sockets. If not I really like the greenlee hand held hydraulic.


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## Majewski (Jan 8, 2016)

Did you purchase the Milwaukee yet!?


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

Majewski said:


> Did you purchase the Milwaukee yet!?


No,
I was busy and its only Monday.
One of my buddies has an electric powered hydraulic pump.
Its nice for crimping but is scary as hell with the cable cutting head on it. 
I have used one of those for KOs and equally hard to get used to how fast it works.


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## lochstanze (Aug 25, 2016)

*Greenlee IntelliPunch*

Check out Greenlee's new IntelliPunch tool!

http://www.greenlee.com/catalog/searchresults.aspx?search=ls100x&pn=1

The swivel head makes it much easier to use than the Milwaukee tool.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

lochstanze said:


> Check out Greenlee's new IntelliPunch tool!
> 
> http://www.greenlee.com/catalog/searchresults.aspx?search=ls100x&pn=1
> 
> The swivel head makes it much easier to use than the Milwaukee tool.


Welcome aboard!

Does that one use standard punches?


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## lochstanze (Aug 25, 2016)

This tool works with and is available with all of Greenlee's punch sizes and types. It's mostly the draw stud that makes different punches compatible, not the tool itself.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

lochstanze said:


> This tool works with and is available with all of Greenlee's punch sizes and types. It's mostly the draw stud that makes different punches compatible, not the tool itself.


I remember someone in a post saying their new power unit didn't work with their old dies, wasn't sure if this was the one.


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

MechanicalDVR said:


> I remember someone in a post saying their new power unit didn't work with their old dies, wasn't sure if this was the one.


Mech. If you get your hands on one of those punches, It has a smooth inside instead of threaded.


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## lochstanze (Aug 25, 2016)

MechanicalDVR said:


> I remember someone in a post saying their new power unit didn't work with their old dies, wasn't sure if this was the one.


The tool works with any of the punches and dies, threaded or unthreaded. It's the punch type that determines which draw stud and accessories you need. If you already have punches and dies, you can just purchase the tool and you're good to go.


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

lochstanze said:


> The tool works with any of the punches and dies, threaded or unthreaded. It's the punch type that determines which draw stud and accessories you need. If you already have punches and dies, you can just purchase the tool and you're good to go.


Yeah but, the whole beauty of the new system is that clamp nut that holes the back of the punch in place for quick loading and unloading.
If the new drawstud is smaller than the original and will slide through the threaded punches, I would be very interested in that.


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## lochstanze (Aug 25, 2016)

I definitely see why you'd want to make the unthreaded draw stud work with your threaded punches. Unfortunately a smaller diameter draw stud would also be weaker and make it more prone to bending and/or breaking when it sees higher force. The threaded I.D. of the punches would need to be larger instead.


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

lochstanze said:


> I definitely see why you'd want to make the unthreaded draw stud work with your threaded punches. Unfortunately a smaller diameter draw stud would also be weaker and make it more prone to bending and/or breaking when it sees higher force. The threaded I.D. of the punches would need to be larger instead.


It could be milled down just enough to keep the punch and die aligned but, for almost 3 grand, I guess that doesnt fit in the budget


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## kkentert (Jan 10, 2017)

Unrelated search led me to this thread, so i figured I'd add my two cents. I like the itoolco knockout. Same dies for stainless and carbon, plus it goes on any battery drill and gets in tight spaces easy. Milwaukee tools are nice generally speaking and so are Greenlee. As for the Greenlee, I just don't like the potential for leaking hydraulic oil.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

kkentert said:


> Unrelated search led me to this thread, so i figured I'd add my two cents. I like the itoolco knockout. Same dies for stainless and carbon, plus it goes on any battery drill and gets in tight spaces easy. Milwaukee tools are nice generally speaking and so are Greenlee. As for the Greenlee, I just don't like the potential for leaking hydraulic oil.


Never heard of iTooLco before. That punch looks cool.


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## kkentert (Jan 10, 2017)

MechanicalDVR said:


> Never heard of iTooLco before. That punch looks cool.


Their stuff is really nice. 10K puller sets up in less than 2 minutes and pulls FAST. That knockout (they call it gear punch) has the dual purpose dies so it ends up being quite a bit cheaper than the alternatives. And their "realjacks" pay off so smooth. We've been happy with their stuff. Started with just the jacks, then got more and more of their brand.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

kkentert said:


> Their stuff is really nice. 10K puller sets up in less than 2 minutes and pulls FAST. That knockout (they call it gear punch) has the dual purpose dies so it ends up being quite a bit cheaper than the alternatives. And their "realjacks" pay off so smooth. We've been happy with their stuff. Started with just the jacks, then got more and more of their brand.


Welcome aboard!

You Union or Non Union?


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## Going_Commando (Oct 1, 2011)

MechanicalDVR said:


> Welcome aboard!
> 
> You Union or Non Union?


He's probably non-union and works for ItoolCo. :whistling2:


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

Going_Commando said:


> He's probably non-union and works for ItoolCo. :whistling2:


shhh! 










:thumbsup:


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## butcher733 (Aug 4, 2012)

Itoolco's tugger is pretty awesome. used one several times.


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