More than ever, tradies are flocking to battery powered tools as their go-to on-site. Bosch is on the frontlines and has delivered once again with its latest tabless battery.
Any tradie worth their salt, understands one major factor when it comes to selecting their power tool batteries: “how long does it last before I need to charge it?”
It’s one of the age-old obstacles corded power tools still dangle over their cordless counterparts.
That being said, Bosch has unveiled its ProCORE18V+ battery range – a product that’s re-framed how tradies approach their everyday work.
For this test, we caught up with Nathan ‘Nath’ Dowell from Nudg1e Constructions at a site in McKinnon to Melbourne’s South East.
He and his crew put the ProCORE18V+ batteries to the test against the standard ProCORE18V 8.0Ah battery with multiple Bosch tools, including a circular saw, angle grinder and hammer drill.
Test #1: Hard(PRO)Core
Let’s not beat around the bush any longer: Bosch’s ProCORE18V+ batteries last a whopping 71 per cent longer than its standard ProCORE18V batteries.
Nath tested the hammer drill himself, drilling 10 deep holes into cement each with both the current and new batteries.
“With the regular ProCORE battery, the drill was down to two bars (out of five) after drilling all 10 holes,” Nath said.
“With the ProCORE18V+, it was still going strong after all 10 holes with 4 bars left.
“We ran it until the battery died and it was going at full torque all the way.”
We won’t bore you too much with the science behind these beastly batteries, but Bosch pulls out all the stops when it comes to innovation here. The tabless cell technology used in the ProCORE18V+ batteries results in lower cell resistance, thus leading to less battery heating and an overall improvement on runtime and lifetime.
“When I did need to charge the battery, it was really quick,” Nath added.
“I think it only took (the ProCORE18V+) about 27 minutes to get back to full bars on the 8.0 Ah charger.”
Test #2: Cool runnings
As we mentioned before, keeping cool is key to the PROCore 18V+’s success. Along with the tabless cell tech, Bosch uses COOLPACK 2.0 hardware.
This not only extends the batteries lifetime, but reduces the heat on the battery by about 36 per cent*.
“It was really eye-opening just how cool the battery stayed throughout use,” Nath said.
It’s also worth noting the ProCORE18V+ uses the same Bosch charger as your other Bosch 18V batteries, so swapping them out on the job is still as easy as it has been.
Power broker
Somehow, Bosch has figured out how to inject even more power into the ProCORE18V+ battery, equivalent to 2000 watts of corded power in fact. Both batteries are reliable and great, but there’s no denying the immense runtime and consistency delivered by the ProCORE18V+.
“Batteries from other tool brands; you can really feel the power dwindling as use goes on,” Nath said.
“But with this battery – mate – it’s the bee knees.”
Check it out
Find out more about the Bosch ProCORE18V+ battery range and its six-year warranty here. Available in-store and online from September.