RIP Chicago Electric 18V Cordless Power Tools

It’s been 5 years since I reviewed some of Harbor Freights 18V Chicago Electric cordless power tools. They offered respectable performance for a very low price point. I still get comments on my Youtube reviews for these tools from time to time and lately the comments have been about how the owners are upset they no longer carry any new batteries. I haven’t looked at the store for Chicago Electric cordless tools recently but I did know that just a year or two ago, they discontinued most of them. After doing a quick search on the Harbor Freight page, they no longer sell anything Chicago Electric cordless 18 volt related. No power tools, no spare batteries or chargers, nada.

Maybe the brick and mortar stores may have some left, however their online presence or lack of says another story. So it’s sad to say that they may have quietly been discontinued for good. While I feel sad for those who’ve bought into the system and planned on supporting the system, you can still get new cordless power tools for around the $50-60ish the Chicago Electrics were sold for. For example they still sell brand new cordless power tool kits for around the same price or a little bit more such as the newer Bauer brand who offers kit’s as low as $70-75 and even lower at $60 with coupon. Not just that these newer tools are of better build quality, they also offer better performance and even offer better lithium ion battery tech.

Anyways, I’m not trying to push the Bauer brand on those upset their Chicago Electric 18V cordless power tools have been discontinued. Many of these folks are upset HF would discontinue a brand they enjoyed using and don’t want to deal with HF again, their words not mine. For those of you that think that way, there are similar priced alternatives on the market such as Ryobi, Porter Cable, Craftsman, Grizzly 20V Pro series, and many others worth taking a look at.

What do you guys think about Harbor Freight discontinuing their Chicago Electric 18 volt cordless power tools?

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5 Comments

  • Alfred says:

    where can I get a charger for the Chicago Electric 18V cordless drill

  • Anne says:

    this sucks! I wanted to get a spare 18 V battery for my cordless drill. Your article is right. Nada is right. The guy at HF told me to check Amazon, but none say they are compatible with the Chicago Electric drill I have. None of the batteries matched up. Hopefully this one will last a long time and when it crashes I won’t be going back to HF.

  • big jim says:

    i had 2 charger and lost them both, i need another charger asap! where can i buy

  • Joseph Mitchener says:

    I have the Chicago Electric orbital jigsaw. Cannot get the blade to stay in. As soon as I start to cut, the blade falls out. What’s up?

  • Art Davis says:

    I have a charger for an 18v that works well. If anyone needs it let me know.

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