New cordless drills

[ItsHot]

It is time to replace and upgrade the cordless drills. I have mostly old Dewalt. They are tough, but batteries are old. With what new batteries cost, I just as well buy new drill kits!! I know this has been mentioned many times here before, but do you have any tips on the latest in Lithium batts, size etc. ? Thanks to all for making this forum GREAT!:smile:

 

[nhfire77]

I have the Rigdid Li-Ion from Home Depot, really light weight. Also when the kits are on sale you can get one with two batteries plus the drill, saw or whatever for less than the price of two batteries alone. I bought two kits, got four batteries two drills (one Hammerdrill) sawsall, flashlight and an Impact Driver.

This was a year ago, and it has a lifetime warranty, batteries included!!

 

[cadpoint]

I thought this was interesting based on About the Author.
This is more to what we do to batteries in their life cycle!

Look for Simple Guidelines at the bottom of this page, this is ? material so I'll just link:
http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm

 

[Mr.Sparkle]

It seems Makita is all the rage these days, I am seeing every trade with them lately and have yet to hear a complaint.

 

[electricmanscott]

Everyone has their favorites. This is part of the reason I like Milwaukee.

 

[Cow]

It seems Makita is all the rage these days, I am seeing every trade with them lately and have yet to hear a complaint.

Quite the opposite for me. Two guys in our shop both bought Makita Li-Ion kits, they've both sent their drills in for repair at least twice each. I know at least one time was transmission issues, the other time might of been chuck problems. One guy has also sent in his sawzall too. Both of these kits are less than 1.5 years old.

Another guy had a Milwaukee Li-Ion 28v? drill, sent it in for repair, a short while later it literally caught on fire and burned up. That drill was less than 6 mos. old.

Personally, my 18v Dewalt stuff has lasted through all these other guys buying new kits, burning them up, and then going back to what they were using. Something to be said about Dewalt's 18v line.

 

[Mr.Sparkle]

Good to hear, well not really but......at least I did not go blindly buy a Makita kit cause I was thinking about it...

I have had the same 18V Bosch kit for over 5 years, the tools have outlasted some of the batteries but it seems I always run into someone who says "oh you like that kit.....blah blah blah mine broke after xx time etc..." I think (to a degree) it might be more about how you treat your "quality" tools and what you actually use them for that will determine how long they stay with you, some of the guys at the old company I work for would burn up 18V Milwaukees on a monthly basis.........but they were not treating them with respect (drilling concrete ALL day long...etc)

 

[scwirenut]

ive gone through 4 sets of dewalt 18v hammers, then i got the milw. v28, its starting to act up after 3 months, bottom line, I just expect to by a new kit every year . they dont makem tough enough for my abuse i guess,

 

[DavisIMI]

When it comes to battery powered tools not too long ago Dewalt was the one to beat, and none could. I've tried them all, and not the cheap ones either, and you cant beat Dewalt. Now with the lithium batteries things are a little different, Dewalt was very late getting into the new craze, so I cant speak for them, right now, but the Milwaukee tools are something to scream about. I've bought several different kits and LOVE them all, and would highly recommend them to anyone in the market for new battery powered tools. As far as Makita tools, they are great tools, I personally just hate the color of them, not that that makes a difference in anything, but to me it does. Ridgid is a great tool, and as far as I know are the only ones with a lifetime guarantee. I just don't like to have 3 or 4 different types of power tools to keep up with chargers and batteries. Dewalt and Milwaukee are the only tools for me, battery or power. But you won't go wrong with Makita or Ridgid either. One other note, the new Milwaukee 12V tools are the bomb! If the drill/driver had a faster rpm, so it could drill better, I wouldn't ever pull out one of my 18v drills. Seriously, this thing is great, try one you wont put it down.

 

[MarkyMarkNC]

They all have the same Johnson motors and A123 Lithium Ion cells. Hardly any difference between brands. The same Chinese factories probably assemble them too.

Dewalt = Milwaukee = Makita = Ridgid. Buy on price / warranty.

 

[buzzbar]

I just bought the Makita kit with the standard drill and impact drill. It's AMAZING how light they feel in the hand. They are balanced perfectly, and they have the LED light at the end to give you illumination while drilling.

I had a Hitachi drill before that, and it seems like a dinosaur compared to the Makita. I can't vouch for the reliability since they're brand new, but right now, I'm in love!

I believe MarkyMark is right though, these are most likely all manufactured in similar plants. Although, I believe Makita USED to be made in Japan.

