Cordless drill recommendation

[tom baker]

I am all in on Milwaukee, I have M12 drill and driver, M18 drill and driver. They have the largest battery tool line - string trimmers, demo hammers, lights...
Watch your wholesale house for a sale flyer, buy this tool, get batteries for .01 cent. I bought a 6 ton ko set and got 2.5 to 4 in punches for 0.1 cent
Anyway, whatever make you get, you want a brushless dc motor, more power for sure.

 

[Coppersmith]

All my tools (several service trucks worth) are 20V DeWalt and all these tools are great except the drills. Most of the drills have developed chuck problems. The chucks get crunchy or completely frozen after just a years use. I have one non-hammer drill I was using to install Tapcon screws five years ago. The chuck froze solid and the driver bit is unremovable. I didn't send it in for repair because I install lots of Tapcons.

 

[James L]

Build quality and battery life of Makita is better than Milwaukie, IMHO.

I like the build quality of the 18v & 36v Makita tools
The batteries, however, leave me with a sour taste in my mouth.

I have the top-of-the-line brushless hammer drill, and I have 3 if them. I don't use the hammer drill function very often, because I also have the 36 volt rotary hammer. I also have the top-of-the-line brushless impact. I rarely use it, because of my 12 volt impact. Oscillating tool, right angle drill, drywall screw gun and cut out tool, circular saw, reciprocating saw, and I have the 10000 lumen work light. All really good tools.

I use exclusively the 5.0 batteries and I run through them like Tic Tacs it seems like. I think I have narrowed it down to my hammer drill causing a short battery life. Primarily, when I'm using large hole saws - 4 inch or more. I just recycled 8 batteries from the last 6 months and bought 6 more.

Four 12 volt stuff, I have Bosch. The little impact driver I have is about the most compact I've seen. It's a real Beast for its size, also. I can't say enough good things about that little impact driver. But that's where my infatuation with Bosch ends. I've got the small single hand reciprocating saw, two different styles of oscillating tool, a right angle drill oh, and a couple of other tools I don't even bother bringing out of my garage anymore. Completely disappointing.

I just bought a 12 volt Milwaukee impact driver and single hand reciprocating saw (hackzall) that I haven't opened yet. I'm going to have a garage sale and see if someone will take all of my boss off my hands. I'm really going to miss that impact driver though

 

[zbang]

It may be the tool and the charger, not the batteries themselves. And no lithium battery should be drawn down low, anyway. If it's getting slow, STOP and SWAP (and immediately charge).

 

[petersonra]

Common lithium battery packs can only be recharged 500-1000 times before the individual cells start to fail. Just the nature of the beast. If you recharge a battery twice a day, 5 days a week, you are going to have to replace the battery pack every year or two.

Lithium batteries do not care much how low the charge goes, unlike other battery chemistries do. What does happen though is that the charger will refuse to charge a battery once a cell voltage has dropped low enough because it thinks the cell is shorted. You can sometimes resuscitate a "dead" cell by charging it directly with another cell. Give it a few seconds of juice and check for voltage. Repeat as needed. Once the voltage gets up above a volt or so, it should charge normally.

 

[Russs57]

Whatever you do, give some consideration to what you will be mainly using the tool for. I tend to buy rugged and heavy duty. After using some of the capable small 12 volt stuff I would give them a look if all I was doing was tapcons. I'm more of a pipefitter/plumber and our standard size drop in anchor needs a 1/2" hole.

The chucks on the new DeWalts can be a problem. You can't grab the chuck and squeeze the trigger to tighten and loosen them. Nice drills if you are drilling larger holes in concrete. Note so nice with one hand, off balance, and on a tall ladder The little Makitas will surprise you with what they can do.

Do go brushless/ECM with lithium battery.

 

[tom baker]

Here is a review from Fine Homebuilding on cordless impact tools

10 New Brushless Impact Drivers - Fine Homebuilding

Fine Homebuilding contributor David Frane recently tested 10 impact drivers from Bosch, DeWalt, Hitachi, Hilti, Kobalt, Makita, Milwaukee, Porter-Cable, Ridgid, and Ryobi for a feature in FHB issue #274. All […]

www.finehomebuilding.com

They may have a review of drills...

 

[kwired]

I like the build quality of the 18v & 36v Makita tools
The batteries, however, leave me with a sour taste in my mouth.

I have the top-of-the-line brushless hammer drill, and I have 3 if them. I don't use the hammer drill function very often, because I also have the 36 volt rotary hammer. I also have the top-of-the-line brushless impact. I rarely use it, because of my 12 volt impact. Oscillating tool, right angle drill, drywall screw gun and cut out tool, circular saw, reciprocating saw, and I have the 10000 lumen work light. All really good tools.

I use exclusively the 5.0 batteries and I run through them like Tic Tacs it seems like. I think I have narrowed it down to my hammer drill causing a short battery life. Primarily, when I'm using large hole saws - 4 inch or more. I just recycled 8 batteries from the last 6 months and bought 6 more.

Four 12 volt stuff, I have Bosch. The little impact driver I have is about the most compact I've seen. It's a real Beast for its size, also. I can't say enough good things about that little impact driver. But that's where my infatuation with Bosch ends. I've got the small single hand reciprocating saw, two different styles of oscillating tool, a right angle drill oh, and a couple of other tools I don't even bother bringing out of my garage anymore. Completely disappointing.

I just bought a 12 volt Milwaukee impact driver and single hand reciprocating saw (hackzall) that I haven't opened yet. I'm going to have a garage sale and see if someone will take all of my boss off my hands. I'm really going to miss that impact driver though

Think you maybe just happen to be using more power in that situation than most others? The 5.0 battery probably about the only one worth plugging into the drill when drilling that big of a hole, unless you only drilling one hole in easy cutting material.

 

[James L]

Think you maybe just happen to be using more power in that situation than most others? The 5.0 battery probably about the only one worth plugging into the drill when drilling that big of a hole, unless you only drilling one hole in easy cutting material.

For sure using more power with those hole saws.
Such as a 4-5/8" through a rim joist + siding for a bath fan vent, or cutting a dozen mini cans into outdoor soffits. Just did a trim-out with 66 l.e.d. flat panels with a 6-3/8" hole saw. Most in drywall, but some outside in soffit material.

I've thought about getting a 36v right angle drill for that, but it's not compact and looks awkward

 

[Fred B]

For sure using more power with those hole saws.
Such as a 4-5/8" through a rim joist + siding for a bath fan vent, or cutting a dozen mini cans into outdoor soffits. Just did a trim-out with 66 l.e.d. flat panels with a 6-3/8" hole saw. Most in drywall, but some outside in soffit material.

I've thought about getting a 36v right angle drill for that, but it's not compact and looks awkward

I've used my m18 hole hawg with 3in bore bit cuts like butter thru a 18inch sil beam on old post and beam. A lot more control than a regular drill. Able to drill a whole house rough in on 1 battery. And use one handed overhead through joists no ladder with a self feed bit.

 

[James L]

I've used my m18 hole hawg with 3in bore bit cuts like butter thru a 18inch sil beam on old post and beam. A lot more control than a regular drill. Able to drill a whole house rough in on 1 battery. And use one handed overhead through joists no ladder with a self feed bit.

I know, it's a really good drill and compact. A buddy of mine has it. I've considered getting one with 2 batteries just for drilling out houses and cutting in cans.