 

[rt66electric]

hitachi

hitachi

My report on hiachi green and black--I needed a flashlight and a spare drill for a short-time helper/brother.. Inexpensive -for a flashlight/drill combo.. the flashlight was great for a while untill the electrical connection a the pivot became "bump-activated" . The battery life is comperable to most brands. The 1/2 drill itself worked well for a while (lightweight) but the drill chuck will not tighten up and the clutch will no longer lock in drill mode>>> OK for a spare drill but the old 14.4 dewalt wins the match !!!! I also have the ridgid mini 12 drill--- I love it, Its perfect for running recept screws and fits in you pouch or bucket!!!

 

[wireguru]

They all have the same Johnson motors and A123 Lithium Ion cells. Hardly any difference between brands. The same Chinese factories probably assemble them too.

Dewalt = Milwaukee = Makita = Ridgid. Buy on price / warranty.

milwaukee, ridgid, and ryobi are all made by TTI.

 

[dereckbc]

The newest Litium Ion battery on the market is LiFePo (iron Phosphate cathode) made by A123 battery corp. Several of the cordless tool manufactures use them. So looking for a name you trust that uses LiFePo batteries is what you are looking for.

 

[PetrosA]

It is time to replace and upgrade the cordless drills. I have mostly old Dewalt. They are tough, but batteries are old. With what new batteries cost, I just as well buy new drill kits!! I know this has been mentioned many times here before, but do you have any tips on the latest in Lithium batts, size etc. ? Thanks to all for making this forum GREAT!:smile:

I'd first ask a few questions.

What do you drill most? Wood? Masonry?
If wood, what size and type of bit?
If masonry, how much?
Do you need hammer function?
Do you use it for driving screws?

Drills that can handle the kind of drilling I do in wood (16"x7/8" auger bit, 6"x1-1/4" auger bit, often in old wood and/or hardwood beams) are going to be harder to find and are usually bigger and costlier. You can drill those sizes with spade bits and a weaker drill if you don't mind keeping a lot of spare bits around. You'll also want big batteries. Forger the slim Li-Ion ones, they don't have the capacity.

For masonry, a lighter drill should work, but I'd recommend testing some if you can. I found my Milwaukees were great at masonry drilling, not sure why. If you drill a lot, again go for a bigger battery since the slim ones will crap out a lot sooner.

If you set screws with it, TEST the clutch function. Two years ago I bought a Fein 18V hammer drill (discontinued, unfortunately) that is a real beast in wood (my Johnson's bigger than your Johnson ), but the clutch is worthless. On the lowest settings you can strip out or twist the heads off of most screws up to #10.

On my radar now are:


Milwaukee M18 with large Li-Ion pack (62nm-550 in./lbs)

http://www.milwaukeetool.com/Produc...=2602-22&CategoryName=New+Products+and+Offers


The Metabo SB 18LTX (100nm-885 in./lbs)

http://www.metabo-cordless.com/Cordless-Drill-Drivers-LTX-Class.27269.0.html


Hilti UH 240-A 24V (85nm-752 in./lbs)

https://www.us.hilti.com/holus/modules/prcat/prca_product.jsp?OID=30891&CATE_OID=-17635

The Metabo outbeasts the others with torque by specs. I should have a chance to check one out in the next week or so and possibly test it some. I've seen the Hilti and it's big - really big. Not the drill you want if you're doing overhead stuff all the time, but maybe the right one for wood intensive work. I should also have a chance to view the Milwaukee soon. Man, I could really get into being a tool tester

 

[vinster888]

ive been sticking with the dewalt stuff just because i have so much of it. the li ions are nice. but i guess if you go through six batteries in a given day then it really doesnt matter what kind they are

 

[nhfire77]

You'll also want big batteries. Forger the slim Li-Ion ones, they don't have the capacity.

I have better use out of my Lithium 18 V 3.0 AH

than my 18V 2.5 AH Big mother battery

Its more capacity same voltage

 

[wawireguy]

If people would learn to not run there batteries till they are dead and hot they would get much more service out of them. No other electrician I've ran into besides myself understands or believes this.

 

[480sparky]

I buy a new 14.4v DeWalt every January. I have three batteries in the case for the old one, and the best battery gets transferred to the new drill. The old drill becomes the 'backup' drill, and the previous 'backup' drill gets sold on ebay.

I generally net $100-125 for the old backup drill, and the new outfit is $200. So for $75-100/year, I always have a new drill & battery.

I consider it very very cheap insurance.

 

[Cow]

That sounds like a good way to go about it 480. My tools are repaired at the shops expense so I just keep running them. With that said, I've only had 3-4 small repairs needed in the last 5 years on my Dewalt 18v tools. It's cool to get the newest lightest fanciest Li-Ion kit but doesn't make much sense for me when my Dewalts just keep on truckin'.